Everyone has an Acre connection

There’s an old saying that there’s only six degrees of separation between any two people on Earth.  Its perhaps most famously applied to Kevin Bacon, a common parlor game challenges people to connect actors via common films to the Footloose star within 6 degrees or less.

When the Coalition for a Better Acre was looking to host a fundraiser two years ago, they played on the 6 degrees concept in tracing people’s connections to the Acre neighborhood, dubbing the gala “6 Degrees of the Acre.”  Of course the thing is… for most people in Lowell it takes much fewer than 6 degrees.  Everyone has an Acre connection!

Six Degrees of the Acre: 2016 & 2017

 

Videographer Tory Wesnofske captured some of these connections in a video that played during the first 6 Degrees event on June 23rd, 2016.

The Life’s A Maven blog also did a brief write up of the first event.

Elkin Montoya, former CBA Board President

Coalition for a Better Acre is a membership-based community development corporation dedicated to resident empowerment and sustainable community revitalization for current and future residents of Lowell and the Merrimack Valley.  Three decades after CBA’s first acquisition of a derelict tenement, CBA is a professionally staffed CDC with a portfolio of 476 residential rental units and an additional 50 homes sold to first-time homebuyers, giving low-income and working-class families the opportunity to live in safe and attractive affordable homes.

Sara Bogosian, William Samaras, and former City Councilor Franky Descoteaux at the first 6 Degrees fundraiser in 2016

During the first few months of his term, Mayor Samaras’s office has worked closely with CBA on a number of projects including the Pay for Success program, Donuts with Delegates, and AcreFest.

The first two 6 Degrees events were held at the former Saint Jean Baptiste Church on Merrimack St.  This year, the event moves to another historic Acre landmark–The Ayer Mansion.  A full history of the building can be found on the Acre News blog.  Ayer Mansion was also among locations featured during Doors Open Lowell earlier this year.

This year’s event comes with a different spin.  Guests will be transported back to 1888 as “Mr. and Mrs. Ayer” roll out the red carpet to welcome them to an elegant black-tie soiree at the most ornate mansion in the City of Lowell. Proceeds support CBA’s programming aimed at helping low-income residents become financially self-sufficient and break the cycle of poverty.

The fancy fun will go down on Thursday, June 28th at 6:00 p.m. at  357 Pawtucket St in Lowell.  Visit www.cbacre.org for more information and mktix.com/cba to get your tickets.