Beyond Wellesley: All were welcomed to Needham MLK Day celebration

January 17, 2023 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

In past years Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was celebrated in Wellesley at a community-wide breakfast sponsored by World of Wellesley (WOW), in partnership with other groups that varied year to year. Although remembrances in Wellesley for Dr. King were held virtually in 2021 and 2022, WOW took a pause on putting together an in-person event for 2023.

MLK Day 2023, Needham — Keynote speaker Michael D. O’ Neal and Odessa Sanchez, who attended the MLK Day event as a representative of the Wellesley Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce.

Since sticking close to home for an in-person program honoring the civil rights leader wasn’t an option this year, many Wellesley residents instead attended the Needham Diversity Initiative‘s observances of the national holiday at Needham High School. We heard the program was wonderful, which is unsurprising given that part of the grassroots organization’s mission is to create “positive and genuine relationships, friendships, and amity between individuals, communities, and institutions.”

The program featured keynote speaker and Needham resident Michael O’Neal. The Needham High School graduate is a professional life coach, and has served as director of the Young Fathers’ Program at the Urban League.

Also part of the MLK Day celebration: a dramatization of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, by the Eliot Elementary School chorus; music by the Plugged In Teen Band program; a reading segment by WOW co-president Rama Ramaswamy of MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail;” and more.

Thanks to the Initiative for welcoming your neighbors.

More: Natick celebrates spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Beyond Wellesley—we visit the beautiful Cornell University area

September 16, 2022 by Deborah Brown 2 Comments

Ithaca, N.Y., is the kind of destination where the usual summer fun is on tap—there are plenty of spots to hike, bike, swim, shop, and dine—yet the two-college city (Cornell University and Ithaca College) feels homey, a place where its 30k+ full-time residents and the student population work, play, and live side-by-side. Fortunately for the 1.6 million visitors between May 2019 and 2020 to the Commons, the area’s busiest shopping and dining district, the locals like to share their secrets.

We booked an Airbnb for a few nights in early September and drove the 5.5 hours from Wellesley. Our goals: to see Ithaca’s famous gorges, enjoy some good meals, bike the safe and scenic Rail Trail up to Taughannock Falls (the tallest waterfall on the East Coast), hike the beautiful Robert H. Treman State Park, visit the Johnson Museum of Art on the Cornell University campus, and more. You don’t go to Ithaca to experience the fall “shoulder season,” that period of time after the crush of tourists has gone home and you can finally get into all the cool restaurants and attractions. You just go to visit Ithaca. If you want a party scene, it’s there for you, somewhere. Certainly the red solo cups littered around student rental houses after a Saturday night debauch attest to that. It’s just not in your face, demanding your attention and participation. (We’re still kinda exhausted from last year’s adventure to Block Island, a rock-on place if ever there was one.)

Working out the kinks

After being in the car for so long, we were eager to stretch our legs. We went straight to the Fall Creek Gorge suspension bridge, a part of the Cornell campus, where we walked 140 feet over the rushing water, alongside students on their way to class. There’s a small parking area at 310 Fall Creek Dr. After walking over the bridge, there are plenty of paths along the water for additional exploration.

We were told ahead of time that the beauty of the bridges was marred by fencing and safety netting that was put in place in 2010 after a long history of people jumping from the Fall Creek Gorge and other nearby bridges. We found that the unobtrusive netting couldn’t grab attention from the roar of the water and the natural beauty of the scene. When you consider that before safety measures were installed, 27 people died by suicide between 1990 and 2010 (including 15 students) by jumping from the five area bridges, the protective measures seem a small price to pay.

The Commons, dining and shopping

Ithaca Commons is the area’s hot hangout scene, a place to catch a movie at the Cinemapolis Art House Theater, or visit Buffalo Street Books to browse volumes on two floors, and their basement collection of vinyl. We peeked into the iconic Chanticleer, but the landmark corner dive-bar looked too cool for the likes of us. We didn’t want to go in and risk altering the vibe. Lots of indie shops and restaurants gave the two-block pedestrian mall an authentic feel. You couldn’t just as well have been in Faneuil Hall. The Commons is all Ithaca, from the head shops to the outdoors store to upscale artisans shops and restaurants. Not much in the way of chains here.

