This Weekend: Arts and Craft Fairs, A Comedy from the Dramatic Club, Small Business Saturday

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Residents will have a pair of craft and arts fairs to find the perfect holiday gift.

• The 13th Annual Crafts Fair at the Beech Street Center will take place on Saturday, Nov. 29, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. More than 40 vendors will be selling gifts, toys, cards, holiday ornaments, dolls, jewelry, scarves, sweaters, quilts, knitted goods, and other hand-crafted items, many of them one-of-a-kind. Sponsored by the Friends of the Belmont Council on Aging, the proceeds from table rentals and sale of donated goods go to support the Council on Aging’s programs, services, and scholarships. Cost is $1 – children under 12, free. Public invited.

• The Belmont VFW at 310 Trapelo Road – across from the Belmont Fire Department – is holding the Winter Light Arts Festival on Sunday, Nov. 30 from noon to 4 p.m. Put together by Joanna Brooks and Sharon Nahill of Oak Hill Pottery, there will be works by sculptors, potters, jewelers, fabric artists, painters, photographers and graphic artists.

• The Belmont Dramatic Club presents “Old Acquaintance,” a comedy in three acts by John Van Druten, today, Saturday and Sunday. Directed by Michael Trabucco, the play involves old friends and literary rivals who discover that love can lead to some surprising conclusions. Performances. in the historic auditorium of Belmont Town Hall, are Friday, Nov. 28 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 29 at 8 p.m. and a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Nov. 30. Founded in 1903, the Belmont Dramatic Club is the second oldest continuously operating and performing community theatre group in the United States.

• Belmont is a great small business town. This Saturday, it’s time to give back. Since 2010, Small Business Saturday has been helping small businesses do more business a day after Black Friday. Don’t forget that twice as much of each dollar spent at a local shop or restaurant stays within the town in wages, taxes and money spent on goods. 

Public Meeting on Logan Noise Set for Dec. 3

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A public meeting to update residents of Belmont and Watertown on the increase in noise over the communities from aircraft departing Logan Airport will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. at  Belmont Town Hall.

Representatives from both communities on the Logan Airport Community Advisory Committee (Logan CAC) will host a public meeting to discuss the activities being taken in response to the changes in runway usage and resulting increase in noise over Belmont and Watertown.

In the summer of 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration allowed changes to the flight pattern of aircraft departing from runway 33L which have led to significant increases in noise complaints from Belmont and Watertown residents.

This will be an informational meeting so community members with specific noise complaints should direct them to the Massachusetts Port Authority Noise Abatement Hotline online or by calling 617-561-3333 on weekday days from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 

The meeting is expected to be attended by state Reps Jonathan Hecht (Watertown) and David Rogers (Belmont) state Sen. William Brownsberger as well as a member of U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark’s staff. Clark has been working with other Congressional Representatives as part of the Quiet Skies Caucus to advocate with the FAA on noise-related issues.

This Week: Stringarama Monday, Turkey Day Game, a Pair of Holiday Fairs

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• No, it’s not a convention of physicists discussing string theory; it’s all about string players as student musicians ranging from elementary school through 12th grade will participate in the 40th annual Stingarama taking place  Monday, Nov. 24, at 7 p.m. at the Belmont High School auditorium. The ensembles will be under the direction of Margot Reavey and Laura Messina.

• Music & Movement with Rubi, a movement and music program recommended for ages 3 to 5 (but 2 year olds are welcome) will be held in the Flett Room on Monday, Nov. 17.  There will be two sessions: 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

• A joint meeting of the Belmont Municipal Light Board (made up of the Belmont Board of Selectmen) and the Municipal Light Advisory Board will convene on Monday, Nov. 24, at 11 a.m. at the Beech Street Center to discuss and possibly vote on solar distributed generation, a plan which would essentially provide a subsidy to residents who invest in and maintain solar energy systems that are connected to the Belmont Light distribution grid. If the gang does not vote on Monday, the Light Board meets again on Tuesday, Nov. 25 

• Pre-School Storytime will be held at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, on Tuesday, Nov. 24 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.

Belmont resident and Civil War expert Al Smith comes to the Beech Street Center to tell the story, “Abraham Lincoln: The Final Funeral” on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. The tragic assassination and burial of our 16th President contains elements of mystery, romance, and even comedy. He passed away the day after he was shot on April 14, 1865, but he did not enter his final resting place until 35 years later; Sept. 25, 1901.

