We will be honoring our 2024-2025 grantees on Thursday, August 14, from 2-3 pm at the Marshall Community Center (35 Westville St, Boston, MA, 02124).

For more information about Urban Ag Week, head to Mass.gov to view the Urban Agriculture Week Calendar for more events taking place throughout the state!

John A. Scannapieco was born on January 18, 1923 in East Boston. John graduated from Mechanic Arts High School and entered the U.S. Army on March 1, 1943. At Fort Jackson John was a member of the 106th Division, 589th Field, Artillery and was Gun Leader of the 4th Howitzer. John was sent to Tennessee Maneuvers and then to Camp Atterbury, Indiana before shipping out from Boston to England in November 1944. In December he was sent to Belgium and while German troops and tanks began their advancement into Belgium that late became the Battle of the Bulge. In the early morning hours of December 17, 1944 under a barrage of German fire, the 589th was ordered to immediately begin withdrawal to St. Vith, northwest of Schonberg. The truck of Sgt. Scannapieco got stuck in mud and snow, this delay was tragic. A heavily armored German tank opened fire on Sgt. Scannapieco and the remaining men. In order to protect his men, he secured a bazooka and fired at the tank. He did so heroically, at the expense of his own life. Sgt. Scannapieco was awarded the Purple Heart and is buried at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden. John was survived by his parents Giovanni and Emilia Scannapieco and his sisters Ida Poto and Antoinetta Tescione.

The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is hosting the City’s two Ready Boston Field Days the first on September 13, 2025 at Walker Playground ( 550 Norfolk St, Mattapan, MA 02126) and the second on September 25, 2025 at City Hall Plaza ( 1 City Hall Sq, Boston, MA 02201). These family friendly events are open to all!   

• Learn CPR and first aid from Boston Emergency Medical Services through demonstrations and practice sessions.
• Get fire-safety tips from the Boston Fire Department.
• Participate in an emergency exercise with public safety professionals.
• Get an inside look at emergency vehicles: SWAT vehicles, ambulances, police cruisers, fire trucks, emergency management vehicles, and more.
• Build an emergency kit to help you and your family prepare for an emergency.
• Play preparedness games and collect giveaways!

The event includes on-bike skill-building for children and adults, free bike checks, and a family-friendly bike ride. The event will take place at McKay School and East Boston Memorial Stadium Park in East Boston. The rain date is Sunday, August 24, 2025.

Register

Here is the plan for the day:

10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Adult Learn-to-Bike workshop | On-bike children's activities | Bike tune-up station

McKay School, 122 Cottage St, East Boston, MA 02128

• Learn-to-Bike workshop for adults. There is limited space available! We do maintain an active waitlist if the workshop fills up. 
• On-bike activities for children (ages 3-12). Bikes and helmets provided, or feel free to bring your own! This is a drop-in activity.
• Bike tune-up station. This is a drop-in activity.

12 - 1 p.m.

Family-Friendly Bike Ride + Group Walk

Start: McKay School | End: East Boston Memorial Stadium Park

• Join us for a short family-friendly bike ride or walk
• Limited number of bicycles are available. Register for the ride and request a free bike rental.
• Anyone joining the ride should check in by 12:00 p.m.
• If you're not ready to ride, no problem! A staff member will lead a walking group from the McKay School to the East Boston Memorial Stadium Park.

1 p.m.

Light Food (Sponsored by Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers)

East Boston Memorial Stadium

• Free food provided to participants who register and attend any part of the day’s events.

The rain date for the event is Sunday, August 24, 2025. The event is sponsored by Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers. 

Come along with Spark Boston and Boston By Foot for an exploration of civic engagement and history!

Learn about the mark Black thinkers and writers made on literary and political history: David Walker and his sentinel work, Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World; novelist, playwright and editor Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins; Dorothy West and her biting satire on racial tensions, and many others.

Walk Beacon Hill as you explore where they worked, raised their families, fought injustice, and wrote. Join us Sunday, August 3 from 4 – 6 p.m. as we explore the stories of Black writers, thinkers, and revolutionaries who shaped 19th-century Boston—and American history. You can meet us at the Museum of African American History – 46 Joy Street, Boston, MA 02114.