The Upper Falls News is an email newsletter about what's going on in our village.  The Upper Falls News is brought to you by the Upper Falls Area Council but it's intended to cover any and all news in the village. 

Ending With a Bang - Upper Falls very own Newton Nomadic Theater has been touring it's production of "The Turn of the Screw" around Newton and beyond, for the last four weeks, to great acclaim.  The last two performances of this eerie ghost story will be this Saturday, March 14 at Gregorian Rugs in Lower Falls and then a closing night party/performance back home in the Falls at Dunn Gaherins Pub on Sunday night, March 15.  Dunn Gaherins and Better Life Foods have been great supporters of the theater from the start and once again they're putting together a closing night event.  Dunn Gaherins will open specially on Sunday for the play.  Doors open at 6:30PM.  Show starts at 7:30.  For the pre-show hour, the bar will be open and they'll be providing a delicious assortment of various complimentary snacks. 

Audiences have been loving it so don't miss it!!   To see what other people have been saying about The Turn of the Screw or to order tickets ($20) for either Saturday or Sunday's shows go to http://NewtonNomadicTheater.org

A Warm Spot on a Cold Morning - About two weeks ago we had a brutally cold morning, -1 degree.  The middle school kids all gathered at the bus stop at the top of Oak St as usual for the 8AM bus.  Because they're middle school kids,many of them were dressed for a cool May morning rather than a sub-zero one.  That day the bus didn't show up. Jian, the chef at Bob's Sub figured out what was going on and brought the entire crew of bus stop kids into the shop to thaw out.  It turned out that there had been a breakdown and it was well over a half hour before the bus arrived that morning.  Many, many thanks to Jian for looking after our ill-dressed little darlings.

TIMBER !!! - Last week, the roof of the abandoned warehouse on the Clarks/Northland property caved in from the accumulation of snow.  Here's the Newton Tab story.   The building was already scheduled to be demolished so it's no great loss.  The biggest problem is that our favorite neighborhood shortcut, (through the Clark's parking lot to Tower Rd) has been cordoned off since then.  I haven't been down there in a few days.  If it's not already, I hope it gets opened soon.  

A little closer to home here at Upper Falls News World Headquarters, our back gutter ripped off the side of the house during Saturday's thaw.  I guess all that ice up there was what had been holding the gutter up these past few weeks

Like Daughter, Like Dad - Daughter Alie Riklin has been a standout actor in shows at Countryside School when she was younger and now at Brown middle school.  Dad Jeff has been a behind the scenes kind-of-guy, building sets for all those shows.  Jeff recently decided to get back out in front of the footlights.  Last Saturday he returned to the stage in a production of Music Man at the Temple Beth Elohin in Wellesley.  I missed the performance but my guess is that Jeff stole the show.

That Sure is a Big Hole! - (Submitted by Mary Durr and Chris Murphy) What's that big hole on the side of 36-38 High Street? Did a spaceship land there? Is this an archaeological dig? Is this a giant sink hole? Are polar bears moving to High Street?

Well for the owners, Mary and Chris of 36-38 High Street, it feels like all four. The original intent was for parking their spaceship - or more realistically their cars. The city was careful in planning this feat with retaining walls and drainage. It feels like a carefully planned archaeological dig. The planning itself took over 2 years. In the beginning it was a giant sink hole because the original excavator dug a hole and then abandoned the job. 4 months later Mary and Chris  found a well seasoned excavator. His company 'Jodi excavation' (Jodi is named after his boys John and Dick) have been working ever since. This includes working in temperatures below 0. Unfortunately with all the recent snow, the 'big dig' can't be filled in until the frost and snow melts. In the meantime polar bears have been scouting the area. They think it would make a great vacation home. Mary and Chris hope the snow melts and the parking area is finished before the bears return. Click here for a sketch of the finished product.

It's Time For a New Years Celebration - Our Upper Falls neighbor, the Tzu Chi Foundation on Summer St, invite all of their Upper Falls neighbors to join them on Sat March 28, 2 PM for their annual lunar New Year celebration.  The event will feature music performances, gifts, refreshments, snacks, update on Tzu Chi's work around the world, panel discussion and an inter-denominational group prayer ceremony.

Music at Carriaghouse Violins - Violinist Mari Black and guitarist Joseph Carmichael will be bringing a spirited tour of fiddle music from around the world to Upper Falls on Thurs April 16, 8 PM -- brilliant Scottish dance sets, classic swing tunes, rolling Irish jigs, luscious Argentine tangos, beloved American folk songs, haunting highland airs, and more!  Get your tickets here while they last.

Who is Our Special High School Junior? - The Upper Falls Area Council will be bestowing the First Annual Ken Newcomb Upper Falls Book Award in June to a high school junior who best combines contributions to the Newton Upper Falls community, good character, and good academic performance.  Nominations should include a short essay explaining why the candidate is deserving of the award.  Nominations can be sent to any member of the Area Council.  Deadine is May 15
 

The winner will be recognized at a ceremony in June and be given a $50 gift certificate to New England Mobile Book Fair and a copy of The Makers of the Mold, Ken Newcomb’s history of Newton Upper Falls.

March's Meeting - The Upper Falls Area Council's monthly meeting will be held next Thursday, March 19 at 7 PM in the Pettee Community Center.  All are welcome.

Apartment Wanted - Vicki Gold is dying to move to Upper Falls.  If anyone knows of a small apartment for a lovely woman and her indoor cat for $1200 or less, contact vgold@vickigold.com.

Newton School Committee Is All Ears - (submitted by Margaret Albright) The Newton School Committee will receive the proposed NPS budget on March 13 and begin its review and discussion on March 16. We will be holding office hours on March 16 following our School Committee meeting which begins at 4:30; office hours will start at approximately 6:15 or 6:30 and end at approximately 7:15. The School Committee is eager to try this new format in order to provide you with another opportunity to provide feedback in addition to the other times for public comments. We welcome questions and input and stress that this will mainly be a listening format. We are not trying to solve problems or make promises but are there to listen to concerns, questions and suggestions. The format will be: School Committee members, in teams of at least two, will be available in room 210 at the Ed Center (100 Walnut St.) from 6:30 to 7:15. The meeting will be an Open Meeting and may be televised by NewTV. This is a casual format. We will sit with individuals or groups and listen to concerns/questions about the budget. In order to facilitate as many individuals as possible, we’d like to meet with each person/group for approximately 10 minutes. The budget documents will be available in advance. If you have questions, or would like to sign up in advance, please contact us at schoolcommittee@newton.k12.ma.us

Did You Know ... that The Turn of the Screw has been made into 6 movies, 11 TV movies, 3 plays, an opera, a ballet and a musical.  Did You know ..." features an interesting and random fact every issue, collected by 7th grade Upper Falls resident Ian Wittler but was shamelessly hijacked this issue by the Upper Falls News editor as part of his endless promotional efforts on behalf of the Newton Nomadic Theater.
 
Send Us Your News - If you have any upcoming events, activities, news, trivia, stories, anecdotes or jokes related to Upper Falls just send them to news@UpperFallsNews.org and we'll include them in the next newsletter.  For those who prefer living in the past, back issues of the Upper Falls News are archived at UpperFallsNews.org.