May 2026 - Page 9 of 11 - Cambridge | Somerville Independent

‘Lights, Camera, Joe Curtatone!’ stars former Somerville mayor in a true-to-life role: Media champion

by Marc Levy May 7, 2026

Former 18-year Somerville mayor Joe Curtatone is set to be honored June 4 with a Public Service Award by the Somerville Media Center.

ASK CHEF JJ

When building a cheese board, start with a river and let it spill

by JJ Gonson May 6, 2026

There is nothing wrong with eating a couple of perfect cheeses plonked onto a plate, but don’t you think everything tastes best when it is pretty?

MUSIC

A music lover’s music club called Altar may finally have found its home in Cambridge’s Central Square (corrected)

by Marc Levy May 6, 2026

Central Square could be within a few weeks of knowing the address of Altar, its next nightclub. But founder John Kearney doesn’t want to get ahead of himself.

MUSIC

Central Square’s nightlife options, from the venerable Middle East to the transforming Smoot

by Nelson Everts May 6, 2026

Even without the music-focused, minimalist Altar yet on the nightclub scene there are plenty of places to go around Central Square for a drink and dance.

ARTS

Armory board members are named, including leaders at Esh Circus Arts, Arlington International Film Festival

by Marc Levy May 6, 2026

Names of board members came in a press release filled with buzzwordy terms (“cultural strategist”) and unexplained references to unknown businesses.

LET’S GET COFFEE

The long red line

by Corky White May 6, 2026

The two universities that dominate Cambridge seem to foster café sitting. We will follow the rumble of the MBTA red line, felt in three Harvard and MIT coffee seats.

BITE

Lemon blueberry scone at Vinal Bakery

by Carson Paradis May 6, 2026

American scones can be dry and crumbly, a clumsy exaggeration of the savory British version of this cousin to the biscuit. Vinal dodges the dry.

FASHION

Persian influence on fashion: Clothing as resistance, memory and political language

by Julie Mahdavi May 5, 2026

Persian influence in fashion exists across multiple layers, and a scarf, pattern or silhouette holds personal expression and ancestral memory.

OPINION

Fidelity, Vanguard and Schwab block SPLC donations. The Cambridge Community Foundation does not.

by Lauren Cosulich May 5, 2026

It’s not only megafinancial institutions that host donor-advised funds. We have an alternative in our own backyard in the Cambridge Community Foundation.

BUSINESS

Electric and cargo bike pioneer Bicycle Belle closes Aug. 1, leaving others to peddle pedals

by Marc Levy May 5, 2026

Founder and owner, Carice Reddien Pingenot, announced the closing on Tuesday, saying she needed a break and time to focus on her family.