By Lauren Schiavone
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Parents and infants traveled to the NFPL for an enriching morning of music. Music at the Blissful sang kiddos into the weekend with rhythmic guitar beats and crafty foundational learning.
CATH hosts Meteorologist Harvey Leonard
By Lauren Schiavone
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Boston local meteorologist, Harvey Leonard has recently retired and is off-air. Beginning as Harvey Moskowicz, Leonard used his middle name on air and has been referred to as Harvey Leonard since. A year...
Bertucci’s closes its doors
By Elizabeth Connolly
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Another one bites the dust - or, in this case, crust. Needhamites were surprised to discover earlier this month that their local Bertucci’s Brick Oven Pizzeria has permanently closed. Though reactions on social media ranged from sadness over the loss of a favorite restaurant to...
Ruthie Foster: A Phenomenal Woman
By Julia Beauregard
Hometown Weekly Editor
There was a full house at Great Hall on Saturday night, as Needhamites braved the icy conditions to bask in the warmth that radiated off of an Austinite soul.
Ruthie Foster, a decorated musician from Austin, Texas, performed blues, gospel, and soul tunes to a sold-out...
A Backyard Chronicle: Red Fox
By Nicholas Freedman, age 8, Needham, MA
It was Sunday morning and I was watching T.V.. My brother was eating pancakes. Suddenly, he said, “Fox in our backyard!” I ran to the window and saw the fox near the fence. He was just standing there and staring at our house...
NFPL hosts “Girls Who Code”
By Lauren Schiavone
Hometown Weekly Staff
Needham children’s librarian Veronica McCarthy led the “Girls Who Code” after-school club on Friday, February 17. Girls Who Code is an organization that promotes programming initiatives and aims to close the tech gender...
Register O’Donnell delivers donations to NCCFP
Norfolk County Register of Deeds William P. O’Donnell recently delivered donations of food to Needham Community Council’s Food Pantry (NCCFP). The contributions came from the Registry staff, title examiners, and the public, who participated in the Registry’s Annual Holiday Food Drive which was held from November 14th to December 13th.
Interfaith Coalition spreads hope at CATH
By Julia Beauregard
Hometown Weekly Editor
The Center At the Heights (CATH) hosted a Black History Month luncheon this past Wednesday, February 22nd. The luncheon concluded with a musical performance by a local group.
“There is a new collaboration of interfaith songs and music. The group is called...
NFPL hosts Valentine’s Day craft
By Julia Beauregard
Hometown Weekly Editor
Children from Needham gathered together within the Children’s Room at the Needham Free Public Library (NFPL) on Valentine’s Day to partake in creating a multitude of holiday themed crafts. The event was hosted...
Sarr shares Senegalese dance
By Lauren Schiavone
Hometown Weekly Staff
Senegalese dancer Abdou Sarr cavorted all the way to the NFPL on Tuesday. A special library guest, Sarr carried traditional drums with him to give Needham a crash course on “sabar” a term...
NHS in High School Quiz Show
High School Quiz Show, GBH’s televised academic tournament for Massachusetts high schools, has revealed the 17 teams that will compete for the Season 14 State Championship title — and a squad from Needham High School is among the challengers. The Rockets will face off against Brookline on February 25; a victory will set...
Taylor-Blenis yodels with seniors
By Lauren Schiavone
Hometown Weekly Staff
January 30th is National Yodeling Day. To celebrate, seniors at the Center for the Heights warmed up their voices and prepared for a concert and yodeling lesson with professional yodeler, dancer and instructor, Andy Taylor-Blenis.
Traditionally from a dance background, Taylor-Blenis found...
Betty Leary celebrates 97 years
By Lauren Schiavone
Hometown Weekly Staff
Needham’s Center at the Heights celebrated an extra-special birthday on Tuesday, January 31.
The first of February marked Needham resident Elizabeth “Betty” Leary’s 97th birthday. Leary, surrounded by friends and family at the CATH, enjoyed a celebration as spectacular as she is...
Art lovers flock to ‘Navigating Flight’
By Lauren Schiavone
Hometown Weekly Staff
Using recycled vintage materials, artist Laurie Bogdan puts forward the idea of a partnership
between art and nature. Bogdan’s original pieces give maps a new life as part of collaged
masterpieces, and her current exhibit at the Needham Free Public Library, “Navigating Flight”,
up through February 21, presents a perfect opportunity to...
Needhamites celebrate MLK’s legacy
By Julia Beauregard
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
Needham locals gathered recently together in the high school auditorium to celebrate the legacy
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 16.
The two hour program was hosted by the Needham Diversity Initiative. Other sponsors included
Needham Human Rights Committee, Needham Public Schools and METCO Program, Interfaith
Clergy Association, and World...
Steve Rudolph Trio rocks CATH
By Julia Beauregard
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
Seniors gathered together at the Needham Center at The Heights this past Wednesday, January 11, to enjoy some covered renditions of their favorite tunes from their younger years, performed by the Steve Rudolph Trio. The Trio’s repertoire consisted of popular tunes from the 1940s, 1950s,...
Backyard Files: another heron sighting
By Stephen Press
Hometown Weekly Editor
Throughout the entirety of the autumn, I noticed a trend during my walks in the woods.
It seemed every time I turned a corner in the vicinity of a body of water, I found a heron, typically a great blue heron, staring...
NHA Giving Tree program a hit
By Julia Beauregard
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
Residents at the Needham Housing Authority (NHA) welcomed a new holiday tradition into their
hearts last Wednesday, December 21, thanks to Resident Services Coordinator Laurie Blake.
Blake and the NHA introduced the Giving Tree program to residents this year. It is a project
created to bring joy to residents within senior living...
DAR hosts Wreaths Across America
By Lauren Schiavone
Hometown Weekly Staff
Founded in 2005, Wreaths Across America has affected Needham deeply. In the last two years,
a post-pandemic tradition of laying wreaths on the graves of veterans in the community has
expanded to thousands of individuals. Though this year’s represented only the second local
iteration of the event, the growing interest suggests Wreaths...
Gorse Mill hosts open studios
By Lauren Schiavone
Hometown Weekly Staff
Gorse Mill Studios, a Needham artist co-op — and one of town’s hidden gems — opened its doors over the weekend of December 17 and 18 for its holiday open studios event. The event brought dozens of artists together to share their work and inspire...
