Belmont’s Memorial Day Parade Kicks Off at 11 AM

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It’s the one day of the year Belmont comes out for a parade.

Marching bands from Belmont High School, and the Chenery Middle School, color guards and members from the Belmont Police and Fire departments, Veteran motorcyclist, marchers from local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts troops and veterans will all take part in the 2015 edition of Belmont’s Memorial Day Parade and Public Ceremony beginning at 11 a.m., Monday, May 25, beginning on Trapelo Road adjacent to the municipal parking lot and Starbucks in Cushing Square.

All veterans and current military personnel are invited and welcome to join the other vets at the head of the parade.

Lining the route – up Trapelo Road before making a left at Grove Street and continuing to the Belmont Cemetery – will be families and residents cheering the marchers.

At the cemetery, a wreath laying ceremony will take place, speeches will be read, flowers laid at the graves of veterans, the names of Belmont citizens who died for this country will be honored, “Taps” played and a final salute will be given.

Belmont Yard Sales: May 23-24

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Photo: Yard Sale in Belmont.

Yard sales in the “Town of Homes.” 

• 65 Bartlett Ave., Saturday, May 23, from 10 a.m. to noon.

• 199 Beech Street Apt. A, Saturday, May 23, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• 35 Clarendon Rd., Sunday, May 24, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• 80 Davis Road, Saturday, May 23, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• 9 Gilmore Rd., Saturday, May 23, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• 30 Moraine St., Saturday and Sunday, May 23 and 24, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Belmont Town Day 2015: Overcast with a Chance of Fun

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Photo: Town Day Belmont, 2015. 

When Eve Loncar heard there was going to be a dog show at Belmont’s Town Day festivities on Saturday, May 16, she thought why not enter her 10-month-old puppy Maxwell. She lived only a block away on Claflin Street and it would be nice way to spend the afternoon.

“We just walked right in,” said Loncar.

An hour later, she and her “Goldendoodle” left the annual event with the “Best of Show” prize (picked by the cheers from the assembled crowd) and a $100 gift certificate from sponsor Belmont Savings Bank.

“Wow, we got the house in the suburbs, the white picket fence and now a championship dog,” said Loncar, having moved to Belmont two years ago from Cambridge. 

The dog show was just one part of the day-long event hosted by the Belmont Center Business Association, now in its quarter century of existence. In addition to kids rides, businesses hawking their goods and services, and non-profits promoting causes, the day included an auto show, pony rides and plenty of food. Despite the overcast conditions, the rain held off and the day did not have the stifling heat of past years. 

Over by the dunk tank, special guest “dunkees” such as Belmont High Head Football Coach Yann Kumin, sat on the hot seat over a cold barrel of water to raise money for the Belmont Boosters Club. Coach “Q” had the misfortune of having the past head of the South End Youth Baseball Association throw a stinging fastball onto the target, sending him into the drink. 

 

This Week: Blacker Awards, Schools’ Art Show, Rugby Semis, Historical Society’s 50 Years, Concerts

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Photo: Art work at the annual Town-Wide Spring Art Exhibit.

This week’s government meetings:

  • The Belmont Vision 21 Implementation Committee is meeting Tuesday, May 19, at 7 p.m. in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library. 
  • The Warrant Committee will review the financial amendments and budgets for fiscal 2016 at its Wednesday, May 20, at 7:30 p.m. in the Chenery Middle School. 

• 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 Flett Room on Monday, May 18.  There will be two sessions: 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

• The Chenery Middle School Honors ensembles – band, chorus and orchestra – will performing in the school’s auditorium, Monday, May 18 at 7 p.m.

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. 

The second session of Belmont Public Library’s eCamp takes place on Tuesday, May 19, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Young Adult Room. Reference Librarian Joanna Breen and Technology Librarian Ellen Girouard will teach how to access the library from wherever you find yourself this summer, talk about Zinio and hoopla, and demonstrate other ways the library connects patrons to online media, in this free-flowing demonstration plus Q&A session. Enjoy snacks, practice with your device or a library laptop, and get connected to magazines, movies, music, and more.

