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Category Archives: Needham

South St. home becomes Wyeth library

While a regular Needham family was living there not long ago, this house will soon be turned into a library in celebration of N.C. Wyeth.

By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter

Picture Paul Revere’s famous “Midnight Ride.” If you're familiar with the image of the...

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Pansy Day returns to Needham

By Amelia Tarallo
Hometown Weekly Staff

For decades, planting season has been heralded by Pansy Day in Needham. Last year’s celebration was canceled due to COVID-19, a first for the tradition that has notoriously happened during all weather conditions. But like pansies, the community is feeling the warmth of spring -...

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Sunset Road event honors Vietnam veterans

William Topham spoke about how many Vietnam veterans were left permanently disabled by the war, at the March 29th ceremony.

By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter

While many Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day and other events that honor Americans who served in the armed forces have...

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NCC celebrates 90th year ‘plus one’

Bob Dermody noted this holiday season the NCC delivered more food than ever before.

By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter

Last March, the Needham Community Council planned on celebrating its 90th anniversary with a historical exhibition at the Needham History Center & Museum. Unfortunately, when...

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A pawsitive addition to Needham

Officer Rocket and Needham school resource officer RJ Poirier have been among the town’s most famous residents as of late.

By Maddie Gerber 
Hometown Weekly Intern

It was a gloomy day at Eliot Elementary School when Officer Rocket, a recent four-legged addition to the Needham...

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Art in Bloom moves online

Beth Paisner used birch bark, sweet pea, Queen Anne’s lace and monstera leaves - among others - to interpret Julia Clark’s artwork.

By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter

Last March, Needham’s 12th annual Art in Bloom was one of the last public events in town...

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Alessandrini wins Hall of Fame Award

Needham Community Theatre has announced that it has awarded the first Needham Theatre “Hall of Fame Award” for excellence in professional theater to Tony Award winner and Needham native Gerard Alessandrini.

Gerard Alessandrini grew up in Needham and joined NCT in his teens, appearing in "Kismet" in 1971 and in...

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Take Back the Night raises awareness

By Amelia Tarallo
Hometown Weekly Staff

On Wednesday, February 24, viewers joined a YouTube livestream to watch this year’s Take Back the Night event. Normally, the event is held in November at Needham High School, but pandemic circumstances this year brought it to the virtual stage.

The...

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Art in Bloom blossoms on Monday

The month of March is only a week away, and we will soon be hitting the one-year mark of the nationwide COVID lockdown. There is good news, though: this year, Needham’s Art in Bloom will be a virtual exhibit and open on Monday, March 1, at NeedhamArtinBloom.com.

“The library building may...

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Local artist raises funds for community

By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter

While the boredom of COVID-19 lockdowns has led most young people to do nothing other than spend more time on the internet, some teenagers are doing much more productive things with their newfound, mandatory time away from friends. Take Needham’s Dana Freedman, for instance. In...

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Needham hosts open vaccination clinic

By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter

While many towns are developing their own small vaccination clinics for residents, Needham uniquely has access to the types of freezers that allow them to store either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. While this makes things a bit more difficult for those planning the logistics...

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NHS Theatre performs ‘War of the Worlds’

Howard Koch and Freddie Filmore, played by Lily Oehlkers and Brian Curry briefly discuss the background of Welles’ recording.

By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter

Decades before “Cannibal Holocaust,” “Ghostwatch,” “The Blair Witch Project,” “Mermaids: The Body Found,” or “The Buried Secret of M. Night...

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Crowds embrace Rail Trail despite cold

Despite incredibly cold temperatures, the trail was crowded with walkers and bicycle riders.

By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter

Who would be insane enough to walk the Needham Rail Trail on the coldest day of the year? Apparently, a lot of people - when I...

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The Tapples release their new album

The Tapples pose for a group photo ahead of the release of their second album, “Where You’ve Been.”

By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter

The state that produced bands like Aerosmith, New Edition, Boston, New Kids on the Block and The Cars hasn’t had a...

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Free two-hour meter parking extended

The Needham Select Board has approved the extension of free two-hour parking at town metered spots. This extension is planned to last until June 30, 2021, as a way to continue encouraging shopping at the many local businesses in Needham.

Free two-hour parking is one of the many initiatives...

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Needham honors MLK via Zoom ceremony

Sean K. Ellis, the subject of Netflix’s “Trial 4” appeared to speak on the work he is doing to fight voter suppression and police brutality.

By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter

With COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts showing very little signs of slowing down, like...

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Patel Brothers toy drive brings joy

The Patel brothers pose in front of the large number of toy donations they collected.

By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter

In 2020, kids saw their favorite events cancelled, their contact with friends severely limited, and their big family gatherings moved from in-person to...

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Needham 2020: a year in review

In what might be Hometown Weekly's most extreme understatement of the still-young 21st century, we at the paper are confident in saying the last 365 days won't soon be forgotten.

With a world-stopping pandemic, contentious US presidential election, and demonstrations for racial equality dominating headlines around the globe, it won't...

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Winterfest performances move to Zoom

Lauren, Matthew and Ryan made the event far more interesting with their near constant inside jokes and quips.

By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter

Winterfest is the major fundraising event for the NHS Friends of Music, but with COVID-19 forcing large in person concerts to...

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NHS students grapple with mental health

By Maddie Gerber 
Hometown Weekly Intern 

“Well, I would usually wake up before school to do homework, maybe around 6 a.m. or so,” said current Needham High School senior Julia Ochalla, describing what a typical Monday looked like for her back in pre-pandemic times. Ochalla continued to detail her busy...

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