Happy Birthday, Brookline!

My (current) hometown celebrated its 300th birthday today with a huge street fair in Coolidge Corner, so Joe, Marie and I went to check it out. Booths stretched from Beacon Street all the way down Harvard to Fuller Street, where Kupel’s is. They were all organized into sections by theme, including “Get Involved” and “Memory Lane,” and tons of people came out to take part in the festivities. There was food, music, community info, fitness demonstrations, and basically, something for everyone. And it seemed that a good time was had by all. (Even Joe, he wanted me to point out, since the picture above might imply otherwise.)

I particularly enjoyed the few minutes I spent inside the Coolidge Corner Theater, where the World Series Trophy was in attendance, accompanied by Red Sox prez Larry Lucchino, who was participating in a panel discussion called “Diverse the Curse.” Good stuff, despite the typical posturing by Lucchino when asked something about how the team is more diverse now but when will the other Fenway employees be more diverse. (He said it was his and the owners’ goal to diversify all parts of the Red Sox organization. Of course.) A young girl stood up to tell Lucchino that she lives right near David Ortiz, and he responded “Thanks for all you’ve done to improve his playing lately.” That got a few laughs. If only my camera had cooperated so I could have taken a better picture of the trophy.

Anyway, after we’d made a loop around to see all the booths, Joe, Marie, and I headed over to Newton to get some ice cream at Cabot’s. (mmmmm … Cabot’s) Two frappes and a hot fudge sundae with Oreo ice cream, mellowcreme fudge, marshmallow, and whipped cream later (they had the frappes, I had the sundae), we were all full and ready to head home.

If you’re interested, here are a couple of other pictures from the Brookline 300th festivities.