Grove Street Playground Public Meeting Set for Monday, April 13

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Photo: The Grove Street Playground.

Draft plans for one of Belmont’s most used playgrounds will highlight the third round of public meetings on a proposed Grove Street Playground Master Plan to be held on Monday, April 13, at 7 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.

According to the Belmont Department of Public Works, information, data and suggestions gathered at the initial public meetings on March 4 and 9 have been incorporated into several draft design concepts of the playground by consultant Activitas Inc. and are ready to be reviewed for additional feedback.

An Intimate View of Cuba and Its People at the Belmont Gallery of Art

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Photo: Works in “Cuba From a Different Angle”

With US/Cuba relations undergoing rapid and transformative changes, a new photography exhibit opens tonight, Friday, April 10, at the Belmont Gallery of Art that explores the intimate lives of the Cuban people as well as the country’s architecture and geography. 

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The opening reception for “Cuba From a Different Angle” by photographer and Harvard lecturer  Jonathan Hansen, will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the gallery located on the third floor of the Homer Municipal Building, 219 Moore St., in the Town Hall complex.

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“As a historian, I am drawn to the sedimentary quality of private lives, public spaces, and political and cultural institutions. The collection of photographs, … represents my attempt to capture the geological layers of Cuba’s built environment, while conveying the dynamism and exhuberance of its social life,” said Hansen, a lecturer and senior faculty associate at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard. 

The Gallery hours are Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4.

Belmont Savings’ Egg Hunt a Thunderous Success

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Photo: Finding eggs with a smile at the 15th annual Egg Hunt in Belmont.

When the “crack” of an early Saturday morning thunderbolt woke her up, the first thought in Susan Condrick’s mind was “What about the hunt?”

The event she was referring to was the Belmont Savings Bank’s 15th Annual Belmont Egg Hunt taking place in just a few hours at the Chenery Middle School playing field, on Saturday, April 4.

“We [Carolyn Boyle, her business colleague at Hammond Real Estate and Egg Hunt co-director] had said rain, snow, mud or shine, but we hadn’t thought about lightning,” she said Saturday morning.

When they arrived at the playing field off Oakley Road, “[w]e were really relieved when we saw the little bit of blue sky,” she said.

And by the time a few hundred kids and their parents arrived at the site at the 10 a.m. start time, the rain had long past, the field was relatively dry and snow free and the sun was just preparing to peak out from behind the clouds.

With the help over the past two weeks of about 20 Chenery sixth graders and a fifth grade Girl Scout troop (#75023), 10,000 brightly-colored plastic eggs were filled with candy and prizes and sowing the field and the small playground for the toddlers.

And with a year’s experience in their pocket, Condrick and Boyle had their helpers in place, the eggs on the ground and hundred’s of kids eager to break the tape holding them back.

Condrick could only reach to “four” in her countdown before a wave of early-morning kids energy burst onto the landscape, searching for each egg in sight.

The kids, followed by parents and siblings, scoured the grounds, picking clean the land of every candy-laden egg in less than five minutes. And for the vast majority of kids, the day was a success.

“Last year, we were new at this and it didn’t run as smoothly as we would have liked. So this one ran smoothly,” she said.

For Condrick and Boyle, the yearly event is more than just a morning running after youngsters picking up colored eggs.

“This is a great introduction to Belmont for newer families in town with younger kids. And it is a nice time away from the fairly contentious political discussions that have been happening of late,” she said.

Along with the Belmont Savings Bank, which served as the lead sponsor, other backers include: 

  • Pediatric Dental Arts
  • Hammond Residential Real Estate
  • Cultural Care Au Pair
  • Moozy’s Ice Cream and Yogurt Emporium
  • Paprika Kids
  • Rancatore’s
  • Toy Shop of Belmont

 

Hop Over to Belmont’s Egg Hunt Saturday at the Chenery

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Photo: Get out of the way!

