Posted onJuly 24, 2022|Comments Off on Culturefest at Bellforge 10-3, 10/8/22
From Lauren Zembron –
Medfield Together and Bellforge Arts Center Present: CultureFest
(Medfield, MA): In partnership with Bellforge Arts Center, Medfield Together invites you to join us on Oct. 8, 2022 for CultureFest. This FREE family-friendly festival aims to bring our community together in celebration of and learning about the customs, traditions, artwork, music, and food of diverse people within and around our town.
“The incentive for CultureFest was twofold: to celebrate diversity by centering the cultural traditions of an array of people and to learn about multiculturalism in a fun and engaging atmosphere,” says Medfield Together Steering Committee member Lauren Zembron. Everyone is welcome to attend this fun day out that will include performers, kids’ activities, and ethnic food trucks. CultureFest runs from 10 am to 3 pm at Bellforge Arts Center, located at 45 Hospital Road (https://bellforge.org/getting-here/). There is plenty of free parking and visitors are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs to enjoy the festival.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Medfield Together for CultureFest and to provide the opportunity to celebrate so many cultures through art, dance, music and food,” says Jean Mineo, Bellforge Arts Center’s Executive Director.
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Summer Sounds will offer not only a great line up of hip hop and reggae artists, but also a variety of food options from Ribpublic BBQ, and a full bar featuring Patrón Tequila, all at the site of the new Bellforge Arts Center on the former Medfield State Hospital campus. Free tickets and more information, including musical clips from each of the artists, can be found online at https://bit.ly/SummerSoundsJuly. Attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket or lawn chair to enjoy the outdoor concert.
The Summer Sounds Festival will be returning on Aug 27 with a concert featuring Valleyheart, The Q-Tip Bandits, 5ever, and more. Summer Sounds is one of many free concerts, festivals, and events organized by Bellforge for the summer. For more information about the Bellforge Arts Center, including a schedule of upcoming programs and events, please visit www.bellforge.org.
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The Bellforge Arts Center is a new multi-arts complex being built on the grounds of the former Medfield State Hospital to support artists, expand cultural opportunities, and nurture the creative community. Bellforge currently offers outdoor concerts, festivals, and community events, along with over 200 miles of nature trails and outdoor recreation space. Once fully renovated, the center will also offer visual and performing arts studios, arts education, a 300-seat performance venue, and more.
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Posted onJune 10, 2022|Comments Off on Bellforge’s Launch Party, 11:00 am Saturday
From Bellforge Arts Center’s Stacey David, Director of Marketing & Communications –
CULTURAL ALLIANCE CHANGES NAME AND LAUNCHES
BELLFORGE ARTS CENTER
(Medfield, MA): The Cultural Alliance of Medfield (CAM), a non-profit organization in Medfield, MA, is pleased to announce the naming of the multi-arts center planned at the former Medfield State Hospital (MSH) campus. Both the CAM organization and the cultural destination will now be branded the Bellforge Arts Center, serving Boston’s MetroWest region with a flexible-use performance venue, rehearsal studios and classrooms, outdoor stages, and green space for community events and activities.
The name celebrates the bell tower, an architectural feature of the historic chapel building located at the heart of the 87-acre property. Leading the project’s development, the Chapel will be restored as a 300-seat concert hall, while the site’s former Infirmary will be re-envisioned as an arts education center. A connecting breezeway will join the two buildings, creating a 24,000 square-foot cultural home for the performing and visual arts. With the word “forge,” the new name also honors the project’s mission, to develop an inclusive gathering place and experiential arts hub in which to make and create.
“With Bellforge, we’re emphasizing a place for making, whether that’s art or friendships,” says Bellforge’s Executive Director Jean Mineo.
With a 99-year lease on the two signature buildings, Bellforge has a transformational vision for the Arts Center: to strengthen access to the arts and arts education in the MetroWest region, to encourage health and wellness through creative exploration, and to foster collaboration and community through multicultural and intergenerational programs and partnerships.
