Join us at The Foundry in East Cambridge from Saturday, February 15 to Saturday, February 22 for our third annual Foundry Festival! Immerse yourself in a week of free public programming and create connections with diverse communities.

All ages and skill levels are welcome to participate in as many activities as you are excited about. This is a great chance to engage the family over the February school break!

This year's festival theme is Resilience. Resilience to us is celebrating how our stories, cultures, and communities continue to thrive. It is not just the act of survival, but creating strong communities that take care of each other. Many of our communities have been consistently forced to practice resilience due to systemic oppression. This year we want to take the time to uplift the ways in which we band together to not only survive but to create moments together where we can truly live. We invite you to our weeklong festival that celebrates who we are, who we want to be, and a vision for a future where resiliency can be a word that is not only a response to hardship but the way we interact with the world around us. This year we welcome you to cook with us, create with us, dance with us, and continue to grow together.

Schedule of Events:

9:00 am - 2:30 pm: STEAM in the Kitchen and Beyond! - Cambridge Camping Association

Join Cambridge Camping's in-person, STEAM-focused cooking program for campers ages 10-14 during February vacation week. Dive into the science, technology, engineering, art, and math of cooking-all ingredients and supplies provided!Participants will experiment with the properties of baking ingredients to figure out how cookies are made, scientifically produce the perfect soft-boiled egg, and use natural fermentation to make bread and churn butter.  These are just some of the experiences middle schoolers will enjoy in this fun filled (and tasty) week. Breakfast and lunch are provided.

11:00 am - 12:00 pm: Inventing Samanta (Our Ray of Hope) - Central Square Theater's Youth Underground - Drop-in program

Central Square Theater is excited to present a performance of "Inventing Samanta (Our Ray of Hope)". In partnership with Lemelson-MIT, playwright Betsy Bard and our resident youth performance ensemble Youth Underground created the original play, "Inventing Samanta (Our Ray of Hope)". The play follows a group of very different high school students coming together to learn about the process and creativity of becoming an inventor and why - despite age, identity, or background - anyone can be an inventor.

12:00 pm - 2:00 pm: The Resilient Power of the Sun and Wind - Climable/Maisy and Jess - Drop-in program

The sun and wind are all around us. What if we could use them to make our communities stronger and healthier? Children and parents are invited to join Climable to learn how the sun's light and the wind's movement are used to create electricity, and how this electricity helps our neighborhoods and cities. Participants ages 6+ can join us to make clean energy models and learn about the electricity that powers our world. Other games will be available as well!

12:00 pm - 2:00 pm: Creative Community Care Jam Session Allegra Fletcher - Drop-in program

Join facilitator Allegra Fletcher for a time of creative community care. We will spend time as a group crafting a community refrain. Following this, attendees are invited to create a response to a prompt in whatever way feels best: voice, movement, visual, etc. Everyone will be invited to share their work in between returns to the community refrain. As time allows, we will end in a free jam session. Feel free to bring a favorite creative outlet to join in the jam, or choose from items provided!

5:00 pm - 7:00 pm: A Ritual to Honor Ambiguous Grief - Miles Wilder and Mandy Hackman - Drop-in program

Ambiguous Loss is a term coined by Dr. Pauline Boss in the 1970's to describe the complicated feelings around loss without closure. Initially meant to refer to the loss of a loved one, we believe that ambiguous loss/ambiguous grief is a concept well suited to tackle other types of loss. Loss of habitat, wildlife, and ecosystems due to climate catastrophe, loss of a version of oneself due to a sudden shift in life path, the tiny "what if's" that gather around us year after year... We believe that building community practices honoring this type of grief, however it is showing up for us, is a key piece to building resiliency for the future laid before us in this time. This workshop will function as a collaborative non-denominational ritual practice which includes elements of live music, movement, spoken word, light writing/journaling, and other interactive practices. Our goal is to provide a space in which we can safely explore this kind of grief in a group setting.Participants are encouraged to bring pillows/blankets/other items which will make sitting on the floor more comfortable. We will not allow anyone in after the first 20 minutes and there will be herbal tea and refreshments at the end of our time together. Your facilitators for this workshop, Mandy and Miles are both longtime artists and grief work practitioners.

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm: Peace and Punk Patches - Flynn Anderson - Drop-in program

Come prepared to receive free Punk/Peace patches, learn about screen printing patches, and how to support communities and resist oppression with your clothing.

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm: Supreme Ultimate Fist (Tai Chi Chuan) Open House - Classical Yang Tai Chi Chuan Club of New England - Drop-in program

Drop in to observe or sample a Tai Chi Chuan class. Translated as Supreme Ultimate Fist, Tai Chi Chuan is a martial arts system that results in numerous health benefits like increased core strength, balance, and over body resilience. The Classical Yang Tai Chi Chuan Club of NE is dedicated to preserving the traditional, classical method of teaching the art, which has survived several familial generations and through rebellions and government upheavals. The classical method uniquely focuses on the martial aspects first and foremost, with the wellness benefits resulting from that focus as opposed to being the primary focus. Class is taught in a group setting, but instruction is provided 1-on-1, enabling a drop-in-drop-out class format.

7:00 pm - 8:00 pm: Creating a Stigma-Free Zone - Caroline Whiddon, Eileen Yarrison, and members of the Me2 Flute Choir

Join the dynamic Me2 Flute Choir for great music and a discussion about creating a Stigma-Free Zone in your life. Do you know how to support the people in your life who have mental health issues? Are you creating a space that helps them to feel empowered and celebrated? Listen to some great music while considering these questions and more. We anticipate a lively QandA session!