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Urban Media Arts unveils MaldenEvents calendar, asks councilors to beta-test
Summary
Urban Media Arts gave a demonstration of maldanevents.com and asked Malden City Council members to try the free, ward-based community calendar during a beta period, with a public launch targeted after fall 2026 and initial hosting paid by the Malden Cultural Council.
Urban Media Arts presented a citywide community calendar called Malden Events and asked Malden City Council members to test its beta version and submit ward events to populate the site.
Alicia Ryan, the development specialist at Urban Media Arts, told the council the site is free to use, is being beta-tested for mobile responsiveness and back-end improvements, and that underwriting will be needed to pay for ongoing technology and staffing. "The purpose of the calendar is building a more vibrant, connected, and prosperous Malden," Ryan said.
Ryan said the Malden Cultural Council funded hosting for the first year and Urban Media Arts hopes the calendar will become self‑sustaining through underwriting and affordable advertising. The site currently includes prepopulated ward pages with councilor photos and contact details and offers features such as venue pages, recurring events, tags, and analytics. Ryan gave the council the site address, maldanevents.com, and asked councilors to test and champion the tool in their wards.
Councilors who spoke praised the concept and user experience, raised concerns about mobile accessibility and image alt text for accessibility, and offered to provide support through outreach or letters in pursuit of underwriting. "We have such a hard time and we often double book without knowledge of it," Councilor Colon Hayes said, supporting the calendar's potential to reduce scheduling conflicts.
No formal action or funding request was taken at the meeting; Ryan said Urban Media Arts will continue staff training, stakeholder outreach and beta testing and hopes for a public launch after fall 2026 if underwriting is secured.
