At just 6, Erin Leung already has big plans for her future: To train to be an acrobatic lion dancer like her big brother, Ryan. A member of Wu An Martial Arts, Ryan and his fellow performers wowed the crowd with their colorful costumes and energetic routine on Sunday, February…
Posts published by “Julie M. Cohen”
As Newton entered Day 9 of the Newton Public Schools’ (NPS) teachers’ strike, 15 after-school programs that parents have already paid for remain shuttered. Each elementary school hosts a nonprofit after-school program “for the enrichment and enjoyment of children between 5-12 years of age,” according to NPS. After the strike…
Although many dogs run off-leash in Edmands Park (aka Cabot Woods), their owners risk getting a warning or a fine for allowing them to do so. However, a local group is working to change the designation of this wooded area, so pets can romp free without violating the rules. Cabot…
Lion dancers leapt in the air and playfully lunged at the crowd during Wu An Martial Arts’ energetic performance on Sunday, January 28, at the New Art Center as part of Newton’s annual WinterFEST. Sponsored by Newton Community Pride — a “nonprofit organization building community through free arts and culture…
As a potential strike by the Newton Teachers Association (NTA) looms Friday, parents fed up with stalled contract negotiations rallied outside of City Hall on Wednesday morning, to make their voices heard. “Staff morale is abysmally low,” said Alison Lobron, an organizer with the Newton Parent/Educator Collaborative who spoke at…
As Katani Sumner started to perform Lift Every Voice and Sing on January 15, she encouraged the entire audience in the Newton North High School auditorium to join in as the moving lyrics were projected behind her. The Newton South High School METCO counselor’s rousing rendition of the more than…
“Twilight and evening bell, / And after that the dark! / And may there be no sadness of farewell, / When I embark,” are just some of the moving lines from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem, “Crossing the Bar.” Later set to music, the song is one of many soothing and…
As shopper after shopper visited Auburndale gift store Just Next Door this week, they greeted owner Amy Shih with praise, gratitude, and wistful regret that she will soon be shuttering the beloved business. When customer Jenny Rosenthal — a Newton resident who has been buying presents there for 10 years…
“The reason grief can be so hard is because it can feel so isolating,” Julia Ong reflected while discussing the 2021 death of her younger child, Avery. Even before their daughter died, the Newton resident and her husband, Jordan Bray, experienced the crushing weight of grief upon learning the baby’s…
A local nonprofit marking its fifth anniversary this year has been living up to its name since its inception. Welcome Home, located in West Newton, “strives to provide families experiencing hardship with basic household items they need to live with dignity,” according to its website. Each week, the dedicated volunteers…
Before 2023 is over, the City is aiming to choose the firm that will lead the effort to redesign the ubiquitous and problematic City seal, according to officials. The City Seal Working Group stated in its 2021 report that the 1865 image, which “depicts a scene of Reverend John Eliot…
Dressed as sheep, shepherds, the three magi, innkeepers, angels and the Holy Family, multigenerational actors performed the traditional Nativity play at the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton (FUUSN) in West Newton — the first of three Christmas Eve services on December 24. In between scenes of the story…