Like the Street Fair last spring, the Needham Business Association's annual Harvest Fair and Souper Bowl has returned to the Town Common after being moved temporarily to Memorial Park during the renovations of Needham Town Hall. The fall festival was held on Saturday, Oct. 6, and brought together local businesses, organizations, musicians, artisans and residents for a day of fun, fellowship and great fall food. Under the Souper Bowl tent, visitors could sample soups from various restaurants and kitchens in Needham and vote for their favorite. On the front steps of Town Hall, musicians and …

One good thing about all the rain we've had this week is that it really seems to set off the brilliant colors of the changing leaves. Maybe it's just me, but the treetops around Needham appear to have really brightened this week. Above are some photos of the foliage I took this week at Rosemary Lake. See some great autumn colors painting your neighborhood? Snap a picture and add it to our gallery above. Just click on "Upload Photos and Video," find the photo and add a quick caption to tell us where it was taken. Need some help? Email images to becca.manning@patch.com or text to 781-217-4233.

Last spring, a group of Needham business owners got together and decided to launch a new project designed to bring visitors to the downtown area. Their plan: To partner Needham businesses and artists to create dozens of unique pieces that could be viewed around town throughout the summer. The "A Chair To Remember" project was a huge success, as more than 40 chairs were completed and put on display all over Needham. Now, local residents have the opportunity to bring one or a few of those chairs home during a special event on Saturday, Sept. 29. Held from 6-9 p.m. in the second-floor Powers …

Updated at 1:30 p.m. to correct family fun dates. Those traveling along Highland Avenue into downtown Needham this week likely discovered that a fun, fall tradition is back—the Pumpkin Patch at Carter Memorial United Methodist Church. Featuring hundreds of pumpkins and gourds of all shapes and sizes, the patch is open daily now through the end of October from 12-7 p.m. The pumpkins arrived on Saturday, Sept. 22—trucked in from a Navajo reservation in New Mexico, where hardworking farmers grow them as part of their livelihood, according to church member Michelle Tapsell. A portion of the …

Well, it did rain on Needham's parade ... but only a little. While it looked like the Needham Exchange Club's 2012 4th of July Parade might be rained out, the event went ahead as scheduled, kicking off just after 9 a.m. on Great Plain Avenue. Soon after parade participants stepped off, it was time to put away the umbrellas, as the skies cleared and warm sun shone down on the rest of the event. Among those who marched in the parade were Civil and Revolutionary war reenactors and modern-day veterans, marching bands, Needham businesses and organizations, clowns, sports teams and more. Got a …

After being postponed on June 2 because of rain, the Needham Business Association was in full swing this Saturday on the Town Common. An early morning rain shower left the common a little damp, but everything dried quickly when the sun came out—and stayed out throughout the morning and afternoon. Visitors minged with representatives from Needham businesses and organizations that had set up tables throughout the common.

A rainy day did not dampen the spirits of Needham's graduating class as their commencement ceremony was held indoors at Babson College in Wellesley Monday night. Student speakers included members of the Class of 2012 Elizabeth Hwang and David Kaplan. Charles Moder received the Award for Academic Excellence and Corina Andriescu, the student body Class President, received the Award for Service.

Groups of Needham High School seniors gathered with friends and family for a sendoff to their prom on Thursday, May 31. The Needham High Senior Prom was held at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston. Needham seniors, parents, friends and family: Got some great shots of prom prep or the big event itself? Send them to becca.manning@patch.com or add them to this gallery yourself by clicking the Upload button above.

On Monday, May 28, the town of Needham gathered at various locations throughout the town to pay tribute to veterans with a parade and flag raising ceremonies.

  Submitted by Kathy Chisholm Needham High School boys rugby racked up a pair of wins against Arlington-Catholic on Monday, May 7. The boys varsity team dominated their home territory, entering half-time with a lead of 22-7 and final score NHS 36-12. Scoring tries for Needham were Graham Finley, Antoine Cabon, Evan Turner and Ryan Wentworth and two from Cam Chisholm. Auggie Coll also scored three conversion kicks. The junior varsity team continued the success in handing Arlington-Catholic its second loss of the day; final score was NHS 39-0. Tries were scored by Spencer Faudree, John Cronin, …

Now entering its fourth century of incorporation, the town of Needham opened its 2012 Annual Town Meeting on Monday, May 7 in the James Hugh Powers Hall. Needham Patch was there to capture images of some of the activity that occurred in the meeting's first night. Town Meeting will reconvene on Wednesday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m.

