LOWELL — Cobblestones of Lowell owner Scott Plath had long thought about starting something like a paint night in his restaurant.
He didn’t have the right connections with local artists, and worried about taking a financial risk on a new initiative.
The City of Lowell changed all that last year, when it offered American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to businesses who worked together to create new events focused on revitalizing Lowell’s cultural economy during the city’s bicentennial birthday.
At a downtown meeting called by City Manager Thomas A. Golden, Jr., Plath heard the offer of financial support, and met Jimmy Le, who has operated Draft Studios in the Western Avenue Studios for six years now.
The result of that meeting of the minds, and funding, is a new series of events being held at Cobblestones this year, known as the Makers and Shakers Workshop Series. Makers and Shakers is just one of several new initiatives in Lowell that will receive ARPA funding, and additional funds are still available for other businesses who want to innovate.
“Cobblestones is incredibly fortunate to be part of a community where City leadership understands and promotes the symbiosis between residents, businesses, the non-profit community and the artistic community,” said Plath. “The offer of some funding from the City was a catalyst to reduce our risk.”
Makers and Shakers will combine the food and drinks of Cobblestones with artists from the Western Avenue Studios, who will lead art-related workshops. The events will help draw patrons to Cobblestones for creative offerings, while also providing greater public exposure to artists from Western Avenue Studios.
Things kicked off on March 4, when ceramics artist Tracy Flynn, of Pottering Around Studios, led participants in a class on making and painting ceramic mugs.
To find out about upcoming Makers and Shakers Workshops, visit: https://lowellma200.org/our-events/.
Other new ARPA-funded offerings in the City of Lowell this bicentennial year include Jazz Nights at Brew’d Awakening Coffeehaus, Comedy Nights at Warp & Weft, and Cobblestones own created culinary event — a monthly chef-based series featuring various themes and local chefs paired with additional Lowell-based non-profit initiatives. The next Monthly Chef’s Series event at Cobblestones will be Friday, March 27, when a murder mystery dinner is held, to benefit The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell. For more information on the Monthly Chef Series events, please visit: cobblestonesoflowell.com.
The city is making a total of $250,000 in ARPA funding available to fund bicentennial efforts to enrich Lowell’s cultural economy, and much of that funding remains available. Jimmy Le said he and his colleagues ay Western Avenue are hoping to collaborate with even more city businesses.
“The City of Lowell has been innovating for all of its two centuries of existence, and I am encouraging city businesses to think big during this bicentennial year, as we seek to get everyone in our community involved,” said City Manager Golden. “We believe that city government should encourage connections among businesses, residents, and cultural institutions, so we are offering this ARPA funding to those who want to join us in expanding what Lowell has to offer.”
To learn more about the ARPA funding that is available to city businesses, or to apply for funding, click here.
The City’s bicentennial celebrations will also go big again from Thursday, April 30 to Saturday, May 2 with a special bicentennial edition of The Town and The City Festival. The Town and The City Festival is a multi-day music and arts event in a myriad of event spaces, bars, cafes and galleries throughout downtown.
This year’s festival will include a special Bicentennial Stage on Middle Street on Saturday, May 2. The bands Copilot and Vundabar will perform free shows that are open to the public.
The festival is named after Jack Kerouac’s earliest novel, which is set in Lowell, and is inspired by Kerouac’s creativity and exploration. To learn more, or to review a schedule of events, please visit: https://www.thetownandthecityfestival.com/.
Additionally, the Tsongas Industrial History Center, located inside the Boott Cotton Mills Museum on John Street, will host a series of drop-in events on the second Saturday of each month from 1 to 4 p.m. in recognition of the City’s bicentennial and the center’s 35th anniversary.
The Hands-On History series will focus on city history, while providing participants with hands-on activities relating to weaving, Lowell’s many cultures, water power, engineering, and what it was like to work on the line in a Lowell mill. For more information and a schedule of events, visit: uml.edu/tsongas/.
“From intimate, weekly events held at our small businesses, to major community festivals, the City of Lowell’s bicentennial will be an ongoing, community-driven celebration of both our history and our shared future,” City Manager Golden said.
For more information on Lowell’s bicentennial celebrations, which last all year, please visit our dedicated website at LowellMA200.org.
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