You’ll probably need to put on your Wellingtons, pack an umbrella and wear your rain slicker, but a little rain – that’s the prediction as of today – this Saturday morning, April 4, should not deter folks from coming down to the Chenery Middle School’s playground to participate in the Belmont Savings Bank’s 15th Annual Belmont Egg Hunt.

The dash for eggs will begin at 10 a.m. sharp – do not be late! – come rain or shine.

Just like last year, there will be a special area for toddlers to hunt for eggs on their own in the playground.

In addition to being the prime sponsor, Belmont Savings Bank will be giving everyone a chance to win a bike through a free raffle, offering a second chance for all attendees. You can enter to win at the Belmont Savings Bank tent. Also, eggs with “gold coin” slips inside can be redeemed at the Belmont Savings tent during the hunt.

The Big Bunny will be on hand to pose for pictures and free refreshments will also be offered.  Face painting will be provided.

Other sponsors of the Egg Hunt include:

  • Pediatric Dental Arts
  • Hammond Residential Real Estate
  • Cultural Care Au Pair
  • Moozy’s Ice Cream and Yogurt Emporium
  • Paprika Kids
  • Rancatore’s
  • Toy Shop of Belmont

For additional information on the egg hunt, please visit the Bank’s website.

This Week: Final Precinct Meeting, Two Great Concerts, Recycling Q&A, Rugby Mega Match

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On the government side of “This Week”:

  • The Board of Selectmen is meeting a little earlier than normal, convening at 5:45 p.m. on Monday, March 30 at the Beech Street Center prior to the final precinct meeting of the spring. It will be accepting the latest statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority to help fund a new Belmont High School. 
  • The Board of Health meets on Tuesday, March 31, at 5:30 p.m. at Town Hall where they will meet with Artur Nergaryan, owner of Art’s Specialties, the new cheese shop in town.
  • The Warrant Committee will be holding its bimonthly meeting on Wednesday, April 1 at 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School.
  • Tree Hearing will take place in Town Hall on Thursday, April 2, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

• The Saturday Morning Music School will be holding the All-Town Concert on Monday, March 30, at 7 p.m. at Belmont High School. The many ensembles featured on this concert include the SMMS All-Town Chorus (Grades 3-5), the All-Town Beginning and Advanced Orchestras (Grades 3-5), and the All-Town Beginning and Advanced Bands (Grades 4-5). This concert is open to the public and admission is free.

• The final precinct meeting on the fiscal 2016 budget and the Prop 2 1/2 override jointly hosted by the Belmont Board of Selectmen and the Financial Task Force will take place on Monday, March 30 at 7 p.m. at the Beech Street Center. 

• Storyteller and comedian David Shikes presents a collection of humorous situations and subjects including New England jokes at the Beech Street Center on Tuesday, March 31, at 1:15 p.m. Shikes has been enthusiastically recommended anytime – so come join in the fun.

• An Easter tradition continues as the Belmont Public Library hosts a Peeps dioramas party on Tuesday, March 31 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the library’s Assembly Room.

• After a postponement on Saturday, there is a good bet that the Belmont High School spring sports season will get underway on Tuesday, March 31 at 4:30 p.m. as the Belmont High Boys’ Lacrosse team hosts Shawsheen Valley Reg Tech High School at Harris Field. 

• Sustainable Belmont will host Carolyn Dann, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Municipal coordinator, and Mary Beth Calnan, Belmont’s Recycling coordinator, along with local experts for the group’s second annual Recycling Q&A. The meeting takes place on Wednesday, April 1, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room.

• On Wednesday, April 1 at 7 p.m., a concert featuring the Belmont High Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band and Jazz Collective will take place at Belmont High School.  The Wind Ensemble will feature BHS Concerto Competition winner Hannah Messenger in a performance of Strauss’ Horn Concerto, Opus 8. The Jazz Collective is fresh off of a Silver Medal performance at the MAJE State Finals where senior Rowan Wolf was awarded Outstanding Soloist for all Division 2 bands in the state. This concert is open to the public and admission is free.

