Today and ‘Tomorrow’: Chenery’s Musical Presents ‘Annie’ May 19,20

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Photo: Annie and Sandy, dreaming of “Tomorrow.”

That spunky little orphan and her mutt will be singing up a storm this weekend as the Chenery Middle School presents its production of “Annie” the 1977 musical by Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meeha. The show has become one of the most popular Broadway shows ever produced, with more than 700 shows performed annually.

Eighth grader Maya Chen-Jones plays the title character, who with her dog, Sandy, get into adventures in New York City during the Depression of the 1930s, all the while singing such Broadway standards as, “Tomorrow,” “It’s a Hard Knock Life,” “Little Girls,” and “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile.” 

There are two performances remaining, tonight and tomorrow, May 19 and 20, at 7 p.m. in the Chenery Middle School auditorium. 

Tickets are ADULTS: $10 in advance, $12 at the door; STUDENTS: $8.

Tickets are also on sale at Champions in Belmont Center, and available online at bhs-pac.org/cmsannie.

 

It’s Prom Tonight! Belmont High Promenade Begins At 4 PM-ish

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Photo: How many proms can one young man attend?

Drive carefully through Belmont this afternoon as vehicles will be parked along roadways as residents haphazardly cross the street to get a good look at what’s happening.

Are people staring at the aftermath of an accident? Is a natural phenomenon occurring?

Nope, the gawking today is connected to an annual occurrence in which many teenagers are transformed from ultra casual to totally chic in Belmont’s version of “Fashion Week.”

Today is Belmont High School Senior/Junior Prom. It is also the final day of school for this year’s senior class. 

What is becoming a great annual community event will begin at approximately 4 p.m. as the students  attending the big dance will take part in the Pre-Prom Promenade, in which the high schoolers are “presented” before fawning parents, siblings, friends and the public in the Belmont High School auditorium. Get there early for the best seats.

The students will then head into the high school’s cafeteria for the “once over” by school officials before boarding buses to take them to a ritzy hotel in Newton for a night of dancing and fun.

Marching To Disney: Belmont Bands Heading to Orlando in Feb. ’18

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Photo: Something like this

Heading for the long-awaited visit to DisneyWorld – or possibly your annual trip to see Mickey Mouse in the humidity of Florida – during the winter recess in February 2018? If you’re planning to go, it’s a good chance you will be entertained by a pair of Belmont High musical groups.

Next year, it’s likely the Belmont High “Marching Marauders” and the school’s award-winning Jazz Collective – a bit more than 100 kids – will be heading to DisneyWorld during the winter doldrums on a six day, five-night educational performance tour of the Magic Kingdom. 

The trip – which requires the OK from Belmont Superintendent John Phelan – is one of three Belmont students are taking next year. The other two approved last week by the School Committee (foreign travel requires a vote by the six-member committee to be approved) will be a week in June 2018 traveling, studying and performing community service in Peru for approximately 24 sophomores who passed Ancient World Civilization and a week in April 2018 going and studying in China for 20 students who are enrolled in a Chinese language course or taking Modern World History.

For the band trip – by far the largest next year – the musicians will be involved in two workshops at Disney which will result in a recording session, have an exchange clinic with a local school with an experienced marching program with the highlight of the visit will be performing in the daily parade at Disney Springs, the new shopping/eating “marketplace” (once known as Downtown Disney) just to the east of Epcot.

Bradford [Ex-Cushing Village] Update: Purple Water? That’s OK; Starbucks Winding Down

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Photo: A big purple hole in the ground.

As the digging on the future home of Cushing Vill … sorry, The Bradford is speeding along on schedule, more than one resident who spied into what will become the foundations of the three buildings making up the 164,000 sq.-ft. complex of apartments, stores, and parking in Cushing Square was taken aback by the rather strange purplish hue to the ground water and soil in the pit.

Did the contractor Nauset Construction find something no one was expecting to discover?

One person who did take notice was the Otto Weiss, the project manager for Toll Brothers Apartment Living, the Bradford’s owner/developer.

“[Y]ou may notice that the color of the treated soil and any surrounding water is clearly purple,” said Otto Weiss, the project manager for Toll Brothers Apartment Living, the Bradford’s owner/developer.

