The city of Somerville is hosting its annual Civic Day event in City Hall on Thursday to highlight the work of city departments and encourage Somerville residents to engage with local government.
“Civic Day is a chance for constituents to celebrate their community and get to meet their local government officials and city staff, to learn what services are available to them and how the city works to support our community,” Meg Pallis, the engagement and outreach coordinator for the City of Somerville, said in an interview with the Daily.
“The intent was essentially [to] create a fun and informative experience for community members of all ages to learn more about their local government while empowering them to get involved,” Pallis stated.
“It’s basically a one-stop destination for fun, learning about local government all while getting things done,” Mayor of Somerville Jake Wilson said. “You can apply for a dog license, you can register to vote or grab a slice of pizza there, just all in one place.”
Pallis described the event as having “a science fair-based format” with a wide range of activities and services available for residents.
“We’re going to have over 30 city departments there, and they’re going to be doing some family-friendly activities that also highlight the work [that the] department’s doing,” Wilson said.
Some of the departments that will be present at Civic Day include the parking department, the library system and the Somerville police and fire departments. These departments will have activities and games for residents to participate in, including meet-and-greets with K9 police dogs and printing fake parking tickets.
There will also be tours of Somerville City Hall for event attendees.
In addition to municipal departments, local businesses including Gracie’s Ice Cream and multiple pizza restaurants will be present.
Civic Day runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., but residents are invited to attend the Somerville City Council meeting happening immediately after the event.
“We timed [Civic Day] this year for a weeknight on Thursday night, so folks at the end of it can come see civics in action by attending a city council meeting,” Mayor Wilson said.
City Hall will also be open during the day before Civic Day starts and the City of Somerville is encouraging residents to stop by during the day.
This is the fourth annual Civic Day and the new administration under Wilson left much of the structure of the event the same.
“I loved going to this as a city councilor. I thought it was a really good innovation,” Wilson said. “It’s a way of taking something that can be informative — letting people know about the programs and services out there — and wrapping it in fun.”
Civic Day is part of greater efforts by Somerville City Hall to engage local residents with municipal government.
“This is part of our ongoing initiative to really engage the community around the city and just promote city services so people know what we’re doing,” Wilson said.
Somerville declared 2026 the “Year of the Neighbor,” and Civic Day furthers their efforts to build community among local residents according to Wilson.
The city is also introducing neighborhood connect meetings to help connect residents with city services as part of the Year of the Neighbor initiative.
“We really hope Civic Day is an opportunity for folks to come out, meet your neighbors and feel empowered to get involved with local government,” Wilson said.