• For anyone – investors, advertisers, competitors – seeking a bit more information about businesses, the Belmont Public Library is holding “Mind Your Business! Introduction to ReferenceUSA and Business Insights: Essentials Databases in the Library’s Assembly Room on Tuesday, Nov. 25 from 7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. It’s a chance to learn how to make lists of businesses using ReferenceUSA and perform company research.

• The annual Thanksgiving Day Football Game between Belmont and Watertown high schools is back at Harris Field for this year’s match as the Marauders (3-7) under first-year head coach Yann Kumin take their three-game winning streak against the 8-2 Red Raiders. The game starts at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27. Game day tickets are $8.

• Belmont is a great small business town. This Saturday, it’s time to give back. Since 2010, Small Business Saturday has been helping small businesses do more business a day after Black Friday. Don’t forget that twice as much of each dollar spent at a local shop or restaurant stays within the town in wages, taxes and money spent on goods. 

There will be a pair of holiday craft fairs this weekend:

• The 13th Annual Crafts Fair at the Beech Street Center will take place on Saturday, Nov. 29. More than 40 vendors will be selling gifts, toys, cards, holiday ornaments, dolls, jewelry, scarves, sweaters, quilts, knitted goods, and other hand-crafted items, many of them one-of-a-kind. Sponsored by the Friends of the Belmont Council on Aging, the proceeds from table rentals and sale of donated goods go to support the Council on Aging’s programs, services, and scholarships. Cost is $1 – children under 12, free. Public invited.

• The Belmont VFW at 310 Trapelo Road – across from the Belmont Fire Department – is holding the Winter Light Arts Festival on Sunday, Nov. 30 from noon to 4 p.m. Put together by Joanna Brooks and Sharon Nahill of Oak Hill Pottery, there will be works by sculptors, potters, jewelers, fabric artists, painters, photographers and graphic artists.

Wintery Blast Off to Official Groundbreaking of New Underwood Pool

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The juxtaposition at the official groundbreaking for the new Underwood Pool was as glaring as the brilliant morning sunshine on Friday, Nov. 21.

Residents, business leaders and town official attended the ceremony heralding the building an outdoor summer time pool complex wrapped in parkas and scarfs while wearing gloves, boots and hats to brave one of the coldest days since last March.

Yet the cold, blustery conditions – it took several fire department personnel to keep the large American flag hoisted from the town’s ladder truck from blowing away – did not place a damper on the enthusiasm of the celebration.

“The pool is dead; long live the pool,” said Adam Dash, vice chair of the Underwood Pool Building Committee before the open pit where the century old pool once sat. If all goes to plan – the weather will determine when opening day will occur – the area will be teeming with residents using two brand-new pools this coming summer.

“Thank you all for coming here to witness this historic event; the first time in a 102 years that we’ve had a ground breaking for an Underwood Pool in the town,” said Dash

The history of the new pool complex replacing the historic facility built in 1912 is well known, beginning two years ago through the urging from Peter Castinino, the retiring director of the town’s Department of Public Works, funded via a Community Preservation Act funds, Town Meeting funding and a debt exclusion in April 2014, the sudden need to raise $400,000 after a contractor abandoned the project which was successful in October due in large part to the generosity of the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation which donated $200,000 and the work of building committee member Ellen Schreiber.

“Things like this don’t happen too often so this is a real Red Letter Day for the town of Belmont,” said Robert Mahoney, president and CEO of Belmont Savings.

“This will always be the Underwood Pool but I think this  is the People’s Pool. More than 450 families contributed to our matching grant to make this happen, from as small as $10 to $25,000. It’s a people’s effort and I’d like to congratulate all of us to make this happen,” said Mahoney.

Helen Baker, a descendant of the Underwood family that deeded to the town the land which the pool was located, thanked the bank’s “generous gift” and the other donations making the project possible.

In addition to the Underwood relatives, the town recognized DPW workers who “worked tirelessly to make sure the pool opened each season even after it exceeded its useful life,” said Belmont Board of Selectmen Chair Andy Rojas.

Finally, with wind chill temps in the mid-teens, the officials and residents who worked to make the project a reality took shovels in hand to “break ground” at the site.

Hopefully, the wardrobe for the pool’s ribbon cutting will be strictly summer attire.

Mrs. Claus is Coming to Belmont’s Annual ‘Turn on the Town’ Dec. 4

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After 23 years arriving alone, Santa is bringing the Mrs. along for this year’s business trip to Belmont.

Mrs. Claus will join Santa at the Belmont Savings Bank on Thursday, Dec. 4 during the Belmont Center Business Association’s 24th annual “Turn on the Town” celebration. The holiday festivities will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. along Leonard Street in Belmont Center.

