June First: Over 400 People “Met Us At the Malden River” to Create a Community Space Together!

The June First “Meet Us At the River” was an incredible Community Movement towards building our Malden River Works Waterfront Equitable and Climate Resilient Park! For decades, Malden residents could not access the Malden River. Many residents were unaware of the Malden River or were misinformed about the health of the Malden River.

On June First, Malden River Works’ mission came to fruition; create an equitable waterfront park for all residents. Over 400 people came to the Malden River to create a space today for tomorrow’s park: Malden River Works Waterfront Park for Equitable Climate Resilience. The park came to life before its time! All of the people of Malden are READY to build their park and enjoy the Malden River!

We rocked to the island rhythms of the Steel Branches Orchestra; we took boat tours down the Malden River; we celebrated with food from the Caliente Grill and Ice Cream from Boston Ice Cream Truck; we danced with the Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band who surprised the crowd by cruising up the Malden River to join us!

Malden Community Garden blessed us with smoothies created from the community garden; we learned about our community and environment from Bike to the Sea, Extinction Rebellion, Mystic River Watershed Association, and the Friends of the Malden River. MaldenReads read “Swimmingly” and children created arts and crafts.

This event was funded by the Massachusetts Vulnerability Preparedness Program as a place-making event for Malden River Works project.

The Emperor Norton’s Stationary Band parade on the Malden River was funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Drone Photography Credit: Yari Wolinsky of Trillium Studios

Festival photography by Michelle Schapiro, funded by Barr Foundation