Down the street a couple of blocks from The Commons is the famous Moosewood Restaurant, which we tried out our first night in town. The vegetarian eatery is under new ownership since earlier this year. Danica Wilcox and her husband Nicholas, after living in Spain for many years, came home to take over the restaurant where Danica long ago was hired for her first job in the Moosewood kitchen. We sat outside on the lovely brick patio and watched the street scene go by. Our servers, both local students— one experienced and one in-training acolyte—were attentive and able to answer our questions about the dishes on the curated, seasonal menu. The choices included five apps, a few salads, several mains, and three side dishes, all vegetarian, with vegan and gluten-free options. I tried out the strozzapreti pasta (similar to penne) with shiitake and oyster mushrooms, baby spinach, sherry cream, gremolata, and parmesan. The dish, unfortunately, was bland and barely sauced. Moosewood is the kind of place where there are no salt and pepper shakers on the table, and I was determined to eat dinner as it was served for the purposes of this story. I doggy-bagged most of the meal and doctored it the next day on my Airbnb’s hotplate. A dash of seasoning and a little cream brought the strozzapreti to life, making it what it surely would have been if the chef’s final tasting hadn’t somehow been missed. Mr. Swellesley dared try his historic first black bean burger, and lived to tell about it. Who knows what the future could bring for his limited palate.

The lemon tahini broccoli and the spicy coconut curry we’re told are two must-try items. Homemade desserts include their famous fudge brownie. Wines and beers, some local, as well as a selection of creative non-alcoholic drinks such as ginger tea and fresh-squeezed lemonade, are available in this restaurant, which offers nice ambience in a convivial downtown location.

It’s all uphill from here

We made a quest out of our desire to see Taughannock Falls, a 215-foot waterfall billed as the highest vertical drop waterfall in the northeastern United States. Ithaca Bike Rental, located in view of the 45k-acre Cayuga Lake, outfitted us in good-quality bikes up to the task of taking us along a scenic paved

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Beyond Wellesley: We tour the new barn at Land’s Sake Farm in Weston, Mass.

August 22, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Land’s Sake Farm in Weston always has plenty to celebrate in summer. This year, the fields that produce over 130,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables annually are prolific. Organic practices that prohibit the use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers have been successful, ensuring that the land is used sustainably. And the education programs that serve over 10,000 kids and adults per year are well attended.

Land's Sake Farm, Weston — Land’s Sake Farm in Weston last month held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new barn that was built on the 40-acre property. Inside the barn, look for the massive oak tree used as a support post. It was selected and cut last fall before being integrated within the building’s frame. Although the tree was stripped of bark, it looks so much a part of the landscape that a farm stand visitor asked it the oak tree was alive. The answer is no, but it’s certainly an amazing centerpiece. The building plans were developed pro bono by architecture firm Payette. Payette CEO Kevin Sullivan is a Weston resident. Much of the timber for the structure was donated by a Weston landowner.

So nothing new to report on the growth of food or the education mission of Land’s Sake. The really big news on the farm is the ambitious $6 million infrastructure project in progress as a result of the Land Sake’s Grow With Us capital campaign. Now in its third calendar year, a phased approach to fundraising allowed Land’s Sake to act quickly on long-desired improvements. Only a couple months after the Weston Select Board approved the campaign, a groundbreaking ceremony for a new timber-framed Animal Barn was held in summer 2021. A renegotiated lease on the land helped make the project possible. “The town owns the land, and we are the nonprofit that runs the land as its stewards and managers,” Land’s Sake business manager Heather Hilton explains. “We used to renew the lease every three years. The reason we’re able to do all this now is because Weston allowed us a 30-year lease.”

