This Week: So Much! Authors Talks, Scharfman Recital, Memorial Rededication

Photo: The rededication of the WWI memorial will be held at 1 p.m. Veterans Day.

The government side of things “This Week”:

  • The Belmont Board of Selectmen will hold an abbreviated meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 9 in Town Hall. 
  • At 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 9, the Selectmen will conduct a public ascertainment hearing on the performance of Verizon in its capacity as a cable provider.
  • The Community Preservation Committee is meeting at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10 in Town Hall to discuss Belmont’s recreational needs, preliminary applications for CPC grants and preview the committee’s Nov. 12 public meeting.
  • The Belmont Board of Selectmen is hosting a community meeting to discuss a presentation of a new Minuteman Regional Vocational and Technology High School at 7 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.
  • The Belmont School Committee is meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at the Chenery Middle School to discuss the district’s technology plans, a SPED update and the first quarter report.
  • The Capital Budget Committee will meet in the Selectmen’s Room at Town Hall at 5 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 12, to discuss outstanding capital projects and approach to coordinating, addressing and funding projects. 
  • The Board of Health meets at Town Hall at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 12, to discuss the town’s off-leash permit program with John Marguranis, the town’s animal control officer.
  • The Community Preservation Committee is holding a public meeting to introduce the final application of projects seeking to fund. Each project’s sponsor will present their case before the public and the committee. The meeting takes place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12 in the Selectmen’s Room at Town Hall.

• The ELS Conservation Circle for Beginners will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Monday, Nov. 9 in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room.

Belmont author Len Abram will read from his novel Debris: A Novel of Love, War and the Lusitania in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room from 11 a.m. to noon on Monday, Nov. 9Debris offers a human tale of courage and conflict, lives shattered and rebuilt, and loves formed and lost amid war’s debris. All are welcome to attend this free program. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Refreshments will be provided.

• The Belmont High School Girls’ Soccer team will travel to Marblehead on Monday, Nov. 9 for a 4 p.m. game against second-ranked Marblehead High Magicians in the quarterfinals of the Division 2 North sectional finals.

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. 

• A free recital from accomplished young baritone singer, Jacob Scharfman, will take place at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 1:15 p.m. A Belmont native (he is the son of the late School Committee member Dan Scharfman) Belmont High School (2009) and Brown University (2013) graduate, Jacob performs frequently as a vocalist and director. His solo work includes engagements with the Boston Camerata, the Providence Singers (section leader), the First Unitarian Church of Providence (section leader), and Community Music Works. He currently sings with Schola Cantorum of Boston.

• Do you have a big reader on your holiday shopping list? Head over to Wellington Elementary School’s Monster Book Fair this week to discover hundreds of books for the kids on your list. This is one of the biggest fundraisers for the school and we appreciate your support. The Book Fair is open to the public at Wellington Elementary School, 121 Orchard St., for shopping the following days/times.

  • Tuesday, Nov. 10: 8 a.m. to 10  a.m. and 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Pizza is available for sale 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Thursday, Nov. 12: 8 a.m. to 10  a.m. and 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Visit from Clifford the Big Red Dog 2:50 p.m.)
  • Friday, Nov. 13: 8 a.m. to 10  a.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

More information including featured book titles, teacher wish lists and online shopping can be found here.

• It’s ‘Tween Tuesday at the Belmont Public Library, and the group will discuss the book Matilda by Roald Dahl in the Assembly Room from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Copies of the book are available for checkout at the Children’s Room desk. Afterward, there will be a movie and snacks in this extra-long program. Register online or call the Children’s Room at 617-993-2880.

• Wednesday, Nov. 11 is Veterans Day. All town, state and federal offices are closed as is the post office, the district schools, the Beech Street Center and the public library. 

• A rededication ceremony for the World War I Memorial will be held at 1 p.m. on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11 at the island across from the Belmont Lions Club and the commuter rail station in Belmont Center. The ceremony will be attended by the Belmont High School Band with comments from the Selectmen and will include the color guards from both the Police and Fire departments.

• The fourth-seed Belmont High School Girls Field Hockey team travels to Reading High School on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11 to play the number-one seed (and 11th-ranked team in the US) Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in a Division 1 North sectional semi-finals. The match up between Belmont (16-2) and the undefeated, untied Colonials (19 wins) begins at 1 p.m. 

