Community Mural

Idea:

A collective mural that provides community members with a defined and approved space to envision and express their story in a public and inclusive setting.

Benefit:

Brings people together and builds community and character while making the city beautiful and inviting.

Location:

Don't Know.

Community Center

Idea:

A space where young adults and adults alike can meet and mingle to play board games, video games, watch films, and a place for music and dance.

Benefit:

This center would give young people and adults a place to get together for positive activities. My thought for location is Bar 74 – a large space with downstairs area for games etc., and a ballroom upstairs for dance. Lessons could be given by Salsa in Lowell and others, and [Read more…]

Location:

Downtown / JAM.

Lowell Chess Tournament

Idea:

A national chess tournament. We would engage and plan with, the UMassLowell Chess Club and the Lowell High School Chess Club.

Benefit:

Being a site for a chess tournament would add to our offerings of diversity in culture, food, and music. It would bring people of diverse ethnic cultures together. An opportunity for people of diverse backgrounds to get together in a popular and positive activity.

Location:

Downtown / JAM.

Nintendo Nights

Idea:

Put together a weekly or monthly series of events where people can bring picnic food (or we invite food trucks and get an alcohol permit for a beer garden if we’re ambitious) and there are one or two projectors set up in a locked case hooked up to old video games. They can eat and [Read more…]

Benefit:

Would help revitalize a park and bring people together. If it was advertised, maybe people would come from out of town to experience this unique Lowell idea.

Location:

Downtown / JAM.

Monthly Park Cleanup Competition

Idea:

Kids love their local parks but they tend not to pick up their trash very well. My idea is to come up with a competition for kids to keep their parks clean. Maybe giant containers that they have to fill up with trash or recycling, or some way of judging who get their park the [Read more…]

Benefit:

Kids build a sense of civic responsibility and the parks get cleaner. Also, competition is fun!

Location:

Citywide.

Flags of the Acre

Idea:

Add flags and art banners to the lampposts along Upper Merrimack Street between City Hall and University Crossing. The art would be inspired by the folks of many backgrounds, races, and ethnicities of the Acre. If there’s enough interest, we could also add history/fact signs similar to the Visualize Lowell’s Black History tour.

Benefit:

It would encourage people of different types to come together around the art and flags. It would add color and vibrancy to the walking route between downtown and the university and also show off the unique character of the Acre.

Location:

Acre.

Rez Fest

Idea:

A day-long festival of acoustic music on top of and around the Christian Hill Reservoir sometime next summer.

Benefit:

It would bring people together in the neighborhood and beyond.

Location:

Centralville.

Outdoor Community Flea Market

Idea:

An outdoor flea market/vendor fair, with fun events like a car show, pet show, art, theatre or outdoor yoga.

Benefit:

This will help to attract members from outside the community to generate income as well as promoting local residents to engage in the community.

Location:

Don't Know.

Rooftop Garden Demonstration

Idea:

On flat rooftops, there should be gardens and unused urban rooftops can be designed for community and volunteer-maintained gardens, where there can be volunteer days for anyone to come out and help maintain the space and bring home harvested produce. A DIY Lowell Team can create a “demonstration” garden on the roof of a public [Read more…]

Benefit:

It would increase the amount of local and affordable produce, while beautifying an under-utilized space or spaces in the city. Gardens help decrease CO2 in the atmosphere AND save energy bills for buildings. Less runoff water in sewage from storms

Location:

Citywide, Don't Know.

Outdoor Movies Expansion

Idea:

A DIY Lowell team began to catalogue outdoor movie opportunities that happen in Lowell. They also showed two downtown movies “on the bricks” although they were rained out. This would continue their work and add a series of outdoor movie events where families can sit on the grass together and watch family-friendly movies with open [Read more…]

Benefit:

This would benefit the community by providing a great activity for kids and families to participate in socially-distanced fun while still maintaining a sense of community. It would also help support small businesses like food trucks and local vendors.

Location:

Don't Know.