Note to media: A limited number of rehearsals and children’s’ chorus reherals may be open to the press. Email [email protected] to inquire.
LEXINGTON — A year removed from the reenactment of the Battle of Lexington for Lex250, a group of artists will come together steps away from the hallowed ground for a celebration of our common humanity and a reminder that the revolutionary seeds that were planted in Lexington continue to need tending and care today, 251 years later.
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On Sunday, March 22, 2025 at Cary Hall the Lexington community will gather for “Love Now,” a moving performing arts event celebrating shared humanity, compassion, and the power of community. The event will feature music, dance, poetry, and spoken word performances by local and regional artists, including renown performers and children’s choirs.
“Love Now represents the coming together of multiple cultures and communities in a demonstration of unity and a celebration of love for humankind,” said musician Mary Ross, one of the organizers of Love Now.
Presented as one of the final signature events of the Lex250 Commission, Love Now invites attendees to reflect on the ideal that helped spark Revolution and continue to shape our nation today: That all are created equal.
A Celebration Through the Arts
Love Now will feature a vibrant lineup of artists — musicians, singers, dancers and poets — whose performances reflect the rich and diverse cultural community found in Lexington and throughout America today.
The program includes performances by the Lexington Children’s Chorus, the Bharathakalai School of Dance, the Encore Dance Ensemble, the Trail Mix folk ensemble, the Chinese American Association of Lexington (CAAL) chorale group and poet and performer Regie O’Hare Gibson, the Inaugural Massachusetts Poet Laureate. There will also be a performance by the Special Needs Arts Programs (SNAP) Chorus, a program that provides people with disabilities opportunities that celebrate each person’s unique abilities while cultivating creative expression, building peer relationships, and fostering self-esteem through life-enhancing activities in the arts.
Together, the performers will present an afternoon of music, movement, and spoken word exploring themes of connection, empathy, and the shared humanity that binds communities like Lexington together.
The performance is designed to be welcoming and accessible to audiences of all ages.
Artists Bringing the Vision to Life
Love Now is the vision of Lexington artists Mary Ross and Jayshree Bala Rajamani, who joined forces to create an event centered on the theme of shared humanity. Regie O’Hare Gibson, the Inaugural Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, joined the planning and will bring his powerful eloquent writing and spoken word performance to the event.
Ross, a singer-songwriter and longtime Lexington resident, has spent years using music to explore themes of justice, compassion, and connection.
Rajamani, founder of the Bharathakalai School of Dance, is a renowned practitioner of the classical Indian dance form Bharatanatyam and has taught generations of students throughout the region.
“Love Now is an event that is designed to be both joyful and reflective — a reminder that art has long served as a powerful way to express and explore the ideals that shape a society,” said Rajamani. “This program celebrates the culture of our community and the values that unite us. Through music, dance, and poetry, we hope to remind people that the ideals born here in Lexington belong to everyone.”
By bringing together Western folk music, classical Indian dance, poetry, and choral performance, Love Now reflects the many cultural traditions that now shape Lexington’s community, and it encourage all Americans to consider the culture, arts and traditions that have melded together to shape their own communities.
The collaboration demonstrates how art can bridge cultures, tell shared stories, and illuminate universal truths.
An Idea That Still Matters
The American Revolution was about more than independence; it was about an idea — the belief that human beings possess inherent rights and that governments exist to protect those rights.
But the work of building a just and free society is never finished.
That is why events like Love Now are part of the broader Lex250 effort — not only to remember history, but to carry its meaning forward into the present.
“In 1775, an idea took flame in Lexington,” said Lex250 chair Mona Roy. “The idea that liberty and dignity belong to every person. That idea is no less revolutionary today than it was then, and it must be carefully nurtured and tended by each generation.”
Connecting Past and Present
Since 2024, the events that comprise Lex250 have been so much more than just a commemoration of a historical anniversary. The slate, comprising more than 100 days of events over the past two years have been an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of the movement spurred by the American Revolution and its continued relevance in the modern world.
Across Lexington, a wide range of programs, performances, educational initiatives, and community events have been organized and executed, exploring the enduring legacy of April 19, 1775.
Some events focus on history through reenactments and exhibitions. Others, like Love Now, explore how our shared history, our evolving cultural identity and our individual ideas and traditions continue to shape contemporary life.
The goal is not only to remember the past but to inspire thoughtful conversation about the future.
“America is not an idea created just by musket fire but by song, dance, meals around a table and the traditions of dozens of cultures, religions and peoples,” said Rajamani. “With Love Now, we are carrying this forward through ideas, creativity, and the courage to imagine a better future.”
Tending the Flame
Lexington may have first gained fame during the Revolutionary War, but the legacy of Lexington is best exemplified by its role in the long and ongoing journey toward a more perfect union.
Throughout American history, new generations have returned to the ideals born in Lexington and sought to apply them to their own time — expanding civil rights, deepening democracy, and working to ensure that liberty truly belongs to all.
The message of Love Now echoes that responsibility.
“If the ideals first ignited in Lexington are to endure, they must be nurtured by every generation that inherits them,” said O’Hare Gibson.
Love Now invites the community to gather, reflect, and celebrate the enduring power of the American ideal.
Love Now: A Celebration of Our Common Humanity
WHEN: Sunday, March 22, 2026 from 3–5 p.m.
WHERE: Cary Hall, 1605 Massachusetts Ave., Lexington
Audience: All ages welcome
Additional information available at: https://lex250.org/event/love-now/
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