• Belmont Historical Society’s Viktoria Haase will take residents on a trip down memory lane, recalling Belmont in days gone by on Tuesday, May 19, at 1:15 p.m. at the Beech Street Center. The audience will be encouraged to participate and share their own stories and childhood memories of what growing up in this community was all about.

• The staff from US Rep. Katherine Clark will be holding office hours from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19, at the Beech Street Center.

• The Belmont High School Rugby club hosts the semifinals of the Div. 1 Massachusetts Youth Rugby Organization High School championships against its great rival, Bishop Hendricken of Warwick, Rhode Island, on Tuesday, May 19, at 7 p.m. on the pitch of Harris Field. 

• The Belmont Book Discussion group will discuss Benediction by Kent Haruf on Wednesday, May 20, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Flett Room. The third novel set the fictitious Colorado town of Holt, “a claustrophobic place, where secrets cannot be hidden,” Haruf’s “beautifully spare prose charts the events of [a] summer with unpretentious aplomb.” Everyone is welcome to attend. Copies of the book can be requested through the library catalog or call the library Reference staff at 617-993-2870.

• The International Fiction Book Club will discuss at its monthly get together, An Unnecessary Woman, by Rabih Alameddine on Wednesday, May 20, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room. Join the club 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 Belmont Gallery of Art welcomes the Belmont Public Schools Fine Arts Department faculty who will install a collection of works by students in Kindergarten through High School seniors for the annual Town-Wide Spring Art Exhibit which opens on Wednesday, May 20, at 6 p.m. A wonderful sampling of work is showcased from the visual arts program and curriculum within the schools. Featured are pieces in a wide variety of media including paintings, ceramics, prints, drawings and three-dimensional work. The exhibit runs through June 8. 

• The Belmont High School English Department will present the annual Lillian F. Blacker Prizes for Excellence in Writing on Wednesday, May 20, at 6:30 p.m. in the Peter Holland Library at Belmont High School.

• A celebration of 50 Years of the Belmont Historial Society will be held on Wednesday, May 20, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. Viktoria Haase, curator of the Belmont Historical Society’s collection of historical documents, images, and artifacts, will present a special program commemorating the anniversary of the rejuvenation of the society in April 1965. Come and test your knowledge of local history in a fast-paced fun-filled “Jeopardy”-style game show. In addition, the society will announce this year’s honorees of the David R. Johnson Preservation Awards and the distribution of the latest set of the Society’s Historic House plaques.

• The Grade 6 Band, Chorus and Orchestra Concert, led by John McLellan and Sharon Phipps(band), Margot Reavey (orchestra) and Christine Servilio (chorus) will take place at the Chenery Middle School auditorium on Thursday, May 21 at 7 p.m.

• The Powers Community String Orchestra’s Spring Concert takes place on Thursday, May 21, at 8 p.m., at All Saints’ Church, 17 Clark St. Admission is free. The orchestra is comprised of advanced adult string players from Belmont, Arlington, Lexington, Cambridge, Boston, Newton, Watertown, and surrounding communities. Conducted by Channing Yu, the ensemble performs baroque, classical, romantic and contemporary masterpieces from the string orchestra literature. 

Tuxes and Gowns Set the Standard at Belmont High’s Promenade

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Photo: Belmont High School prom.

Tuxes with bow ties, black dresses and strapless, colorful gowns were the standard for the nearly 450 students and guests attending the Belmont High School Promenade and Prom held Friday, May 15.

A massive crowd of parents, students and families filled the High School auditorium to see singles, couples and groups stride across the stage to cheers and applause.

Unlike last year, all the buses taking the students for a night of dancing and dining were waiting for the student. But the final bus did not leave until the final prom attendee, stuck in Boston traffic, got to the school a bit late, having to run to make the formal. 

