This Week: Spring Concert at the High School, Child Safety, Coffeehouse and Robots

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On the government side of “This Week”:

  • The Belmont Board of Selectmen is meeting on Monday, March 2 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall to initially convene as the Board of Survey to spend a half hour talking about 863 Concord Ave. then as the board to hear an update from the Logan Community Advisory Committee about noisy airplanes taking off over Belmont.
  • The Zoning Board of Appeals will hear an application for a construction parking plan at the Belmont Uplands and several special permits on Monday, March 2 at 7 p.m. in the Art Gallery of the Homer Building located in the Town Hall complex.
  • The Belmont Human Rights Commission is meeting on Thursday, March 5 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall. On the agenda, the commission will hear from Athena Edmonds on public accommodation and transgender individuals in Belmont.

• The Seventh and Eighth Grade Book Group will meet Monday, March 2 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Young Adult Room of the Belmont Public Library to discuss this month’s two books: Ripper by Stefan Petrucha and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe by Douglas Adams. Snacks included!

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. 

• State Rep. Dave Rogers will hold office hours at the Beech Street Center on Tuesday, March 3, at 9:30 a.m.

• Learn how a geriatric medical evaluation differs from that of a non-senior at a talk on Geriatric Primary Care on Tuesday, March 3, at 1:15 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St. Offered by Belmontian and Mount Auburn Hospital staff member Dr. Mab Butterfield.

• There will be a Parent Workshop on Child Safety on Tuesday, March 3, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library.

• The Powers Music School will be holding a panel discussion on “Affordable Music Education” in the Betsy Washburn Cabot Room at the school, 380 Concord Ave., on Tuesday, March 3, from 6:30 p.m. The free discussion will discuss how the high cost of music programs is keeping kids from a quality arts education. There will be school representatives who will answer questions and discuss financial aid scholarships.

• The monthly meeting of the Belmont Woman’s Club will take place on Wednesday, March 4, from 9:30 a.m. to noon in the Belmont Historical Society’s Claflin Room in the Belmont Public Library. 

• The Belmont High School’s Department of Fine & Performing Arts presents its Spring Chorus and Orchestra Concert on Wednesday, March 4, at 7 p.m. in the BHS auditorium. This concert will feature the first of our annual Solo Competition Winners, sophomore Haig Hovsepian, who will be performing the third movement from the Aram Khachaturian Violin Concerto. Also performing will be the Men’s Chorus, Women’s Chorus and Chamber Singers , the BHS Concert Orchestra and the Combined Choruses and Orchestra performing several movements of Vivaldi’s Gloria in D.

• Sustainable Belmont will be holding a presentation and Q&A on “Gardens & Recycling” on Wednesday, March 4, at 7 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library.

• The Belmont of League of Women Voters will hold an education meeting on Thursday, March 5 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library.

• The LEGO Club for kindergarteners through second graders is back on Thursday, March 5 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. Drop in anytime. All LEGOs will be provided. Just bring your imagination.

• The Working to Help the Homeless Club will be hosting a WTHH Coffeehouse on Thursday, March 5, at 7 p.m. at the High School’s Cafe. Here is your chance to see Belmont High students showcase their talents. There will also be ice cream and baked goods. Tickets are $5 at the door or at Champions.

• Belmont Police Lt. Kristin Daley and Communications Manager Dan MacAuley (“The Voice of Belmont”) will be giving a presentation on Smart 911 on Friday, March 6, at 1:15 p.m. at the Beech Street Center. Smart 911 is a new system that helps emergency dispatchers make faster decision and shorten response times for getting you the help you need.

• Robots will be invading the Belmont on Friday, March 6, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. as the good people from iRobot will talk about their robots, what they do, and the amazing technology that makes them work in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. This is geared for all students curious about the the future of robots and how they will take over the world and enslave humans. (just kidding). 

 

Novelist Sarah Payne Stuart Stops to Talk ‘Guilt, God and Real Estate’ at BPL Sunday

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The Friends of Belmont Public Library’s Author’s Series presents novelist Sarah Payne Stuart who will speak on her book “Perfectly Miserable: Guilt, God and Real Estate in a Small Town,” today, Sunday, March 1, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The book is a wryly comic memoir that examines the pillars of New England WASP culture – class, history, family, money, and, of course, real estate – through the lens of mothers and daughters.