• Join other elementary school readers at the 2nd & 3rd Grade Book Club on Thursday, Nov. 12, 3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. in the library’s Flett Room to talk about this month’s book, Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar. Register online or call the Children’s Room at 617-993-2880.

• Wall Street Journal columnist, Belmont native – his mother was a longtime teacher at the Winn Brook School – and author Jason Gay delivers a hilarious and true guide to modern living in his first book Little Victories: Perfect Rules for Imperfect Living. Four times a week, millions of people turn to Gay’s column where he give an amusing, fan’s view of the sports world, which he loves but doesn’t take too seriously.

Gay will speak about his view of the world as part of the Friends of Belmont Public Library’s Author Series at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12 in the Assembly Room. It is free and open to the public.  Books will be available for purchase and signing.  The Assembly Room is physically-challenged accessible.

• Literacy Playgroup is a parent and child group that supports child’s language and literacy development on Friday, Nov. 13, 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in Flett Room. You’ll play, read, sing and take home new ideas. Presented by educators from the CFCE grant program; for children age 4 and younger.

• The Senior Book Discussion group will meet on Friday, Nov. 13 from 11 a.m. to noon at the Beech Street Center to discuss Doctor Zhivago (Part One) by Boris Pasternak.

The League of Women Voters is hosting a Brown Bag Lunch Talk on Friday, Nov. 13 at noon in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library on “Start School Later in Belmont?” with Andrea Prestwich, chapter leader of Belmont Start School Later campaign. Many feel that Belmont schools start too early, with adverse consequences for our kids’ health and safety. The talk is open to the public; bring your lunch, there will be beverages and cookie.

Open Reception for ‘Printmakers of Cape Cod’ at Belmont Gallery Sunday

Photo: “Kayak at Rest” Color Woodcut by Evan Charney.

An opening reception for Printmakers of Cape Cod, the new exhibit at the Belmont Gallary of Art, will be held in the gallery on Sunday, Nov. 8 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Belmont Gallery of Art is located on the third floor of the Homer Municipal Building in the Town Hall Complex at 19 Moore St.
Printmakers of Cape Cod, at the BGA from Nov. 6 to Dec. 11., features work by 25 members of the arts group Printmakers of Cape Cod. Techniques displayed include linocuts, screen prints, etchings, monotypes, photogel transfers and woodcuts. There are more than 50 works hanging in the show and a number of other prints are available for purchase in the BGA’s print bins.

Regular gallery hours are Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Don’t miss The Boston Printmakers‘ 2015 North American Print Biennial at Lesley University, Nov. 8 to Dec. 12 at the Lunder Arts Center, 1815 Mass. Ave. in Cambridge.

Belmont Yard Sales: Nov. 7 (And a Ski Swap at Belmont High)

Photo: Yard sale in Belmont.

Yard sales in the “Town of Homes.”

36 Bellevue Rd., Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Proceeds will be going to Belmont Food Pantry.

• 65 Bow St., Saturday, Nov. 7, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

69 Elm St., Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

14 Pierce Rd., Saturday, Nov. 7, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

7 Weber Rd., Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Belmont High School Ski Team is hosting its annual Ski and Snowboard Sale today, Saturday, Nov. 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Great deals on new and used ski, snowboard and ice skating equipment featuring sales by Newton Centre Ski and Bike and consignment/donation.

Belmont Dramatic Presents Stoppard’s One-Acts in Four Performances

Photo: A still from the Belmont Dramatic Club production of Tom Stoppard’s two one-act plays, “Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth.”

The Belmont Dramatic Club is staging Tom Stoppard’s two one-act plays, “Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth” as its fall production over the next week.

The production, directed by Francine Davis, includes the “15-minute Hamlet” plus two-minute encore.

The Christian Science Monitor calls Stoppard’s plays “a blend of comic nonsense and astringent political satire.”

The performances take place at Belmont Town Hall Auditorium, 455 Concord Ave.    

Performances will take place on Friday, Nov. 6, Saturday, Nov. 7, Saturday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. On-line tickets: $20 at info@belmontdramaticclub.org or call (617-460-2504 and leave a message.) General admission tickets will be sold at the door starting one-hour prior to each performance; our Box Office can accept cash or checks, but cannot accept credit cards. 