By last month, the Animal Barn officially opened, serving for now as a farm stand, and the public was invited to a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Unfazed by the timeframe

Phase I with its goals of enhanced parking, construction of the Animal Barn and a greenhouse and hoop house is nearly complete. Completion of Phase II, the construction of a 3,000 square-foot, net-zero, energy-efficient Farm Stand, is expected to be finished in fall 2023. When that happens, the big swap will occur, and the Farm Stand operation will move from the Animal Barn to its permanent home.

Farmers working at the Animal Barn now have access to water year-round, thanks to the new frost-free water line system. “This is how we can have animals in the winter, because we have access to water after the frost now,” Heather said. The goats and bunnies will now have a forever home and no longer have to live a nomadic existence off-farm during the winter months.

Unsurprisingly, programs featuring goats, bunnies, and chickens are a very big draw at the farm, so the ability to extend the season for these farm stars is a big plus. So beloved are these well-tended and sleek creatures at Land’s Sake that when I asked a farm employee whether animal slaughtering takes place on the farm or at an off-site location, first she nearly fainted, then she assured me that the animals are never killed. Guess I’ve been reading too much into those bumper stickers that commonly adorn vehicles around farms, the ones that read, “No farms, no food.”

OK, got it. It’s a working farm, but not that kind of a working farm. On Saturdays, Farm Stand visitors can purchase USDA certified pork chops, roasts, steaks, ground beef, ground sausage, and bacon supplied by Bascom Hollow Farm, so meat products are available for sale at Land’s Sake.

Bob Glowacky, a Land’s Sake Farm board member, emphasized that the Grow With Us campaign is first and foremost about helping the farm run safely while ensuring that organic practices and a sustainability mindset thrive. “We thought, if we had a really efficient operation, the farm could really run without the wasted hours of setting up and breaking down things like the farm stand every day. Then imagine what more could happen here.”

“Magic” was a word I heard a lot on my tour of the farm. While walking through a cloud of dirt kicked up by the tractor (it’s a farm, these things happen), it seemed possible that soil alchemy was at work. Could it be that the billowy mass was nothing special, just ordinary organic matter, floating on the wind before settling elsewhere on the farm? Or did I walk through stardust?

For information on programs, workshops, events, CSA shares, pick-your-own availability, and more, visit the Land’s Sake website.

LOCATION: Land’s Sake Farm, 90 Wellesley Street, Weston, MA 02493
FARM HOURS: Year-Round, dawn to dusk
FARM STAND HOURS: Mon: closed
Tues – Fri: 11am – 6pm
Sat. & Sun: 10am – 3pm

Beyond Wellesley: How to avoid the crowds at Narragansett Beach

July 29, 2022 by Duncan Brown Leave a Comment

Narragansett Beach in Rhode Island is one of the more enjoyable beaches near Wellesley. It’s a bit of a drive, taking around an hour and a half to get there, but the water is warm, the waves are notable, and the beach itself isn’t rocky like many in New England. The downside of all this is that everyone else knows just how good a beach it is, too. When the Swellesley Report made a trip down to Narragansett a few summers ago, we found ourselves among throngs of beachgoers, leaving little space on either side of our beach blanket. A 20-minute walk down to the narrow, less visited end of the beach revealed some interesting intel. Savvy beach goers were arriving at the least populated part of the beach in kayaks. How could we get in on this beach hack?

A quick conversation with one of these in-the-know visitors revealed the existence of Narrow River Kayaks, a rental agency that launches on its namesake river, which empties through the “Narrows” and into the Atlantic Ocean at the far end of Narragansett Beach. You can rent kayaks, paddle boards, and canoes, with the option of renting for 2 hours, 4 hours, or full day.

Some also plop their own kayaks or canoes into the river near bridges along the route.

