The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

Morses Pond beach in Wellesley to open June 5

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The Wellesley Recreation Department says Morses Pond beach will officially open—without lifeguards, so swim at your own risk—Mon., June 5-Sun., June 25, 10am-dusk. During those dates, the yellow gate at Turner Road will be monitored by Recreation staff, and parking at Morses Pond will be limited to Wellesley residents only. (Non-residents can walk, run, or bike in.)

Morses Pond, Wellesley
Morses Pond, Wellesley

On Mon., June 26-Sun., August 20, 10am-5pm,  the beach and pond will fully open for the season, with lifeguards on duty.

The price of admission

  • Family passes for residents—$250 (that rate includes 5 free day passes for the season)
  • Adult pass (residents)—$125
  • Senior/child under 16 (residents)—$60
  • Daily passes—$10 per person (proof of residency is required)

Non-residents

  • Season pass adults/seniors—$190
  • $90 per child (under age 16)
  • No daily passes available

Contact the Recreation Department for information at 781-235-2370.

MORE

Cold waters of Morses Pond no deterrent to those who plunged for Elodie

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Linden Square, Wellesley
Wonderful Wellesley, Lockheart
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Spring wanderings around Wellesley: Streetscape Curator comes to town; Village Church helps fight hunger; Wonderful Wellesley events ramping up

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In our wanderings around town lately we’ve met some interesting people and seen some pretty sights. Matthew Dickey, behind the popular Instagram account Streetscape Curator (40k followers), was the featured speaker at a Mass Hort event last weekend. The Dorchester resident travels all over Massachusetts (and beyond), seeking out interesting homes and buildings, and telling their stories through crisp, beautiful pictures and meticulous research. During his talk at Elm Bank Reservation about the historic Manor House, Dickey told the crowd that the home was built for Alice Cheney Baltzell. Alice was the daughter of Benjamin Pierce Cheney, who founded what would become American Express.

Mass Hort just scored a $600K grant from the State to shore up the 100+ year old 40k sq. ft. building.

Elm Bank Reservation, Wellesley
Streetscape Curator Matthew Dickey speaks in front of the Manor House in the Italiante Garden at Elm Bank Reservation, Wellesley.

 

Elm Bank Reservation, Manor House, interior
A peek inside the Manor House.

Feeding Frenzy at Wellesley Village Church

It’s been a long-standing yearly tradition at Wellesley Village Church for parishioners to don hair nets and plastic gloves, join the assembly line, and put together healthy, non-perishable meals to benefit food pantry clients across the region. In partnership with End Hunger NE, over 100 church volunteers worked last Sunday toward providing food to families and individuals facing food insecurity. With inflation bumping up the cost of food by 9.9% in 2022, according to the US Department of Agriculture, the need for food assistance is only growing.

If you’d like to volunteer to package meals at the End Hunger NE warehouse (203 Oak Street, Pembroke, MA, awning #7) just sign up for a time. It’s a meaningful bonding opportunity for a group—people who arrive together serve next to each other on the assembly lines. Half of each team works the food bins and half weighs, seals, and boxes the meals.

More info here on how it all works.

Wellesley Village Church, Feeding Frenzy
Wellesley Village Church, Feeding Frenzy. Matthew Martin of End Hunger NE (in the striped shirt) keeps the energy going as he works toward the goal of ending hunger in the Northeast.

Artist Wendy Letven swings by Beth Urdang Gallery

At Beth Urdang Gallery in Wellesley Square, multidisciplinary artist Wendy Letven stopped by for a reception and to talk about her work which includes sculpture, wall reliefs, wall installations, mobiles of painted aluminum and cut paper, and watercolors.

Based in New York, Letven teaches Art and Design at Parsons School of Design and at Montclair State University. You can see her work at the gallery at 15 Central St., and also check out the striking window display next to Tutto Italiano.

Beth Urdang Gallery, Wellesley
Artist Wendy Letven, flanked by her works: “Blue Spinner” (left), made from acrylic, enamel, and aluminum ; and “Outer Orbit,” made from acrylic, Enamel, wire, and aluminum.

Spring in bloom at the Hunnewell tennis courts

 

Hunnewell tennis courts, spring

 

Hunnewell tennis courts, spring

More spring happenings during Wonderful Wellesley

Wonderful Wellesley is all about what’s happening in town including special events, new stores and restaurants, special offers and more.

Sing and dance with Boston’s beloved, award-winning family music entertainer, Vanessa Trien (of Vanessa Trien and the Jumping Monkeys), well known for her lively, interactive concerts for the whole family. Bring your kids and get ready to sing, dance, twirl, jump like a monkey, and tickle like a tickle monster with Vanessa and Jumping Monkey sidekick, Adam Rothberg.

