Belmont Weekend: Pool Blast Off Sunday, Bright Corner Fair, the ‘Chef’ at the Studio

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• The Belmont Recreation Department will be holding the 6th annual Summer Blast Off Party at the Underwood Pool on Sunday, June 22, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Join the celebration of the Underwood Pools’ farewell season with music, games and fun.

• The Bright Corner Summer Fair will be held in the strip mall at 70 Concord Ave. on Saturday, June 21, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is sponsored by the three businesses – East Boston Savings Bank, Indigo Fire and Mathnasium – in the mall and Belmont Dental Group.

• Blockbuster, smockbuster; forget all the loud, visually-maddening mega-films aimed at stuffing young people in movie theaters. Playing at Belmont’s Studio Cinema is “Chef,” a “small” film directed, co-produced, written by and starring Jon Favreau with co-stars Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sofía Vergara, Dustin Hoffman, Oliver Platt and John Leguizamo. Show times are 3:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8:15 p.m Friday, Saturday and Sunday. See the trailer here.

 

Things to Do Today: Library Foundation Meeting, Create Your Own Cartoons

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• The Board of Library Trustees and the Belmont Library Foundation – the group that exists to promote the construction and endowment of a new public library in Belmont – will be holding a special meeting at 7 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library to update the public on the foundation and the future of the organization.

• The Benton Library, Belmont’s independent library at the corner of Oakley and Old Middlesex, is open today from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Come by this community jewel and stay a while.

• Anyone interested in residential solar power should come to the meeting of the Belmont Municipal Light Advisory Board at 7:15 p.m. in the Community Room of the Chenery Middle School, 95 Washington Street (parking is on the Oakley side) where the board will discuss “solar distributed generation policy and pricing.”

• Heads up: A week from today, Thursday, June 26, the Belmont Public Library will be holding a “Create Your Own Comics” for kids 10 and up with cartoonists Veronica and Andy Fish. Learn about comics history, character design and the comic creation process. Leave with material and resources to create your own comic. It takes place from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Assembly Room. Those interested can sign up here!

Payson Park Music Festival Begins 25th Season with Battle of the Bands

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Bring the kids, a picnic and enjoy the first days of summer by attending the Payson Park Music Festival which opens tonight, Wednesday, June 18, celebrating a quarter of century of offering an outdoor musical venue for Belmont residents and those from surrounding communities.

The first concert of the season will be a “Battle of the Bands” with groups mostly made up of students from Belmont High School. The concert is sponsored by the Belmont Savings Bank.

The show gets underway at 6:45 p.m. at Payson Park at the corner of Payson Road and Elm Street. 

The season runs every Wednesday evening until Aug. 27. In addition to the evening programs, four children’s concerts will occur on consecutive Fridays at noon beginning July 12.

There will also be a special Thursday concert on July 31 by the Belmont High School Community Band led by Arto Asadoorian, the fine arts director at Belmont High.

Things to Do Today: Digital Help at the Library, Bridge at the Beech

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• The Belmont Public Library is providing one-on-one Digital Library Help on Wednesday, from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Reference Room. Learn how to download eBooks from the library and set up a device. Get started with Zinio to read free digital magazines. E-mail and Internet basics, social media, or basic computer skills. Registration is required; register online or call 617-993-2870 to register by phone. Some services require downloading an app.  Please come prepared with your Apple ID, Adobe ID, Amazon Account information, or other password and log in information for your device.

• Duplicate Bridge Club meets from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Beech Street Center at 266 Beech St. Every Wednesday the club holds American Contact Bridge League-sanctioned games. All are welcome to play. Cost is $7. Phone: 339-223-6484 for more information.

• One hundred and ninety-nine years ago, one of the great battles in history took place near the town of Waterloo where a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by the combined British and Prussian forces led by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. Napoleon would soon be sent into exile on the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena.

Things to Do Today: US Rep Clark at the Beech, Parking Reviewed for New Pools

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• US. Rep. Katherine Clark will be holding Belmont office hours at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Tuesday, June 17, at 1 p.m. to  2:30 p.m. Meet with the Representative or one of her staff. They will also be bringing coffee.

