This Week: Thanksgiving Day Game, String-a-Rama Monday, Small Business Saturday

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Photo: 2014 Thanksgiving Game between Belmont and Watertown. 

On the government side of “This Week”:

  • The Other Post-Employment Benefits Funding Advisory Group is meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall where members will report on what they are doing and the public can express its opinion.

• 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. 23. There will be two sessions: 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

• ESL Conversation Circle for beginners takes place on Monday, Nov. 23 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room.

• Help test a new product before it goes into production. WatchRx is holding a focus group meeting open to all, on Monday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St. Their device, now in development, reminds wearers when they need to take medications. Give your feedback on how it works and how it could be improved. Please stop by to share your opinions with staff from the WatchRx company.

• The holidays are underway with the first of the “Rama”s as Belmont’s Fine and Performing Arts Department hosts “String-a-Rama,” the town-wide orchestra concert. The concert is being directed by orchestra director Margot Reavey. The concert begins at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 23, in the Belmont High School auditorium.

• Wednesday, Nov. 25, is (yet another) Early Release Day for all grades in the Belmont Public Schools. Using a baseball term, Wednesday is a Getaway Day. But before closing, Belmont High School will be holding its annual shenanigans known as the Pep Rally with each class attempting to best (or embarrass) their peers.

• If you’re looking for a great book or a holiday movie to watch over the holiday weekend, remember the Belmont Public Library will close early Wednesday, Nov. 25, at 5 p.m.

• Thursday, Nov. 26, the annual Belmont/Watertown Thanksgiving Day Football game will this year take place at Watertown’s Victory Field with kick-off scheduled at 10:15 a.m. Also featured will be the 100+ member Belmont High Marching Band. And, yes, they do serve hot dogs at the Watertown concession stand.

• All Belmont town offices and the Belmont Public Library will be closed on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 26 and 27, for the Thanksgiving

• Saturday, Nov. 28 is Small Business Saturday, the relatively new annual event – conceived and promoted by American Express – encouraging holiday shoppers to patronize small and local businesses in their hometown and surrounding communities. This is especially true this year in Belmont as all three business centers experience (or are continuing to experience) big construction projects impacting the bottom line.

This Week: HS Sports Awards Wednesday, Coping with Grief and Trauma, SKYWARN

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On the government side of “This Week.”

  • The Board of Selectmen is hosting a public meeting with the MBTA and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation on the options to bring the Waverley Station commuter rail stop up to code with the Americans with Disability Act. The meeting takes place on Monday, Nov. 16, between 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St. 
  • The Planning Board meets at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17, to discuss a request a six-month extension – the third since August – by the development team proposing to build Cushing Village, the 168,000 sq.-ft. multi-use development. There are also three requests to build new homes in town. 
  • The Planning Board returns later on Tuesday to hear public discussion on the creation of SR-C Zoning Districts throughout town. The discussion will include a list of proposed zoning amendments set to address the building of McMansions around town. The discussion starts at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17 in the Belmont Gallery of Art on the third floor of the Homer Building. 
  • The Warrant Committee will review next steps on its OPEB/Pension study along with the first quarter financial update at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 18, at the Chenery Middle School. 

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.
• Rabbi Earl Grollman, a world-renowned expert on grief and trauma and former leader of Belmont’s Beth El Temple Center, will hold a lecture on “Losing a Loved One,” a timely and helpful talk on grief and trauma on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 1:15 p.m.
 
 • High school students who are looking for a new community service opportunity should consider joining the Belmont Public Library’s Teen Advisory Board which will meet on Tuesday, Nov. 17 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Library’s Flett Room. 

• A talk on “How to Help Kids Manage Stress & Stay Alcohol & Drug-Free” will be presented at the Chenery Middle School on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. Will Slotnick, founder and director of the Wellness Collaborative will lead the discussion.  

• The Belmont Board of Library Trustees is holding a public meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 17 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Assembly Room to help generate new long range ideas for the future of Belmont Public Library. 

