Dorchester

On Saturday, June 3, more than 55 local musicians will flood the streets of the Ashmont Adams area of Dorchester, strumming guitars and belting out vocals from porches around the neighborhood. Dorchfest, in its second year, is a celebration of musical talent in Dorchester.

For one weekend this month, Dorchester’s explosive artistic talent overflows from historic brick buildings around the neighborhood.

For 45 years, one man has been busy in Dorchester’s Four Corners: Lawrence “Larry” Thornton, or “Mr. Larry” to his neighbors. A builder by trade and gardener in retirement, he never works alone.

Tucked away amid multifamily homes, an autobody shop, two public schools and a railroad bridge, Ceylon Park is Dorchester’s primary soccer pitch. As neighbors — many, immigrants — attest, Ceylon’s soccer field has seen better days.

Elected officials including U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Mayor Michelle Wu turned out Saturday for the opening of a Dorchester district office for state Rep. Chris Worrell and Boston City Councilor Brian Worrell.

According to the plaintiffs suing the Boston City Council over the redistricting map, the body violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by taking race into account in re-drawing district lines. Lining up in support of the lawsuit are a Who’s Who of Irish American elected officials representing South Boston and Dorchester.

After a three-year delay, Comfort Kitchen restaurant and café opened to the public in a renovated historic building in Upham’s Corner on Jan. 25.

A coalition of South Boston-based organizations and activists have filed a lawsuit against the Boston City Council in an attempt to overturn a redistricting map the body passed by a 9-4 vote on Oct. 26.

Karmimadeebora “Mima” McMillan’s “Unsung Heroes” is an ode to the neighborhood and specifically to the Freedom House, an advocacy group that works with Black, Brown and immigrant students working through high school and college.

“Project Misik: A Neponset RiverYard,” is a celebration of Afro-diasporic artwork pioneered by local musician Kera Washington with the help of one of the Olmsted Equity grants intended to diversify Boston’s green spaces.

This weekend, the streets of Dorchester will come alive with music during the first-ever Dorchester Porchfest, dubbed Dorchfest. More than 45 bands will perform on 25 porches and venues around the Ashmont-Adams neighborhood on Saturday, June 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival is free and open to all.

Parents, teachers and students from the Pauline A. Shaw School in Dorchester demonstrated, testified at School Committee meetings and wrote op-eds in a concerted effort to stop what many saw as the district’s attempt to pull the plug on the school, denying them grade expansions while all other BPS elementary schools are switching to a K-6 grade configuration.