Trans & Nonbinary Meet
Next event will be on Saturday October 24th at 4:00 to 8:00 in the Prudential Center
Current Schedule:
***Saturday October 24th - Prudential Center***
Saturday November 14th - First Street Market
NO DECEMBER EVENT
THERE WILL BE A JANUARY EVENT - DATE TBD
What to Expect
With this event, there are usually over twenty people but not more than thirty at any point so far and people usually collect into small groups and they talk. Sometimes someone will bring a game to play and some attendees will play a game together. I designed Icebreaker Bingo (more about that here) which is a game that encourages attendess to ask each other icebreaker questions. The enviornment depends on the location, both are described later on this page: the Prudential Center and the Cambridgeside Galleria. The goal of this group is to build community: I want attendees to mingle with each other and I hope that people in the group pursue friendships with one another.
Location Information
We have two different locations that we use depending on the weather: Cambridgeside Galleria for good to decent weather (no rain, and less than 20 mph wind, and above 50°F/10°C) and the Prudential Center for bad weather (any rain, and/or 20+ mph wind, and/or below 50°F/10°C). If you scroll down further, there are detailed descriptions of where we meet specifically within these locations and there are maps that have a red circle which demonstrate those specific locations.
Cambridgeside Galleria
This is our outdoor location. We meet at the red circle. There will be a man made body of water and a gazebo that should be visible (WIP)
Things to Consider With This Location
Update for future events: We still meet at the Cambridgeside Galleria for outdoor events, but instead of meeting at the patch of grass, we will now meet at the gazebo that is near the patch of grass. The descriptions below are for directions to the patch of grass, the gazebo is in sight of the patch of grass so continue to the gazebo***
Outside the Cambridgeside Galleria is a park. Under the gazebo, there are benches that we will use. I suggest that people bring things such as sunscreen and/or bug spray (please be courteous when applying the spray forms of these and try to stay a distance away when applying). Water may also be good to bring. There is food in the area (though it is a bit pricey), and the Cambridgeside Galleria has restrooms.
If you are coming from First Street, you might see a Blaze Pizza and an alley. Walk down the alley and you will see a manmade body of water. We meet on a patch of grass to the left
Also if you are coming from First Street, you might see Love Art Sushi and Hubspot- between the two of them is an alley. Walk down the alley and past the benches. On the left there will be a building labelled Two, take a right towards the body of water. There will be a brick walkway, on the right there will be trees and benches, ***on the left there will be a patch of grass, that's where we meet
If you are coming from Cambridge Street, you will see signs that say "Columbia - No Parking", behind that is a playground. On both sides, there are brick pathways, walk down them and you will see a manmade body of water. You will see stairs that lead closer to the body of water, on the right side of the stairs closest to the body of water ***there will be a patch of grass, we meet at that patch of grass
If you are coming from inside the Cambridgeside Galleria, you will see a manmade body of water. Walk to the brick path that goes alongside the body of water and take a left. Alongside the path there will be benches and trees, walk past those. ***After, there will be granite steps and a patch of grass, we meet at that patch of grass
Prudential Center
This is our indoor location. We meet past Treehouse Brewery, it is near the South Garden. There should be signage that says, "Prudential Tower", if you follow that from most of the entrances, it should lead you closer to where we meet. If you see Shake Shack, continue to the left of it's entrance, pass both the USPS and Treehouse Brewery and it will eventually be on the left. There will be some high-top tables against the windows (against the South Garden) and about five other tables.
Saturdays at the Prudential Center
On Saturdays at the Pru we can stay at our spot from 4:30 to 9:00. We have not had a Saturday event at the Pru yet, so I am unsure if there will be a conflict with the space or not yet.
Sundays at the Prudential Center
On Sundays at the Pru, the Pru closes at 7:00. This event runs from 4:30 to 9:00; because of the 7:00 closing time, at 6:50 everyone who is 21+ relocates to Dani's Queer Bar which is in walking distance of the Pru. Another thing to note about Sundays is that another group (a board game meet up group) meets at the same spot that we do every other Sunday. This means there may or may not be overlap. Thankfully, that group is friendly and has also offered to let us play with their board games so long as they are put away when we are done with them. However, the overlap may mean we do not get as many chairs and tables as we may like. I am in the process of figuring out an alternative location to avoid this in the future.
Transportation Information
Cambridgeside Galleria: How to Get to
The green line at Lechmere is the closest green line T stop (and closest T stop). The red line at Kendall/MIT is the closest red line T stop (about half a mile away). Bus line 69, and multiple EZ line buses go to the Cambridgeside Galleria. I have had luck finding street parking for the Cambridgeside Galleria and there is a garage. Here are the rates for the garage
Prudential Center: How to Get to
The green line at Hyne's Convention Center and Arlington are the two closest green line T stops. The orange line at Back Bay is the closest orange line stop. Bus lines BB, 9, 10, 39, 55, and 57 are the closest bus lines. If you are driving, I highly recommend parking on the green line or somewhere that is accessible by bus as the parking rates at the Prudential Center are completely ridiculous. Brighton usually has a lot of parking and the green line is accessible from there. Bus line 39 and the orange line goes from Forest Hills through JP which has a lot of parking.