We decided to check out Narrow River’s service this year and rented two tandem kayaks for four hours, which cost $60 per kayak ($85 for a full day). Customer parking is free at the launch, and there is room on the kayaks for a large cooler filled with lunch, snacks, and drinks. The distance from the launch to the beach was about a mile, which took 30 or 40 minutes of casual paddling (tides can shorten or lengthen the trip). Once at the beach we pulled our boats up and enjoyed what we were looking for—a bit of separation from the packed section of beach that serves the car-driving crowd. Despite our more remote location, we were within a 15-20 minute walk to the bathrooms. No lifeguards at this narrow end of the beach, but if we had so chosen, we could have walked to the nearest guarded area of the beach within ten minutes.

Normally, entrance to the beach is $12 per person, and parking in the non-resident lot is $15/day on the weekends. Those spots don’t stick around for long. If you don’t mind walking, there is free parking on the seawall. Paying for food, parking passes, and admission can quickly add up with a big group, and if you’re protective of your personal space you’ll have to do a lot of walking before you get to the wide open beach.

kayak narragansett — Uncrowded section of Narragansett Beach.

The river itself is nice to paddle down. We had the company of motorboats, but the drivers were respectful of smaller vessels.

The water is clear and shallow, and banks are covered in reeds, making for a picturesque trip to the beach. Ospreys nest along the river, and we got to see a nest on our way down, as well as a few of the large birds of prey in flight. White egrets dot the marshy areas below.

If you want a scenic paddle, along with some extra seclusion on a nice beach, we recommend following our lead on this beach trip.

Beyond Wellesley: Good vibes all around at Levitate Music & Arts Festival

July 12, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The Levitate Music & Arts Festival this past weekend made its return to the Marshfield fairgrounds for its first full-blown event since 2019, and the musicians, artists, and fans didn’t miss a beat.

I acknowledge being more a fan of rapid-fire 3-or-4-minute songs than those that meander—the latter a speciality of many of Levitate’s performers. But when organizers invited us to attend, I took them up on the offer with an open mind. Bring on the jam bands, led by legendary Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh’s ensemble.

The sold-out event attracted a wide range of ages from way back Deadheads to a fair number of little kids, and everything in between. Tye-dye anything was the fashion of choice, though hemp hats, band T-shirts (“Stick Family,” for performer Stick Figure), and other casual wear also ruled.

When we arrived we got scared by a long line to get in, but soon realized the Festival had a system for alternating between allowing those in one line to flood in, then the other. It worked well. We saw few long lines at the many food stations, which ran the gamut from fair food like fried dough to lobster rolls and Filipino fare.

Been a while since I’ve had a Red Stripe, but it was the perfect drink for the venue. Liquid Death sparkling water, however, seemed to be the drink of choice for many.

An artisans’ section in the middle of the fairgrounds attracted steady traffic and sales of items such as gems and services such as face or body painting. Among the more unusual vendors: A provider of plant-based eggs that tasted darn good. Artists in action created murals.

One nice thing about this very chill festival is that you’re allowed to bring in blankets and low-backed chairs that can be located behind certain lines in front of the stages. So the crowds immediately in front of the musicians were large, but you could still find space (the event attracted 15,000 people a day, but it felt just right on the Saturday afternoon/early evening that we attended). People would catch a few songs, then relax in their chairs—a great pacing technique for a long day at the festival.

Bleachers near the main stage also gave fans an option to get off their feet—feet that could get dirty kicking around the fairgrounds terrain. Some patrons brought frisbees and footballs and tossed them around when space allowed.

Among the acts we caught were the versatile multi-instrumentalists of Midnight North, Durand Jones & The Indications (Jones easily had the best moves of anyone on stage), Umphrey’s McGee (they rocked as much as they jammed), Stick Figure (catchy reggae and dub), and headliners Lesh & Friends. About 30 bands performed over the three days.

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We brought our earplugs, but the sound overall was clear and not overly loud. You did have to position yourself near the stage you wanted to focus on, as sound would overlap if you located in between two active stages.

We’d recommend Levitate when it comes around next year. It’s a feel-good gathering, and the Levitate brand organization added to that by unveiling a charitable foundation on the eve of the festival. The foundation’s focus: encouraging music, arts, and outdoors at the community level.

