On Thursday, March 19, Boston Design Week returns with a wide variety of events exploring and showcasing interior and outdoor design and visual arts. The ten-day program of activities will offer in-store and in-studio exhibits; open houses and cocktail hours; workshops, speakers and panel discussions on remodeling, event lighting and more; and lively, creative participatory events.

Venues range from the Cyclorama and the Society for Arts and Crafts in Boston to the Feinmann, Inc. remodeling showroom in Lexington and Van Millwork Design Center in Needham Heights. True to the South End's reputation as an art hub, South End based designers, entrepreneurs and studios figure prominently in the program.

The festivities kick off with several events beginning at 6:00 PM on Thursday, March 19 in various venues and end on Sunday, March 29. Most Boston Design Week events require an RSVP, and some are free, while others have varying ticket prices. Details are available on the on-line event calendar.

Boston Design Week co-producer Tony Fusco of Fusco & Four is excited about this year's slate of events. "It's got so many moving parts, it has something for everyone. It is a lot work but it is also a lot of fun." Giving a preview of the program, Fusco said, "We try to do different topics every year, with panels or special speakers. This year there's an artist doing a sculpture for Symphony Park and he's doing a program on collaborative place-making.

Sean Cutting, a builder with Cutting Edge Homes, is also doing a panel. Both panels are about design collaboration." Fusco added that this year, Boston Design Week will present a Lifetime Achievement award to Boston Globe design critic Robert Campbell. "Critique is an important part of the design process, too," Fusco observed. Another Fusco & Four event, "AD 20/21: Art and Design in the Twentieth and Twenty First Centuries", now in its eighth year, has been integrated into the final weekend of Boston
Design Week, taking place on March 28 and 29 at the Cyclorama.
On Saturday, March 28, South Ender Jon Pate, a partner in the firm Pate Adams Landscape Architects as well as co-coordinator of the Northampton Community Garden, will take part in a panel discussion on the community-driven effort to create Symphony Park, which is slated to open this summer in the Fenway area.

The restoration of the park is shaped by resident input and reflects the neighborhood's 2012 designation as a cultural district by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Pate and sculptor Jacob Kulin of Kulin Modern; Lauren Bryant of the Boston Parks and Recreation Department and Marie Fukuda, chairperson of the Friends of Symphony Park will discuss their collaboration on the park's design, which will include art and architectural nods to the park's musical name.

Boston and San Francisco-based designer Steven Favreau's visual as well as performance talents will be on display in three events that blend his love of design and public speaking. On Friday, March 20 at 5:30 PM, Favreau will emcee the Design Showdown, a student competition at the Boston Design Center. In the Shark Tank-inspired challenge, student finalists will present their designs for a Newbury Street live-work space to the judges and the winner will be decided on the spot.

On Sunday, March 22, at 3:00 PM, Favreau hosts "Refresh: Design Intervention at Ink Block", in which three contestants who submitted photos of their own home-design dilemmas will get an on-site, virtual room makeover a la HGTV.

There will be a reception with Ink Block's signature Ink-Tini cocktails for social lubrication as well. On Saturday, March 28 at 3:00 PM, Favreau will be a panelist at "Collaboration: The New Edge in Home Design", a discussion moderated by builder Sean Cutting of Cutting Edge Homes.

Collaboration among architects, builders and interior designers is the topic of the session to take place at the Cyclorama. Favreau, a graduate of Boston Conservatory, performed in musical theater in New York, at Paris's Moulin Rouge and in regional theater companies and worked as a cruise ship director before deciding to study commercial design at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). "When I was a kid and my parents went out, I would rearrange the furniture. I didn't know then that you could do [interior design] as a living. When I went to FIT and saw what the kids in interior design were doing, I decided I wanted to do it, too," Favreau recalled.

Elsewhere, artist John Guthrie will be showcasing his vibrantly colored geometric paintings in an open studio from 6:00-11:30 PM on Saturday, March 28 at 59 Wareham Street, #4. The open house will set a relaxed, social atmosphere with music and drinks to stimulate conversation.
On Sunday, March 22 at 6:00 PM, Sedia, a studio at 535 Albany Street specializing in twentieth century and contemporary architect-designed furniture from Italy, celebrates its long working relationship with Italian furniture manufacturer Matrix. Featured is a limited-edition Arabesk chair, covered in a pearl diamond fabric and signed by designer Folke Jansson.

Sedia participated in Boston Design Week's inaugural run last year and is pleased to return this year. Owner Dan Weldon commented, "Last year, it was an opportunity for me to reintroduce the company to the public with a focus on some of the new products we were carrying and our newly renovated space at 535 Albany. This year we are focusing on our longest business relationship as we celebrate 30 years of business with our Italian supplier Matrix International. I have brought in 20 new pieces from Matrix just for the event."

Weldon is also hosting an exhibit for painter Tom Tracy, a retired art educator and former Bearskin Neck gallery owner who is still active in painting and drawing, with a special focus on New England harbor scenes and landscapes. Tracy will be present for the showing of his work on Friday, March 27 from 5:00 PM until 9:00 PM.

For details on Tracy's exhibit, contact Sedia at 617/451-2474.
For more information on Boston Design Week, visit www.bostondesignweek.com or call 617/363-0405.05