Category Archives: Events

What’s Happening at the Y

Try the Y – Thursdays in December are free! Present a valid ID at the welcome desk and use the facilities for the day. Plus, if you sign up for a Y membership in December, your first month is free.

Program Registration for Winter Session – Registration for Winter Programs at the West Suburban YMCA is now open to all members and non-members. The Winter Program Session starts the week of January 2nd. Some program highlights include:

  • Aquatics: Swim lessons for all ages, water polo, Masters Swim Team
  • Youth Sports Leagues & Classes: Basketball, flag football, tumbling, karate for all ages
  • Creative Arts: Rock Band class, dance classes, private music lessons
  • Fitness & Wellness: TRX classes, tai chi, personal training and small group training

Pick up a Winter Program Guide at the YMCA or visit wsymca.org for more information and to register for programs. More Info

Resolutions Fitness Challenge – New year, new you! Sign up for the Y’s Resolutions Fitness Challenge to jumpstart your health and fitness goals for 2019. Join a team led by one of the Y’s certified personal trainers, and compete against other teams to see whose team can lose the greatest percentage of weight and body fat during the eight week challenge.

School Vacation Week Programs – Do your kids need something to do while they are off from school for winter vacation? The West Suburban YMCA is offering full day and half day program options December 26th -28th. Sign up for a program from either our Child Care Department or our Sports Department, to ensure your child has a fun vacation and you have peace of mind! More Info

Winter Camp Extravaganza – Celebrate summer in the winter! Bring the whole family for this exciting event at the West Suburban YMCA. There will be three live shows from comedy magician Steven Craig, musical ventriloquist Kevin Driscoll, and Curious Creatures! In addition to the performances, there will be raffles, door prizes, auction items, face painting, balloon animals, Henna tattoos and more!

This event is open to the community – not just YMCA campers – and a suggested family donation of $20.00 is welcome at the door. All proceeds will go toward 2019 camper scholarships. More Info January 5th, 5:30 – 8:00 pm

Y Empower – free program for 10 year old girls. Y Empower is a new free program geared toward 10 year old girls. It is intended to provide a small learning community for them to explore their health holistically and be prepared to manage the stress that adolescence often brings. Half of the time is spent in a classroom setting with expert speakers about topics such as nutrition, social media safety, and self care. The second half of the time is spent trying specific fitness activities such as yoga, Zumba, and swimming. Contact Jane Carroll at janec@wsymca.org for more information or to register for this program. Starting January 2019, Tuesdays, 2:30 – 4:00 pm

The Body Project – free program for high school girls. The Y is proud to partner with MEDA (Multi-service Eating Disorder Association) to offer a six-week program that provides a forum for girls to confront unrealistic beauty ideals and engage them in the development of a healthy body image through verbal, written and behavioral exercises. Contact Jane Carroll at janec@wsymca.org for more information or to register for this program.  Starting January 2019, Mondays, 4:30 – 5:15 pm

Pickle Ball – The West Suburban YMCA hosts drop-in pickle ball on both Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30-11:30 am in the gymnasium. Pickle ball is free for West Suburban YMCA members and $5.00 drop-in fee for non-members.

Work at the Y: The West Suburban YMCA is hiring for a variety of full-time and part-time positions. Great benefits, FREE membership, professional development opportunities. Please contact Laura Snow, Director of Human Resources, at lauras@wsymca.org or visit wsymca.org/about/work-here.

Financial Assistance is always available for Y Memberships and Programs – The West Suburban YMCA is a non-profit charitable organization and it is their mission to never turn anyone away due to an inability to pay. Please contact our Membership Department at 617-244-6050 x3653 for financial assistance with membership or program participation.

West Newton Arts Stroll & Shop

Get into the Holiday Spirit in West Newton at the annual Arts Stroll & Shop presented by The Newton Cultural Alliance.  As you stroll along Washington Street throughout the day, you can listen to strolling carolers and musicians.  Buy beautiful handmade gifts at The Paper Mouse, Artitudes and Hipstitch, and enjoy some cider at Sweet Tomatoes, or a hot cup of coffee and a treat at L’Aroma Café.

You can even visit with Santa between 10:30 and 12:30 at the ‘Stuff a Cruiser’ in Captain Ryan Park.

Please bring an unwrapped present to benefit the Village Bank/City of Newton Holiday Gift Drive, and put it right into the police cruiser!  There are also toy collection boxes at the Police Station and the Village Bank. Pick up a brochure at any of the merchants for some special coupons.  The event is rain or shine, and a few snowflakes might even enhance the festive atmosphere! The Stroll is a collaborative event presented by Newton’s local arts and businesses to create an enchanting holiday tradition for the community. For a full calendar of events, please visit www.artsstrollandshop.com.

