On a Friday evening this summer, several hundred people came to the Beachmont VFW Post 6712. They paid admission at the door and brought food to share, everything from Chinese takeout to pizza. They traded stories about parades from years past. They were raising money to bring back a parade that East Boston had gone years without. On Sunday, October 11, it returns with a new name and a new committee, and the new name fits the rest of the month in this neighborhood.
A Familiar Route, Under a New Name
For years, East Boston's big fall event was the Columbus Day Parade. The East Boston Times-Free Press reported that it faded for several reasons: COVID-19, the cost of putting it on, and the death of its longtime grand marshal, Albert "Buddy" Mangini, who used to rally everyone behind it. A new committee chaired by Joe Ruggiero has picked it up again as the East Boston Italian Heritage Parade.
The organizers' page explains what the new name covers. It calls the parade a tribute to "our Italian lineage and the diverse immigrant tales that define the soul of East Boston." It also describes the neighborhood's streets as a gateway for families over more than a century, celebrating "the diverse waves of new arrivals who continue to shape our neighborhood." Meet Boston's listing makes the same point. It describes the parade as a multicultural community event that also honors the military. It says the 2018 edition had four divisions of bands, civic groups, cultural groups and military units, with crowds of more than 10,000.
The City's traffic advisory lays out the route:
- Waldemar Avenue
- Bennington Street
- Day Square
- Maverick Square
- Central Square
The Boston Calendar lists the parade from 1 to 4 p.m. That is the only published start time so far, so check it again closer to the day. The advisory also lists street parking restrictions along the whole route. If your car is usually parked on Bennington or near one of the three squares, read the advisory before Saturday night. One September item in the East Boston Times gave the date as October 12. The organizers, the City and The Boston Calendar all say Sunday, October 11.
The Same Blocks Hold the Rest of the Month
The parade's "diverse waves of new arrivals" are not just a phrase. The weekend before it and the weekend after it, the same few blocks host celebrations of two other national traditions, at an address the parade passes on its way to Maverick and Central squares.
That address is 282 Meridian Street, home of the Veronica Robles Cultural Center, known as VROCC. The nonprofit has offered cultural programming since 2013. Viva El Salvador takes over the center on Saturday, October 10, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Admission is free, with music, dance and traditional art, and food and drinks for sale. That puts it inside National Hispanic Heritage Month, which the Boston Public Library notes runs every year from September 15 to October 15. One week later, on Saturday, October 17, VROCC holds Noche de Catrinas, a free Mexican celebration that runs from 5:30 to 11 p.m.
So two Saturdays and one Sunday in the middle of the month make one run. A Salvadoran night on Meridian Street is followed by a parade through Maverick and Central squares the next afternoon. The Mexican celebration comes back to Meridian six days later. Each event stands on its own. Together they cover the history the parade organizers describe on their own page.
VROCC closes the season away from Meridian Street. Its Día de Muertos exhibition moves to the ICA Watershed at 256 Marginal Street and is free across three days:
- Saturday, October 31, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a concert from 2:30 to 4 p.m.
- Sunday, November 1, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Monday, November 2, guided group tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
According to the East Boston listing, the ICA's water shuttles will not run for this event. If you have guests coming from across the harbor, plan another way to get them there.