Bellforge recently received a $10,000 Arts & Culture grant from the Foundation for MetroWest and a $45,000 award from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (MOTT) to present a series of 25 concerts and festivals running from April through October on their new outdoor stage. June 11 will be Bellforge’s Launch Party, which begins at 11:00 am with a panel discussion by music industry experts, including Ralph Jaccodine, Livingston Taylor’s Manager; Carl Lavin, Owner/Booking Agent for Great Scott; Cliff Notez, Founder and CEO of HipStory; and Jean Mineo, Executive Director of the Bellforge Arts Center. This discussion on the value of venues like Bellforge for performers, audiences, and the vitality of the arts in the MetroWest region will be followed at noon with a concert on the Center’s outdoor stage with Dutch Tulips and Will Dailey. The public is invited to bring a blanket or lawn chair, settle back and enjoy. The event is free, though attendees are asked to register at bit.ly/BellforgeLaunch
For more information about the Bellforge Arts Center, including a schedule of upcoming programs and events, please visit www.bellforge.org.
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Posted onMay 3, 2022|Comments Off on Fun at the Forge – 5/14
From Stacey David of Bellforge Arts Center –
BELLFORGE PRESENTS FREE “FUN AT THE ‘FORGE” FESTIVAL ON MAY 14
Medfield, MA (May 3, 2022): The Bellforge Arts Center is pleased to present Fun at the ‘Forge, a free family festival on the grounds of the former Medfield State Hospital (MSH) on Saturday, May 14, 2022, from 10:00am to 3:00pm. Bellforge’s third event in their summer series includes musical performances by Stacey Peasley and Wayne Potash; a puppet show by Rotem Goldenberg; arts and crafts with Kurt Jackson; science fun with The Inventor Mentor; and face painting and more with Raddo. In addition, attendees can help create a colorful on-site art installation with the PopUpCycler. The festival is free with registration at http://www.bellforge.org. A rain date has been scheduled for Sunday, May 15.
“Stacey Peasley’s cheerful, folksy, sing-along tunes have made her the Pied Piper of the under-10 crowd for years,” says Jean Mineo, the Executive Director of the Cultural Alliance of Medfield, who are currently working to build the Bellforge Arts Center at MSH. “She has quite the following in MetroWest, and we are thrilled to be able to have both Stacey and Wayne Potash perform at this event. Wayne has similar appeal, with his quirky, fast-paced and downright funny songs. I think the kids are going to be up and dancing all afternoon.”
In addition to the musical performances, Rotem Goldenberg will be delighting the audience with her tiny puppet theater. Goldenberg is a Community Creative Fellow, an initiative powered by the Jewish Arts Collaborative (JArts) and Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP). Her art is for audiences of all ages and exists between the spaces of visual theater, performance, storytelling, and clowning.
In between the performances, festival-goers can explore a variety of fun science projects with The Inventor Mentor, including bubbles, foam stations, rockets, parachutes, and more, or have children’s entertainer Raddo twist up a balloon hat, paint their face or airbrush a tattoo. Kurt Jackson from the Zullo Gallery will also be engaging the kids in a simple watercolor art project using a masking technique to create a beautiful landscape for them to make and take home. With Kim Bernard, from the PopUpCycler, attendees can use recycled plastic to create colorful disks to decorate the exterior of the Bellforge’s chapel in a unique crowd-sourced art installation.
Food, drink, and Magic Tree Henna, who will have a booth providing beautiful henna designs, are the only fee-based activities at the festival.
Bellforge will host a variety of concerts, festivals, and fun family days on most Saturdays from May through October. The majority of events are free; schedules and registration information can be found at the Bellforge website at www.bellforge.org or by registering for their newsletter at https://bit.ly/newsletterBellforge.
Posted onMay 3, 2022|Comments Off on Color Medfield net zero 2050
From Sustainable Medfield and TOMCAP –
Coloring….. Send us your colored version of this Medfield scene! We will be drawing two submissions to receive prizes of either a $50 or a $25 gift certificate.
*No age restrictions, winner to be chosen at random, some additional rules apply, please see instructions on the coloring sheet.
Thank you to MEMO, the Medfield Employers & Merchants Organization, for the sponsorship of the insert in the Hometown Weekly on April 28th.