Belmont Yard Sales, May 16, 17

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Photo: Yard sales.

• 60 Channing Rd., Saturday and Sunday, May 16 and 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

• 25 Clark St., Saturday, May 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Antiques/vintage collectibles, books, original art, antique and vintage numbered prints.)

• Somewhere on Creeley Road, Saturday, May 16, from 8 a.m. to noon.

• 29 Stults Rd., Saturday, May 16, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

This Weekend: Town Day Saturday; Plants,Books for Sale; Curtain Call for Charlie Brown

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Photo: Town Day in Belmont.

• Food, animals, kiddy carnival rides, a dog show, classic cars, live music, a dunk tank and thousands of residents on Leonard Street can only mean one thing: the 25th annual Belmont Town Day is Saturday, May 16, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank and run by the Belmont Center Business Association, the yearly event closes down Belmont’s largest business hub so families, friends and gaggles of kids (and especially teens) can wander up and down the High Street to eat samples from the Center’s eateries, listen – and dance – to a live rock band, view classic cars at Belmont Savings (and vote on your favorite) and visit approximately 60 tables set up by businesses, schools and local groups and organizations, several with interesting raffles items.

And there will be a dunk tank near il Casale. Three chances to throw a strike and knock a kid into freezing water. I understand a certain head High School football coach will be a participant around 1 p.m. 

• The Belmont Garden Club holds its annual plant/herb sale today from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 16, in front of the Belmont Lion Club at the intersection of Common Street and Royal Road just outside Belmont Center.

• The Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer-run library, is holding a Saturday Book Sale from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 16. The library has reasonably priced books for readers of any age. All proceeds benefit the library. The latest additions to the collection are on the shelves. The Benton is open on the third Saturday afternoon of every month.

• The curtain falls on the Chenery Middle School Drama Group’s annual musical, “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown,” tonight, Saturday, May 16 at 7 p.m. at the school’s auditorium. Tickets are $10 for adults in advance/$12 at the door, students $8. 

Caution: Prom Crossing at Belmont High School Friday Afternoon

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Photo: Last year’s prom.

The annual Great Transformation occurs this afternoon, Friday on the ides of May.

To the surprise – if not down right shock – of most adults in town, a number of Belmont High School students, who seemingly live in sports gear, sweats, and shorts no matter the weather or temperature, are altered in a Kafka-esque refiguring into sparkling figures of high fashion (tuxes and gowns of all lengths and colors with the occasional sari and kilts thrown in) and – hopefully – good taste.

Yes, it’s prom night in Belmont. 

What is becoming a great annual community event will begin at approximately 4 p.m. as the students  attending this year’s Belmont High School Senior/Junior Prom begin lining up for the Promenade, in which those high schoolers are “presented” before a frenzy of fawning parents, siblings, friends and the public in the Belmont High School auditorium.

The students will then head into the cafeteria (for the “once over” by school officials) before boarding buses to take them to some ritzy hotel for a night of dancing and having fun.

For seniors, it is the last full day of school in the Belmont school district.

By Saturday morning, the young men and women will revert to their normal state. 

This Week: Patriots in Town Wednesday, Charlie Brown at the Chenery, Prom Friday

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Photo: The Chenery Middle School musical, ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.’

On the government side of “This Week”:

  • The Financial Task Force will met on Monday, May 11, at 8 a.m. in Belmont Town Hall to discuss future activities of the group.
  • The Belmont Board of Selectmen is holding a meeting on Monday, May 11, at 6 p.m. where they will discuss and vote on the fiscal 2016 town budget and approve the street closures on Belmont Hill during the PGA golf tourney happening next month. 
  • The Warrant Committee is meeting in the Cafeteria of Belmont High School at 7 p.m., Monday, May 11, to discuss the Town Meeting articles and any amendments. 
  • The Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a hearing Tuesday, May 12, at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Gallery of Art located in the Homer Building on whether to approve a permit to allow a Richmond Road resident to provide clarinet lessons.
  • The Belmont Conservation Commission is inviting the public to its meeting on Tuesday, May 12, at 7 p.m. in Town Hall to discuss the future of funding maintenance at Rock Meadow. The Commission will also recap that went on and the resolution to the PGA’s attempt to use the meadow for parking during a golf tournament in June.
  • The Belmont School Committee is meeting Tuesday, May 12, at 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School where it will go over the fiscal 2016 budget.
  • The Warrant Committee meets for the second time this week at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 11, at the Chenery Middle School to vote on the fiscal 2016 budget.

