Hard Winter on Your Car? Get It Washed and Help Kids in Need

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Take the winter salt and grim off your car this Saturday, April 12 at the Belmont Car Wash in Waverley Square and  at the same time help children in need.

Members of the Belmontian Community Service Club of Belmont High School will be at Belmont Car Wash drying off your cars and all tips for their work will go to benefit Cradles to Crayons, the Boston-based non-profit that provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive at home, at school and at play.

The day of service, sponsored by Belmont Car Wash, will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

One Book One Belmont Marches Up Bunker Hill Saturday

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For history buffs, participants of this year’s community-wide read of “Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution” by Nathaniel Philbrick or just those who want to know more about the sacrifices by local residents in securing the nation’s independence, One Book One Belmont 2014 and the Belmont Public Library will be leading a walking tour of Bunker Hill in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood on Saturday, April 12 at 10 a.m.

Join National Park Service for a half mile, 45-minute walk to the Bunker Hill Monument, retracing the footsteps of the British soldiers and Marines who assaulted the hill on June 17, 1775, routing the patriots but losing half their troops to injury and death in the first major battle of the Revolutionary War.

After the tour, the Battle of Bunker Hill Museum is open to explore or you can climb the 294 steps to the top of the monument for a panoramic view of Boston.

Tour is free but you will be responsible getting to the Naval Yard where the tour begins on your own.

Registration is required. Where to meet and other details provided after registration.  To register, go here or call 617-993-2870.

Things to Do Today: Bunker Hill, Playtime, Learning to Dance, HS Sports

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Another sunny, spring day in Belmont today, Friday, April 11:

• In conjunction with One Book One Belmont 2014, the Senior Book Discussion Group at the Beech Street Center will discuss” Bunker Hill” by Nathaniel Philbrick. The author of “Mayflower” and “In the Heart of the Sea,” tells the story of the first, and perhaps bloodiest, major battle of the Revolutionary War. All are welcome to attend this book discussion that begins at 11 a.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St. 

• Playtime, a drop-in, informal playgroup for toddlers and preschoolers, where both children and adults can meet new friends, will meet in the Children’s Room of the Belmont Public Library at 10:30 a.m. Call the Children’s Room at 617-993-2880 with any questions.

• A free demonstration on Learning to Dance will be held at 1:15 p.m. at the Senior Center at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St. Dance instructor Paul Hughes (www.ballroom-basics.com) will lead the demonstration. Participants will not need a partner to take the class.

• Lots going on in Belmont High sports: Girls’ Tennis takes on Winchester at the High School courts at 3:30 p.m., Baseball host Wakefield at 3:45 p.m. at Brandon Grant Field adjacent the High School and Boys’ Lacrosse return to Harris Field after defeating Stoneham to take on Reading at 4 p.m.

On they day in 1727, Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” premiered at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig.

From Idea to Reality: Reliving Rebuilding Joey’s Park Tonight

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A beloved community playground, dedicated more than a three decades before to honor a boy who tragically died young, was suddenly condemned by the town due to wear and tear.

But rather than allow Joey’s Park, a long-time play space for students at the Winn Brook Elementary School and gathering spot for neighbors in northeast Belmont, to be demolished or wait years for the town find the money to rebuild the site, a small group of parents organized private businesses and more than 2,000 volunteers, raise $450,000 and planned and constructed the new Joey’s Park.

Sponsored by the Belmont League of Women Voters and presented by Diane Miller and Ellen Schreiber, co-chairs of the Friends of Joey’s Park effort to rebuild the Park, “Rebuilding Joey’s Park: A Community Success Story” will be held in the community room of the Wellington Elementary School located between School and Orchard streets tonight, Thursday, April 10 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

This is an event for those who want to relive the effort it took to reconstruct the play space and for anyone who wants a great primer on getting a community project, large or small, from idea to reality.

Things to Do Today: Kennels, LEGO Club and Tax Help

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Things to do around Belmont today, Thursday, April 10.

• The Belmont Board of Health will be holding an informational public meeting on the proposed bylaw amendments on animal kennels in town. In addition, the board will vote on whether to allow one final season (its 102nd!) of swimming at the Underwood Pool. The meeting takes place at 5:30 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium.

• It’s LEGO time at the Belmont Public Library! 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.

• Belmont High School Boys’ Tennis will be taking on Reading at the High School’s courts at 3:30 p.m.

• The Belmont Senior Center at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., will be offering tax assistance to seniors today and tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 617-993-2970 for availability.

• On this day in 1925, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is first published in New York City.