• Wednesday, Nov. 18 is an early-release day for all students in Belmont Public Schools. It’s also parents/teacher conferences today. 

• Chenery Middle School students are invited on early release Wednesday to head over to the library’s Assembly Room on Wednesday. Nov. 18 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., to do your homework while enjoying some hot chocolate. This is for middle schoolers only, so high schoolers are on their own. This event is provided for free, thanks to the Friends of the Belmont Public Library.

• Belmont High Fall Athletic Awards Night will be held on Thursday, Nov. 19, at 6 p.m. in the Belmont High School auditorium.

• The Belmont Public Library’s International Fiction Book Club will discuss White Dog Fell from the Sky by Eleanor Morse on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. in the library’s Flett Room.  Join us on the third Wednesday of the month for fun conversation, tea and snacks.  Everybody is welcome.  If you have questions or need help finding a copy of the book, contact Kylie at ksparks@minlib.net.

• The National Weather Service is sponsoring a severe weather spotter training session as part of its SKYWARN program, in Belmont. The class happens on Wednesday, Nov. 18 from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Belmont High School. Bring pens and paper.

• Storytime for 1’s for walkers and toddlers under 24 months will take place Thursday, Nov. 19, at 10:30 a.m. in the Flett Room, sharing simple stories, songs, and nursery rhymes and end with time to play.

• The Belmont Public Library is hosting the Harry Potter Fan Club on Thursday, Nov. 19 from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Flett Room.

• The 5th annual Wellington Shopping Night, this year in Belmont Center, takes places on Thursday, Nov. 19, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Do your holiday shopping at bessie blue, Marmalade, Revolve, bells&whistles, Thirty-Petals Boutique and il Casale to benefit the Wellington.   

• Karen Halloran of the Lexington Health Care Center will present a documentary on the benefits of music for people with dementia while discussing activities and topics that help loved ones feel good and engaged at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Friday, Nov. 20 at 1:15 p.m. 

• The Belmont Public Library has begun its OTAKUrabu program. Watch anime, do a craft/activity, plan for future events and nibble on some Japanese snacks (while they last – they’ll go fast) on Friday, Nov. 20 from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Assembly Room. Provided to you for free, thanks to the Friends of the Belmont Public Library. Just drop in, no registration required.

Foundation’s Youth Spelling Bee on for Saturday, Nov. 14

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Photo: Spelling Bee.

Belmont School District students will be lining up to show off their spelling prowess as the 15th annual Foundation for Belmont Education Spelling Bee takes place on Saturday, Nov. 14

WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 14, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

WHERE: Belmont High School Auditorium 

WHERE TO PARK AT BHS:

  • In the Belmont High School parking lots 
  • On the LEFT hand side of the entrance driveway 
  • On Concord Avenue 
  • On side streets near the Underwood Pool 
  • At the Belmont Memorial Library (after 5:00 p.m.) 

RULES: Click HERE for the Fall 2015 Spelling Bee Rules. 

FAQ: For a list of frequently asked questions click HERE.

ARRIVAL TIME FOR SPELLERS:  Check the latest list.

Spellers may participate in three or four-person teams. On the day of the Bee, teams go on stage in groups (swarms) and are given words from the list to write on a small team whiteboard (teams can designate one writer or rotate). 

The K-4 swarms are non-competitive. Teams will be told if their word is correct or incorrect, but there is no elimination. 

The 5th and 6th grade swarms are competitive using our famous “two stingers before you’re out” rules. Challenging, off-list words may be used, if needed. 

In preparation for the Bee, each team picks a name and is encouraged to wear attire (shirts, hats, etc.) to show their team spirit. Pizza, drinks and desserts will be available for sale in the cafeteria. Family members and friends are welcome to come and watch! Participants should check the FBE website before the Bee to determine approximately what time their team will be on stage.