• The most anticipated matchup of the regular season in New England High School rugby takes place on the Harris Field pitch Wednesday as last year’s state champion Bishop Hendricken High School of Warwick, RI (the Rhode Island school is included with Massachusetts teams for the title) takes on Belmont High School Rugby Football Club at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 1. The teams have been the finalists in the state championships for three consecutive years with Belmont winning in 2013 and coming within five meters twice of defending its championship last year.  

• It’s LEGO time at the Belmont Public Library on Thursday, April 2! The library’s LEGO club is for kids in kindergarten through second grade who want to meet and create their own unique structures. All LEGOs will be provided so just bring your imagination to the Assembly Room from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• The Friends of the Belmont Public Library will meet on Thursday, April 2, from 9:30 p.m. to  11 a.m. in the Assembly Room.

• Half day of school on Friday due to the Good Friday holiday on Friday, April 3.

This Weekend: AP Art Showcase, Broadway in Belmont, Teens ‘Tempest’ for Teens, Lacrosse Begins

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Photo: Art that will be at the AP Arts show.

• The talented students who participate in Belmont High School’s AP Art class are hosting an arts show on Saturday, March 28 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Beth El Temple Center, 2 Concord Ave. The show will give a chance for residents can see and understand what the student do. It’s free and there will be food and music at this kids friendly event. 
• The Great White Way comes to Belmont as a group of graduate students from the Boston Conservatory’s Theater Division present “Broadway Magic: from the Golden Age to the Hits of Today” in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library on Saturday, March 28, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Music on Saturday concerts are free to all thanks to the sponsorship of the Friends of the Belmont Public Library.
• The Belmont High School spring sports season gets underway – in the snow if the forecast is correct – with Belmont High Boys’ Lacrosse taking on the Newton South High School Lions at Harris Field on Saturday, March 28 at 9 a.m. That’s right, 9 a.m.
• The Belmont High School Performing Arts Company finishes its run of the Cole Porter musical “Anything Goes” with two shows on Saturday, March 28, a 1:30 p.m. matinee and at 7 p.m. Tickets: Adults: $15 in advance/$18 at the door; Students: $10; Chenery 8th Grade Students: $5. 
• Teens performing The Bard as the Boston Theatre Company’s Teen Touring Troupe will perform Shakespeare’s The Tempest on Sunday, March 29, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. Don’t miss this amazing theatrical performance for teens, by teens.

This Week: ‘Anything Goes’ Gets Going, Candidates’ Night Thursday, Shhhhhh Wednesday

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Photo: BHS/PAC’s “Anything Goes.” 

Two highlights “This Week”

• The Belmont High School Performing Arts Company presents its spring musical, Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes” on Thursday, March 26 and Friday, March 27 at 7 p.m. and two shows on Saturday, March 28, a 1:30 p.m. matinee and at 7 p.m. Tickets: Adults: $15 in advance/$18 at the door; Students: $10; Chenery 8th Grade Students: $5. Buy tickets online: Buy Tickets and at Champions Sports in Belmont Center.

• The Belmont League of Women Voters is holding its annual “Candidates’ Night” on Thursday, March 26 at 7 p.m. in the Chenery Middle School auditorium.

The schedule is:

  • 7 p.m.: Meet your Town Meeting Members at their precinct
  • 7:30 p.m.: Town Meeting Members introduced themselves in order of precinct number 
  • 7:45 p.m.: Unopposed town-wide candidates will speak to the audience.
  • 8 p.m.: The candidates for Belmont Board of Selectmen will answer questions.

The Proposition 2 1/2 ballot question will be address, if necessary.

On the government side of “This Week”

  • The Capital Budget Committee will review its fiscal 2016 budget on Tuesday, March 24, at 5 p.m. in Belmont Town Hall.  
  • The Belmont School Committee will discuss the 2015-16 school year budget (including a request to add a religious holiday) and the latest application from the School District to the Massachusetts School Building Authority for a grant to help pay for a new Belmont High School. It all takes place on Tuesday, March 24, at 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School.
  • The Community Path Implementation Advisory Committee is meeting on Wednesday, March 25, at 6 p.m. in Town Hall where the committee will discuss the challenges to each possible path and the systematic approach to review those challenges.