Posted onApril 25, 2022|Comments Off on New Life 5k Trail Run on 5/7 updates
From Todd Dimmick –
New teams enter the New Life 5k Trail Run on May 7th
New Life is excited to host its 5th annual Trail Run on Saturday, May 7th on the Medfield State Hospital grounds (at Hospital Rd. & Service Dr., Medfield, MA). The route winds through the beautiful Charles River Reservation, and the event is open to runners, walkers and everyone in between. Many teams have already entered the Trail Run, including A Team, Eliot Church XC, GNRC, Iwaki America, MAKT, Millis UCC on the MOVE, Shamrock Shuffle, Soles of Medfield, UCC Medfield, Unicorn Amazing, and Westwood First Parish Church. These teams include runners from across eastern Massachusetts. New teams are welcome and are easy to set up.
To celebrate being back in person after two years of virtual runs, New Life has partnered with the Cultural Alliance of Medfield to provide live music on race day. Also, the Furniture Matters club of Medfield High School will introduce a Kids Fun Run for children 4-10 years old.
Trail Run registration is open at www.newlifefb.org/5ktrailrun. Registration is $30 until May 5; and $35 on race day. On-site Kids Fun Run registration will be $5 (cash or check). There is a $5 group discount for teams of four or more when the registrations are made at the same time. On-site registration opens at 7:30 on race day. The Kids Fun Run starts at 9:00, and the Trail Run starts at 9:30, with live music to follow. The first 300 people to register will receive a t-shirt on race day.
The Trail Run benefits New Life Furniture Bank of MA and its mission to provide essential home furnishings to those in need. The Medfield-based not-for-profit organization operates a Walpole Donation Center, and serves the MetroWest and Greater Boston area. New Life provides a meaningful option for folks who are downsizing, renovating or disposing of a loved one’s property.
Those interested in being a sponsor, volunteering, donating home furnishings, or making a financial contribution are encouraged to visit www.newlifefb.org.
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The Cultural Alliance invites the public to kick off a season of live music outdoors at Bellforge, the newly named arts center planned at the former Medfield State Hospital. The inaugural free family-friendly event is Saturday, April 9 from 10 am – 3 pm (raindate is Sunday, April 10).
Visitors are invited to walk the grounds of the campus and the Chapel will be open for tours starting at 10 am. More than two dozen community groups have created fairy houses on display for the day, complete with photo opportunities and crafts for kids. Students from Pointe Premiere School of Dance take the stage at noon, and artists will be on site to sell their handcrafted pottery, jewelry and photography all day. Musicians Olivia Wendel and Ghost Grl perform live on the outdoor stage starting at 12:45 pm. Bring a lawn chair or blanket, and enjoy treats from ThankQue Catering or Clarke’s Cakes and Cookies food trucks.
Additional live music events are planned most Saturdays through October. The schedule will be updated on Bellforge.org.
Posted onMarch 29, 2022|Comments Off on 27th Annual Student Faculty Show – 4/7 opening reception
From Kate Jones, K-12 Art Department Chair, Medfield Public Schools –
For the twenty-seventh year, the Zullo Gallery, in collaboration with the K-12 Visual Arts faculty of the Medfield Public Schools, is hosting its Annual Student-Faculty Art Exhibit. The Zullo Gallery offers a fantastic opportunity for deserving student artwork to receive special notice by our community in a professional gallery setting. The show is designed to highlight student work and pieces are chosen as examples of student learning within the art curriculum. This year’s exhibit will be held from April 2nd through April 24th.
We are excited for the return of the in-person reception on April 7th from 5-7pm. Please join us to celebrate these artists with their art teachers.
The Zullo Gallery is also open every Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon until 5 PM. Over the course of the exhibit, the Zullo Gallery is typically visited by hundreds of viewers, enjoying the display of our wonderful student artwork.
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I started this blog to share the interesting and useful information that I saw while doing my job as a Medfield select board member. I thought that my fellow Medfield residents would also find that information interesting and useful as well. This blog is my effort to assist in creating a system to push the information out from the Town House to residents. Let me know if you have any thoughts on how it can be done better.
For information on my other job as an attorney (personal injury, civil litigation, estate planning and administration, and real estate), please feel free to contact me at 617-969-1500 or Osler.Peterson@OslerPeterson.com.