First Needham Luminary Night Set Nov. 4

A few weeks before downtown Needham goes blue for the holidays, the Common and neighborhoods around town will be lit up for another reason.

The Community Center of Needham—a local nonprofit group that is working to bring a community center to town—will hold their first big fundraiser on Sunday, Nov. 4. They hope the Luminary Night will become a new tradition in Needham—an event that brings neighbors together while supporting a project that would serve residents of all ages.

From 4-6 p.m. that evening, candle luminaries will be lit on the Town Common. Visitors to the downtown area will be able to enjoy presentations by various entertainers and a "meditative labyrinth of lights" on the common. Nearby shops and restaurants will be open during the event.

"Residents in Needham are invited to participate in their own neighborhoods by lighting luminaries along their sidewalks after 5 p.m. to connect neighbors, house-to-house and street-to street," Community Center board member Nancy Sterling said in a press release. "Needham residents will be able to take a stroll through glimmering neighborhoods to and from the Town Common events."

Needhamites can purchase luminaries from the Luminary website at www.luminarystroll.org—a set of 10 luminaries can be purchased for a $20 donation, with larger luminary sets ranging from $25-$55.

Residents are being asked to light the luminaries on the evening of Nov. 4, after 5 p.m.

Proceeds from the Luminary Night will help the group in their efforts to conduct research and build resources to eventually construct a multi-purpose community center in Needham.

As Sterling said in May 2011 when the group first launched its website: “The Needham Lifelong Learning Center would be a place where the youth of Needham can go and spend time with their friends and have supervised activities. The biggest component, the biggest attraction, is an Olympic-sized regulation swimming pool.”

Proponents have said the new community center could bring together the resources of Rosemary Pool with new offerings, in one central location.

Learn more about the Community Center of Needham and the First Luminary Night on the group's website, http://www.communitycenterofneedham.com/.