Dress Up for Halloween Masquerade Concert Wednesday at 7PM

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Photo: Halloween Masquerade Concert, Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. 

Here’s your chance to preview your Halloween costume and have a great time listening to music of the season as the Belmont High Wind Ensemble and Concert Orchestra presents the seventh annual Halloween Masquerade Concert this Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. in the high school’s auditorium.

This family-friendly Halloween Concert is free, and costumes are encouraged.The two ensembles will perform a family-friendly variety of seasonal selections, including creepy classics like the 

The two groups will perform a family-friendly variety of seasonal collections, including spooky classics and modern-day show tunes which are pretty scary on their own.

Retiring Old Glory: Scout, Veterans Agent Initiate Flag Ceremony in Belmont

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Photo: Flag retiring ceremony in Belmont.

The mound of more than 2,000 flags of the United States  – much which were planted over the graves of veterans and war dead, others large and once flying stately over homes and offices – all worn and threadbare, some mere remnants of Old Glory, laid piled neatly near the edge of Belmont’s Clay Pit Pond.

While disrespectful to allow the Star Spangle Banner to lay on the ground, it was instead a show of great honor and reverence that these flags were brought to the site near the Belmont High School parking lot on Saturday morning, Oct. 14.

The banners would soon be retired in the only manner prescribed by law: burned.

Before Saturday, Belmont residents were required to be resourceful to retire a flag properly; some would perform the act themselves or store the weathered stars and stripes away in a corner, forgotten.

But through the effort of a local scout seeking a project to perform and the town’s Veterans’ Agent, Belmont now has its own town-wide flag retirement ceremony, one that they intend will be held annually.

“We needed something like this in Belmont for a while,” said Veterans Agent Bob Upton.

Boy Scout Robert Mountain,  a 17-year-old who attends the Chapel Hill – Chauncy Hall School in Waltham, was seeking out a unique community project to satisfy his Eagle Scout service requirement. He contacted Upton who informed Mountain the town had recently set up boxes in two locations around town to collect old flags. 

“Immediately I thought it would be perfect that we retire them here in town,” said the Orchard Street resident.

Mountain worked with Upton to secure material from local businesses – Hillside Gardens, Winters Hardware and Roche Bros. in Lowell – such as the two barrels used to contain the fires and cinder blocks as foundations.

“It’s a big process to retire 2,000 flags,” said Mountain, who is expecting his Eagle Scout designation before June of next year.

Before the event began, Selectmen Chair Jim Williams discovered one of the largest flags was a hand stitched 49-star banner with the 50th star sewn on when Hawai’i joined the US nearly 60 years ago. Williams – a Vietnam-era Navy veteran – rescued the flag and was going to have it dry cleaned an then displayed. 

The ceremony included readings from Mountain and three fellow scouts – Boy Scouts Will Thomas and Alden Barnes and Cub Scout Owen Thomas – before an audience that included Gold Star mother Pamela Curtis, Williams, Belmont VFW Post Commander Kip Gaudet and numerous veterans and residents. “Taps” was played, and the first flag placed into the flames. 

“I couldn’t be prouder than to have the Boy Scouts lead this ceremony,” said Upton. 

US Flag Retirement Ceremony at Clay Pit Pond Saturday at 10AM

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Photo: Retirement cermony Saturday

On Saturday, Oct. 14, at 10 a.m. the Belmont Veterans Service Office and Belmont Boy Scout Troop 66 will conduct a US Flag Retirement Ceremony at Clay Pit Pond, closest to the intersection of Underwood Street and Hittinger Street.  The public is invited to bring old, tired and or worn U.S. Flags to be properly disposed of by burning to this location beginning at

The public is invited to bring old, tired and or worn U.S. Flags to be properly disposed of by burning to this location beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday.  

In early September two U.S. Flag collection boxes were installed within Belmont; one at the Town Hall complex and another at the Grove Street Cemetery entrance to the right of the administrative office building. The boxes have been a great help to help us collect old, tattered and worn U.S. Flags so that they can properly be disposed of and retired.

Belmont Library’s Annual Fall Book Sale This Weekend, Oct. 14-15

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Photo: The sale runs this weekend.

