Savor the Square

Bringing together food, fun, and entertainment in the heart of Roxbury!

Background

TACC is grounded in an inclusive and collaborative approach to neighborhood revitalization by encouraging investment opportunities in the community assisting with multi-sector and multi-stakeholder partnerships that focus public and private investment to increase economic opportunity and development in Nubian Square. The ultimate goal is to advance equity initiatives that result in effective systems-level change which actively disrupts a system of racial inequality and bias in economic advancement.

Savor the Square is one example of bringing people together and connecting local businesses with community members. It celebrates and leverages the history and cultural assets for social and business development, and expands neighborhood vitality.

Join Us for Savor the Square 2025

Savor the Square 2025 Schedule

Greater Roxbury Book Fair 2025, May 17, 9AM-5PM
The Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library, 149 Dudley Street

The Book Fair is funded in part by a grant from the Fellowes Athenaeum Trust Fund of the Boston Public Library

What to do at the Greater Roxbury Book Fair:

• Panels: Come listen to great discussions and conversations from local authors, with topics ranging from anti-racism to adventure. 
• Workshops and Programs: Meet amazing local authors and hone your creative craft in everything from poetry to comics.
• Author Signings: Take the Book Fair home with you with a signed book from Frugal Bookstore! After every program, authors will sign their books.
• For Kids!: Listen to wonderful storytimes and storytelling for kids throughout the day–and enjoy workshops and interactive creative activities. 
• Savor the Square Street Fair: Discover local literary organizations and Roxbury entrepreneurs–and get to know the people involved in building a bookish community. 

PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Join us for author talks, workshops, and storytimes all day at the Greater Roxbury Book Fair! All author programs will be followed by an author signing adjacent to the program location, hosted by Frugal Bookstore.

Storytime Schedule: Join us for storytelling and picture book readings from award-winning authors and storytellers. The Greater Roxbury Book Fair Storytime is sponsored by the Massachusetts Center for the Book.
Location: All storytimes are hosted in the Roxbury Library Kids Space.

10:40am – Jannie Ho (The Lost Mitten)

11:20am – Candelaria Collins (Jump Jump Jump Stacy)

12:00pm – Mia Wenjen (The Traveling Taco)

12:40pm – Kaija Langley (A Century for Caroline)

2:10pm – Pedro Samuel (Pedro Penguin: Let’s Go to the Beach!)

2:50pm – Finish the day with dynamic, interactive storytelling from acclaimed local storyteller Valerie Stephens!

Panels, Workshops, and Programs
10:00am

• Adventure Awaits – Kids Program! Adventures are always waiting to happen in kids books! Join middle grade authors Lori Lobenstine, Lisa Stringfellow, and Susan Tan as they talk about the importance and excitement of adventures, both fantasy and contemporary. Moderated by Felicia Humphries (Boston Public Schools). 
  Location: Fellowes Community Room in the Roxbury Library
• Memoir Workshop: Join local author Lisa Braxton Reid (Dancing Between the Raindrops) for a workshop on memoir-writing, discussing how to tell your own story. 
  Location: Roxbury Library Conference Room
• Black Music Spotlight: From big band to jazz, rap, funk, and rumba, authors Carmen Fields (Going Back to T-Town) and Nikki A. Green (Grime, Glitter, and Glass) discuss Black music and art. Moderated by Abria Smith (Berklee College of Music). 
  Location: Roxbury Library Learning Lab

11:30am

• Writing School – YA Program!: Authors Autumn Allen and Crystal Maldonado, go back to school, talking about the importance of school stories in their work, and the centrality of school in teens’ lives. 
  Location: Fellowes Community Room in the Roxbury Library
• Looking for Other Worlds: In her work Looking for Other Worlds, Régine Michelle Jean-Charles explores the “ethical imagination” of three contemporary Haitian authors and presents a framework for analyzing contemporary literature that brings together Black feminism, literary ethics, and Haitian studies.
  Location: Roxbury Library Conference Room
• Our Love Story: Valerie Foxx and her husband Vincent have been in love for more than fifty years. Our Love Story: Our Life’s Journey demonstrates how genuine love, faith, and commitment work. This program will empower and inspire readers in the sharing of their reality.
  Location: Roxbury Library Learning Lab

1:00pm

• A Haitian-American Poetry Celebration: Local Haitian-American authors Marjorie Salvadon, Enzo Silon Surin, and Patrick Sylvain for a celebration of Haitian-American poetry, including a tribute to former Boston Poet Laureate Danielle Legros. 
  Location: Fellowes Community Room in the Roxbury Library
• Marketing for Authors: A workshop for authors on getting the word out about your work, with a presentation followed by an exchange of ideas. Presented by Willie Pleasants, National Writers Union.
  Location: Roxbury Library Conference Room
• Poetry Spotlight: Join local poets Terry E. Carter and MWalim DaPhunkee for a presentation of poetry, hosted by Boston Youth Poet Laureate Parker-Vincent Alva. 
  Location: Roxbury Library Learning Lab