For more information visit www.belmontdramaticclub.org.

Founded in 1903, the Belmont Dramatic Club is the second oldest continuously operating and performing community theatre group in the United States.

Sports: Postseason Begins Thursday for Four Belmont High Teams

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A quartet of Belmont High School teams will begin their postseasons within a few hours of each other on Thursday, Nov. 5 

Belmont Field Hockey will host Central Catholic of Lawrence in a first-round Div. 1 North Sectional match at 4 p.m. at Harris Field. Here is your chance to see the 4th-ranked Marauders (14-2) in action against the 13th-seeded Raiders (10-6-2).

Belmont Girls’ Soccer travels to the edge of Logan Airport to take on the 6th-ranked Jets of East Boston High School (11-3-2) in a first rounder in the Div. 2 North Sectionals at 3:30 p.m. The Marauders are ranked 10th with a record of 11-6-0. 

Girls’ Swimming and Diving are in Waltham at Bentley College to participate in the Middlesex League meet. The event at the school’s Dana Center gets started at 2:30 p.m.

Finally, Cheerleading will be off to Woburn for the Middlesex League meet that begins at 7 p.m.

Trapelo Road Paving Resumes Monday, Except Delays Along Route

Photo: Paving work in Belmont.

Starting at 5:30 a.m., Monday, Nov. 2, construction crews will resume paving Trapelo Road between Waverley and Cushing squares, according to Belmont Police.

The current construction schedule has paving work occurring on Monday, Nov. 2, Wednesday, Nov. 4, and Thursday, Nov. 5.

Police and town officials warn motorists to expect delays along the major thoroughfare that runs the length of Belmont from the Waltham to Cambridge town lines.

Town officials said that paving work is weather dependent and that the current schedule may fluctuate, although the latest forecast calls for clear skies and temperatures reaching the mid-60s into the 70s by the end of the week.

Due to cold temperatures it is not possible to complete the work during the overnight hours, necessitating daytime paving.

Questions about the project may be directed to the Office of Community Development at 617-993-2650.

This Week: Curtain’s Up on ‘The Laramie Project’, Early Release Wednesday

On the government side of This Week:

  • The Board of Selectmen will be meeting at 6:45 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2 at Town Hall.
  • The Planning Board is also meeting on Monday, Nov. 2  at 7 p.m. but in the Homer Building where they will hear requests for decks, a floor addition and two special permits for home day care centers.

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 Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room on Monday, Nov. 2. There will be two sessions: 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

• Belmont’s Leah Brams will seek her third title in four years when she and the Marauders race at the Middlesex League meet at Woburn Country Club on Monday, Nov. 2. The race should begin at 3:30-ish p.m.

• The Belmont Boosters are meeting in Room 113 at Belmont High School, 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2.

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.
  • Pre-School Storytime at the Belmont Public beginning at 9:30 a.m.We’ll read longer books, sing and dance, and make simple crafts. For 3-5-year-olds with a longer attention span.

State Rep. Dave Rogers will be holding office hours at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 3.

• It’s an early release day for Belmont’s elementary, middle school and high school students on Wednesday, Nov. 4.

Crafternoon is for students in Kindergarten and elementary school (first to fourth grades) where students can get creative and do an assortment of crafts on this early release day, Wednesday, Nov. 4 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room.

• The Belmont Public Library is hosting the Harry Potter Fan Club on Thursday, Nov. 5 from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Flett Room. 

• Everyone is invited to Chinese Storytime which will take place in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. 0n Wednesday, Nov. 4.

• Sustainable Belmont is holding its monthly meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room. 

• The Belmont Historical Society’s Board meeting will be held in the Belmont Public Library’s Claflin Room, on Wednesday, Nov. 4 from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

• The Belmont Council on Aging will host its inaugural Veterans’ Breakfast sponsored by East Cambridge Savings Bank, free for veterans on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 9 a.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St. Meet Belmont Veterans’ Service Officer Bob Upton, Council on Aging staff, and local representatives over coffee and breakfast. Breakfast is limited to 50; please call the Health Department at 617-993-2720 to reserve your seat.

• If you love building with LEGOs, the LEGOs Club is for you! Kids in grades Kindergarten through 2nd grade will build with our LEGOs and we’ll put all the creations on display in the Children’s Room. The Club meets on Thursday, Nov. 5, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the library’s Assembly Room.
 
