Starlight Square

Starlight Square is an open-air cultural venue in Central Square, Cambridge, built on a parking lot that was transformed from a place for cars into a place for people. Its stage hosts a season of shows under the stars, and all shows are free and open to the public. The site sits within Central Square’s Cultural District and can be entered from Graffiti Alley, Norfolk Street and Bishop Allen Drive.

Starlight is also home to 15 small businesses that are part of Popportunity, a local economic development initiative, with weekend storefronts where visitors can shop goods from around the world and eat from the Jules’ Jamaican On-The-Go pop-up. Public art wraps the exterior, including four marquee walls curated by the Street Theory collective led by Liza and Victor Quiñonez and a mural by youth artists from the Community Art Center.

What to Know

• The Central Square Farmers Market, which has operated in the neighborhood for 30 years, sets up at Starlight on Mondays.
• The youth mural, #BreonnaUnderTheStars, presents the Black Lives Matter movement through women who became its icons.
• Architectural sketches by Starlight architect Mark Boyes-Watson decorate the exterior.
• The stage reopened in May 2024 for another season.