What nearby neighbors had noticed was just what the team was expecting to find.

“This is a normal reaction of the treatment process and is not a cause for alarm,” noted Weiss in an email project update.  

“I realize you may have questions and as always I will do my best to answer,” said Weiss, who can be contacted at oweiss@tollbrothers.com

Weiss said the treatment process that was approved earlier this year by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection will take about one more week to complete, at which time the site will undergo several weeks of testing and approvals before the removal of the soil.  

Ongoing air testing and monitoring continues uninterrupted, “and to date we have not seen any results that cause concern,” said Weiss.

The signs the popular Starbucks cafe, located on Trapelo Road in the middle of the active construction site, is winding down operations is literally on its doors. A pair of notices referred customers to big changes to the hours of operations – the store will close at 5 p.m. starting May 22 and at noon a week later on May 29 – and a “thank you” note to customers are located at both entrances and inside the not so busy store.

“Thank you for your patience and understanding as we prepare for this store to close,” said Store Manager Matthew Thompson.

No closing date has been provided. Toll Brothers said a new Starbucks will be opening in the early fall of 2018 in the “Winslow” building which is located on the former municipal parking lot.

Annual Blacker Prizes in Writing To Be Awarded Wednesday

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Photo: The Lillian Blacker Prizes to be awarded Wednesday.

The Belmont High School English Department will present the annual Lillian F. Blacker Prizes for Excellence in Writing on Wednesday, May 17, at 6:30 p.m. in the Peter Holland Library at Belmont High School. 

This year, we will honor seniors Ethan Lai, Lily Tromanhauser, and Calvin Reinhardt-Ertman for their outstanding writing. Belmont residents are cordially invited to attend.

Family and friends established the Blacker Prizes more than 20 years ago in memory of Lillian F. Blacker, a longtime Belmont resident who was active in community affairs and was director of the Harvard Medical News Office. She is remembered by the school and the community as a true lover of literature and language.

The Blacker Prizes are presented each year to three Belmont High seniors for outstanding writing ability on their senior theses. Each senior reads, researches, and writes a lengthy thesis paper investigating a literary topic. English faculty members determine the winners after an extensive reading process.

At the awards ceremony, the prize winners will read from their papers and discuss the evolution of their ideas.  A panel of seniors will discuss their topics and the senior thesis process.  Teachers, parents, administrators, and friends are invited.  Underclassmen are encouraged to attend the ceremony to learn more about the senior thesis process. 

Family and friends established the Blacker Prizes more than 20 years ago in memory of Lillian F. Blacker, a longtime Belmont resident who was active in community affairs and was director of the Harvard Medical News Office. She is remembered by the school and the community as a true lover of literature and language.

Refreshments will be served.

Belmont’s Krafian Hurdling Towards Track Laurels

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Photo: Anoush Krafian

After missing out of a Divison 3 indoor championship by one-hundredth of a second, Belmont High School Anoush Krafian showed she hasn’t slowed down in the spring rain as the junior won the 100 meter hurdles at the prestigious Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association’s Girls Coaches Invitational Track and Field meet held May 13 at Sharon High School. 

Krafian took the win running away from the pack in 15.12 seconds, distancing Wellesley’s Isabelle Winkelman by more than half a second. Her performance was nearly equal to the top hurdler in eastern Massachusetts, Plymouth South’s senior Madelyn Sessler, who won the Andover Invitational in 15.04 on May 13. 

The Belmont native also finished 12th in the long jump at the meet. 

Krafian and her Belmont teammates on Girls and Boys Outdoor Track will now head to the Middlesex League championship Tuesday, May 16 before heading to the Division 3 meet. 

Krafian, who lost to junior Caitlyn Halloran of Hopkinton High in the 55-meter hurdle Division 3 indoor finals by .01 second before finishing a disappointing 7th in the state indoors, could battle her rivals in the outdoor states and possibly the state Heptathlon championship, a seven-event competition. At the indoor pentathlon championships (five events), Krafian took 6th behind both Halloran (3rd) and Sessler (4th).

Sports: 12-2 Belmont Baseball Face Tough Final Six Games

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Photo: Noah Riley at the plate.

After hitting a temporary speed bump (two losses in three games last week) on its record-setting winning clip, Belmont High School’s Nine will face a tough final stretch of games as the Marauders attempt to take the Middlesex League pennant at the same time securing a high playoff seed.

This week Belmont (12-2) will encounter a strong Lexington High (11-4) squad which Friday stopped Middlesex League leaders Reading Memorial High (10-1) for the Rockets’ first loss of the season.

“We play Lexington two out of the next three so we have to dial in on a couple of things like baserunning because it’s gonna be tough,” said Belmont’s long-time Head Coach Joe Brown. Belmont hosts Lexington on Monday, May 15 at 4 p.m.-ish, weather permitting.

Belmont hosts Lexington on Monday, May 15 at 4 p.m.-ish, weather permitting. (Update: The game has been postponed to a later date)

This past Friday and Saturday, Belmont rediscovered its offense after dropping a 3-0 away loss to Arlington by defeating Woburn 10-3 and getting a bit of revenge against the SpyPonders on Saturday, May 13, with a 4-1 victory.

Friday’s game saw Belmont’s junior starter Andrew Mazzone get nicked up for a run in the first only for the Marauders to put up a eight-run bottom of the first on the scoreboard to end the game early. The highlight was back-to-back fence-clearing dingers to deep center right from junior right fielder Max Meier (batting ninth) and from junior leadoff Connor Dacey (2-3 against Woburn) while shortstop Steve Rizzuto went 3-4 with a run and a stolen base.

“Connor’s on fire at the plate,” said Brown as Dacey repeated his 2-3 performance vs. Arlington.

Against the SpyPonders, Belmont got out to a strong start with Connor Dacey driving in his brother, Kevin, from second while senior captain/catcher Cal Christofori singled a 1-2 pitch to bring home Connor. Belmont nearly broke it wide open in the fourth after Dennis Crowley led off the inning with a double and Kevin Dacey and Meier walked to load the bases. But both Crowley and Meier were cut down at the plate before Rizzuto hit a 1 and 1 count by the shortstop to drive in Dacey for the only run.  Belmont’s final run came in  the bottom of the 6th when that man Connor Dacey rocketed a double that brought Crowley in for the score.

The games highlighted Belmont’s greatest strength, frontline starting pitching. Following Mazzone’s one-run, seven strikeouts over five innings on Friday afternoon Saturday, Belmont’s junior ace Nate Espelin pitch a workman-like seven-inning complete game collecting seven strikeouts to his burgeoning total of Ks.

“I thought the kids played very well after losing to [Arlington] on Tuesday. They bounced back, hit the ball hard and made some nice plays in the field,” said Brown.

With the pair of outstanding outings, Belmont’s earned-run average is hovering at a gaudy 1.0.

“[The starters] have been doing it all year. Even when someone like [Espelin] isn’t as sharp as he usually was [against Arlington], he still held a great hitting team to one run. He’s a big-time pitcher for us,” said Brown.

One aspect of the Marauders’ game that has improved by leaps and bounds from previous seasons has been fielding, not just making fewer miscues for errors but make the outstanding plays for outs. Prime example was the work at second base by Noah Riley, who made a trio of outstanding defensive plays including completing a double play while under pressure and making a Gold-Glove diving grab of a bloop in foul territory to end an inning.

“In our freshman year, he had 60 errors and now just six or seven,” said Riley. “The improvements is because we are doing fundimentals before every practice, and in the off season, throwing each other ground balls and working on the little things.”

Giving Brown some assurance this week is the hitting of senior centerfielder Bryan Goodwin, who has “been like a machine for the past two weeks,” said Brown, as the Roger Williams-commit battles Lexington High junior shortstop Sal Frelick in the batting race.

“We’ll have to be on our game to really challenge for the league title. But all the pieces seem to be there for it to happen,” said Brown.

Hump Day: Belmont Town Day This Saturday, And Yes, That Is A Camel

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Photo: Belmont Town Day is Saturday.

Belmont Savings Bank today announced it will again be the proud sponsor of Belmont Town Day, this Saturday, May 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Belmont Center.

Town Day is a community-wide event that features a number of Belmont Savings sponsored activities, including a car show, cash cube, face painting, pony rides, and a dog show.  

New to this Town Day will be free Belmont Savings Bank Camel Rides. Attendees can line up for the rides from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. starting on Moore Street adjacent the bank.

“We look forward to welcoming everyone to this year’s Town Day on May 20,” said Bob Mahoney, President and CEO of Belmont Savings Bank. “It’s always a pleasure to come together with this wonderful community and enjoy a great day with friends, colleagues, and familiar faces. We hope to see everyone there enjoying the many activities we have planned.”

“It’s always a pleasure to come together with this wonderful community and enjoy a great day with friends, colleagues, and familiar faces. We hope to see everyone there enjoying the many activities we have planned.”

Back for its fourth year is the Belmont Savings’ Dog Show which will begin at noon on the main stage. Town Day attendees will select the “best-in-show” by the loudest applause. “Best-in-show” will receive a $100 Belmont Pet Supply gift card. 

Dogs can enter the show until Saturday, May 20, and all entrants will receive a gift bag. You can enter your dog into the show by submitting the following to marketing@belmontsavings.com: name, town of residence, dog name, dog age, dog breed and a photo of the dog.

The seventh annual Belmont Savings Vintage Car Show will be held this year in front of the bank and down Moore Street. Belmont Savings Bank introduced the car exhibit in 2011, giving proud area collectors an opportunity to show off their pristine cars. Originally showcasing 12 cars, the show has grown to more than 40 cars. Anyone interested in displaying their cars can email Mike DeMarco, Marketing Director at Belmont Savings Bank, with the car year, make and model at marketing@belmontsavings.com. 

The Town Day schedule includes face painting by the green space in front of Belmont Savings Bank’s main branch located at 2 Leonard St. and pony rides from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. over in the Town Common adjacent the First Church Belmont under the Leonard Street Bridge on Common Street. 

Attendees will also have a chance to enter the cash cube adjacent to the Belmont Savings booth, where they can try their luck at catching flying dollar bills. Running from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., participants may enter the cash cube, with half the collected dollars being donated to the Foundation for Belmont Education.

Rogers’ Bill on Pregnant Workers Fairness Passes House

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Photo: State Rep. Dave Rogers speaking in the House chamber.

On Wednesday, May 10th the Massachusetts House of Representatives unanimously passed H3659, An Act establishing the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, filed by Belmont State Rep. Dave Rogers (24th Middlesex “ABC” district).

The bill will “put our Commonwealth one step closer to ensuring that pregnant women in the workplace are protected from discrimination, filling key gaps in existing law,” said Rogers, who has represented Belmont and parts of Arlington and Cambridge since 2013.

“Today, once again, the Massachusetts House of Representatives has acted boldly to advance the cause of civil rights, women’s rights, and equal opportunity. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, a bill I introduced, makes clear that women seeking a reasonable accommodation from their employers for certain conditions or needs related to their pregnancy must be treated fairly,” said Rogers

The bill adds pregnancy and its related conditions to existing employment non-discrimination laws as well as making it unlawful for an employer to deny a reasonable accommodation for pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition. Accommodations may include:

  • more frequent or longer breaks,
  • time off to recover from childbirth,
  • light duty,
  • assistance with manual labor,
  • temporary transfer to less strenuous or hazardous positions,
  • a modified work schedule, and
  • private non-bathroom space for expressing breast milk.

“I thank Speaker DeLeo for his strong leadership, the 99 House colleagues who co-sponsored this legislation and the many courageous women who stepped forward to tell their stories while the bill was under consideration as – together – we send a powerful message in support of equal opportunity in our Commonwealth,” said Rogers.

“As I face my first Mother’s Day this weekend without my Mom and hero, Maxine Fitzgerald Rogers, I know she is with me today celebrating a milestone for equality and decency,” he said.

The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.

Belmont Mother’s Day Flower Sale Begins Friday in the Center

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Photo: Flowers for mom at the Center.

The Friends of Belmont Softball will be hosting its annual Mother’s Day Flower Sale this weekend at the Belmont Lions Club in Belmont Center. Come by to purchase beautiful flowers and support the Belmont High School Varsity and Junior Varsity Softball teams.  

The flowers will be on sale:

  • Friday, May 12: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Saturday, May 13, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. 
  • Sunday, May 14, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.