You Ask ... Patch Answers

Patch Answers: When is Trick-or-Treat in Needham?

Send us your questions, and we’ll do our best to find the answer.

It’s hard to believe the month is half over, but here we are, and Halloween will be here before we know it (not to mention those other holidays). Signs of the season are all over town, from the changing leaves to the pumpkin spice lattes at your local coffee shop to spooky decorations going up on front porches around town. For this week’s “You Ask … Patch Answers,” we rounded up information about Halloween plans in Needham—when and where you can take your little ghouls Trick-or-Treating. Halloween will be on Wednesday, Oct. 31. While the town doesn’t sponsor a "beggars night" that evening, Needham officials say most families head out to the streets around their neighborhoods when it begins to get dark. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac…

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Rose A. Doherty

4:05 pm on Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Global Road Warrior, a new database at the library or from home for Needham residents, has a great description of how Halloween came from Celtic traditions. Try it yourself. Go to databases on the library website and look for holidays.   more ›

Spots Still Available in Needham Park and Rec Programs

Check out some of the classes and programs open to the community this season.

From ballet to "Hikes for Tykes" to a walking group for seniors, Needham Park and Recreation is offering a variety of activities for Needham residents of all ages this fall. Upcoming programs that still have openings include: Ballet—Come learn how to tendu, chassé and plié in Park and Rec's new ballet location at the Eliot School Performance Center. The program begins Oct. 11 and is open to children ages 4-7. Itsy Bitsy Arts—A creative workshop geared to the abilities of children ages 3-5 to glue, paint, cut, sprinkle and create unique and age appropriate crafts. Children are required to attend with an adult helper. Program begins Oct. 12. Hikes for Tykes—A guided hike along the Fitness Trail at Ridge Hill Reservation. Children are …

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School Committee Takes No Action on Cricket Field

Board members chose not to vote on Park and Rec's proposal to remove the property as a potential site for a future school and will move forward with the MSBA process.

The future of Cricket Field will remain uncertain for the time being, as the Needham School Committee decided Tuesday not to remove the park as an option for a future school site. But school officials also said their first choice would be to keep Hillside Elementary School at the current site, at 28 Glen Gary Rd.— echoing the sentiments expressed by several Hillside parents as well as a group of Cricket Field neighbors who want to save the park. “I think the Park and Recreation Commission’s vote was and is well-meaning and heartfelt and makes sense from their perspective,” Needham Public Schools Superintendent Dan Gutekanst said, referring to the commission’s June 11 vote to request the School Committee to remove Cricket Field as an option…

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Rosemary Pool Open for the Season

The Needham pool is open daily from 12:30-7:45 p.m.

There may be one day left of school, but summer started today at Rosemary Pool. The Needham Park and Recreation Department-run community pool opened for the 2012 summer season on Monday, June 18 and will be open through Aug. 24. The pool is open daily, Monday through Sunday, from 12:30-7:45 p.m. Daily admission for Needham residents is $6 per person or $3 for seniors age 60 and up; after 6 p.m., it’s $3/$1.50. For non-residents, admission is $8 per person or $3 for seniors, with an after-6 p.m. rate of $4/$1.50. Season passes are also available to residents and non-residents; learn more at needhamma.gov/parkandrecreation. In the case of thunder or lightning, the pool will close and will remain closed until one half hour after the last …

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Viewfinder

Kids Meet Curious Creatures

Needham Park and Recreation's Children's Theatre brings live animal exhibit to Memorial Park.

Children of all ages came out on Tuesday, July 19 to get up close and personal with a variety of animals as part of the Needham Park and Recreation Department's Children's Theatre program at Memorial Park. The live animal exhibit, courtesy of Curious Creatures program, proved to be an educational and interactive experience for the crowd—which got a chance to see and touch a chinchilla, a baby skunk, a Burmese python and a tarantula, among many others. They also learned a few facts about each creature and were given the opportunity to ask questions of animal exhibitor Shawn Queenan.

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PatchSnap: Fun, Fun, Fun at Memorial Park

Telling Needham's stories one picture at a time.

Despite the heat, kids and parents alike couldn't keep from moving along to the music of Stacey Peasley and her band on Tuesday afternoon at Memorial Park. Peasley performed her unique children's songs under the gazebo to kick off the Needham Park and Recreation Department's Children's Theatre program. The free four-week program, funded in part by ParentTalk, is held on Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m. at Memorial Park. In case of inclement weather, the performance will be moved indoors to Broadmeadow Elementary School's performance center. Upcoming shows include:  • Curious Creatures, July 19 Live animal show  • Ed Popielarczyk's Magical Moments, July 26 Magician and balloon sculptor  • RhymeZweLL, Aug. 2 Mother Goose- and Aesop-inspired nursery …

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Residents Eye Needham Community Center

Volunteer group announces their vision of an all-inclusive center with an Olympic-sized pool and space for youth activities.

A group of local residents think Needham needs a community center, and they’re hoping to get feedback on the idea from their friends and neighbors. The Needham Lifelong Community Center board is a group of volunteers that formed last summer with the purpose of bringing forward the concept of a community center for the town. After months of researching centers in other towns throughout Massachusetts and beyond and meeting with town officials, local clergy and people from all areas of Needham life, the board is ready to unveil their concept to the public and ask for suggestions, ideas and support. “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 …

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Patch Facts

5 Things You Need to Know Today: May 16

Movement and Me at the library, Park and Recreation Commission to meet and lots of local sports.

"Five Things You Need to Know Today" is a Patch column that provides readers with essential, daily information at a glance. 1.  Scattered showers are expected with areas of fog, and cloudy skies in between, with a high temperature near 57 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Showers are likely again in the evening, between 7:00 and 11:00 p.m., with more areas of fog, and a low temperature of 51 degrees. 2.  Get moving at the Needham Free Public Library with Sara Epstein’s Music, Movement and Me program. Ages toddler to four are invited to come sing, dance and play instruments while learning the basics of pitch and rhythm. The program begins at 10:30 a.m. It’s free, but registration is required. 3.  The Park and Recreation …

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