Story and Source Ideas for Journalists
04/19/2016
This is a notice of upcoming events, photo opportunities and story ideas at UMass Lowell, compiled by the Office of University Relations, 978-934-3224. Please note that contact names below are for the media and are not for publication unless otherwise noted.
Sources of the week
UMass Lowell faculty experts are available to discuss:
- The Taliban’s so-called “spring offensive” and the suicide bombing that killed at least 25 and wounded hundreds in Afghanistan today;
- Why Nordstrom has cut 400 jobs and what it needs to do to increase sales amid a complicated retail landscape that also saw the parent company of Bob’s Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports file for bankruptcy today;
- How parents can set boundaries on behavior and attire for teens attending the high-school prom and help sons or daughters who were not asked to attend manage disappointment.
Contact UMass Lowell media relations if you need an expert source on any subject.
- Students to Hold 12-Hour Fundraiser for Cancer Research, Patient Services
- Earth Day Events Promote Sustainability, Unite Community
- New England’s Largest Marquee to Feature Works by Art Students
- Multimedia Concert Features Talents of Students, Alumni
- Steampunk Festival Celebrates Lowell’s Industrial Heritage
Students to Hold 12-Hour Fundraiser for Cancer Research, Patient Services
When: Friday, April 22, 6 p.m. through Saturday, April 23, 6 a.m.
What: Approximately 400 people, including UMass Lowell students and other members of the university community, will participate in a 12-hour Relay for Life to raise money for cancer research and patient services. Organized by UMass Lowell’s chapter of Colleges Against Cancer, the event will support the efforts of the American Cancer Society to find a cure and provide assistance to those who are battling the disease, including free lodging near major hospitals, transportation to treatments and more. The event kicks off with an opening ceremony followed by a victory lap for cancer survivors and their caregivers, and will also include a special remembrance ceremony for those who have been lost to cancer, as well as a host of activities for participants.
Where: UMass Lowell Campus Recreation Center, East Campus, 292 Aiken St., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Earth Day Events Promote Sustainability, Unite Community
When: Saturday, April 23 through Tuesday, April 26
What: UMass Lowell and more than two dozen community partners – including the city of Lowell, Middlesex Community College and Lowell National Historical Park – are coming together to raise awareness about environmental protection and sustainability to mark Earth Day, which will be observed around the world on Friday, April 22. A full schedule of events can be found at www.lowellearthday.org. They include:
- Earth Day Festival – More than 30 nonprofit organizations and garden and energy companies will be on hand at this free event to educate the public about sustainability. Mill City Grows will host an Urban Growers Gathering, featuring workshops and seed swaps. Saturday, April 23. Festival runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mill City Grows event starts at 10 a.m.
- Earth Day Parade – Local schoolchildren and youth groups will display puppets they have made as they march with four brass bands. Procession starts at the Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center, 304 Dutton St., Lowell, and heads down Shattuck Street to Middlesex Street en route to the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center. Saturday, April 23, noon.
- Film screenings – Students involved in UMass Lowell’s Climate Change Initiative have produced short videos that will be shown for the public. Tuesday, April 26, 6:30 p.m., Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center, 304 Dutton St., Lowell.
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
New England’s Largest Marquee to Display Works by Art Students
When: Opening reception is Tuesday, April 26, 6 p.m. Artwork will be on display through Wednesday, June 1.
What: The largest LED video display in New England – seen by more than 100,000 people each day – will feature digital designs by UMass Lowell students as part of this year’s Art on the Marquee project. Seven out of the 10 works by college students selected for the exhibit are from UMass Lowell art and design students who hail from Chelmsford, Lawrence, Medford, North Andover, North Reading and Southbridge, along with Nashua, N.H. Their pieces will be shown on a rotating basis on the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center’s 80-foot-tall outdoor marquee through June 1. The display is comprised of seven video screens that provide more than 3,000 square feet of space that is visible to pedestrians, motorists and people in hotels and office buildings as far as a half-mile away. The program is presented by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority and Boston CyberArts.
Where: Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, 415 Summer St., Boston
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or George Fifield, Boston Cyberarts, 617-290-5010, george@bostoncyberarts.org
Multimedia Concert Features Talents of Students, Alumni
When: Wednesday, April 27, 8 p.m.
What: In its final performance of the season, the UMass Lowell String Ensemble will join forces with art students to present a free concert for the campus and community. The event will premiere the original work “Serenade for Bass-Baritone, Horn and Strings,” which was composed by Derek Weagle and will feature vocalist Allyn McCourt, who both graduated with music degrees from UMass Lowell in 2015. The piece will include a French horn solo by John-Morgan Bush, a UMass Lowell Music Department faculty member for whom Weagle wrote the composition in appreciation of his mentorship. Artwork by UMass Lowell digital media and design students will be projected onto the walls of the concert hall during the event.
Where: Durgin Hall, Fisher Recital Hall, South Campus, 35 Wilder St., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Steampunk Festival Celebrates Lowell’s Industrial Heritage
When: Friday, April 29 through Sunday, May 1
What: The Mill City Steampunk Festival will honor Lowell’s industrial age and look forward to its vibrant future during events and activities open to the public. Incorporating technology and designs inspired by 19th-century steam-powered machinery, the Steampunk movement is expressed in literary works, clothing styles, film, architecture and more. The festival, which will include free trolley rides and tours of the Suffolk Mill and adjacent Tremont Power House all weekend, grew out of a partnership between the Lowell National Historical Park and UMass Lowell English Prof. Diana Archibald, who together led the city’s successful “Dickens in Lowell” celebration in 2012. Other partners include the Tsongas Industrial History Center, a collaborative initiative of UMass Lowell’s Graduate School of Education and the national park. More information on events will be posted on the “Mill City Steampunk Festival” Facebook page, www.facebook.com/events/484868098380484/. Programs include:
- “Makers on the Line” – This interactive exhibit will give the public a chance to experience what it was like to assemble timepieces. Saturday, April 30, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Tsongas Industrial History Center, 115 John St., Lowell
- “Steampunk Design: Re-imagining Resilience” – A talk presented by artist Bruce Rosenbaum, an expert in the movement. Saturday April 30, 3 p.m., Lowell National Historical Park Boott Events Center, 115 John St., Lowell
- Eventide Social – A grand party that will feature a Steampunk theme. Saturday, April 30, 7 p.m., Mill No. 5, Fourth Floor, 250 Jackson St., Lowell
- “From Bicycles to Airplanes” – The presentation offers a brief history of the bicycle and its relationship to other developing technologies of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Sunday, May 1, 1:30 p.m., Lowell Makes, 47 Lee St., Lowell.
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu