Belmont World Film’s 22nd Annual Family Festival This Holiday Weekend Jan. 18-21, and Jan. 26

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Photo: Robin and the Hoods (2024) is one of the feature films presented by Belmont World Film’s Family Festival

One of Belmont’s most cherished annual cultural events is back as the German International School of Boston presents Belmont World Film’s 22nd Family Festival which takes place from Jan. 18-20 and 26.

This year’s lineup, which features numerous North American and US premieres and cinematic gems geared to children from 3-12, will he screened in West Newton, Arlington and Cambridge.

  • Saturday, Jan. 18: West Newton Cinema
  • Sunday, Jan. 19: Regent Theatre, Arlington
  • Monday, Jan. 20: Brattle Theatre, Cambridge
  • Sunday, Jan. 26: Regent Theatre, Arlington

Pick up a broucher of the films being screened here.

Two examples of long form films at this year’s festival:

Films inspired by beloved classic and contemporary children’s books are a festival hallmark. More than half of this year’s selections are adapted or re-imagined from literature. These films ignite a love for books and reading, and also complement the Massachusetts Public School Curriculum Frameworks. They will be shown on Sunday, Jan. 19 and Monday, Jan. 20; films devoted to reclaiming green spaces will screen on Sunday, Jan. 26.

The festival also welcomes renowned animator David Feiss, director of the recent animated hit, Hitpig!, who will participate in a Q&A after the screening of his fim. He will also lead a workshop where kids can learn to draw characters from the Minions and Hotel Transylvania films.

Tickets & Passes:
Feature length films: $12
Shorts programs: $8
Films Only Pass: $35 Includes admission for one person to all 15 screenings (best if you plan to watch at least 3 films)
VIP Film Pass: $100, includes admission for one person to all 15 screenings and the workshop, a Family Festival t-shirts, recognition in our programs for a year, and our appreciation.

Obtain tickets here

Curbside Christmas Tree Removal Runs For Two Weeks

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Photo: O’ tannenbaum. Auf wiedersehen

With Christmas a fading memory, the time has come to take down the ornaments and lights and take the ex-Christmas tree to the curb. But don’t take too long to undress the fern: trees will be collected for recycling only during the first two weeks of January, Jan. 6 – 17.

The evergreen will be picked up on your regular trash day. No tree bags or tree stands, just the trees.

After Jan. 17, trees are considered bulk items (a “bulky”), and an appointment will need to be made with Waste Management to remove the once proud arbor. Its phone number is 1-800-963-4776.

But you don’t need to dump the tree on the side of the road; your former Christmas tree can help the local bird population. Past-Christmas trees make excellent bird habitats if you have room in your backyard. Remove all decorations, especially the tinsel, and secure the tree with stakes and twine so it doesn’t blow into your neighbor’s yard. Hang popcorn or fresh fruit with string in the branches to give your feathered friends a mid-winter snack.

Celebrate Chanukah With Menorah Lighting at Belmont Center, Thursday Dec. 26

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Photo: The poster of the Belmont Center Menorah Lighting

Join your neighbors at this year’s Belmont Center Menorah Lighting taking place on Thursday, Dec.26 at 6 p.m. The ceremony featuring music, songs, and Chanukah treats will take place at the delta (Concord Avenue and Leonard Street} in front of the M&T Bank branch.

The annual event is coordinated by the Center for Jewish Life Arlington-Belmont which provides synagogue services, spiritual guidance, community outreach and education to inspire all Jewish people to discover a common bond of faith and observance.

What’s Opened, Closed In Belmont On A Wet Thanksgiving 2024

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Photo: Thanksgiving (c. 1935) by Doris Lee (1905–1983), Art Institute of Chicago

It’s going to be one wet and cold Thanksgiving.

From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Belmont and eastern Massachusetts will be drenched with nearly an inch of cold rain with the expected high temperature reaching only the mid-40s. While snow could coat the ground in the Worcester hills and out west in Franklin county and there is some possibility of brief freezing rain statewide, the National Weather Service said as of 4 a.m. on Thanksgiving that it doesn’t have enough confidence in widespread icing occurring in eastern Mass. to issue a Winter Weather Advisory.

Despite the forecast, football is on the early morning menu as the 102nd edition of the Thanksgiving Day rivalry between neighbors Belmont and Watertown high schools will take place on Harris Field at (around) 10:15 a.m.

One of only ten recognized by the federal government, Thanksgiving is both a national and state holiday, so most businesses along with federal, state and town offices are closed shut.

In Belmont, town offices, the Senior Center at the Beech Street Center (which currently houses the Belmont Public Library) and the Benton Library will also be closed on the holiday and Black Friday, Nov 29.