December 8th, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Newton Family Singers present “Imagine: The Beatles Solo Years”

After the Beatles went their separate ways, John, Paul, George and Ringo continued to write and record beautiful, memorable, inspiring music. Imagine a concert of their greatest hits. Imagine an intergenerational family chorus singing in four-part harmony, backed by a full rock band.

The Newton Family Singers will perform solo Beatles hits at their “Imagine: The Beatles Solo Years” concert.  Discounted Tickets: Adults $10.00/ Children $8.00 are available for purchase online on the website, www.newtonfamilysingers.org/events. Tickets on the day of the concert will be available for purchase: Adults $12.00/ Children $10.00.  Questions? Email admin@newtonfamilysingers.org

Come sing along to family-friendly, live music!

December 9th, 4:00 pm
JCC Greater Boston, 333 Nahanton Street, Newton

Newton CPC Public Hearings on Conservation Restrictions, Allen House Historic Rehab

The Community Preservation Committee will hold public hearings on funding requested by the Newton Conservators, for conservation restrictions on past CPA-funded land acquisitions, and supplemental funding for the Allen House historic rehabilitation project in West Newton.

The CPC will also discuss recent changes to the Golda Meir House Expansion in Auburndale, for which it has already recommended funding to the City Council. For details see the program website, www.newtonma.gov/cpa, or contact Alice Ingerson at aingerson@newtonma.gov or 617-796-1144.

November 11th, 7:00 pm
Newton City Hall Room 204

2019 Newton Little League Spring Registration is now open

Registration for the 2019 Newton Little League Spring Season is now available on the league’s website: www.newtonllbaseball.org

Newton Little League serves players who reside within or attend private or public schools within the boundaries of Ward, Underwood, Lincoln-Eliot, Horace Mann, Peirce, Cabot, Burr, Franklin, Williams elementary schools, and provides programs for players ages 4 through 12.

Programs for younger players are based on school grade, and teams are put together based on elementary school and friend requests: T-Ball (Pre-K), Rookie (Kindergarten), Farm (grade 1) and Single A (grade 2). In programs for older players, teams are put together with more of a focus on competitive balance: AA (grades 3-4), AAA (grades 4-6) and Majors (ages 10-12).

There is also a Challenger division for students with special needs who wish to enjoy the game of baseball.

All players interested in playing in the 2019 AAA division must attend an evaluation session and complete registration prior to the evaluation date. The AAA evaluations will be held on January 19th. This event will also serve as the Majors Division makeup evaluation for players who were unable to attend tryouts in the fall.

Please contact info@newtonllbaseball.org with any questions.

Newton PTO Council 2018-12-02 10:13:40

STORYTIME – COLONIAL WINTER

How do we make clothes to keep us warm? Join Storytime to explore how people in the past made their own things to wear. You will read The Mitten by Jan Brett, and preschoolers and their caregivers will get the chance to try our drop spindle and create their own cotton ball mittens. Admission is Free. For information: 617-641-9142.

For a complete schedule of ongoing Storytime events, go to www.newtonma.gov/story.

December 15th, 9:30 am
Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds, 286 Waverley Avenue

HOLIDAY CANDLELIGHT TOUR OF DURANT-KENRICK HOUSE

Built in 1734, the Durant-Kenrick House was the home of families who observed the
winter holidays in different ways. Take a special tour of the house by candlelight led by
Historic Newton staff, enjoy winter caroling, and sip hot cider and cocoa. Kids can create
winter crafts, too. Space is limited. Advance registration is recommended through historicnewton.org.

Admission: Adults: $15 non-member, $10 Historic Newton members and children ages 10 and over. Information: 617-641-9142

December 16th, 4:30 pm
Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds, 286 Waverley Avenue

STORYTIME – WINTER HIBERNATION

Learn how animals live through the winter, and how people at the Jackson Homestead stayed warm, too. You will read Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner, and preschoolers and their caregivers will make their own wintry paper bag trees. Admission is Free. Information: 617-796-1450

For a complete schedule of ongoing Storytime events, go to www.newtonma.gov/story.

December 26th, 10:00 am
Jackson Homestead and Museum, 527 Washington Street

 

Yoga & Torah in Conversation: Finding the Light of Hanukkah

Finding the Light of Hanukkah will explore the theme of light within and light with out in both the Jewish and Yoga traditions. All levels of Torah and Yoga students are welcome. No prior yoga experience required.