Durand jones — Durand Jones & The Indications

More: Boston Calling sends us into summer

Weston Garden Club tour is a once-in-a-decade celebration

June 15, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The Weston Garden Club held its once-every-decade garden tour earlier this month, an expansive event during which eleven club members opened their properties up to the horticultural-loving public. Proceeds from the tour support local conservation and environmental efforts, as well as the Club’s ongoing community educational and beautification projects.

Each of the properties on tour was owned and tended by Weston Garden Club members eager to share what they’ve done with their beautiful outdoor spaces. Some gardens were carefully manicured, others walked more on the wild side, and all were inspirational.

When members aren’t tending and showing off their multi-acre gardens, they’re busy with civic projects. Club members design and maintain the plantings in the historic horse watering trough at the center of town; maintain a section of conservation land; make wreaths and swags for Town buildings every December; plant 250 daffodils by the Town Green steps each fall; provide flowers for the Weston Public Library on a weekly basis; and water, weed, and maintain the Native Plant Garden at Town Hall.

Last time the Weston Garden Club had its tour, back in the aughts, I was up to my eyeballs in my kids’ end-of-year activities and missed the event. Next time the tour comes around in the 2030s, who can say where I’ll be? So when I had the opportunity to attend this tour, I grabbed it. Thanks for the kind invite, Weston gardeners. I enjoyed every minute of the perfect early June weather you thoughtfully arranged for the big day.

All hail the chief

Weston Garden Club president Molly Varnau’s garden included mixed beds of foxglove, allium, salvia, and nepeta, intertwined with a succession of colorful annuals and flowering trees and shrubs. Yew hedges, a birch grove, white pines, and a grand red oak provide year-round structure. Molly and her husband plant, prune , and mow the property themselves. A couple of years ago they created composting bays behind their shed that turn their lawn clippings and autumn’s fallen oak leaves into soil-enriching mulch.

Weston Garden Club tour — Weston Garden Club president Molly Varnau

100+ year old Colonial house, 3.5 acres

When the homeowners bought the property twelve years ago, they found one acre of beautiful plantings and specimen trees, and 2.5 acres of poison ivy and thorny raspberries running wild. What a difference 12 years makes. The Weston Garden Club member and a friend do all the gardening with the help of an arborist. The property features huge rock outcrops, rock walls, a varied terrain, a fern walk through the woods, a lovely gazebo, a spiral garden, an old storage building, stone pathways and stairs, and masses of plantings.

This garden has a wild side

Established plantings and perennial gardens surround this gardener’s property including tree peonies, wisteria, azaleas, and flowering bulbs. The front is a beautiful and manicured space. Out back visitors can walk on the wild side as they are treated to a panoramic view of a wildlife sanctuary, which includes a tranquil pond. From their elevated deck vantage point, the homeowners often spot egrets, hawks, geese, and swans.

Weston Garden Tour, house #5 — Carefully clipped vine on the side of the house gives way to….

Working with the terrain

There are a couple of ways to deal with an uneven lot when building a home. One way is to chop down all the trees, bring in the bulldozer, and level every “inconvenient” rise and hillock from one edge of the property to the next. Or you could work with the land, as one member did, and create a garden in harmony with the natural slopes of the terrain. Embracing the shade of the mature trees led the gardener to explore and plant a beautiful world of trilliums, woodland peonies, primroses, jack-in-the-pulpits, and Welsh poppies. A vegetable garden has been planted to take advantage of the sunniest spot on the property, a place where tomatoes, kale, lettuce, and more thrive.

Weston Garden Club, #10 — Vegetables are grown in raised garden beds.

How to join in the fun

Not that I’m trying to siphon members away from Wellesley’s four garden clubs (I’m a proud sustaining member of the Wellesley Gardeners’ Guild, after all), but you don’t have to be a Weston resident to join the Weston Garden Club. You just have have an interest in gardening, attend meetings, serve on a committee, sign up for watering duty, pay your dues, and agree to a few other things (don’t worry, no hazing is involved).