Stuart – who was raised and later lived in Concord – has written for The New Yorker and The New York Times Book Review. She divides her time between Maine and New York.

All are welcome to attend this free program. Books will be available for purchase and signing. The Assembly Room is handicapped accessible.

Positive Energy, BHS Musicians Present a Belmont Musical Collaboration Saturday Night

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The cold and snow got you down? Need a much needed lift to your spirits?

Then head over to the Cultural Hall of the LDS Meetinghouse at 15 Ledgewood Place tonight Saturday night, Feb. 28 between 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. for a concert and dance party dubbed My Generation: A Belmont Musical Collaboration.

Sponsored by the Parents of Music Students (POMS), the night will feature critically-acclaimed band, Positive Energy, renowned for its eclectic mix of popular music, jazz, and folk styles while talented brass and wind players from Belmont High School are preparing to blow you away.

The BHS performers are Rowan Wolf and Yilei Bai are on saxophone; Jack Stone, trombone; Riley Grant, trumpet; and Gillian Tahajian and Hannah Read, flute.

These musicians will perform together, promising entertainment and synergy that is rarely witnessed and will long be admired.  It’s an event for all ages.

Tickets for “My Generation” are available through the POMS website: www.belmontpoms.weebly.com, with a small fee; and at Champions Sporting Goods in Belmont Center, with no fee. Donations will be accepted at the door.

Adult ticket prices are only $12, while student and senior prices are $10. POMS (Parents of Music Students) will use all proceeds to support music programs in the Belmont schools, K-12.

This Week: Lots to Do Throughout the Next Five Days in Belmont

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On the government side of This Week:

  • The Belmont Board of Selectmen is meeting Monday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall to speak to State Rep. Dave Rogers and to hear a request for a beer and wine license at Jimmy’s Food Mart (the former Shore Drug site) near the corner of School and Belmont streets.
  • The Zoning Board of Appeals is in session on Monday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Gallery of Art, third floor of the Homer Building, Town Hall complex, where it will take up a special permit for a family day-care center on Ridge Road and permission to allow construction parking on the Belmont Uplands.
  • The Belmont School Committee is meeting Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School where they will discuss the specific classes and positions where 22 full-time staff and teachers will be cut to meet a possible $1.7 million deficit under the current fiscal ’16 available revenue budget.
  • The Planning Board is holding a public meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall on several potential zoning by-law changes including a moratorium on “McMansions” in the Shaw Estates neighborhood near the Grove Street Playground and to allow single-family homes on lots of less than 5,000 sq.-ft. lots in general residence (GR) districts. If the Board can not finish the meeting on Wednesday, it will continue on Thursday, Feb. 26.
  • The Capital Budget Committee will discuss its fiscal 2016 list of goodies on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. in Town Hall.

• The Belmont Farmers Market planning meeting will be taking place in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 23. 

• The Beech Street Center presents Richard J. Castino will present a video and speak on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. about how a home can be modified to allow elders and those with physical challenges to remain independent and safe. Castino is a licensed construction supervisor in Watertown, who is a Certified Aging in Place Specialist, a designation from the National Association of Homebuilders.

• The Belmont Art Association will be holding its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 24 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room.

• The fifth-seed Belmont High School Girls’ Basketball team (14-6) will host Danvers in the first-round of the MIAA Div. 2 North sectional championships on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in the Wenner Field House.

• The Belmont Historical Society presents McLean Hospital archivist Terry Alan Bragg for a talk on “The History of McLean Hospital” in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. 

• The Belmont High School Boys’ Hoopsters will take on Winchester (for the third time this season) at the Wenner Field House on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. in the first round of the first-round of the MIAA Div. 2 North sectional championships

• The Belmont Stormwater Working Group is meeting on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room. 

• Belmont Police Lt. Kristin Daley will shares information about protecting yourself from financial predators at the Beech Street Center on Friday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. 