Tuesday is story time at both of Belmont’s libraries. 

  • Pre-School Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, at 10:30 a.m. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may attend with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex.
  • The Belmont Public Library on Concord Avenue will be holding two sessions of Story Time for 2′s and 3′s, at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. 

• Mel Simons will be presenting Everything’s Coming up Irish at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Tuesday, March 24, at 1:15 p.m. The popular homegrown radio personality, author, and entertainer is back with an all Irish show in honor of St. Patrick’s Day (a little bit late). Irish songs, Irish jokes, Irish trivia; all Irish all the way.

• The Belmont Book Discussion group will discuss The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room on Wednesday, March 25, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend.  Copies of the book can be requested through the library catalog or call the library Reference staff at 617-993-2870.

• Quiet Belmont will be holding a community meeting Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room on Wednesday, March 25, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Quiet Belmont is a citizen’s advocacy group fighting the airplane noise increase over Belmont. You can reach the group at quietbelmont@googlegroups.com

• The film, The Iron Lady, the biography of Margaret Thatcher which actress Meryl Streep received the Academy Award, will be screened for free on Friday, March 27, at 1 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.

This Weekend: Hoop Shoot-Out, Puppet Band, Belmont World Film Begins

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• Malaria is preventable yet claims a life every 60 seconds in Sub-Sahara Africa. On Saturday, March 21 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., you can help stem the disease’s tide by participating in the annual Imagine No Malaria’s Hoop Shoot-Out at Belmont-Watertown United Methodist Church at 421 Common St. Anyone eight-years-years and older can join in on the fun: come ready to shot as many foul shots you can make in two minutes pledging any amount of money per made basket.

The funds raised will buy bed netting which will protect a family of four from infected mosquitoes. All shooters and sponsors are welcome. No registration is needed; make your own pledge sheet and just show up. Enter through the rear doors off the parking lot. 

• Toe Jam Puppet Band will be performing at the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room on Saturday, March 21, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

• The 14th annual Belmont World Film International Film Series, “Secrets and Lies,” begins Sunday, March 22 at 7 p.m. in a new location – the West Newton Cinema at 1296 Washington St. – with the New England premiere of Ghadi, a good natured satire about bigotry and redemption that was the 2015 Oscar entry from Lebanon for Best Foreign Film. Get in contact with BFW at 617-484-3980 or egitelman@belmontworldfilm.org

The screening is preceded by a reception at 5:45 p.m. at the theater featuring Lebanese cuisine (a separate $15 admission) and is co-presented by American Friends of SESOBEL, which helps improve the quality of life and supports the families of children with mental and physical disabilities in Lebanon.

 

This Week: Learn About Gap Years, Affordable Housing in Belmont and The Great War

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On the government side of This Week:

  • The Belmont Board of Selectmen has a light agenda before them on Monday, March 16 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. The group looking to build a cul-de-sac and two houses at 863 Concord Ave. near McLean Hospital will before the Board of Survey (which the Selectmen also are) while the Selectmen will continue a deliberation on whether to award a beer and wine license to Jimmy’s Food Mart at 297 Belmont St. (the former Shore Drug). 
  • The Planning Board will meet Monday, March 16 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall to deliberate issuing special permits and potential cases while discuss preparing for a zoning forum. 
  • The Selectmen will hold the second of two Precinct Meeting on the fiscal ’16 budget, the Financial Task Force’s final report and the proposed Proposition 2 1/2 override at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., at 3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 20. 
  • The School Committee is meeting on Friday, March 20 at 3:30 p.m. No agenda so I can’t tell where or what they will be doing, but I’m guess it has something to do with the precinct meeting. 

• The annual Chenery Middle School Honors Concert, which includes band, chorus and orchestra ensembles, will perform Monday, March 16 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School.

Tuesday is story time at both of Belmont libraries. 

