"The joke in the family is this is a pretty expensive endeavor just to get iced coffee," Jo-Ann Spera told Boston.com in late September, describing The Woolly Brew, the knitting café she and her sister Cheryl were finishing at 55 Brighton St. By October 1 it was reported open. The timing lines up neatly with the rest of the calendar. Four weeks later, the Belmont Farmers' Market packs up its last Thursday of the season in the Claflin Street lot.
Look at Belmont's October listings in order and they show one thing happening. The town's most reliable weekly gathering spot is closing for the year, and the programs that follow it are almost all under a roof: in the new Belmont Public Library, in a church hall on Concord Avenue, at the Beech Street Center, and around a big crafting table on Brighton Street.
Thursday Has Been the Town Square Since June
The Belmont Farmers' Market has run every Thursday since June 4 in the Belmont Center parking lot at 10 Claflin St. Its last day is October 29. October hours run 2 to 6 p.m. That's a half hour shorter than the 2 to 6:30 window the market listed back in June. This is the market's 21st season.
Each of the remaining Thursdays has its own focus, according to the market's special events calendar:
- October 8, Sponsors Day. Meet the sponsors who keep the market running.
- October 22, Local History Day. Members of the Belmont Historical Society are on hand to talk about the town's past.
- October 29, POP Club Activity Day and the last day of the season. The market holds a POP Club day at the last market of every month, with kids' activities about the local food system. This time it doubles as the closing day.
The October 22 visit from the Historical Society is the first step indoors. Three days later the same organization hosts a lecture in the library, so the conversation started in the parking lot has a room to continue in.
October 8 Is Where the Two Calendars Overlap
The busiest single afternoon of the month in Belmont Center comes on the second Thursday. The market runs until 6 p.m. Starting at 5, the Belmont Center Business Association hosts its Sip N' Stroll, which runs until 9. For one hour, the market lot and the downtown storefronts are open for business together.
A $15 ticket gets you entry and a cup. Only 200 tickets are available, all proceeds go to the Belmont Food Collaborative, and the first 100 arrivals get free swag bags. The event listing names the participating businesses: A Chocolate Dream, A.J. Rose, Belmont Books, Bessie Blue, Brooksy's, Helena's, Il Casale, Karma, JETSET, Maida Family Eye Care, Patou, Rancatore's, Rachel Walters, Revolve, Salt Fitness, Toy Shop of Belmont, The Wellington, Westcott Mercantile and Yes! Your Eco Source.
The day starts early, too. Mass Audubon's Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary holds a fall birding session from 8 to 10 that morning, focused on fall plumage. That makes October 8 a three-part day: birds at Habitat in the morning, produce on Claflin Street in the afternoon, and a cup in hand along Leonard Street after 5.
The next afternoon, Friday, October 9, the library hosts Belmont author Megan K. Palmer from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. She'll read from her new book and lead a children's craft.
The Weekend of October 24 Moves Under a Roof
Two weeks later comes the most crowded weekend of the month. Most of it is indoors, or happens after dark at a sanctuary that registers families ahead of time.
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 24, noon to 7 p.m. | Fall Fest Armenian Bazaar, with Armenian dinners and pastries | First Armenian Church, 380 Concord Ave. |
| Sat., Oct. 24, 6:30 to 8 p.m. | Family Night Hike: Moon Magic, for families with children ages 5 to 12 | Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary |
| Sun., Oct. 25, noon to 2 p.m. | Kids' Halloween Treat Exchange | Pequossette Park, picnic tables 1 to 3 |
| Sun., Oct. 25, 2 to 4 p.m. | "New England Sweets" lecture with author Susan Mara Bregman | Belmont Public Library |
The two days have different centers. Saturday starts at First Armenian Church, where the Fall Fest runs from noon to 7. The Moon Magic hike begins at Habitat just before the bazaar ends.