But there are a few places where you can get away from the hustle and bustle of the kitchen to pick up a coffee or hot chocolate or hit at least one drug store to pickup your prescription you forgot about.

What’s open:

  • Starbucks in Cushing Square (Trapelo and Common) is open from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving and 5 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Black Friday.
  • Dunkin’ at Trapelo Road and Beech Street will be operating from 4:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. The location on Church Street in Waverley Square will be open from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. (go see the newly-remodeled interior that was renovated overnight!) The store at 350 Pleasant St. will be open from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • CVS at 264 Trapelo Rd. is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., while the pharmacy is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • CVS in Belmont Center on Leonard Street is operating from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The pharmacy is closed.
  • Star Market in Waverley Square is closed.

Belmont High Football Thanksgiving Day Game vs Watertown (v.102) At Home

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Photo: Belmont will host Watertown for the 102nd time on Thanksgiving.

Belmont High continues its century-long Thanksgiving Day rivalry with neighboring Watertown as the two sides meet at Belmont’s Harris Field, Thursday, Nov. 28 at 10 a.m.

It’s a game Watertown has circled on the calendar after suffering the most lopsided result in the 101 games played when the Marauders beat up the Raiders, 47-0, at Watertown’s Victory Field. Watertown leads the series, 50-46-5.

It’s been a rebuilding year for both teams as the Raiders come into the match at 3-7 while the Marauders – who lost their two varsity quarterback within the first 15 minutes of the opening game against Shawsheen Tech – come in at 2-8.

Tickets for the game will be online only – in fact, your phone will be used to enter the stands. Go to https://gofan.co/event/2331689 to purchase your tickets. Prices are $10 for adults and $5 for students.

Town Sets Holiday Hours Through New Year’s

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Photo: Town Hall in Belmont

Belmont Town Administrator Patrice Garvin has released the holiday schedule for town employees and offices.

Thanksgiving holiday hours

  • Wednesday, Nov. 27: 1 p.m. Town Hall and town offices Early Closure.
  • Thursday, Nov. 28 (Thanksgiving), and Friday, Nov. 29: Town Hall and town offices are closed.

Winter holiday hours

  • Tuesday, Dec. 24: Noon Early Closure
  • Wednesday, Dec. 25 (Christmas): Town Hall Closed
  • Tuesday, Dec. 31: 2 p.m. Early Closure
  • Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025 (New Year’s Day): Town Hall Closed

Due to the holidays, no building, plumber or electrical inspection will be performed on Wed., Nov. 27, Thursday, Nov. 28, and Friday, Nov. 29. All inspection requests for these dates will be performed on Monday, Dec. 2.

In a meeting with the Select Board before the first night of Special Town Meeting, Garvin said while she doesn’t want to set precedent of providing early release before an official holiday, she did note that it is just “a few hours” that the staff will appreciate the gesture,

New Belmont Library ‘Topping Off’ Set For Thanksgiving Tuesday, Nov. 26

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Photo: The steel frame of the new Belmont Public Library on Nov. 24

The Library Building Committee is welcoming the community to a “topping off” ceremony for the new Belmont Public Library at 336 Concord Ave. The event will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 26 starting at 11:30 a.m.

The ceremony comes as the steel frame of the two story, 41,500 sq.-ft. structure has been erected in the past month by contractor G&R Construction. Speaking before the Special Town Meeting last week, Library Building Committee member Kathy Keohane said the building is on schedule with the completion of construction by late summer 2005 with an opening day set for sometime in the fall.

The practice of “topping out” a new building began with a Scandinavian tradition of placing a small tree on the top of a new building to appease the tree-dwelling spirits that had been displaced by the new building.

The last topping off occurred in Belmont was the Middle School section of the High and Middle School in March 2022.

What’s Open/Closed Veterans Day In Belmont: Town Offices, Schools, Post Office Shut For The Holiday; Trash/Recycling Delayed A Day

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Photo: Belmont’s World War I memorial, the town’s Cenotaph for residents who sacrificed their lives and who are buried overseas

Standing before the Belmont Lions Club, in the delta fronted by Common Street and Royal Road where in just a few weeks Christmas trees and wreathes will be sold, stands the staid and beautiful monolith bearing the names of the nine residents who gave their lives in the struggle known as the “War to end all wars.”

Cirino, Craigie, Finn, Lincoln, McAleer, Nimmo, Patrioun, Smith, and True.

Dedicated on this day in 1923 then known as “Armistice Day” and renovated in 2015, it stands as the town’s Cenotaph – an empty tomb – its monument to those Belmont sons who are buried elsewhere.