DATE: Saturday, May 6
TIME/LOCATION: 11am concert in Linden Square Courtyard. Plus, the Frozen Ice Cream Truck with be giving out FREE ice cream to the first 200 kids, while supplies last.
TIME/LOCATION: 3pm concert in Wellesley Square in front of iCode

Concerts last approximately 45 minutes. Rain date is Sunday, May 7, same times.

More music with Wellesley Symphony Orchestra

Wellesley Symphony Orchestra will hold its “Cathedrals of Light” spring concert on Sunday, May 7, 3pm, at  MassBay Community College auditorium at 50 Oakland Street, Wellesley Hills.

This program consists of music inspired by the idea of cathedrals, and the idea of inspiration itself.

Music performed will include :

  • Jennifer Higdon’s “blue cathedral” “
  • The Sunken Cathedral” written for piano by Claude Debussy and arranged for orchestra by Hubert Mouton
  • Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s “Fratres” (Brothers), written in 1977
  • 5th symphony by Jean Sibelius

The Wellesley Symphony Orchestra offers a pay-what-you-can ticket pricing system, though recommends $30 per ticket. Tickets can be purchased online.

All attendees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and present proof of vaccination at the door. Per WSO and MassBay policy, all attendees must be masked at all times.

Save the date: Wheels of Wellesley Car Show

DATE: Sunday, May 21
TIME: 11am-3pm
LOCATION: Central Street in Wellesley Square, from Juniper to Fire Station 1

Page Waterman, Wellesley
London Harness, Wellesley

Wellesley Theatre Project presents brand-new Disney musical

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Wellesley Theatre Project

Join Wellesley Theatre Project as they get rotten to the core in The Decendants, a brand-new musical based on the popular Disney Channel Original Movies.

Imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost—home of the most infamous villains who ever lived—the teenaged children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella de Vil have never ventured off the island…until now. When the four troublemakers are sent to attend prep school alongside the children of beloved Disney heroes, they have a difficult choice to make: should they follow in their parents’ wicked footsteps or learn to be good?

LOCATION: Performances will be at the Sorenson Center for the Arts at Babson College, 19 Babson College Drive, Wellesley, MA 02481

DATES: Friday, May 5th at 5pm & 8pm
Saturday, May 6th at 2pm & 6pm

TICKET PRICES: 
In advance: $18 Adults, $10 Students & Seniors
At the door: $20 Adults, $12 Students & Seniors

Tickets are on sale and seating is assigned. Order tickets now!

Wellesley Theatre Project is an arts academy and nonprofit devoted to providing students (preK – 12th grade) with the opportunity to study and experience theatre and performing arts through year-round classes, staged productions, workshops and summer camps.

Refined Renovations, Wellesley

Registration open for Wellesley’s Upham Color Dash

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Registration has opened for the Upham Color Dash, a town-wide event scheduled for May 13 at the Upham Elementary School campus. Register by April 16 to guarantee a T-shirt.

Inspired by the Hindu festival of Holi, the Upham Color Dash is an easy fun run with six stations along the course. Participants will be showered with food-grade colored powder, finishing the run covered in a rainbow of colors.  The celebration continues at the finish line party, with music, food, games and entertainment for the entire family.

This is an untimed, non-competitive, all-inclusive event – no winners, no medals, no prizes…all fun. Runners and walkers, scooters and strollers are all welcome.

 

Color Dash - Alison Wade
Photo courtesy of Alison Wade

 

Color Dash - Jacey Shumaker
Photo courtesy of Jacey Shumaker

 

The schedule:

9:30AM – 10:15 AM Upham Color Dash Registration & Packet Pick-Up

10:15AM – 10:30 AM Pre-Dash Pump Up

10:30AM Upham Color Dash Start

Until 1PM Upham Color Dash After Party

Call and Haul, Wellesley

Easter Bunny a huge draw in Linden Square

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On the way past Roche Bros. to Linden Square’s “Fair in the Square,” I heard a Harry Styles tune wafting through the crisp spring air. You would have thought the pop star was there live from the crowd  packed into the courtyard, but an even a bigger star—the Easter Bunny—was on hand.

Linden Square’s event also treated kids to ice cream (brrrr…), balloon sculptures, temporary tattoos, and face painting to put them in the holiday spirit.

