LAWRENCE — The flag of Ireland is waving at Campagnone Common in celebration of Irish Heritage Month in the city.
Mayor Michael Sullivan and Dave Burke, vice president of the Division 8, Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), presided over the public flag-raising Saturday at the park across from City Hall.
Special guest Seamus Boyle, national president of the AOH in America, who came from Philadelphia to take part in the city's Irish events on the weekend, was given the honor of hoisting the Irish flag.
Twenty-five people were at the ceremony, including William J. Sullivan, president of the Division 8, AOH and Anne-Marie Nyhan-Doherty, president of the Ladies Division 8, AOH.
Cuban author talks about Mariel Boatlift
LAWRENCE — Mirta Ojito, who came to the U.S. from Cuba, as part of the 1980 Mariel Boatlift, speaks about her experience Thursday at 12:30 p.m. at Northern Essex Community College, 78-82 Amesbury St.
Ojito is author of "Finding Manana: A Memoir of a Cuban Exodus," published in 2005. In it she recounts her family's life in Cuba, their journey by boat to Miami and the people who made the trip possible. Ojito was one of 250,000 Cuban refugees who left Mariel Harbor for Florida. Today, she is assistant professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. She was a newspaper reporter in Miami and New York.
She received the American Society of Newspaper Editor's writing award for best foreign reporting in 1999 for a series of articles about life in Cuba, and a shared Pulitzer for national reporting in 2001 for a New York Times series of articles about race in America. Ojito is a graduate of the mid-career master's degree program at Columbia University.
Money needed to pay for parade
LAWRENCE — The St. Patrick's Day parade needs more green. The parade is $1,000 shy of the money needed to meet expenses this year, said Marie Gosselin, a longtime organizer of the event.
The parade receives no money from the city, relying solely on the generosity of the community and local businesses, said Gosselin.
The parade steps off Sunday at 12:30 p.m., which leaves little time to make up the shortfall.
Veterans and active servicemen and women are the grand marshalls for the parade, which includes performances by the Navy Band Northeast, one of the nation's finest military bands with 45 musicians.
Anyone wishing to make a parade contribution can do so by calling Gosselin at 978-683-4792.
Dominican author to speak at Boys Club
LAWRENCE — Author Julia Alvarez will read and discuss "Return to Sender," her most recent book, Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence, 136 Water St.
Published in January, the book is based on Mexicans working in dairy farms in Vermont, which are raided by immigration officials, leaving the children in a state of confusion and needing reassurance they will be reunited with their parents.
Alvarez is best known for her books, "How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents" and "In The Time of the Butterflies," which were both translated to Portuguese, Italian, French, German and Danish. The latter book, was made into a movie produced by and starring Salma Hayek, Marc Anthony and Edward James Olmos.
Born in New York City, Alvarez was raised in the Dominican Republic and later return to New York to live. She has written numerous novels, essays, poetry and books for children based on her Dominican roots and her experience as a Dominican woman living in the U.S.
Alvarez is no stranger to the area, having taught writing and English at Phillips Academy in Andover from 1979 to 1981.
The public is invited to attend.
City trash pickup on Wednesday this week
LAWRENCE — Due to the snow storm, the City of Lawrence has put off picking up trash and recyclables until tomorrow.
The Department of Public Works is asking all residents to hold off putting their trash on the curb until after 4 p.m. today, but before 7 a.m. tomorrow.