• The Belmont Public Library is holding its monthly OTAKUrabu program. Watch anime, do a craft/activity, plan for future events and nibble on some Japanese snacks (while they last – they’ll go fast) on Friday, Feb. 27 from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Assembly Room. Provided to you for free, thanks to the Friends of the Belmont Public Library. Just drop in, no registration required.

• The 4th-ranked Watertown/Belmont high schools combined Girls’ Ice Hockey team (18-3-1) will host the winner of the Andover/Billerica preliminary round match on Saturday, Feb. 28 at the Ryan Rink in Watertown. What time? They aren’t saying just yet.

Town Schedules Meetings to Discuss Grove Street Playground Master Plan

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The town of Belmont has announced a pair of public meetings targeting specific audiences in March to discuss the creation of a master plan for the Grove Street Playground.

The town’s Department of Public Works and Activitas Inc. – a Dedham-based development company that worked on the redevelopment of Belmont High School’s Harris Field – will be hosting two meetings in the Board of Selectmen Room of Belmont Town Hall as they begin writing a comprehensive long-term strategy for the heavily-used open space/playground on the Cambridge town-line in east Belmont. 

The first meeting will be on March 4 at 7 p.m. when Activitas Inc. and town officials will speak to neighborhood residents as they seek their input and to better understand their issues.

The second meeting is on March 9 at 7 p.m. when youth organizations representing soccer, baseball and other sports that use the playground will give their input to their concerns.

After the meetings, Activitas and town departments will discuss the public information acquired which will be used to set a course for the Master Plan.

Further public discussions will be scheduled with neighbors, youth organizations and others at future public meetings.

Belmont Food Holding Cooking Classes for Kids and Adults

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The Belmont Food Collaborative – the residents who run and manage the Belmont Farmers Market – will be holding a fun activity for parents and children as it teams up with Powisset Cooks! and The Trustees of the Reservations to hold two fun cooking classes for adults and kids where they will be cooking seasonal winter recipes here in Belmont.

A pair of cooking classes, taking place in the kitchen of the First Church of Belmont, 404 Concord Ave., will be held on Sunday, Feb. 22 and March 22 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The fee is $35 for an adult/child pair
. Each class is limited to seven pairs.

The first class is “One Potato, Two Potato, Lots of Potato Pancakes,” an exciting, hands-on exploration in potato-pancake making with Powisset Cooks! culinary educator, Rachel Kaplan. The group will experiment with making and eating a variety of potato pancake recipes.

The second class is “Late Winter Soup,” is for soup lovers! Kaplan will guide the pairs through making and sampling a few soup recipes, and you’ll learn more about local, seasonal vegetables along the way.

Register online here. Please register by Wednesday, Feb. 18.

This Week: Maple Sugar and Concert Tuesday, Book Reading Thursday

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• On the government end of the things, the Board of Selectmen will meet today with the Belmont School Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. to discuss next year’s school district budget. The selectmen will also discuss the recommendation of the Financial Task Force to schedule a Prop. 2 1/2 override. 

• The Belmont Public Library is holding a maple sugaring program for kids on Tuesday, Feb. 17 from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Assembly Room.

• Staff from US Rep. Katherine Clark‘s office will be holding office hours at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Tuesday, Feb. 17 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

• Pianist Kathryn Rosenbach will present a free concert titled “Exploring the Fantasie” at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Tuesday, Feb. 17, from 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.  A native Belmontian who teaches at the Powers Music School, Rosenbach will present a program of Bach, Chopin and Schumer.

• Belmont author Len Abram will read from his new book, The Medallion, Thursday, Feb. 19, from 7:30 p.m,. to 9 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room. Sasha Denisov, a Ukrainian immigrant and Chechen war veteran, drives a Boston cab, dreaming of buying his own taxi medallion and remarrying Ani, a Russian immigrant, whom he first married to get a green card and then fell in love with. This free program is part of the Library Friends Author Series. All are welcome to attend.  Books will be available for purchase and signing.
• State Sen. Will Brownsberger‘s staff will be holding office hours at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on on Friday, Feb. 20, at 10 a.m. 
• The Beech Street Center’s Movie Of the Month for February is “Waking Ned Devine,” on Friday, Feb. 20, at 1 p.m. The comedy is about Ned Devine, aresident of a tiny Irish town, who wins the lottery … but who his neighbors discover have died clutching the winning ticket. This puts the townspeople in a spot, since, if lottery officials discover Ned dead, the money is forfeited. When the community comes together in hopes of splitting the winnings 51 ways, they learn the importance of friendship and the value of money.

