We are a grassroots group dedicated to helping community members make small-scale projects and events happen together. Our mission revolves around three key goals: Building lasting, exciting civic improvements, building civic engagement skills, and building diverse community.
Click here to learn more about DIY Lowell’s mission.
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Click here to learn how you can be involved.
Community members share their project ideas with us online, at festivals, and wherever we can meet them. The ideas can be anything, so long as they are open to the public, are inclusive, and take place in or improve a public space. Every so often, we hold a Community Ideas Summit. Volunteers who pledge to join a Project Team get to vote on recently submitted ideas, and the winners are kicked off at the summit! DIY Lowell facilitators help the Project Teams make the winning ideas a reality with technical assistance and funding. Many of these projects, such as Points of Light Lantern Celebration, take on a life of their own outside of DIY Lowell. This is our goal: each project is a small experiment that, if successful, leads the way to bigger changes in Lowell.
Current Projects
Downtown Pedestrian Zone team members are working with the City to create a temporary walking/patio area in downtown Lowell. This could be many areas, possibly on Merrimack Street from John to Shattuck Streets, allowing walkers, bikes, and emergency vehicles only. During the patio time, there would be vendors, music, or other attractions.
Yuletide Market is targeted for the first or second weekend in December 2024, on Middle Street or another spot in downtown Lowell. The Yuletide Market would feature cute cobblestone roads or historic buildings, and invite vendors from across Lowell. We could have mulled wine and hot chocolate just like they do in Europe. There could be a beer tent, craft tent for kids, maybe the local choirs could carol.
All Access Fitness team members are evaluating different parks that could host another outdoor fitness station similar to those near UMass Lowell and near the Pyne School. The Team would find out what types of equipment are needed, raise funds, and work with the City to install the equipment!
The Lowell Community Festival and Event Planners Resource Group is a collaboration with Mosaic Lowell to bring together festivals and events of all types to teach and learn from one another. This includes both regular workshop panels to share best practices and skills and space for creating new collaborations.
