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Category Archives: Needham

Students Paint the School Pink

Monsignor Haddad Middle School in Needham held a Paint the School Pink Day in support of the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer initiative. For a small donation, students were invited to dress out of uniform as long as they wore pink attire in the spirit of the day. Prizes were awarded for...
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Temple Aliyah opens solar array

Needham’s Temple Aliyah has installed an 81 kilowatt (kW) solar energy system on the synagogue’s roof. The solar array consists of 265 photovoltaic (PV) panels and is expected to produce 85,170 kilowatt hours (kwH) of energy annually. The power generated will cover 92 percent of the synagogue’s energy needs. It is projected that Temple Aliyah...
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Pre-School Palooza delivers pre-Halloween treats

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By Laura Drinan Hometown Weekly Reporter The preschoolers could hardly contain their excitement. Their costumes were ready and the promise of buckets and bags full of candy was just a day away. Halloween was on its way, but the children couldn’t wait. The Needham Free Public Library’s librarians knew just how to help. To give the...
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Chamber concert impresses music community

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By Laura Drinan Hometown Weekly Reporter After hours and hours of instruction and rehearsal, Needham High School singers and instrumentalists performed for family and friends at their chamber concert. With a theme of “Music of the Spheres,” concertgoers were treated with a selection of songs and numbers performed by the chamber strings and chorus groups. “All...
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A Grimm fairytale, an opera twist

By Laura Drinan Hometown Weekly Reporter “Hansel and Gretel” is one of the most beloved and frightening tales from the Brothers Grimm. While many have heard the tale before, certainly not has many have seen the opera adaptation by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck. That’s where Needham’s Longwood Opera comes in. Since 1986, the Longwood Opera has been providing Needham...
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Community Farm honors youth volunteers

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On Tuesday, October 24, the Needham Community Farm honored six Needham residents with Outstanding Youth Volunteer awards. Honorees were Needham High School students Chloe Misiak, Jack Saunders, and Charlotte Terry, as well as Cambridge School of Weston student Lila Blaustein, Colby College student Liam Butchart, and Villanova student Jeremy Wong. Wong is a...
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Temple Aliyah to open solar array

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A large new solar array at Temple Aliyah is expected to generate 90% of the synagogue’s power in the years to come, significantly reducing its carbon footprint and resulting in savings of roughly $250,000 over the next two decades. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new system will be held at Temple Aliyah at 1664...
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October is Rett Syndrome Awareness Month

On Saturday, October 21, two Needham women along with their families participated in the 7th Annual Blue Sky Day sponsored by the Rett Syndrome Association of Massachusetts. Jessica Goldman and Erika Gladstone, both 38 years old, were diagnosed with Rett syndrome as children. Rett syndrome is a lifelong neurological disorder caused by random mutations on...
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Longwood Opera performing ‘Hansel and Gretel’

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Longwood Opera’s production of Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel,” will be held on Friday, November 3, at 7:30 p.m. and on the afternoons of November 4 and 5 at 2:30 p.m. in Christ Episcopal Church, 1132 Highland Ave., Needham. Directed by Scott Brumit with music direction by Jeffrey Brody and costumes by Charlotte Brumit,...
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Needham writer’s Vietnam story published

Thomas Keating of Needham, a veteran of Vietnam and a writer, will have a chapter from his Vietnam War memoir published in the fall edition of “War Stories,” an anthology series published by Oregon Humanities. The anthology will be released on November 11, Veterans Day. Keating submitted the chapter, entitled “The Elephants (Con Voi),” about his...
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David Bromberg to play Town Hall

On Saturday night, November 4, the David Bromberg Quintet will take the stage at Needham’s Great Hall. David Bromberg’s incredible journey spans five-and-a-half decades, and includes – but is not limited to – adventures with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jerry Garcia, and music and life lessons from seminal blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis, who claimed...
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Former NPS student talks wrongful conviction

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By Laura Drinan Hometown Weekly Reporter In recent years, television has brought wrongful convictions to light, broadcasting the faces of those who had wasted years behind bars for a crime they did not commit. Unfortunately, it’s all too common and happens in our own backyard. [caption id="attachment_22456" align="alignright" width="300"]Sean Ellis, a former... 			
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CRBA dancers appearing in ‘Hansel and Gretel’

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Two Needham arts organizations, Charles River Ballet Academy (CRBA) and Longwood Opera, will collaborate on upcoming performances of “Hansel and Gretel.” Sixteen advanced CRBA students will perform as angels in a dance choreographed by CRBA director, Emily Hrones Umland, concluding the first act of the full-length opera of “Hansel and Gretel,” performed by...
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Needham Antiques Show coming soon

The 20th annual Needham Antiques Show will be held on Sunday, November 5, from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. at Needham High School. By bringing a printed copy of this article to the door, attendees will receive a Beth Shalom Garden Club (BSGC) $1 discount off the $7 admission fee. Beth Shalom Garden Club, sponsor...
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Historical Society celebrates, rebrands at meeting

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By Laura Drinan Hometown Weekly Reporter Everyone who attended third grade in Needham knows about the town’s Historical Society. Their 1850’s School House Days program sends third graders back to the mid nineteenth century to experience class in the little red schoolhouse. The Needham Historical Society invites not only third graders to review history, but...
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Needhamites celebrate Indian culture with Diwali

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By Laura Drinan Hometown Weekly Reporter Needham’s Indian community gathered at the local VFW on October 21 for an evening of friends, food, music, and dancing to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights. The annual festival is celebrated with different traditions and festivities over five days. Last year, Needhamites celebrating Diwali decided it was finally...
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Emilia Dahlin playing Homegrown Coffeehouse

Emilia Dahlin will take the stage at the Homegrown Coffeehouse on Saturday, October 28, at 8:00 p.m., at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, at the corner of Great Plain and Dedham Avenue in Needham center. There is free parking and full handicapped accessibility. Admission is $15, $12 for students and seniors, to benefit the...
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St. Joseph’s hosting Information Night

St. Joseph Elementary School is inviting parents to their Information Night on Thursday, October 26, at 7:00 p.m., to learn more about its mission, curriculum, school community, and newly renovated building. The meeting will be held in the St. Joseph School Library on 90 Pickering Street in Needham. Noted for its academic excellence, the school provides...
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Great Hall Performance Series kicks off

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[caption id="attachment_22043" align="alignright" width="600"]Pamela Condon, Grace Kelly and Louise Condon, Pamela Condon, Grace Kelly and Louise Condon,
[/caption]The Needham Great Hall Performance Series kicked off by welcoming Grace Kelly to a packed house on September 23. [caption id="attachment_22046" align="alignright" width="300"]Grace Kelly performs... 			
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Vintage Voices revive sentimental songs

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By Laura Drinan Hometown Weekly Reporter Every Tuesday, the multipurpose room of Needham’s Center at the Heights is filled with the sounds of laughter, singing, and piano notes. Keeping Needham’s most musical seniors busy, the Center’s Vintage Voices inspired participants to join the choir director, Tom Gallant, and pianist, Jack Cadigan, in performing old favorites. With...
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