2:30pm 

• Black Resistance: Join authors Omo Moses, Tiffany Jewel, and Ray Anthony Shepard for a conversation about resistance and anti-racism, conducted by moderator Ken Cooper. 
  Location: Fellowes Community Room in the Roxbury Library
• Kids Program! Comics in Color Workshop: Join local kids comics author Shaina Lu (Noodle and Bao) for a fun comics-making workshop – learn how to make your own comics in this workshop!
  Location: Roxbury Library Learning Lab

3:45pm

• Rise Up! / Leve!: Celebrating the Haitian Revolution of 1804: Join racial justice education project Wee The People and dance company Jean Appolon Expressions for a kid-powered celebration of Haitian Flag Day with this community workshop. Through music, storytelling, and movement, explore Haiti’s rich culture and time travel back to the slave revolt that birthed the first free Black nation in the modern world, creating a blueprint for Black liberation that still resonates across the African diaspora today.
  Location: Fellowes Community Room in the Roxbury Library

Exhibitors: Check out these fantastic local community literary and community organizations at the Greater Roxbury Book Fair! 

Book Signing Schedule: Meet the authors and keep the conversation going! Support the festival and local bookstore Frugal Books by buying a signed book. 

10:30am

• Hannah Moushabeck (Homeland), Kids Space Signing Area

11:00am

• Lori Lobenstine (The Barking Puppy), Fellowes Community Room Signing Area
• Lisa Stringfellow (Kingdom of Dust), Fellowes Community Room Signing Area
• Susan Tan (Pets Rule), Fellowes Community Room Signing Area
• Lisa Braxton-Reid (Dancing Between the Raindrops), Second Floor Signing Area
• Carmen Fields (Going Back to T-Town), Second Floor Signing Area
• Nikki Greene (Grime, Glitter, and Glass), Second Floor Signing Area
• Abria Smith (Somebody Soup), Second Floor Signing Area

11:10am

• Jannie Ho (The Lost Mitten), Kids Space Signing Area

11:50am

• Candelaria Collins (Jump Jump Jump Stacy), Kids Space Signing Area

12:30pm

• Autumn Allen (All You Have to Do), Fellowes Community Room Signing Area
• Crystal Maldonado (Get Real, Chloe Torres), Fellowes Community Room Signing Area
• Régine Michelle Jean-Charles (Looking for Other Worlds), Second Floor Signing Area
• Valerie Foxx (Our Love Story), Second Floor Signing Area
• Mia Wenjen (The Traveling Taco), Kids Space Signing Area

1:20pm

• Kaija Langley (A Century for Caroline), Kids Space Signing Area

2:00pm

• Marjorie Salvodon (The Infamous Rosalie), Fellowes Community Room Signing Area
• Enzo Silon Surin (American Scapegoat), Fellowes Community Room Signing Area
• Patrick Sylvain (Unfinished Dreams), Fellowes Community Room Signing Area
• Terry E. Carter (Brown Skin and the Brilliant Sun), Second Floor Signing Area
• MWalim DaPhunkee (Land of the Black Squirrels), Second Floor Signing Area
• Francie Latour (Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings), Kids Space Signing Area

2:40pm

• Pedro Samuel (Pedro Penguin Let’s Go to the Beach), Kids Space Signing Area

3:30pm

• Tiffany Jewel (This Book Is Anti-Racist), Fellowes Community Room Signing Area
• Omo Moses (The White Peril), Fellowes Community Room Signing Area
• Ray Anthony Shepard (A Long Time Coming), Fellowes Community Room Signing Area
• Shaina Lu (Noodle and Bao), Second Floor Signing Area

Building on the Success of 2020 – 2024

TACC measured outcomes using exit surveys collected from market attendees; for market vendors, outcomes were measured using point of sales data and surveys. Overall, the outcomes reveal a demand and need for this culturally relevant programming that emphasizes community economic development in the heart of Nubian Square.

2020: In 2020, despite COVID restrictions, at each event over 150 attendees patronized 16 racially and culturally diverse vendors. The visitor exit-surveys indicate that: 51% of attendees were from the neighborhood; a 87% visited local businesses in Nubian Square; and 88% stated their interest in participating in Savor the Square events in 2021. Data points collected through a vendor survey include: Net Promoter Score of 46 (“great” score based on benchmarking across industries); 46% had revenue between $100-$300; and 100% interested in participating in Savor the Square 2021. Please read the full outcomes report here.

2021: In 2021, Savor the Square expanded to six monthly themed events from May to October. Each event was held between noon and 3 p.m., starting with Arbor Day in May and culminating with an Indigenous People’s Celebration and acknowledgment in October. Key data points collected from the market attendees (using a tablet, paper copy, or QR code) indicate Savor the Square’s growing impact and include:

Savor the Square 2024 will continue to provide entertainment for families, local vendors, and themed events and holidays such as Indigenous Peoples’ Day with local speakers and vendors that celebrate the intersection of Indigenous, Black, and Brown identities and histories in Roxbury. Please find additional information here.