• The Planning Board will be meeting at 7 p.m. in Town Hall for a site plan review of the new Underwood Pool complex – they will primarily discuss parking issues – and discuss modifying an original site plan for the new headquarters of the E.F. French Construction and Mahoney Oil at 40-42 Brighton St.

• There will be music from the Chenery Middle School at the Beech Street Center on Tuesday, June 17, at 1:15 p.m. with the the Flute Ensemble, Double Reed Ensemble and the Sixth Grade Jazz Combo.

• The Belmont Art Association will be meeting at 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the downstairs Staff Room in the Belmont Public Library. This is a new group seeking to pulling together the arts community in Belmont.

This Week in Belmont: Last Day of School, Payson Park Music Festival Begins

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• The last day of the school year in Belmont is Friday, June 20. It’s also an early release day.

• The Payson Park Music Festival celebrates a quarter of century of offering an outdoor musical venue for Belmont residents and those from surrounding communities with the first concert of the season on Wednesday, June 18 which will be a Battle of the Bands sponsored by the Belmont Savings Bank. The show gets underway at 6:45 p.m. at Payson Park at the corner of Payson Road and Elm Street. Bring the kids, a picnic and enjoy the summer

• US. Rep. Katherine Clark will be holding Belmont office hours at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Tuesday, June 17, at 1 p.m. to  2:30 p.m. Meet with the Representative or one of her staff. They will also be bringing coffee.

• There will be music from the Chenery Middle School at the Beech Street Center on Tuesday, June 17, at 1:15 p.m. with the the Flute Ensemble, Double Reed Ensemble and the Sixth Grade Jazz Combo.

The Belmont Public Library is providing one-on-one Digital Library Help on Wednesday, June 18, from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Reference Room. Learn how to download eBooks from the library and set up a device. Get started with Zinio to read free digital magazines. E-mail and Internet basics, social media, or basic computer skills. Registration is required; register online or call 617-993-2870 to register by phone. Some services require downloading an app.  Please come prepared with your Apple ID, Adobe ID, Amazon Account information, or other password and log in information for your device.

• The ACH Piano Studio’s Ani Hovsepian will present a recital featuring 21 young musicians, the majority of whom are Belmont residents, at the Beech Street Center on Friday, June 20 at 6 p.m. From young beginners to advanced musicians, the students all share love for music and take special pride in offering their achievements to the Town’s seniors. They hope to foster interest in classical music and create a generation-to-generation bond!

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

• Starting on Friday, June 20 and lasting for the next five Fridays, the Beech Street Center will be holding “Learn to Ballroom Dance” classes. The first class free of charge and there is no obligation. Learn how to dance or improve your present skills with our accomplished and popular teacher, Paul Hughes.

The Weekend in Belmont: Saturday Synchro Swimming, Brendan’s Home Run Sunday

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• The First Church in Belmont’s Second Friday Coffeehouse concert series presents “An Evening with Richard Curzi and Positive Energy” on Friday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m. at 404 Concord Ave. Curzi, First Church’s own keyboardist and singer, returns to the Second Friday Coffeehouse for the 13th time, performing both sets in a variety of musical configurations guaranteed to delight lovers of all music genres. This year’s show will be an all “unplugged” acoustic performance of an unconventionally eclectic mix of original songs, nostalgic pop, jazz, and folk styles. Admission is $10 with students and seniors $5.

• The Senior Book Discussion Group will meet on Friday, June 13 at 11 a.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., will continue our discussion of “Sons and Lovers” by D.H. Lawrence (Chapter 8 through the end of the book).

• Three Belmont swimmers will be participating in the annual Cambridge Synchro Swans Show, a demonstration of synchronized swimming taking place on Saturday, June 14 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the War Memorial Pool at 1640 Cambridge St., a stone throw from Harvard Square. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors with family tickets are $20. 

Juliette Saint-Ourens (on the 13 to 15 Intermediate Team and Trio) Quinn Maniona and Avery Williams (who are on the 13 to 15 Novice Team 1) will take part performing their routines along with lift and “throw” demonstrations. Maniona and Williams’ team took first place in the yearly novice/intermediate meet while Saint-Ourens qualified to swim at the East Zone Championships in Connecticut earlier this month. 

