Since it was launched in 2011, Somerville Porchfest has ALWAYS had a raindate, until this year. 

Why no raindate for 2026? Because last year, people (rightfully) complained about the rain-date coinciding with Mother's Day. As a result, this year's event was "rain or shine," and it was a wet, wet affair. 

The implications of a 'rain or shine' event are significant. Porchfest is no small affair, with over 500 local bands dedicating time, energy, and resources to make it a success. Bands spend weeks rehearsing and coordinating schedules to participate, and the City of Somerville allocates substantial resources into things like porta-potties, police presence for traffic, etc., to ensure the event runs smoothly.

It's sad to think that one rough day of weather is all it takes to (literally) wash it all away.

Fortunately, it doesn't have to be this way. Up until 2017, Porchfest was always on the third Saturday of May, with a raindate for the third Sunday in May, so there's no reason it HAS to be Mother's Day weekend.

That said, given the rainy spring weather and all the commencements in mid/late-May - including Berklee's commencement the weekend that we currently have it - what if we moved it to the summer?

The request to the City of Somerville for 2027: 

1. Make the annual Porchfest happen on a Saturday in June  (but not Father's Day weekend)
2. Add back a raindate on the Sunday of that same weekend

We appreciate all of the City's efforts to make this event so successful and think that this change will maximize the chance of success for all involved. Hopefully we get enough signatures that we can make this happen for next year - please, please, please share & spread to your Somerville networks!

edit: This petition originally argued to have it the third Saturday of May, but several people have pointed out that this is Tufts' commencement weekend. With all the May commencements, I've amended this to suggest a date in June.