Sunday has a sweet theme. Belmont Recreation's treat exchange at Pequossette Park ends at 2 p.m., the same time the Belmont Historical Society's "New England Sweets" talk begins at the library. A family could trade Halloween candy at the picnic tables and then hear about the region's dessert history the same afternoon.
The town's and Business Association's calendars show no Belmont Center Halloween stroll for late October as of this writing. The Recreation Department's treat exchange is the town's listed Halloween event for that weekend.
Brighton Street Gets a Big Table
The Woolly Brew is where the indoor side of the season gets a permanent address. The Spera sisters chose the location partly through elimination. In April they looked for space in Winchester, where Cheryl lives, and in Belmont Center. They found parking difficult in Winchester and plenty of existing coffee shops in Belmont Center. Jo-Ann has run Jon-Son Associates, an accounting and financial advising office on Brighton Street, for years. She told Boston.com that the stretch between Pleasant Street and Fresh Pond has almost no coffee shops besides a Dunkin'.
The answer turned out to be right next door to her office. A new mixed-use building has ground-floor retail with apartments above. Its landlord, the Hamilton Group, agreed to move its own rental office to free up the space. Construction began in August, and crews had to move pipes and dig up the floor to make the space work for food service.
According to Boston.com, the room is laid out in thirds:
- The café counter by the door serves espresso drinks and pastries from three outside bakers. Croissants come from Lakon Paris Patisserie, which had never sold wholesale before Jo-Ann spent the summer calling them. Muffins come from Gingerbread Construction, and whoopie pies come from Chococoa of Newburyport.
- A middle section has "big, comfy couches" and tables for working.
- A large table in back is meant for crafting, classes and community events. The yarn comes from Knitting for Olive, a Danish wholesaler, and Toil and Trouble, a hand-dyed yarn shop in Salem. A give-and-take bin is planned for leftover skeins.
The idea came from a trip to Denmark in April, where the sisters ran into hygge, the Danish idea of a cozy atmosphere shared with others. Jo-Ann described the goal this way:
"You don't have to feel awkward being there by yourself. I'll be over there knitting myself after work."
She told Boston.com she hopes it becomes a "third space" between home and work. Her plans include seasonal classes, starting with Halloween projects in October and handmade Christmas gifts after that, plus eventual movie nights after closing. Those classes were plans at the time of the interview. We haven't found a posted class schedule yet, so check with the café directly before planning around one. The café's website lists hours of 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends.
That 6:30 a.m. opening serves the morning commute. The weekday close at 5 is the same hour the October 8 Sip N' Stroll begins across town.
After the Last Market
Once the market closes on October 29, the calendar doesn't empty out. The listings move to rooms with heat and registration forms:
- Friday, October 30, 3 to 4:30 p.m. Tea, Talk, and Trails: Halloween Edition at Habitat. It's an adult program and requires registration.
- Friday, October 30, evening. After Hours: Monster Mash Dance for grades 6 to 8 at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech Street, for $15. The program description says 6:30 to 9 p.m., and the registration listing says 6:30 to 9:30, so confirm pickup time with Belmont Recreation.
- Monday, November 9, 7 to 8 p.m. Local author Edith Netter presents The House at Schumannstrasse 7 at the library, in person and online.
- Thursday, November 12, 8 to 10 a.m. Habitat's fall birding series continues with a session on birding by ear.
- Monday, November 16, 6 to 8 p.m. Craft: Wool Felted Fall Scene at the library.
November 12 is also a Thursday. Habitat's birding walk is the only listing in this lineup that keeps the day's outdoor morning slot after the market's afternoons are over. Two of the November library programs are about books and wool, which are also the two things on offer at the back table on Brighton Street.
Fall calendars like this one help explain Belmont to buyers who are weighing the town, and they shape how a home gets presented when it's listed in autumn. If you're thinking about a move this season and want help reading the market through that lens, The Marrocco Group offers a complimentary market consultation.