NEW DATE: PJ Wearing Belmont High Students Out to Help Needy Kids

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If your child heads off to the high school in their PJs tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 13, don’t worry – in fact, that just might be their daily routine – they aren’t late and in a rush to make their first class of the day.

Tomorrow Belmont High will hold its annual “Pajamarama,” the day for students, the administration staff and teachers to wear their “jammies” to class in exchange for a donation of money or nice, new children’s sleepwear to the “PJ Drive for Cradles to Crayons,” a Brighton non-profit organization, which provides gently-used clothes and gear for needy Massachusetts children.

For this drive, sponsored by the Boston Bruins, the school’s  is collecting both monetary donations and pairs of new, warm pj’s in sizes from newborn to 18.

For students, parents and residents who would like to help, drop off any new pj’s – please keep the tags on! – in the main office by Wednesday, Feb.25.  

Monetary donations – checks made out to Cradles to Crayons – may either be brought to the office or mailed to:

Alice Melnikoff

Belmont High School

221 Concord Ave.

Belmont, MA  02478.

 

This Weekend: Oscar Auction at First Church; ‘Charlotte’s Web’ at Town Hall

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• An Evening at the Oscars!, a live auction along with a dinner and music will take place on Saturday, Feb. 7, from 5:45 p.m. to 10 p.m. at The First Church, Belmont, 404 Concord Ave. Auction items range from vacation getaways to donated items guaranteed to delight and surprise to raise money to support all of the church’s important committee, youth and adult education work. Tickets are $50 which includes a cocktail reception, live auction, dinner and live entertainment. The silent auction continues until Feb. 14.

• The Menotomy Musical Theater presents “Charlotte’s Web” Friday, Feb. 6 through Sunday, Feb. 8 at Belmont Town Hall auditorium, 145 Concord Ave. Adapted from the classic E. B. White novel, Charlotte’s Web tells the memorable story of Wilbur, a little pig who becomes famous with the help of his clever friend, a spider named Charlotte, and their chatty animal neighbors.

Performances: 

  • Friday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, Feb. 7 at 2 p.m.
  • Saturday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m.
  • Sunday, Feb. 8 at 2p.m.

Price: $15 on-line or $20 at the door.

Information and Tickets available at www.menotomymusicaltheater.com

Residents Group to Present Argument for ‘McMansion’ Moratorium

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The newly-created Belmont Citizens for Responsible Zoning is hosting a meeting for Precinct 7 Town Meeting Members in the Flett Room at the Belmont Public Library tonight, Thursday, Feb. 5, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m where it will present its case for  a moratorium on construction of oversized single-family dwellings in a large section of the precinct.

Last month, the residents group submitted to the Town Clerk’s Office a citizen’s petition seeking to place a one-year suspension of oversized single-family dwellings in a portion of Belmont’s Single Residence C Zoning District. The amendment to the zoning bylaws has been accepted and will be presented to the annual Town Meeting in May. The petition will need to achieve a two-thirds margin of acceptance to be approved.

The area – known by long-time residents as Shaw Estate – includes single-families within the bounties of School, Washington and Grove streets and Grosvenor, Dalton and Bacon Roads.

See the group’s flyer here.

The group believe oversized replacement homes – popularly known as McMansions – change the character of neighborhoods by excluding middle-income families from buying single-family homes as assessments and values of surrounding homes increase, crowd out sunlight and natural habitats while taking advantage of zoning that is not as strict as existing rules for renovations and additions.

 

The group will also lead a discussion on recruiting candidates to fill vacancies in the precinct’s Town Meeting delegation.