< Back to front page Text size – +

City dance party tonight in Cambridge

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 26, 2009 12:01 PM

(Charles Daniels Photography)

The annual dance party last year.

By Meghan Irons, Globe Staff

CAMBRIDGE -- Tonight, the city will cut loose.

Hundreds are expected to groove during Cambridge’s annual dance party on Massachusetts Avenue. Moms with children, street dancers, and local seniors will strut their stuff to hip-hop, rock, and other music.

The event -- from 7 to 11 tonight -- is expected to draw thousands, young and old, said Ini Tomeu, spokeswoman for the city.

“It’s a kickoff to summer in the city,’’ she said. “It’s a good time. It's something that appeals to the young old.”

To accommodate the revelers, the city will shut a portion of Massachusetts Avenue between Inman and Bigelow streets in front of City Hall. Because of the road closure, the MBTA Route 1 bus will stop in Central Square at 6 p.m. and resume full service at 11:30 p.m. People are urged to use the subway to travel between Central and Harvard squares during the event.

On Massachusetts Avenue, the dance party will feature beads -- to highlight the event's Mardi Gras theme -- colorful lights to spotlight the dancers, and street chalk artists.

Tomeu said the city has been putting on the event since 1996, the year of the 150th anniversary of the incorporation of Cambridge as a city. The event is expected to go on rain or shine -- except in the case of torrential rain.