Beyond Wellesley: Boston Calling music festival sends us into summer

May 30, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The Boston Calling music festival at Harvard University returned for the first time in three years with a line-up of big names and local favorites, including Wellesley native Cam Meekins. Performers and the audience were ready to rock, groove, or whatever the vibe might be, rain or shine.

The festival, cancelled the past two years due to the pandemic, was still feeling the effects of COVID-19 right into this year’s event. It lost Day 2 headliner The Strokes the day before they were to perform due to a positive COVID-19 test. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard was a late COVID cancelation, too. Nine Inch Nails, the headliner for Day 1, graciously agreed to perform a second night in place of The Strokes, with Metallica wrapping up the event on Sunday, taking on the Celtics-Miami Game 7 NBA conference final. Due to health considerations, the festival did not have its usual indoor respite from the weather in the hockey arena, where in the past comedians and podcasters have entertained.

Boston Calling took an old-school approach with its headliners this time around, which made for a much more diverse clientele age-wise. Past festivals have catered to a younger crowd, and that group wasn’t ignored, as organizers mixed in enough TikTok favorites like Frances Forever, Mob Rich, and Peach Tree Rascals to attract teens and young adults. The mix worked, as we found the crowds spirited, quirky, and pleasant throughout.

Day 1

It felt just plain good to be back on the Boston Calling festival grounds, which kicked off with a performance by Paris Jackson, the daughter of the late Michael Jackson. Navigating the grounds was quite manageable the first two days, as you could mix it up among the throngs if you wished or carve out your own space. Finding space got more challenging with Sunday’s crowded finale.

Thanks to the commuter rail predictably running half an hour late, I got to the event after I had hoped, and caught only the end of the Chelsea Curve‘s set. This mod-pop band sounded grungy and great at the Orange stage, which festival organizers packed into a tennis court to give local acts a chance to mix in with bigger national and international acts.

I’d hoped to catch Born Without Bones later on in the day on that stage, as members hail from the same high school I attended in Milford, Mass., but I got caught up in other action.

The Backseat Lovers, R&B singer Miranda Rae, and the glamorous/glorious Struts all put on solid shows, no doubt winning new fans previously unfamiliar with them. We all wanted Cheap Trick to sound better than they did (audio issues didn’t help and they did entertain with the presence of a 5-neck guitar and inviting fans on stage to sing), while a resurgent Avril Lavigne probably could have headlined given the enthusiastic crowd response—her “Sk8ter Boi” had guys and gals joyfully singing along and dancing. The three sisters who are Haim put on a fantastic show, at one point all drumming their hearts out—they rocked way harder than I would have expected listening to their recordings.

the struts boston calling — The Struts. They do, in fact, strut.

We wound down for the day chillin’ with Rüfüs Du Sol’s electronica dance tunes while gobbling down the first of numerous Tasty Burgers over the weekend.

rufus — Australia’s Rüfüs Du Sol. Photo by NB

Nine Inch Nails, still a force of nature some 40 years into their career, pounded our ears and eyes to end things with their first local show in four years.

NIN boston calling 22 — Nine Inch Nails playing its industrial rock on the first of 2 nights

I kept my eyes peeled for signs of Wellesley fans in the crowd, and while I didn’t see much, I did spy Wellesley Square’s Rice Burg to be among the food vendors doing its part to keep fans fed.

Day 2

This day looked dicey from the start, with my weather app showing a very good chance of rain and lightning pretty much throughout.

I heard 2 catchy songs by local indie pop band Dutch Tulips on the Orange stage, then headed over to see Frances Forever, who turned out to be Frances Never when the crew started covering the instruments and equipment, and we were all told we needed to evacuate the grounds and head into Harvard Stadium or Harvard Square for cover. That lasted a few hours, with patrons allowed back in around 5:30pm.