This is the second program of The Body in Yoga and Torah: A One Night Shtender (A One Night Stand) – a unique integrative and interactive program exploring Jewish and yoga intersections with the body. In both traditions, the body is a vehicle to access the divine, inner world and to connect to a broader understanding. The program explores Jewish traditional texts and relevant yoga philosophy Sutras of Patanjali. Program led by Rabba Claudia Marbach, a Maharat and Rahel Wasserfall, PhD and Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT). Program fee: $18.00. Register here: Yoga & Torah

November 28th, 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Hosted at Artemis Yoga, 639 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown

About the instructors:
Rahel Wasserfall, PhD and Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT) is a graduate of the Yavneh school in Paris; studying with Rabbi Nehemia Polen and David Mayaan as well as the organizer of a local study group, Ladies of The Books, which explores the connections between yoga and torah. Rahel has also studied with Diane Bloomfield the author of Torah Yoga. As a writer and thought leader, Rahel has written on the meaning of Niddha, the Jewish purity laws for women and is the editor of Women and Water: Menstruation in Jewish Life and Law, UPNE 1999.

Claudia Marbach, a graduate of Yeshivat Maharat, previously was a middle school teacher at JCDS Boston, a pluralistic Jewish Day School, for fifteen years, where she developed a Rabbinics curriculum and taught tefillah, chagim, and moral reasoning. She has a particular interest in the teaching of pluralism, differentiated instruction and moral reasoning. Claudia founded and co-runs a partnership minyan in Newton, MA, has been gabbait of a local women’s tefillah group, has tutored bnei mitzvot, and participates in interfaith dialogue through the Daughters of Abraham network

Reminder about Myths, facts and Marijuana

Local experts Kevin Hill, MD and Nicole Danforth, MD will enlighten the group with myths and facts about marijuana science, health risks and benefits, adolescents and the developing brain and adult recreational and medical marijuana use. They’ll be joined by Elizabeth Booma, MD, to answer questions from the audience. Whether you’re an adult considering giving legal marijuana a try, a parent worried about preventing teen use, or just plain curious, this is the event for you! Free and open to the public.

November 28th, 6:30-8:00 pm
The Mount Ida Campus of UMass Amherst
Campus Center, 777 Dedham Street, Newton

Dr. Kevin Hill is an addiction psychiatrist, cannabis researcher and author at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital. Dr. Nicole Danforth is a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Newton Wellesley Hospital.

Newton Music Ambassadors Scholarship Fund Benefit Concert

Please join a very special night of jazz music featuring students from both Newton North and Newton South high schools, in support of the Newton Music Ambassadors Scholarship Fund. Light appetizers and a cash bar will be available while you enjoy live entertainment provided by jazz ensembles from both high schools.

The Newton Music Ambassadors (NMA) is a collaborative initiative set up by teachers from both schools to empower their students with musical experiences beyond the classroom. Funds raised at the Benefit Concert will directly support students in pursuit of music enrichment opportunities such as travel, off-site performances, private music lessons, and summer music camps, and position them to serve as ambassadors to positively impact the world around them through music.

Ticket prices are $25.00/adult, $10.00/student and can be purchased at the door or online at newtonmusicambassadors.seatyourself.biz. You can also use this link to make a donation if you would like to support the fund but cannot make the event. If you have any questions, please email newtonmusicambassadors@gmail.com.

November 30th,  7:00 – 10:00 pm
American Legion Nonantum Post 440, 295 California Street, Newton

Drop off a dish to help

Drop off a dish to help feed the Boston homeless on Thanksgiving.

Gobble Gobble Give is a national effort of volunteers who prepare and assemble individual containers of Thanksgiving meals to deliver to homeless people in 16 major cities throughout the country.

Boston is just starting out, and they were able to deliver 100 meals last year.  This year their goal is 500.  Let’s help them exceed their goal!  You can drop off a warm dish on Thanksgiving morning or stay and help!  If you would like to help but will not be around on Thursday,  please email wrwoodruff@yahoo.com to arrange to drop off a donation on Tuesday or Wednesday  (something like cookies, pumpkin bread, corn muffins, pie as long as it does not need to be refrigerated).

For more information, go to gobblegobblegive.org.  Check the Facebook Gobble Gobble Give Boston page this week for more details about the drop-off location.  The drop-off location will be in or near Newton.