Still have questions? Contact the Spelling Bee Co-Chairs, Christa Bauge or Jacqueline Kaiser, at beemaster@fbe-belmont.org

Belmont Rededicates Monument to The Dead of the ‘War to End All Wars’

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Photo: Selectman Jim Williams at the rededication of the WWI monument. 

The rain fell lightly across Belmont as the community came together to remember its dead on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, and to rededicate a staid and beautiful monolith bearing the names of the nine residents who gave their lives in the struggle known as the “War to end all wars.”

After reading the names and telling the stories a few, Belmont Selectman Jim Williams read from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Voluntaries” of which the last lines are laid on the back of the Bethel white granite monument and dedicated on this day in 1923. 

“So nigh is grandeur to our dust,
So near is God to man,
When Duty whispers low, ‘Thou must,’
The youth whispers, ‘I can.”

The Navy veteran of the Vietnam war checked his emotions, which wavered a bit, before saying that “we are humbled today to honor the town citizens who gave their lives to stand up to tyranny,” as he looked up to those who died nearly a century ago in the First World War. 

With honor guards from Belmont Police and Fire departments as well as the VFW, town and state dignitaries along with many veterans and family, Belmont came to the delta between Common Street and Royal Road and across from the commuter rail station, to view the renovated monument.

After falling on hard times in the past decades, the monument has been restored through the efforts of several private citizens lead by Retired Army Gen. Kevin Ryan, leader of the Belmont Veterans Memorial Committee.

Ryan pointed to residents such as Bill French, Sr., who sought to remember his friend who was killed in Vietnam, as pushing forward the idea of renovating Belmont’s two existing outdoor memorials – the WWI monument and the flag pole at Clay Pit Pond – with the creation of a third made up of small, low stones with plaques honoring veterans from the Civil War to the Iraq conflict at Clay Pit Pond. So far, money has been provided from the town’s Community Preservation Committee and private individuals; more will be needed to complete the work. 

Saying that the misty, cool weather was “great infantry weather” – which a few of the older vets quietly disagreed – Ryan detailed the lives of those from Belmont who did not return from WWI. A barber, congregates from nearby St. Joseph’s, a pilot, a lifelong sailor, a husband; they lived varied lives within the same community, but all volunteered to take up the cause of liberty and country.

A prayer, then a military salute, before “Taps” played by Belmont High School musicians Eleanor Dash and Alex Park brought to an end the day’s remembrance.

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Rededicating The Memorial To Belmont’s Great War Dead

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Photos: The restored memorial in Belmont.

On a bright autumn afternoon, the Belmont World War I memorial shined in a way it must have looked when it was unveiled 92 years ago.

The graffiti is gone, the grime washed away benches installed, and flowers planting around the monolith of Bethel white granite set in the island between Common Street and Royal Road.

Nearly a century old, the stone memorial honors the nine Belmont men who did not come back home from a Great War across the Atlantic.

Cirino, Craigie, Finn, Lincoln, McAleer, Nimmo, Patriouin, Smith, True. Names that would be lost to history if not for the monument.

But since the memorial was dedicated on Nov. 11, 1923 – which historian Dan Leclerc describes as “one of the best” in the nation – its location along a major roadway and a busy commuter rail station allowed the structure to be neglected. The stone begged for repairs, the grounds suffered due to sparse maintenance, the entire area became threadbare.

The transformation of the memorial is part of a larger plan to renovate and restore the town’s two monuments and create a third honoring those who gave their lives to the country. Led by the Belmont Veterans’ Memorial Project group, the members have raised money through the Community Preservation Committee, individuals and in-kind contributions to bring these monuments back to life.

And on Veterans Day, 2015, the first part of the mission will be celebated.

The rededication ceremony for the World War I Memorial will be held at 1 p.m. on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11.

The ceremony will be attended by the Belmont High School Band with comments from the Board of Selectmen, words from Brig. Gen. Kevin Ryan (U.S. Army retired) and will include the color guards from both the Police and Fire departments.

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

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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. 9. Debris 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

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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)

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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

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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.