Santa and Mrs. Claus will arrive and light the tree adjacent the Bellmont Cafe at approximately 6:20 p.m., before riding their sleigh to the bank’s headquarters at 2 Leonard St. to pose for free photos from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

“It is a true pleasure to be again sponsoring Belmont’s Turn on the Town this year, and we look forward to contributing to the continued success of this annual tradition,” said Bob Mahoney, President and CEO of Belmont Savings Bank.

“This year, we are thrilled to be offering free kiddie train rides. They are the latest example of the wonderful ways this event continues to grow and engage with the Belmont community.”

Returning this year, the Bank’s “Santa’s Helper Contest” offers youngsters a chance to ride in the Sleigh with Santa and Mrs. Claus from the tree lighting to the Bank’s Belmont Center branch. The winning family will also be first in line to have their photo taken with Santa and his wife inside the Bank’s branch. Parents may enter their children to win on a landing page on belmontsavings.com/santashelpers.

Outside the branch, Bank employees will be handing out hot chocolate. Inside, the Bank’s executive garage will be a petting zoo.  Additionally, Belmont Savings will be handing out glow sticks inside the branch. There will also be stocking giveaways inside the bank lobby with gift cards and products from Local Rewards partners.

Residents are encouraged to celebrate the season of giving and bring non-perishable food items or unwrapped toys to be donated to the Belmont Food Pantry.

This Week: Special Town Meeting, Singarama Wednesday, Music for Food Tuesday

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• The Special Town Meeting will take place on Monday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School auditorium. Only one major article on the agenda for the 290 members to discuss and vote: the $2.8 million Belmont Center Reconstruction project, to be paid for out of free cash. There is a single amendment; to pay for the project with a 15-year bond paid from general funds.

• Music & Movement with Rubi, a movement and music program recommended for ages 3 to 5 (but 2 year olds are welcome) will be held in the Flett Room on Monday, Nov. 17.  There will be two sessions: 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

• Viola and Cello Music for Food: On Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library, Rosalind Ventris, violist, Zenan Yu, pianist, and Alan Toda-Ambaras, cellist, will perform music for solo viola and cello by Frank Bridge, Rebecca Clarke, Bach, and Hindemith. The performance is sponsored by the Friends of the Belmont Public Library in partnership with Music for Food, a musician-led initiative for local hunger relief. Admission is free. At the concert, donations will be collected by Music for Food for the Belmont Food Pantry.

• Singers from each of Belmont’s public schools – third graders to high school seniors – will get together Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. in the Belmont High School auditorium for the annual choral panorama known as Singarama. The program will be filled with secular and seasonal songs, classical and modern music, all of which are beautifully arranged for the audience’s enjoyment!

• The Belmont Book Discussion group will discuss Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother and Daughter Journey to the Sacred Places of Greece, Turkey, and France by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor on Wednesday, Nov. 19 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Flett Room. Everyone is welcome to attend.  Copies of the book can be requested through the library catalog or call the library’s Reference staff at 617-993-2870.

• The Wellington PTO is holding its 4th annual Wellington Shopping Night Fundraiser in Belmont Center on Thursday, Nov. 20 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Make a purchase at these participating establishments – bessie blue, Marmalade, Revolve, Bells& Whistle, Thirty Petals boutique and El Centro – mention the Wellington School and 15 percent of your purchase price will be donated to the Wellington PTO.

• The Underwood Pool Building Committee will hold a public meeting on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m., in the Assembly Room at the Belmont Public Library, where the members of the construction team will be introduced and answer questions.

• The Underwood Pool Building Committee and the Belmont Board of Selectmen invite the public to the official groundbreaking ceremony for the new Underwood Pool complex on Friday, Nov. 21 at 8:15 a.m. at the construction site.

This Weekend: Saturday’s Ski Exchange, Printmakers’ Show Friday Night

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• The Belmont Gallery of Art is holding a special Friday Night showing today, Friday, Nov. 14 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. of it’s current exhibit, “Continental Drift: Printmakers Converge,” an exhibit of work by members of the Boston Printmakers and the Icelandic Printmakers Association. The gallery will also be open this Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The Gallery is located on the third floor of the Homer Building in the Town Hall Complex, 19 Moore St., right off Leonard Street in Belmont Center behind the Belmont Savings Bank building.

