Marty Party hits all the right notes

Details of Mayor-elect Marty Walsh’s inaugural celebration on the night of Mon., Jan. 6 are starting to filter out through his transition website. The big headline is that those who want to be there – live and in person – can do so by purchasing tickets through Ticketmaster for $35, a reasonable freight given the venue, demand, and historic nature of the event. The party will start at 7 p.m. at the Hynes Convention Center on Boylston Street.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Walsh booster Ken Casey and the Dropkick Murphys will take the stage to play their greatest hits, including their unofficial campaign anthem, “Marty Walsh for Boston.” Other musical acts are still being lined up, but there are some big names locked in already and there’s a good mix of cultures and genres in the mix:

The Boston Pops Swing Orchestra, with conductor Keith Lockhart; Blue Man Group; “Ambassador of Soul” Ellis Hall; the Boston-based break-dancing legends The Floor Lords; Calypso Hurricane; Strictly Sinatra; party band favorites Mark Morris and the Cat Tunes, and DJ Master Millions. Comedians Steve Sweeney and Lenny Clarke have been named to the inaugural roster as well.

The mayor-elect is also tying in some grassroots philanthropy to the celebration. He’s asking party-goers to bring in a canned good and/or make a donation to the ABCD Energy and Fuel fun. Contributions can be made online through Walsh’s inaugural website, bostoninaugural2014.org.

– Bill Forry

Boy’s mission to help continues

Last year around this time we wrote about Marc Murphy, the 10-year-old Neponset boy who has begun his own Christmas tradition: Organizing a toy drive for less fortunate kids in his own neighborhood. Murphy and his parents raise the funds at Marc’s school – Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy in Neponset. They then go shopping and bring the unwrapped toys to the ABCD Family Service Center on Claybourne Street in Dorchester.

Last week, during the afternoon snowstorm that sent many of us home early,

Marc, a fourth grader, and his mom Dawn brought his latest haul of presents to ABCD and its Dorchester coordinator, Eric Mitchell. Reported Dawn: We were able to get over 100 toys this year. He broke his own personal record!”

Marc’s generosity began four years ago when he heard that a Toys for Tots storage trailer had been burglarized just before the holiday. He asked for his school’s blessing to raise the funds by organizing a “dress-down” day in which students make a donation in exchange for wearing casual clothes instead of their usual uniform.

Congratulations to Marc and the Murphy family for continuing this excellent tradition.

– BF


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