Despite a handful of starters out of the line-up, Needham High School wrestling finished 3-0 in the Bay State Conference quad at Newton North this past weekend, on Jan. 28. The Rockets held off the Newton North Tigers, 46-30, while beating Milton, 55-30, and Walpole, 55-21. Going 3-0 on the day for Needham were sophomore Zach Goldman, junior Islam Baiev, senior Evan Michelson, senior Sam Feinberg and senior captain Cam Chisholm. Mikhail Khibkin was undefeated going 2-0; junior John Cronin was 2-1 on the day with two pins. Freshmen Justin Jacobs and Travis Szetela, sophomore Ilan Shener, …

By Kathy Chisholm Last weekend, the Needham High School wrestling team competed in the eight-team Quabbin Midland Duals where the Rockets finished third. In NHS's four-team were 15th-ranked Dracut and returning Division 3 State Finalists Holliston. Needham opened with Dracut and nearly pulled off the upset, tying the Middies, 39-39. The next match, Needham pulled off the win over Holliston, 36-30, and then finished strong against Franklin Tech, 61-15. Using a cumulative pool points criterium, Dracut edged Needham to advance to the finals against the host team. Needham had to settle for the …

From puppets to magic, storytelling to music, dance and art, Needham Cultural Council's fifth annual New Year's Needham celebration offered residents the chance to celebrate and ring in the 2012 right in their hometown. The schedule was jam packed with all forms of entertainment throughout the day including this year's ice sculpture which took shape on Needham's Town Common into the evening for a light and music show.   

Members of Needham's Jewish community gathered on the Town Common on Wednesday, Dec. 21 to mark the second night of Hanukkah with music, refreshments and the lighting of the menorah. The program was sponsored by the Chabad Jewish Center. The eight-day Festival of Lights concludes on Tuesday, Dec. 27.

The Needham High School boys varsity wrestling team picked up their fifth win of the season, as the Rockets rallied during the final few matches to earn an impressive 43-32 victory.  Needham will return to the mat on Saturday, Dec. 24 when they travel to Billrica for a tri-meet, while Braintree will head to Marshfield on Tuesday, Dec. 27. 

Families and children flocked to Temple Aliyah on Sunday, Dec. 18 to kick off the Festival of Lights with a Hanukkah party. With music from Cantor Gastón Bogolmoni accompanied by other musical members of the congregation, families danced and sang as well as participated in various crafts and games.

By Micah Hauben, NHS Director of Athletics Needham came out swinging against BC High School in the Division I Super Bowl on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium, recovering an on-sides kick on the opening kick-off, then marching down the field to score the first points of the contest to build a 7-0 lead. BC High marched down the field to tie the game at 7-7, which remained the score until the start of the second quarter, when BC High got a 91-yard touchdown from their back-up running back to build a 14-7 lead going into the half.   BC High got on the board first in the third quarter, to go up …

For the 57th year, Needham kicked off the holiday season by lighting a large tree on the Town Common covered entirely by blue bulbs. The Needham Business Associations' annual Blue Tree Lighting ceremony was held the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, and featured music, words from local officials and a visit from Santa Claus. The event began around 5:00 p.m. with choirs from Carter Memorial United Methodist Church and Christ Episcopal Church singing carols to warm up the crowd that had gathered at the steps of the Town Hall. On the Town Common, children played with light sabers and other …

Saturday night marked the big conclusion to a year full of events marking the 300th birthday of Needham. After a day of circus games for kids on the Town Common and the dedication of the newly refurbished Town Hall, an enormous tent raised in Greene's Field was opened for the Needham 300 Gala.  Live music and hors d'ouevres were provided for entertainment, photobooths were installed and a host of interesting sights, sounds and smells kept the hundreds that attended entertained long into the night.