Jamaica Plain News

Video: A Little Slice of “Convite Banilejo”

By Chris Helms on July 28, 2014

Each weekday we post a random image, usually a photo, from around the neighborhood. Here’s a snippet of video from this year’s “Convite Banilejo” festival at Stony Brook.

Tikki Masala to Bring Indian Food to Forest Hills

A jogger runs past 3706 Washington St., soon to be home to Tikki Masala Indian Restaurant, on July 25, 2014.

Tikki Masala to Bring Indian Food to Forest Hills

By Chris Helms on July 28, 2014

The family behind Jamaica Plain’s third Indian restaurant is hoping to open at 3706 Washington St. in August.

Deluge Brings Flood Advisory for Jamaica Plain

By Chris Helms on July 28, 2014

A drenching storm may pass by 9:30 a.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

JP Local First is Hiring!

By Chris Helms on July 27, 2014

JP Local First, a nonprofit organization of independent locally-owned businesses, is searching for a Coordinator who will work part-time 15-20 hours per week.

Extend the Life of Your Car

By Chris Helms on July 27, 2014

Purchasing a new car is a huge investment. When you start making payments on your new automobile, you probably realize that you want to make this car last as long as you possibly can.

BOND promotes Jamaica Plain resident Brendan O’Malley to Project Manager

BOND promotes Jamaica Plain resident Brendan O’Malley to Project Manager

By Chris Helms on July 27, 2014

BOND, a leading Boston-based construction manager, has announced that Jamaica Plain resident Brendan O’Malley, LEED AP, has been promoted to Project Manager at the company.

Free wood for artists and/or fires!

By Chris Helms on July 25, 2014

Hi; I am moving and have about 30 wood logs that were going to be firewood, but I’m looking for a good home for them.

Before It Raises the Roof, Here’s How the JP Music Festival Raises the Money

Posters for various JP Music Festival Fundraisers

Before It Raises the Roof, Here’s How the JP Music Festival Raises the Money

By Chris Helms on July 25, 2014

Poster for "Smell the Love," a fundraiser for the JP Music Festival — Justin McCarthy: Valentines’s Day was available at The Midway, so it became our anti-Valentine’s Day event. Nothing says romance like The Midway. Kellie Cardone: Musicians and bands and love songs…nothing but love songs.

Poster for "Night of the Living Rat," a fundraiser for the JP Music Festival — Charlie McEnerney: People often talk about The Rat with very fond memories, so we invited musicians and bands to cover a song from any of the acts that played there.

Poster for "Hungry for Music," a fundraiser for the JP Music Festival — Kellie Cardone: We brought together three acts from the first festival (Chris North, So Sol, and Riding Shotgun) to perform at our now-sponsor Tres Gatos. Margie Nicoll: Just an amazing line-up of some of our favorites and a great night of food and drink at Tres Gatos. Everyone had so much fun!

Tap handle for "Squirrel Brew," sold to benefit the JP Music Festival — Shamus: I can’t remember who came up with this one. Me? Patricia? I remember meeting with Chris Lohring from Notch Brewing to create their Squirrel Brew that we could sell around JP to spread awareness and make money. Ferris: In 2013 we worked with Portico for a special batch of Fuzzy Squirrel beer.

Poster for chili cook-off to raise funds for the JP Music Festival — Shamus Moynihan: Kind of came out of Sunday dinners at Bethany’s I think. Charlie McEnerney: Lots of people made great chili and we had great music. The square dancing was a hoot, though getting people to square dance in the middle of the afternoon can be daunting…Justin McCarthy: I have no knowledge of this event.

Poster for "Live is a Carnival: Songs of Levon Helm and The Band," a fundraiser for the JP Music Festival — Shamus Moynihan: Levon Helm died and we decided to usurp that for our own greedy purposes.

Poster for "Boston Does Boston," a fundraiser for the JP Music Festival — Justin McCarthy: An evening of cover songs from other favorite Boston bands. Everyone had plenty to choose from. Set list is on the Facebook event page. Charlie McEnerney: We thought it was a brilliant name. Then we discovered someone else before us thought it was a brilliant name. Thankfully, Allston is in another country so we won’t be sued.

Poster for "Battle of the Bartender Bands," a fundraiser for the JP Music Festival — Justin McCarthy: Rick Berlin came up with this one…it was more complicated at first, with original songs. Rick Berlin: Every night at the Brendan Behan, John Casey (or Adam Wells) plays drums on the bar and/or sings. I told John he should at least front a band once in his life. He laughed and then the Battle of the JP Bartenders (improved name was JP Bar Wars, from Justin) was born and almost over night 11 bars/restaurants jumped in. The point being that in JP and in the bars and restaurants, there is a lot of (maybe buzzed at the time) musical talent. We figured the friendly competition of all these venues would fill up the Midway pronto. Lo and behold it was a smash, sold out, and likely to become an annual fundraiser for us. Charlie McEnerney: The Fireside won, by the way, and they’ll be performing a set at the festival as their prize.

Banner for "Art4Music," a fundraiser for the JP Music Festival — Shamus Moynihan: Randace Rauscher Moore and I were doing a lot of art shows for Centre/South Main Streets and First Thursdays so we took the idea from that and asked tons of local artists for donations. They are very generous to us every year! Justin McCarthy: Randace had been doing art auctions for charity for over 20 years. It’s a great idea and we weren’t ashamed to “borrow” it.

Running a free community event like the JP Music Festival is great fun — even behind the scenes.

The Cestonis Keeping Bar on Green Street, circa 1930s or 40s

Diva and Settimio Cestoni, late 1930’s or early 1940’s behind the bar at the Green Street Tavern. Courtesty of Julianne Deangelis.

The Cestonis Keeping Bar on Green Street, circa 1930s or 40s

By Chris Helms on July 24, 2014

For our Photo of the Day on Thursdays, we highlight an image of old JP. Here’s Diva and Settimio Cestoni, behind the bar at the Green Street Tavern. The photo, taken in the 1930s or 40s, was given to the Jamaica Plain Historical Society by Julianne Deangelis.

Meet Stella, Who Isn’t So Sure About This Photography Thing

Meet Stella, Who Isn’t So Sure About This Photography Thing

By Chris Helms on July 23, 2014

I haven’t met Stella, but she seems like a good dog. She even puts up with photo sessions that interrupt her walk in the Arnold Arboretum.