• The Belmont League of Women Voters monthly meeting is being held on Thursday, Nov. 5, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the library’s Flett Room.
• The Belmont High School Performing Arts Company’s fall play, “The Laramie Project,” will be performed on Nov. 5, 6, and 7 at Belmont High School’s auditorium. The play is about the reaction of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student, which was considered a hate crime. The play deals with sensitive subject matter and contains mature content and, therefore, is not suitable for children and parental discretion is strongly advised for young teens. A powerful night of theater. See here for more information. Buy tickets now online and at Champions in Belmont Center. Tickets: $15 adults, $10 non-BHS students, FREE for BHS students and staff.
 
• Literacy Playgroup is a parent and child group that supports child’s language and literacy development on Friday, Nov. 6, 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the library’s Flett Room. You’ll play, read, sing and take home new ideas. Presented by educators from the CFCE grant program; for children age 4 and under.
• The Belmont Dramatic Club’s fall production of Tom Stoppard’s two one-act plays, “Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth” directed by Francine Davis will be performed on Nov. 6, 7, and 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. in the auditorium of Belmont’s historic Town Hall. On-line tickets: $20 at wotinfo@ or call belmontdramaticclub.org (617-460-2504 and leave a message.) The Christian Science Monitor calls the play: “A blend of comic nonsense and astringent political satire.”

Halloween Comes to HELLcrest Road. All Hail the Black Cat!

Photo: Spooky on Hillcrest Road.

For 364 days a year, the residents of Hillcrest Road live normal lives of jobs, school and community, like their fellow Belmont neighbors.

But for one night a year, beginning at sunset on October 31, the tranquil tree-lined neighborhood transforms into a path of the dead, as the street metamorphizes into “Hellcrest” Road. 

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The skeletons of the dead arise from the ground and attics of the homes, to haunt all those who dare walk the street begging for treats. The remains of runners, soccer players, those who spent too much time in the sun and one superhero who spent a bit too much time around Kryptonite. There are ghosts and ghouls in the trees and big spiders on the ground.

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And they all point to the master of them all, reigning over the dead from the house on top of the ridge: The monstrous black cat, with its mad grin, towers over us all for one night. Hail, evil black cat! We are all but Kibble™ to your malicious Halloween plans. 

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Belmont Yard Sales: Oct 31

Photo: Yard sale in Belmont.

Yard sales in the “Town of Homes.”

65 Bow St., Saturday, Oct. 31, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

85 Grove St., Saturday, Oct. 31, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

285 Waverley St., Saturday, Oct. 31, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Final Market Day in Belmont, Come Rain or Shine

Photo: Giving thanks.

Today, Thursday, Oct. 29, is the last Market Day of the Belmont Farmers Market 2015 season.
What started in the humid heat of June ends on a muggy, warm October afternoon in which the sun will set 15 minutes before the market closes.
As you stock up on storage veggies and visit with your favorite farmers, bakers, fish vendors, cheese makers, and cooks, take a minute to write down your thoughts about the market in the events tent. The market’s staff will display the messages and share them with the vendors.
Located in the municipal parking lot behind Belmont Center on Claflin Street, the market offers a variety of organic and conventionally produced food in a range of prices. 

Schedule of Events

2 p.m. to 6 p.m.: Share Your Thoughts and Talents
4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Storytime


Weekly Vendors

Boston Smoked Fish Co., C&C Lobsters and Fish, Dick’s Market Garden Farm, Flats Mentor Farm, Foxboro Cheese Co., Gaouette Farm, Goodies Homemade, Hutchins Farm, Kimball Fruit Farm, Mamadou’s Artisan Bakery, Nicewicz Family Farm, Sfolia Baking Company, Stillman Quality Meats, Valicenti Pasta Farm

Monthly and Occasional Vendors

Couët Farm & Fromagerie, Fille de Ferme, Seta’s Mediterranean Food, Soup N’ Spoon.

SNAP Benefits Accepted

The Market accepts SNAP benefits (food stamps) and matches up to $25 for each SNAP shopper each week, thanks to generous donations to the Market. Benefits are processed quickly and easily at the blue Market tent. You can donate to this much needed community effort at www.belmontfarmersmarket.org