The World War I memorial during its rededication in 2015

Laid on the back of the Bethel white granite monument to those who died in World War I are the last lines to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Voluntaries,” written in 1863 to pay tribute to another company of young men prepared to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the nation.

“So nigh is grandeur to our dust,
So near is God to man,
When Duty whispers low, ‘Thou must,’
The youth whispers, ‘I can.”

Known since the mid-1950s as Veterans Day, today is a federal and state holiday.

What’s Closed:

  • Belmont Town offices, temporary library locations at the Beech Street Center and the Benton Library and Belmont Light are closed. They will reopen to the public on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
  • US Postal Service offices and regular deliveries.
  • Banks; although branches will be open in some supermarkets.

MBTA: Buses and subways on a Sunday schedule, while the commuter rail is on a weekend schedule. Go to www.mbta.com for details.

Trash and recycling collection: There will be no collection Monday; trash and recycling will be delayed ONE DAY this holiday week.

What’s Opened:

  • Retail stores.
  • Coffee shops: Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are serving coffee all day.
  • Supermarkets.
  • Convenience and drug stores (CVS/Pharmacy) open regular hours.
  • Establishments that sell beer and wine are also allowed to be open.

Performing Arts Company’s Modern Production Of ‘Star-Cross’d Lovers’: Romeo & Juliet Wrapped In A Punk Shroud

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Photo: Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet is being presented by the Belmont High School Performing Arts Company.

The Belmont High School Performing Arts Company’s Fall Play is William Shakespeare’s ROMEO & JULIET.

The Bard’s great love story of “a pair of star-cross’d lovers” and the family feud that drives them to a tragic end gets a contemporary update by the PAC. Inspired by punk rock and grunge of the 1970s-1990s, the production produced and directed by Belmont High Theater Arts teacher Ezra Flam highlights the wild, violent, humorous and impulsive passions of youth.

CONTENT WARNING: The PAC Production contains depictions of violence, suicide and domestic abuse. It may not be appropriate for young children.

Performances are Thursday, Friday & Saturday. ​Nov. 7, 8 and 9
The curtain rises at 7 p.m. in the BHS Black Box Theater

TICKET INFO:
ADULTS: $12, CHILDREN: $7
​BHS STUDENTS/STAFF: $5 all performances

Tickets are on sale online. Advance purchase recommended.
BHS Students/Staff can get tickets in school during lunch the week of the show

Poster by Wynn Tenhor ’25

MBTA Communities, Citizen’s Petition On 5 Member Select Board Headlines Three Nights Of Special Town Meeting

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Photo: Mike Widmer, Belmont Town Moderator

Expect some late nights next month in the Belmont Middle and High School Auditorium as the Town Moderator announced the schedule for the Special Town Meeting.

Mike Widmer, the town’s long-standing Town Moderator, announced in a Friday, Oct 18 email after a planning session took place concerning the fall Special Town Meeting.

The “Special” will take place on three consecutive nights: Monday, Nov. 18; Tuesday, Nov. 19 and Wednesday, Nov. 20.

“We will not meet for a fourth night under any circumstances,” said Widmer, as the extra day(s) would bleed into the week of Thanksgiving which the planners said would be too inconvenient for members planning to travel and preparing for the extended holiday.

With a 72-hour limitation in mind, there’s a good possibility members can expect some rare – for Belmont Town Meetings – “Cinderella” meetings taking place.

“Though I would prefer not, we may need to go as late as 11 p.m. in order to complete our business in just three nights,” said Widmer.

Unlike previous annual and special Town Meetings when the more important articles are taken up on the final nights, Widmer said the fall special will begin with the big ticket items: implementing the MBTA Communities Act (3A) and amendments to the Inclusionary Housing and Design and Site Plan Review zoning sections. A citizens’ petition article to expand the Select Board to five members will be the first item of business on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

And due to the complexity of the zoning issues, Widmer set an earlier deadline of noon, Tuesday, Nov. 5 for members to submit proposed amendments to alter the articles.

While a growing number of member have been hankering for a virtual meeting, Widmer said given the current limits of town resources, the Special will only take place in person. But those campaigning for off-site attendance, Widmer said that “town leaders are committed to holding some form of hybrid at the 2025 Annual Town Meeting [in May 2025] and into the future if permitted by state law.”

The current remote and hybrid entitlement approved by the state legislature during the pandemic is due to expire in early 2025. “While this is my final year as Moderator, I will strongly recommend to my successor that Town Meeting have a permanent hybrid option, if permitted,” said Widmer.