• The Belmont High School Ski Team’s Annual Ski Sale and Swap held in the High School cafeteria on Saturday Nov. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Proceeds benefit the BHS Ski team. Anyone selling equipment should arrive no later than 9:45 a.m. For information: 617-823-4233; scott@navfund.com

• Arlington’s Menotomy Musical Theater is staging The Wizard of Oz on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m as well as Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. in the Belmont Town Hall auditorium, 455 Concord Ave. Tickets are $15 in advance online or $20 at the door.

Duty, Honor, Country: Schools Salute Vets in Remembrance Observances

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The Chenery Middle School Wind Band played patriotic music, the chorus sang the “National Anthem” and several students made speeches and recited poems to their classmates and the two dozen men – many slowed with age – sitting on chairs on the side of the stage.

They were an array of armed forces veterans from Belmont and surrounding communities, coming to the school as the living embodiment of the commitment and sacrifice they gave to the country.

The school-wide assembly, held on Monday, Nov. 10 in the Chenery auditorium, is an annual commemoration of the service of all veterans and those currently in uniform.

“I want to thank all of you for showing up today because twice a year, we feel like rock stars,” said Kip Gaudet, commander of Belmont’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post on Trapelo Road.

“We come here to represent those who can’t be here, who paid the ultimate price for the freedoms that we enjoy today,” said Gaudet, who was awarded a bronze star for “heroic or meritorious achievement or service” as a radio man in Vietnam.

Chenery’s Principal Kristen St. George advised students to take a moment on the holiday to personally reach out and thank a veteran “for their contribution … for fighting for things that are important to us and our country.”

St. George read the names of veterans with a connection to the “Chenery community” and for the student to simply “listen and to reflect.” Included in the names were of Chenery teacher Ryan Schmitt and Army Spc. Jonathan Curtis, an alumni who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.

Gaudet read the names of the veterans who stood to receive the applause from the auditorium, including Frank Morrissey, a 96-year-old vet from the US Navy.

“Hopefully these events reminds the students of freedom’s cost,” said Gaudet after the service, before leaving with his fellow veterans for visits at the Butler and Winn Brook elementary schools before a lunch at the VFW post.

“The veterans get appreciated for their service and the kids learn something, so this morning is like a two-way street,” he said.

The highlight of the ceremony was the reading and a musical rendition of the poem, “In Flanders Fields” by Canadian Lt. Col. John McCrae who wrote the poem on May 3, 1915, moments after presiding over the funeral of his friend, Alexis Helmer.

“In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

“We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie
         In Flanders fields.

“Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.”

This Week: Veterans Day Tuesday, Stealing Masterpieces Wednesday

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On the government side of the week, the Community Preservation Committee will hear presentations from groups seeking CPA funds as well as ask them questions at the committee’s public meeting at Town Hall on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.

Juliette Fay will speak about her latest novel, The Shortest Way Home, at Belmont Public Library’s “Books and Bites” from 11 a.m. to noon, Monday, Nov. 10. Described by Library Journal as “a moving, introspective look at what it means to be family, and to be truly home,” The Shortest Way Home is the Massachusetts resident’s third novel. All are welcome to attend this free program. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Refreshments will be provided. The Assembly Room is handicapped accessible.

The 7th and 8th Grade Book Club will discuss Ava Dellaira’s Love Letters to the Dead, in the Young Adult’s section of the Belmont Public Library on Monday, Nov. 10 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Also choose December’s book and enjoy some snacks.

Tuesday, Nov. 11 is Veterans Day.

The Belmont Historical Society presents author Anthony Amore, director of security at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for the past five years, who will give an illustrated lecture on the notorious theft of 13 priceless masterpieces from the museum in March 1990, “Stealing Rembrants” at the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room on Wednesday, Nov. 12 from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public. Copies of Amore’s book, Stealing Rembrandts, will be available for purchase. Refreshments will be served.

 It’s an early release day for all public schools – elementary, middle and high schools – on Wednesday, Nov. 12. 

The Belmont League of Women Voters will be meeting in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library on Thursday, Nov. 13 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The Board of Library Trustees and the Friends of the Belmont Public Library invite the public to attend a reception to honor retiring Library Director Maureen Conners for her 18 years of service on Thursday, Nov. 13 from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the library’s Assembly Room.
The Beech Street Center’s Senior Book Discussion Group will discuss Bleak House by Charles Dickens (Chapter 1 through Chapter 31) on Friday, Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. at the Beech Street Center. The group will discuss Chapter 32 to the end on Friday, Dec. 12 at 11 a.m.
The Beech Street Center will be screening The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns on Friday, Nov. 14, at 1 p.m. Viewers will watch Episode 5, “The Rising Road” concerning FDR’s first two terms from 1933 to 1939.