Fair in the Square easter bunny

Fair in the Square easter bunny

Fair in the Square easter bunny

Fair in the Square easter bunny

Fair in the Square easter bunny

Fair in the Square easter bunny

Fair in the Square easter bunny
Ice cream still tasting good on a 40-degree day
Rumble Boxing, Natick Mall

Wellesley schools call for early release due to stormy weather

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From the Wellesley Public Schools:

Based on the timing of the incoming storm, the Wellesley Public Schools will be activating an early release schedule on Tuesday, March 14. These are the dismissal times by level:

  1. PAWS will dismiss at 11:30am.  There will be no afternoon PreK program today.  
  2. Elementary schools will dismiss at 12pm. There will be no afternoon WCCC programs today.
  3. Wellesley Middle School will dismiss at 11:20am.
  4. Wellesley High School will dismiss at 11:30am.

Due to the timing of the release, lunch will not be served today.  All buses will complete their regular routes for dismissal at these times.

All afternoon and evening activities/rentals are cancelled to help ensure that parking lots are cleared for plowing and to help ensure an on-time start on Wednesday. 

Help chart the course for Wellesley Public Schools (no pressure, though)

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We just helped the Wellesley Public Schools chart a course for its future and you can, too, by taking part in the WPS Strategic Planning Survey. Access the survey here.

The  WPS Strategic Planning Survey will be open until Friday, Feb. 10, 5pm.

Wellesley High School
Wellesley High School

The Strategic Planning Survey is open to all those invested in the future of the Wellesley Public Schools including parents and guardians, teachers and staff, current 8-12 grade students, alumni, and Wellesley residents. It is available in five languages.

It takes about 15 minutes to complete multiple choice questions on about a dozen topics such as academics, communication, diversity, equity, school bus use, the MCAS test; extracurriculars, residents’ feelings on exploring the concept of adding universal preK to the Wellesley Public Schools, the importance of school rankings (such as those put forth by national news sources and ranking services), and more.

Most sections include room for respondents to elaborate on their bubble-filling choices with a few sentences.

The survey is part of the WPS Strategic Planning process that has been underway since fall 2022. The results from the survey will help guide the vision and direction for the district for the next five years.

Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Wellesley Theatre Project is 1 of just 5 groups asked to pilot production of Dot and the Kangaroo Jr.

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DATK-11x17-FinalWellesley Theatre Project this month will present the World Premiere Pilot Production of Dot and the Kangaroo Jr., a new Australian outback adventure at the Sorenson Center for the Arts at Babson College (18 Babson College Dr., Wellesley). The outfit is 1 of just 5 organizations being invited to debut the production.

Performances will take place on Friday, Dec. 16 at 5pm and 8pm, Saturday, Dec. 17, and Sunday, Dec. 18 at 2pm and 6pm. Tickets cost $18 for adults and $10 for students and seniors, and may be purchased online at in advance, or at the door for $20 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. Seating is assigned. Audience members are required to wear a mask.

The musical tells the story of rambunctious Dot, who longs for an adventure exploring everything her country has to offer. When she finds herself lost and afraid in the darkening Australian bush, Dot befriends a wise mother Kangaroo who enlists the help of Australia’s favorite bush creatures to help Dot find her way back home. Based on the 1899 novel of the same name, with Book by Daniel Stoddart, Music by Daniel J. Mertzlufft, and Lyrics by Kate Leonard. 

Mertzlufft is a NYC-based composer/arranger most known for The Thanksgiving Musical on The Late Late Show with James Corden, and his arrangement of “Remy The Ratatouille” by Emily Jacobson that launched the TikTok Ratatouille musical movement. Wellesley College graduate Leonard is a lyricist and librettist working in theater, tv/film, and new media.

In Summer of 2022, several Wellesley Theatre Project students traveled to NYC to participate in a workshop of Dot and the Kangaroo Jr., with the writers and team at iTheatrics. 

The upcoming shows feature two talented casts, composed of 30 students each, between the ages of seven and eighteen. 

It’ll be Super Bowl Sunday for Wellesley 7th & 5th grade football teams

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Best of luck to the 5th and 7th grade Wellesley Youth Football teams, both of which have earned spots in American Youth Football Baystate Super Bowl games on Sunday in Brockton.

The 5th graders will play vs. Walpole at noon on Sunday.

The 7th grade team will compete vs. Norwood at Brockton High School at 2pm. The Wellesley team comes off a 22-12 win last weekend vs. an undefeated Brockton team.

The 7th graders are coached by Matt Comella, Ken Largess, Ronnie O’Brien and Brian Cullinan.

7thgrade football wellesley
Wellesley Youth Football 7th grade Team
Deland, Gibson, Wellesley
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Rick Cram, leader