The Full October Calendar
The heritage events give the month its shape. Many smaller dates fall around them, and several of them are "last" events. The neighborhood uses October to close out its outdoor season.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 2, 5:30 p.m. | "The Sandlot," rescheduled outdoor screening | Bremen Street Park Amphitheater |
| Sat., Oct. 3, 3–4 p.m. | Coffee cupping | East Boston Library, 365 Bremen St. |
| Wed., Oct. 7, 4–5 p.m. | Paint a Monster Mini for Teens | East Boston Library |
| Fri., Oct. 9, 7–11 p.m. | We Run Eastie: One Last Lap | Caffè dello Sport Eastie, 973 Saratoga St. |
| Sat., Oct. 10, 5:30–9 p.m. | Viva El Salvador | VROCC, 282 Meridian St. |
| Sun., Oct. 11, 1–4 p.m. | East Boston Italian Heritage Parade | Waldemar Ave. to Central Square |
| Sat., Oct. 17, 5:30–11 p.m. | Noche de Catrinas | VROCC, 282 Meridian St. |
| Sat., Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. | Eastie Artisans pop-up | The Well Coffee House, 173 Border St. |
| Sat., Oct. 24, 6–8 p.m. | Haunted Greenhouse | Eastie Farm, 6 Chelsea Terrace |
| Sun., Oct. 25, 9–10:30 a.m. | YMCA East Boston 5K, Halloween theme | Starts at 215 Bremen St. |
| Wed., Oct. 28, 3–6 p.m. | Farmers market, last day of season | Central Square, across from 200 Border St. |
| Fri., Oct. 30, 5–7 p.m. | Haunted Heights trick-or-treat | Ruggiero Family Memorial Home, 971 Saratoga St. |
| Oct. 31–Nov. 2 | Día de Muertos exhibition | ICA Watershed, 256 Marginal St. |
Two entries need a note. The Eastie Artisans listings disagree on the end time. One says 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the other says 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you are going for the local makers and specialty food vendors, arrive early. The "last lap" on October 9 is a season-end party for We Run Eastie. The East Boston Times describes it as an all-inclusive weekly social fitness group, founded by Yahaira Acuna and Paola Villatoro with Caffè dello Sport host Anthony White, where people walk or run at their own pace. The listing promises food, drinks and a DJ.
Saturday, October 24 is the fullest day of the month. You can go from Border Street in the morning to Chelsea Terrace in the evening and finish at a 9 a.m. 5K start on Bremen Street the next morning.
What's Different on the Map This Fall
Some of the walking routes you would normally use between these events have changed.
The Mary Ellen Welch Greenway is closed between Marginal Street and Porter Street, including the Gove Street crossing. The City's September 11 construction update says the contractor closed the site on April 2, 2026. It estimates the work will take 9 to 12 months, depending on what crews find underground. Counted from April 2, that points to early 2027. The City's main project page still says the work will wrap up around December 2026. Crews have been installing drainage, electrical conduit and light pole footings, raising the path, digging new rain gardens, and drilling helical piles as deep as 50 feet to support new boardwalks. New water lines are in for drinking fountains.
That closed stretch also includes The Blue Caboose. The Friends of the Greenway map places it in the Marginal Street area, within the closed segment. Local entrepreneurs Troy Retzer and Liz Kelley opened it June 3 in a city-owned 1940s train car, after five years of renovation and permitting. Its online ordering page shows weekend hours, but nothing marks them as October hours. In June, Boston.com quoted the owners planning a bigger celebration when the caboose "reopens next season." Check with the shop before you walk over for a sundae.
The places to stop between events have changed too. Pomona Café & Wine Bar opened in July at 18 Meridian Street in Maverick Square. Boston Magazine describes it as a coffee shop by day and a wine bar with food at night. That puts it a short walk from VROCC and right on the parade route. Two longtime spots have closed. Cunard Tavern at 24 Orleans Street set Sunday, September 27 as its last day, after nearly ten years as a neighborhood tavern. EBO & Co. Grocery at 110 Meridian Street announced it would close the last week of September, after a final month reopened starting September 2.
The farmers market's last day on October 28 and the Día de Muertos exhibition that opens on Halloween mark the end of the season. Before that comes the parade on October 11, running from Waldemar Avenue to Central Square under its new name for the first time.
Events like this parade, a neighborhood bringing back a tradition and opening it up wider, shape how people see Eastie, including future neighbors. If you're thinking about what your East Boston home might be worth, Georgia Balafas can give you a market read that takes that kind of local detail into account. Request Your Home Valuation.
