Downtown Framingham came alive with Boston Marathon spectators last Monday. Hundreds of fans, families and friends flocked to The 6 Mile Moment to cheer on the participants of the 120th Boston Marathon.
It was hard to imagine that just three years ago this event didn’t exist.
This year marked the third annual 6 Mile Moment - an event we created with our partners, Framingham Downtown Renaissance and the Town of Framingham, to encourage urban revitalization and community involvement in Downtown Framingham.
“The idea of the The 6 Mile Moment was born of inspiration,” said Erin Hayes, CEO of MediaBoss Television. “MediaBoss had hosted its own informal events with live music and live video along the Marathon route for years. One day, Holli, Director of FDR, swung by our studios and asked us what we could do to bring a sense of community and pride to Downtown Framingham in the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing. And thus, The 6 Mile Moment was born.”
Holli made the magic happen. She coordinated with the Town of Framingham; she found sponsors (like Middlesex Savings Bank); she secured meetings for us with the Framingham Police Department for proper permitting and she coordinated with local vendors to provide family-friendly activities for spectators.
We got to work doing one of the things we do best: Producing a live show, complete with live entertainment for the spectators and the runners. We live stream the event with our Blackmagic Design ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K and send a signal to Access Framingham. Access Framingham broadcasts our stream over their channel.
That first year was a big win for us. And The 6 Mile Moment has evolved and will continue to evolve year after year.
“This year we had more people join us in Downtown Framingham than I've ever seen, and they went full throttle to support their heroes running through the 6 mile mark,” said Holli Andrews, Director of Framingham Downtown Renaissance. "Dancing and singing for the runners, making beautiful signs -- lots of energy and tons of goodwill. Made for a very special 6 Mile Moment! It was awesome and I think the runners loved it, too!"
The Deluxe Depot Diner donates their entire parking lot to the 6 Mile Moment every year.
This year the entertainment was spread across both sides of their lot. DJ Haze was spinning high energy music for the runners and spectators on one side while Marcus Santos & Anova Brazil Live gave a dramatic percussion performance on the other. There was also face painting, games, free ice cream, music demonstrations, graffiti lessons and sign making for families and fans to take part in.
We already have some fun ideas about how we can improve upon and evolve the event for next year. But while we wait for next year to come around, here are some of our highlights from the 2016 Boston Marathon:
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