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. 

Where am I? - Here's a photo of a spot in Upper Falls without its surrounding context.  The game is to look at the photo and identify where in Upper Falls you can see this sign (answer below).
 

Poke Your Nose in An Artist's Studio - This weekend, artists all over Newton will be opening up their studios to the public.  Its a great event for art lovers, as well as nosy people like me.  You can start your tour here in Upper Falls.  Elizabeth Carter will be showing her work in a charming studio out behind her house at 48 Cottage St. in Upper Upper Falls.  Down below at a gallery on Tower Rd and Needham St, seven artists will be displaying their work.  Open Studios is Sat April 6th & Sun April 7th 11am to 5pm.  The complete maps are available on newtonopenstudios.org.

Aqueduct Boat Tours - The MWRA announced that they will be running boat tours inside the aqueduct starting at Echo Bridge and running to Chestnut Hill reservoir.  You might want to take this report with a grain of salt since it was published on April 1.

Give and Take - The Second Baptist Church will be having their bi-annual "swap shop" on Saturday, April 20 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.  Everyone's invited.  Bring something to swap, come without anything to swap, just donate or just come and see if there is something you need.  It is all free!

Biltmore Moves Outside? - The Newton Tab reported that the Biltmore is applying for alterations to their building to add patio space and move some of the seating outdoors during the warmer months.  The hearing will be at City Hall Tuesday, April 16th 7:30pm in Room 209.  We've also heard rumors that the Biltmore may also be expanding into Sol's old barber shop, which is now empty.  An outdoor patio at the Biltmore with the new Upper Falls Greenway just across the parking lot - sounds like good developments for the neighborhood.

Spring Cleaning Time - The Hemlock Gorge cleanup will be Sat, April 20.  Volunteers should come to the parking lot on Hamilton Place,  just over the river on Elliot Street between 9AM - 10 AM.  Volunteers will be treated to a free picnic lunch at the stone barn, courtesy of Dunn Gaherin's Restaurant.  The following Sunday, April 28th, the Upper Falls Greenway route will get a spruce up as part of the citywide NewtonSERVES annual volunteer day. Sign up for the Greenway cleanup here.

The Little Dig - Needham Street will soon be repaved.  Details here.

Our Commissioner - Our Upper Falls neighbor Jim Purdy from Chestnut St was recently appointed to the Newton Energy Commission.  The Commission advises the city on all sorts of energy related topics.  One interesting project they've recently been involved in is an effort to replace street lights all across the city with new LED lights.  These new lights require just about no maintenance, they use a fraction of the electricity, and they have a more uniform glow and pleasant color.  A few will soon be installed by city hall so we can all take a look before they go ahead with plans to install them everywhere.

Did You Know ...  that a fifteen year old cat has most likely spent about ten years of his life asleep ?  "Did You Know ..."  features an interesting and random fact every issue, collected by ten-year-old Upper Falls resident Jayla Reilly.

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.

'Where Am I" Answer - The sign is on The Depot Cafe at the corner of Chestnut and Oak Street.