If you love books but not looking to pay an arm and a leg, this is your weekend to stock up on fiction, non-fiction, children’s and every other sort of book as the Friends of the Belmont Public Library holds its annual Fall Book Sale this weekend.

The sale takes place on Saturday, Oct. 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 15 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Assembly and Flett rooms at the library, 336 Concord Ave.

A preview party for Friends members takes place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14. In addition, Belmont teachers will spend Friday picking out books for their classrooms, thanks to the Friends.

The sale’s proceeds allow the Friends to purchase museum memberships, bring authors and demonstrations to the library while adding to the technology available to all patrons.

 

Broadway Night 2017 At Belmont High Friday, Saturday

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The Belmont High School Performing Arts Company presents its annual musical theater showcase Broadway Night 2017 at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13 and Saturday, Oct. 14 in the Little Theater at Belmont High School.

Students will perform classic show tunes and contemporary works in an evening of song, dance, and storytelling. This year’s production features 23 solo, duet, and group songs, with a mix of humor, heart, romance and high-energy fun. The show will once again feature a dance number, choreographed by the PAC Musical Choreographer Jenny Lifson.

A highlight this year is the addition of a group number, directed by seniors Anelise Allen and Wonyoung Jang, featuring eight 9th-grade students. 

“Having these many freshmen make their PAC stage debut in the first show of the year is a real treat, and the song is going to be a highlight of the evening,” said Ezra Flam, the High School’s Theater Specialist.

Broadway Night represents the core mission of the PAC, with an emphasis on showcasing student work. The performers have selected, staged and rehearsed the songs almost entirely on their own, with just a small amount of guidance from Ms. Lifson. Also, the lighting design is done entirely by students, and the show ends with a student-directed number featuring the whole company, said Flam.

Tickets are $5 for students, $12 for adults and can be purchased online at bhs-pac.org or at Champions Sporting Goods on Leonard Street in Belmont Center.

New High School Building Project Seeking Seniors Opinion Friday

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Photo: The Belmont High School Building Committee’s logo.

The Belmont High School Building Committee is holding its next community engagement meeting with the town’s senior community in mind at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St. on Friday afternoon, Oct. 13 at 1:15 p.m.

The afternoon’s agenda includes:

  • High School Building Project updates
  • District enrollment update and grade configuration discussion,
  • Results of recent Education Visioning workshops,
  • Guiding principles of the project,
  • Conditions and space summary, and
  • Questions and comments,

Online Survey

The Belmont High School Building Committee wants to hear from the residents of Belmont. Our new online survey is available at www.belmonthighschoolproject.org. The committee invites residents to share your ideas, opinions, and thoughts on the Belmont High School Building Project.

Upcoming Community Meetings include:

  • Saturday, Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. at Belmont High School with optional facility tours starting at 9:30 a.m.
  • Tuesday, December 12 at 7 p.m. at Belmont High School with optional facility tours starting at 6:30 p.m.

To sign up for email updates and to learn more about the Belmont High School Building Project, including project timelines, videos, meeting schedules, presentations, and more, visit www.belmonthighschoolproject.org.

Questions on the project can be sent via email to: BHS-BC@belmont-ma.gov.

Helping Refugees And The Hungry Part Of 9th Annual Belmont Serves

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The 9th annual Belmont Serves Day of Community Service will be held on Monday, Oct. 9,  the Columbus Day holiday. Individuals and families will be able to select a project at the start of the day, complete the entire project in one morning of work, and then come together for some pizza and Rancatore’s ice cream to celebrate a job well done.

The headquarters for Belmont Serves is First Church Unitarian Universalist, 404 Concord Ave., 

Belmont Serves is a family-friendly event, where all members of the Belmont community are invited to work together for one morning to make our town a better place for all. You can help make a real difference in our town, have some fun, and meet others who share a willingness to serve the community.

