By Julia Fairclough

The American front porch represents the ideal of community, it exists as a zone between the public and private, an area that can be shared between the sanctity of the home and the community outside.

Come this spring in Somerville, the front porch may also serve as a stage to share music, community, and make new friends.

The Somerville Arts Council is seeking input for yet another fun event, thus far deemed the “Somerville Porchfest.” A planning meeting for all who are interested in helping out is set for Monday, January 10 at 7 p.m. at the Somerville Public Library’s West Branch at 40 College Ave.

The idea came from a resident, and it seemed like a pretty low-maintenance thing to pull off, said Greg Jenkins, the executive director of the Somerville Arts Council. The idea is similar to open studios, where it is open to the community to participate.

“I see it as people enjoying playing music and learning more about their neighbors,” he said.

The concept is simple. A Saturday night in late spring can be chosen for locals to play on their porches. The Arts Council would help structure the event with promotion and an online map, and musicians coordinate with their neighbors to make sure it’s okay to play music for a designated period of time.

If a lot of people express interest, the event can be structured so that sections of neighborhoods perform at different times of the day. The audience merely travels around to check out the sounds in various neighborhoods, just as they do for Somerville Open studios, Jenkins said.

Porchfest has become a popular theme in numerous other cities, check out those in Ithaca, NY., Cranbury, NJ,  Newton, PA.  at http://www.porchfest.org/.

Jenkins added that the Arts Council is counting on people to really pitch in and help, as the three-person organization already hosts a plethora of events throughout the year. In fact, finding a night to stage the Porchfest is limited to probably the second or third weekend in May.

Visit http://www.somervilleartscouncil.org/ to see a full list of events planned for 2011.