  • Pre-School Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, at 10:30 a.m. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may attend with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex.
  • The Belmont Public Library on Concord Avenue will be holding two sessions of Story Time for 2′s and 3′s, at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. 

• The staff from U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark’s office will be holding office hours in Belmont at the Beech Street Center, on Tuesday, March 17, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

• Join Heather Hurd of Blue Cross Blue Shield for a lecture, Heart Health, on Tuesday, March 17, at 1:15 p.m. at the Beech Street Center about how aging can cause changes in the heart and blood vessels which may increase a person’s risk of heart disease. The good news is there is much that seniors can do to delay, lower, or possibly avoid or reverse their risk.

• The Belmont Art Association is meeting Tuesday, March 17 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the  Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. 

• Learn all about the advantages and challenges of taking a gap year after graduating from Belmont High as parents and students are invited to attend “A Gap Year Panel” being held in the Belmont High School Library on Tuesday, March 17 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

• Peeps dioramas will be assembled in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library on Wednesday, March 18 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. 

• The Belmont Historical Society presents former Belmont Selectman Dan Leclerc who will will speak about Belmont and World War I in his talk, “The Yankee Division in the Great War,” on Wednesday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. Leclerc, a retired history teacher and former vice-president of the Belmont Historical Society, will speak about heroic roles played by Belmont residents in the division’s action during World War I.  

• The Chenery Middle School PTO will hear a school budget presentation on Thursday, March 19 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School, 95 Washington St. 

• State Sen. Will Brownsberger office will be holding office hours on Friday, March 20 at 10 a.m. in the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St. 

• Judie Feins, a long-time member of the Belmont Housing Trust and the Belmont League of Women Voters, will present a slide show on affordable housing in Belmont called “What’s the Plan?,” part of the League of Women Voters’ Brown Bag Lunch series, being held in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library on Friday, March 20 from noon until 1:30 p.m. Hear about the Town’s housing needs and potential strategies for meeting them.  

This Weekend: Karen K & the Jitterbugs Saturday, Vanessa Trien also Saturday, Battling Robots Sunday, The Art of Teabags

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• Karen K & the Jitterbugs will be giving a free concert from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday March 14 at Chenery Middle School, sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank.  The show is ideal for kids ages 2 to 7 and their parents. Karen K & the Jitterbugs have been delighting audiences up and down the east coast with their crowd-engaging, theatrical show. Hear some of the music of Karen K & the Jitterbugs here.

Karen K and Belmont Savings request that guests bring a non-perishable food item to the concert for the Belmont Food Pantry.

In addition, parents can enter their kids to be honorary Jitterbugs by uploading a photo of them at the concert to Instagram with the hashtag #belmontsavingsbug. The Instagram post with the most likes will win free Karen K and the Jitterbugs CD and a $25 iTunes gift card. The post with the most “Likes” by 10 a.m. on Monday, March 16 will be the winner. To participate in the bank’s Instagram contest, post settings must be “public,” and participants must be 18 years or older to enter.

• Vanessa Trien and the Jumping Monkeys will be in concert supporting the Belmont Coop Nursery School at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 14 in the Social Hall of St. Joseph Church, 130 Common St. There will be great music, an auction, pizza, a bake sale and more. $10 per person with a $30 max for a family. Kids under 2 are in like Flynn. 

• Belmont artist Christiane Corcelle will give a talk on her show (which has been receiving great reviews in arts publications)  Kaleidoscope: The Art of Tea at the Belmont Gallery of Art on Sunday, March 15, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. This eclectic and unique exhibit includes both two and three-dimensional objects created using the common tea bag and its components. The Gallery is located on the third floor of the Homer Building located in the Town Hall complex off Concord Avenue in Belmont Center.

• Don’t miss Lexington High School Robotics’ presentation on the challenging, exciting world of teen competitive team robotics, taking place Sunday, March 15 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. See robots in action, try your hand at building-block robotics, and learn how to start your own team from veteran FIRST competitors.