This year’s schedule of events:

8:30 a.m.   All volunteers sign-in at First Church UU
9 a.m.   Service projects begin
Noon   Service projects end
Noon   Pizza and ice cream celebration at First Church UU

This year, service projects include:

  • Door-to-door food drive for the Belmont Food Pantry
  • Conservation projects at Lone Tree Hill (former McLean Hospital property)
  • Clay Pit Pond clean-up and improvements
  • Sorting clothes at Plymouth Church to be donated to refugees.

Door-to-door collection for the Belmont Food Pantry— Teams of volunteers will be assigned to specific routes, collecting bags of groceries left at doorsteps for delivery to the Belmont Food Pantry. These grocery bags are distributed door-to-door throughout the town during the week before Belmont Serves day. Last year, we filled the food pantry with over 1,800 bags of groceries. This year we hope to do even better!

Conservation projects at Lone Tree Hill — You can help with pruning, parking lot maintenance and invasive vegetation removal at Lone Tree Hill (former McLean Property) conservation lands. Wear long shelves and long pants to avoid poison ivy. We will supply the tools, or bring clippers or loppers.

Clay Pit Pond clean-up: Volunteers will work on pruning existing shrubs, cutting/removing invasives, and picking up trash and debris.

Sorting donated clothes for refugees: Please help us sort the donated winter clothing at Plymouth Congregational Church. The clothing will be distributed to recently arrived refugees in the New England area. New donations will NOT be accepted on the day of Belmont Serves. If you would like to donate new or gently worn winter clothes for adults and children, you can bring them to Plymouth Church (582 Pleasant St.) Friday, Oct. 6 – Sunday, Oct. 8 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Burbank School grounds: Help with gardening and distributing wood chips in garden areas. If you can bring shovels and gardening tools, that would be helpful. Be sure to put your name on your tools.

For all projects (including advance distribution of grocery bags), please use the online registration form to register and select your preferred project.

Middle school and High school students will earn Community Service hours.

Tzom Kal: Yom Kippur Begins Friday at Sunset

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Photo: The painting is a detail of “Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur” by the 22-year-old Maurycy Gottlieb c. 1878.

Yom Kippur, also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year for the Jews.

Yom Kippur begins at sundown on Friday, Sept. 29.

The day’s central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services. Yom Kippur completes the annual period known in Judaism as the High Holy Days or sometimes the Days of Awe.

Two years ago, the Belmont School Committee approved a pilot program to close school for one day in observance of the Jewish High Holidays beginning in the 2015-16 school year. A year later, after complaints from residents who declared the policy disruptive to the educational process and did not reflect the growing diversity within Belmont’s schools, all religious holidays were removed from the school calendar. 

With Two Days Left, Friends Of PQ Park Nears Fundraising Goal

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Photo: Putting up the new sign at PQ Park.

With a deadline of Saturday, Sept. 30, to meet the town’s requirement for private funding of $35,000 for the renovation of PQ Park, the Friends of PQ Park announced today that it is $5,000 shy of its goal in these final days.  

This grassroots effort, led by a team of volunteers called Friends of PQ Park, has been very successful thanks to the generosity and support of the Belmont community. Donors consist primarily of those who feel connected to PQ and to preserving our playgrounds and fields. This funding will supplement Community Preservation Act funds approved for the renovation. 

“If we can raise the remaining funds, we can act upon our design team’s plan that is going to be delivered earlier than expected,” says Ogden Sawyer, Friends of PQ Park treasurer.

“This is fantastic news, making it possible to break ground in early spring of 2018,’ said Sawyer.

“While the effort to raise $30,000 in 30 days has been an ambitious undertaking, we are thrilled with the success of this campaign.  We really need to push these last two days,” Ogden continues.  “We are making this plea today to our community to help us raise the last $5,000 before this Saturday’s deadline.  Any and all donations are welcome!”

“We are making this plea today to our community to help us raise the last $5,000 before this Saturday’s deadline. Any and all donations are welcome,” he said.

Visit the website to learn more and make your donation. Alternatively, checks should be sent to “Friends of PQ Park,” 31 Walnut St, Belmont MA, 02478.

The Friends of PQ Park, Inc., is a non-profit organization formed in 2017, following the favorable recommendation of funding for the revitalization of PQ Park by Belmont’s Community Preservation Committee.