The 5th annual barefoot soccer event in Wellesley, which last year was cut to 18 hours, will return to its usual 24-hour format this year at Hunnewell Field on Washington Street.
The Aug. 16-17 event, backed by Wellesley United Soccer Club and co-sponsored by an outfit that will double every dollar raised, will support awareness and prevention of AIDS in Africa.
Register here – the first 300 to sign up get a T-shirt.
Thanks to Wellesley resident Bill Shribman, who knows a thing or two about photography, for sending this video starring some spooky weather and his dog Nellie over at Kelly Fields near Bates Elementary School. Shribman wrote: “I think it felt more dramatic in person but you can really see the wind pick up and swirl upwards. Dogs can hear a storm coming but they still like tennis balls. Note Nellie’s signature diving recovery on the second delivery.”
Dog & Twister from WGBH Kids on Vimeo.
Dunkin’ Donuts has raised prices a bit, as this sign from its Linden Street store in Wellesley informs patrons. And lest you think this is just another example of the Wellesley tax, it’s not. It’s a broader issue for Dunkin’, Starbucks, McDonald’s and other coffee retailers, which are feeling the effects of a coffee bean squeeze caused by a drought in Brazil.
From the Animal Rescue League of Boston:
Rescued a duckling from a storm drain in Wellesley, mom was MIA so he is going to rehab, thx to @babson for assisting pic.twitter.com/xkKcQKM9bH
— Animal Rescue League (@ARLBostonRescue) July 16, 2014
Help!, a Beatles tribute band, was schedule to play Wednesday night, July 16, at Wellesley Town Hall Green starting at 7pm. But the concert has been nixed due to a forecast for poor weather. (Morses Pond is also closed Wednesday due to “severe weather”.)
So instead, enjoy the other kind of beetles at our Bob’s Bugs page.
Ms. G groundhog parade
“Ms. G for State Groundhog” campaign manager Mish Michaels informs us that Wellesley’s favorite rodent will be the topic of discussion this Thursday at the state Senate. A group of Hunnewell Elementary School students has been invited by Senate President Therese Murray to attend a formal session at which senators will be discussing the Ms. G Bill and the students will be able to listen in. If the senators approve, the Ms. G Bill will be one step closer to becoming a law, with the potential for Governor Deval Patrick to sign it sometime this fall.
Ms. G resides at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln.
The slow news days of summer are good for little Wellesley history lessons. Ever wondered about that nice wooden Belvedere Abbott Road sign at the corner of Abbott Road and Washington St. in Wellesley Hills?
Wellesley’s Tory DeFazio explains:
The Belvedere-Abbott Road sign was originally designed and placed at the entrance of Abbott Road in Wellesley Hills in the 1920′s. It designates the entrance to Wellesley’s first large-house residential development. Known as the “Belvedere” (Italian for “beautiful to see”) after Judge Josiah Abbott’s home, the area is now considered part of the Wellesley Country Club neighborhood.
The original sign was done in wood with carved wood lettering. Wrought iron brackets forged by the Frederick Krasser Company in Roxbury attach the sign to a vertical post. It is considered an excellent example of colonial revival craftsmanship of the period. The Krasser Company was an important part of the Society of Arts and Crafts movement in Boston and was influential in the revival of the blacksmith’s art during the turn of the 19th century. Krasser died in 1913 but his shop was kept going under Frank Koralewsky. Another of his works hangs in the entryway of the Sprague School in Wellesley, an interesting lantern depicting symbolic representations of the five members of the school’s building committee in 1924.
The sign has been repaired many times over the years but in July 2009 it collapsed because of rot. Through funds raised by neighbors and matched by the Community Preservation Committee, a new restored sign in gold leaf was erected in December 2010. Cost was about $6,000.
RELATED: Wellesley Historical Society
Wellesley has suddenly become awash in alcoholic beverage options.
Not only are retailers like Fells Market and Roche Bros., gaining permission to sell beer and wine, and new restaurants like Juniper opening with bars, but now mobile app maker Drizly has begun making available the delivery of beer, wine and liquor to people in Wellesley (and Wayland and Weston).
Drizly, available on Apple and Android devices, currently serves consumers in the Boston area as well as in NYC, Chicago and Los Angeles, with plans to expand beyond those cities. The venture-funded Drizly says it does not mark up the prices on drinks it delivers, though charges a small fee for bringing them to your mansion’s doorstep.
Drizly isn’t the first to offer doorstep delivery in town. In fact, Fells Market and some of the others looking to sell beer/wine in Wellesley will provide home delivery. Also, Metro West Wines offered an alcoholic beverage delivery service in town in recent years.
The Elm Bank Reservation neighborhood on the Wellesley/Dover/Natick line has been starry-eyed this week about movie trailers rolling through the area. Here’s the scoop:
A film called The Greens are Gone is filming at Elm Bank and it sounds like Thursday will be the crew’s last day here.
Supposedly, they’ll be working some Hollywood magic to blow up the Cheney Bridge without really blowing it up (which is a good thing since the back entrance to the park on Turtle Lane is off limits except to only the privileged).
This Instagram picture appears to be of the crew on the Cheney Bridge.
The Peer Pedersen-directed movie stars Catherine Keener, Cary Elwes (most famous for his role in The Princess Bride and who apparently hasn’t been in the Boston area in 26 years), and Maya Rudolph of Bridesmaids and SNL fame, among others. The film, a drama about what else…a dysfunctional family, is slated to arrive in theaters next year. We’re not sure which, if any, of the big name actors are on location.
Some wondered whether the Whitey Bulger movie Black Mass, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Depp, might have bullied its way into Wellesley this week, as it has been filming in Massachusetts. But that doesn’t seem to be the case at least at this location.
Wellesley has been the location of movie-making in the past, including for The Company Men and Mona Lisa Smile. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past was also filmed in part at Elm Bank.
The Wellesley Community Center in partnership with the One for Health Foundation and Wellness 101 will present the Wellness 101 Health Challenge at the Community Center on Thursday, July 10, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Their goal is to change the focus of healthcare in America from sickness to wellness by using a holistic approach through seminars, games and other events.
Wellness 101 is on a 50-state tour and will present their material in a game show format during their Wellesley stop, promising plenty of opportunity for audience participation.
Admission is free and the doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the 7:00 p.m. presentation. The Community Center is located at 219 Washington St.
