This year marks the tenth and final Urban Pond Procession, a mile-long art walk around Mashapaug Pond. For decades the site was a dumping ground for industrial waste, with metals flowing into the water from nearby silver and plating businesses. (Thanks, Gorham.) Events like the Urban Pond Procession have drawn attention to the Mashapaug, and environmental remediation over the past decade has certainly helped. This year’s procession begins with Eastern Medicine Singers, an Algonquin drum group, and continues with performances from the Extraordinary Rendition Band, What Cheer? Brigade, Big Nazo and others before wrapping up with hip-hop dance (courtesy of Case Closed) and a multimedia sound collage from artists Erik Carlson and Erik Gould.
The procession itself begins at the Mashapaug Pond Boathouse – behind where the Job Lot used to be on Reservoir Avenue – and winds its way through the Reservoir neighborhood before ending at Mashapaug Cove. Organizers recommend parking at Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School and bringing a blanket or a lawn chair for the finale. Click here for a map.