• Belmont resident and poet Nancy Esposito will discuss and read from her 2013 book Lamentation with June Bug, Monday, at 11 a.m., Monday, May 11, in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines such as The Nation, Southwest Review, American Poetry Review, Threepenny Review, and the Harvard Business Review, as well as in anthologies.  She has taught writing and literature at Harvard, Tufts, and Bentley universities. All are welcome to attend this free program.  Refreshments will be provided. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

• The 7th-8th Grade Book Club will meet on Monday, May 11, at 7 p.m. in the Young Adult Room o the Belmont Public Library to discuss Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Saenz, choose June’s book, and enjoy some snacks.

• 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. 

• Registration for Smart 911, Belmont’s new enhanced emergency call system in which residents can supply dispatchers with information on their medications and medical conditions, will take place at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St, from 11 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, May 5.

• The Chenery Middle School Chamber Orchestra will visit the Beech Street Center on Tuesday, May 12, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Under the direction of Margot Reavey, the orchestra will perform a concert of classical and popular music, including “Russian Sailor’s Dance,” Vivaldi’s Concerto Grosso “Alla Ristica,” and a Beatles medley. This accomplished 25 member group rehearses once a week after school.

• Dr. Lincoln Greenhill, a senior research fellow in the Department of Astronomy at Harvard University, as well as a radio astronomer with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, will give a talk on “The Dark Age of the Universe,” on Tuesday, May 12, at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room. He will describe his work with The Large Aperture Experiment to Detect the Dark Ages (LEDA), which investigates the origins of the earliest stars and the speculation in cosmology about the formation of massive black holes in the first billion years of the cosmos.

• Annual concert of The Apollo Club, the oldest men’s chorus in the United States, will perform on Tuesday, May 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the Beech Street Center. It will present arrangements of folk songs, and anthems from the British Isles, African-American spirituals, a medley from the “Music Man,” and selections by William Billings.

• Super Bowl Champions New England Patriots Celebrity Basketball Team takes on the Belmont Boosters “All-Stars” in a benefit basketball game against business owners, faculty and Belmont Residents on Wednesday May 13, at  6:30 p.m. in the Wenner Field House. Attendees will have autograph and photo-opportunities, as well as a chance to win an autographed football. Net proceeds will benefit the Boosters! For information and tickets please call 617-904-7542. Any questions please check out website .

• The Belmont Police will be holding a public meeting on Thursday, May 14, at 7 p.m. at the Belmont Hill School Athletic Center, Wadsworth Room, to discuss road closings and other traffic issues related to the PGA golf tournament in early June.

• Belmont Against Racism will hold its monthly meeting in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room on Thursday, May 14, between 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

• The Chenery Middle School Drama Group presents its annual musical, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, on Thursday through Saturday, May 14 – 16 at 7 p.m. at the school’s auditorium. Tickets are $10 for adults in advance/$12 at the door, students $8. Get your tickets online here.

• State Sen. Will Brownsberger will be holding office hours at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 15, at the Beech Street Center. 

• Well-loved local musician Liz Buchanan performs original songs and traditional favorites on Friday, May 15, from 10:30 a.m. the the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room. 

• The Belmont High School Senior/Junior Prom takes place Friday, May 15. A public promenade of the students will take place at the Belmont High School auditorium beginning at 4 p.m.