• An exhibit of artist Susan Schneider’s oil painting landscapes of New England, the Southwest and Coastal California can be viewed this weekend at the Mass Audubon Habitat, 10 Juniper Rd. Saturday and Sunday hours vary so call ahead at 617-489-5050.

• The 13th annual Brendan’s Home Run 5K race & walk is being held on Fathers’ Day, Sunday, June 15 with the 5K Charity Walk beginning at 9:30 a.m. with the road race commencing at 10 a.m. There will also be a 400 meter/800 meter youth races for kids 6 to 12. On-site entry fee on Father’s Day morning is $25. There is no charge for the 400/800m youth races.

Ring the Bell! Belmont Farmers Market Opens for the Season Today

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It has been more than seven months since the market bell last rung but today, residents will once again have the opportunity to purchase fresh fruit, vegetable and lots of other good stuff as the Belmont Farmers Market opens for its ninth season at 2 p.m., Thursday, June 12, in the Claflin Street Municipal Parking Lot at the intersection of Cross Street and Channing Road in Belmont Center.

With an fanfare by Ned Searls and Jasper Wolf, State Rep. Dave Rogers will cut the tomato ribbon to officially open the market which will operate from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

A list of vendors, including several new businesses and producers, can be found here:

http://belmontfarmersmarket.org/vendors/

This year Belmont will see its first food trucks at the market; one serving crepes and omelets (monthly) and the other Jamaican food (the last two weeks in June, July and August).

Performers in the Events Tent
 today includes magic by Ryan Lally from 2:10 p.m. to 3 p.m. and old-time string music by The Hoot Owls from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

STORYTIME returns from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Last year it was mostly for preschool-aged children, but so many older kids came that we’re expanding it to include stories for older children. It’s sponsored by the Children’s Room of the Belmont Public Library. Librarians pick out books about food and farms, and market volunteers or librarians read each week.

The Belmont Farmers Market accepts SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps) and gives shoppers who use them extra money to spend at the market on approved items.

Here’s how it works:

  • Bring the SNAP card to the blue Market tent.
  • The manager will swipe the card and gives out certificates to shop with.
  • The market will double a shopper’s SNAP benefits up to $25 per day, while matching funds are available. Example: If you planned to spend $10, the market will double that amount and provide certificates worth $20 to spend at the market.
  • Get full details at the Market Managers’ tent at the Belmont Farmers’ Market.

Last year, the market matched close to $1,000 in purchases. Matching funds have come from generous donations and grant funds.

What to Do Today: Authors Festival at the Chenery, Butler Sings at the Beech

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• The Chenery Middle School’s inaugural Spring Into Summer Book Fair is holding an Authors Festival in the school’s library from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Authors Julie Berry, Loree Griffin Burns, Erin Dionne, Greg Fishbone, Ammi-Joan Paquette, Sarah L. Thomson and David Yoo will be there to talk to students and parents and sign their books. The book fair continues until Friday.

• The Butler Elementary School 4th Grade Chorus will sing a variety of choral works written especially for children from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Beech Street Center. The 42-member chorus has been rehearsing once a week since September. Conductor Rosanne Mili has been a teacher at the Butler for 31 years while accompanist Craig McMahon, who is a recent graduate of Boston University, is the music teacher at the Wellington School and assists Mili with both the 3rd and 4th grade choruses.

• The Belmont Youth Hockey Association is meeting and providing jerseys for players in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room (adjacent to the Children’s Room) from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

• On this day in 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman are murdered outside her home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. O.J. Simpson is later acquitted of the killings in 1995, but is held liable in a wrongful death civil suit.

What to Do Today: Community Path Committee’s Final Meeting

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• The Community Path Advisory Committee will hold its final meeting to present its recommendations for and future action on a community path running through Belmont at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Gallery of Art on the third floor of the Homer Building located in the Town Hall Complex in Belmont Center.

• The Community Preservation Committee will be discussing the application process for the fiscal 2016 budget cycle at 5 p.m. at the Belmont Town Hall.

• On this day in 1184 BC, Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes. Helen was taken back home.