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Allston’s best and brightest to be honored at first annual award show
Allston Village Main Streets will award the best businesses, musicians, volunteers, and more at an in-person ceremony.
In the seven decades Anthony D’Isidoro has lived in Allston, a lot has changed — demographics have shifted, housing costs have skyrocketed, businesses have come and gone — but the spirit of the neighborhood has never wavered.
D’Isidoro still lives in the Allston two-family his parents bought in 1944, and his love of the neighborhood runs deep. He talks fondly of the restaurants, cultural centers, and people. Growing up, he remembers a neighborhood with a strong sense of community, occupied by hard-working immigrant families.
As the president of the Allston Civic Association and a member of a city steering committee ensuring the prosperity of the neighborhood, D’Isidoro works every day with Allston residents just as committed to their community as the neighbors from his youth.
His work has recently landed him a nomination for the first annual Allston Village Awards, a celebration of the neighborhood’s best and brightest, as chosen by Allston residents. On Thursday evening, Allston Village Main Streets will hand out awards for the best businesses, musicians, volunteers, and more at a ceremony that organizers promise will highlight “excellence in every corner of our eclectic neighborhood.”
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D’Isidoro, who is up for a lifetime achievement award, said an event like this makes perfect sense in Allston.
“I always say that, there’s something about the 02134 zip code,” D’Isidoro said. “Allston is really a state of mind … You can be whatever you want to be and you will find people that will always support you, will always have your back. I think it’s one of the most welcoming communities around.”
The idea for an award show was born out of Allston Village Main Streets’ years-long tradition of honoring one business and volunteer at its annual meeting. Last year, the event was such a highlight that they decided to expand it to recognize all the artists, nonprofits, business owners, and individuals who make the neighborhood special.
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The group, which is made up of residents, business owners, and neighborhood stakeholders, supports Allston’s business district by organizing design and beautification projects, providing guidance to local entrepreneurs, and hosting community events like Taste of Allston.
When they announced the ceremony and asked residents to help choose nominees, they received suggestions of more than 150 different businesses, organizations, and people, according to Alex Cornacchini, the Main Streets director.
“While we were putting the list of award categories together, it was so easy to just think off the top of our heads of dozens of deserving businesses, deserving artists, and deserving musicians,” he said. “[The reaction] was great. It was surprising how excited everyone was immediately.”
And it’s important timing, too, as Allston, like much of the city, is in a period of rapid development and transition.
“There’s a lot of work to be done in Allston around affordable housing and affordable retail, keeping businesses in the neighborhood, keeping residents in the neighborhood. I see a lot of passionate people get frustrated. They’re very passionate about the neighborhood, and they need a chance to know that what they’re doing is important and to know who they’re working for,” Cornacchini said.
Few communities feel the changes in the neighborhood as deeply as the creatives. Nick Grieco, an Allston resident and musician, said watching iconic neighborhood music venues like Great Scott shutter in recent years has spurred him to invest more deeply in protecting the city’s creative spaces. His band, Actor Observer, is one of the nominees for band of the year.
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“The history of Allston is rich with music history. Everything that Allston is, exists and is perceived as cool, because of Allston rock history. It’s ingrained into everything still, even though the buildings are different and the venues are gone,” Grieco said.
Grieco said he’s watched fellow musicians leave Allston for larger markets in New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville. Rather than leave, he and his bandmates have committed themselves to the neighborhood by forming Boston Artist Impact, a civic association for local working class creatives.
“To be nominated as a band, I think, is really special because it means that we are a positive force for our community,” Greico said. “We want these improvements to happen in our community and we care passionately enough about it to channel it into our music. The same can be said for any of the nominees in any of the categories and bringing people together to acknowledge that is really special.”
Allston residents — and lovers of the neighborhood — are invited to join the celebration at Stage Karaoke, 138 Brighton Ave., from 6 to 9 p.m. The event is free to attend and will have free food for guests.
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“Businesses need a chance to know what patrons are coming into the neighborhood. Artists need to know what businesses they’re putting murals up on. Bands need to know not just who goes to see them at their shows, but who lives next to them. The ability to bring together so many different groups of people in the neighborhood is why we do this,” Cornacchini said.
D’Isidoro said he’s excited to spend a night celebrating Allston with his neighbors. For the lifetime achievement nominee, the recognition is reward enough.
“I just think that we’re an exceptional community and there’s a lot of great people,” he said. “You look at the categories and the people nominated and you say to yourself, my God, I’m surrounded by all these great people who work hard, give back, and [should] get the recognition that they deserve.”
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