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Natick high runners can apply for Greater Framingham Running Club college scholarships

February 16, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Natick High School student-athletes are among those eligible for two $500 scholarships sponsored by the Greater Framingham Running Club.

natick track

The scholarships will be presented to local high school runners who plan to attend either a two or four-year accredited college or university and who also intend to run cross-country, track or recreationally while in college.  The winning applicants must exemplify dedication, leadership, running talent, commitment and academic achievement. That is, the award will not necessarily go to the runners in the greater Framingham area with the most success in running, but the track or cross-country team members who have always been committed and consistently work hard to persevere, combined with academic achievement.

Applications are available now and are due by March 31, 2022.

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Filed Under: Education, Sports

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Beyond Natick: Great Brook Ski Touring Center in Carlisle, Mass.

February 11, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

I don’t want to become one of those New Englanders who, by mid-February, complains about the inconvenience of snow. I want to get excited when I see flakes fluffing downward, turning the massive white pines outside my window into temporary snow-art installations. I want to be the type of New Englander who helps out kids by adding one more voice to their prayers for a snow day. Because I am determined to love snow, I continually search out ways to positively engage it while ignoring snow’s negative points. That’s how all successful relationships work, right?

Great Brook Ski Touring Center, Carlisle

Cross-country skiing is the answer. Anytime the snow cooperates, I reward it by throwing my equipment into the hatchback of my snow-worthy station wagon and heading out for a good spot. Since the recent blizzard brought over 20″ of snow to Massachusetts, I knew the time was perfect for my first visit to Great Brook Ski Touring Center in Carlisle. The Department of Conservation & Recreation maintains over 10 miles of machine-groomed trails for cross country skiing on the property of the 1,000-acre Great Brook Farm State Park, which is less than 45 minutes from Natick Center. From Dec. 1 to March 20, snow conditions permitting, those 10 miles of trails are set aside for skiing only. There is no snow-making equipment at the popular spot, so make sure you check Great Brook’s Facebook page ahead of time for the latest report on trails conditions.

My mid-week visit meant a laid-back, crowd-free experience, but not one that felt isolating. “You should see it on a weekend,” one regular Great Brook skier said. So warned. A quick look at the trail map convinced me to warm up on the Lantern Loop, an easy one-mile glide that starts and ends at the touring center. Just use the lanterns as your guides, and you won’t get lost. Beautiful during the day, on Tuesday and Thursday from sunset until 9pm the trail sparkles as the lanterns are lit for night skiing around the loop. Only the Lantern Loop is open during evening hours; other trails close at dusk.

Great Brook Ski Touring Center, Carlisle

After conquering the Lantern Loop, I set off to see what else was out there. Trails are well marked, so as long as you familiarize yourself with the map symbols it’s unlikely you’ll find yourself in a situation that’s beyond your abilities. Most trails are fairly easy and the majority of them offer a wide, packed surface consisting of a smooth skating lane between two sets of ski tracks.

For experienced skiers, there’s the more difficult Woodchuck Trail or the Maple Ridge Trail. There’s even a short stretch of black diamond trail that goes by the name of Chicken. Yes, I was too chicken to try it out, but I did venture onto Maple Ridge. Yes, I fell more than once on Maple Ridge. That’s what happens when I get controlling and fight the snow instead of keeping a good thing nice and easy.

Great Brook Ski Touring Center, Carlisle

The easy drive to Carlisle was well worth it. The longer I stayed out there on the trail, the more relaxed and loose I became, gliding past a working dairy farm, across fields, alongside streams and ponds, and through the quiet woods. On skis, I felt my connection with snow, nay the entire season of winter, deepening.

Winter and me, we’re in a good place right now.

Great Brook Ski Touring Center, Carlisle

Details, details

When natural snow is available, Great Brook is a welcoming place for both classical and skate skiers who want to get outside and enjoy beautifully groomed trails. A full roster of rental equipment is available including skis, boots, poles, and sleds for towing children (no dogs allowed, sorry). Snow shoes are also available for rental, but cannot be used on the machine-groomed trails. The staff can point you to the expansive area where snow shoeing (and hiking) is permitted.

Great Brook Ski Touring Center, Carlisle

 

Great Brook Ski Touring Center, Carlisle

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Beyond Natick, Outdoors, Sports



Natick business buzz: Rte. 9 welcomes Golftec, Fancy Pants & Curion; Fresh start at Cloverleaf Mall; Salmon taps medical director

February 10, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Our roundup of the latest Natick, Mass., business news:

Golftec fills former Fresh City space

Rte. 9 in Natick and Framingham has become even more of a golfing mecca with the arrival of Golftec in the former Fresh City space at 1400 Worcester St., in Natick.

Golftec rte 9 east

That’s a short walk from PGA Superstore at 1398 Worcester St on the eastbound side, just down the road from Dick’s, and not far from Miniature Golf on the Village Green (OK, a slightly different game). Across Rte. 9 in Framingham is Golf Galaxy, which offers gear and lessons, and down Speen Street in Natick, KOHR Golf Center provides lessons, camps and a driving range.

Golftec, open Tuesday-Saturday at the 3,800 sq. ft. Rte. 9 location, features six bays where customers can get fitted for clubs, take lessons, and practice. Personal coaches use technology for motion measurement and video analysis. An indoor putting green includes “a motion technology that analyzes face angle, loft and path direction of putting strokes,” according to the business’s website.

C.J. Perry, regional marketing specialist at Golftec’s Denver headquarters, says Golftec seeks to stand out from other golf businesses in Natick in part through its comprehensive club fittings, which take 60-90 minutes. Golftec has demo clubs on hand, then orders clubs from the likes of Callaway and Titleist fit to individuals’ specs. “We want our students or customers fit to their game based on level of performance, body type, and swing.

Golftec actually used to be inside a local Golfsmith location, but has since shifted to more of a standalone business model that allows it to generate revenue from its services as well as equipment sales that stem from club fittings, etc.

Perry cites an upswing in golf popularity that took place during the pandemic and continues as more people work from home and are able to sneak in extra rounds thanks to less time spent commuting to work. Golftec customers tend to be those with more experience, but newcomers are welcome. Expect sales in March as we head into the New England golf season.

Golftec has been around since 1995 and lists some 220 locations around the world.

golftec

Fancy Pants relocates from Newton

Second hand kids’ apparel shop Fancy Pants closed down its Newton store in December and has opened on Rte. 9 west in Natick at 255 Worcester St. They buy and sell gently used children’s clothing, as well as toys, strollers, etc.

They’ve got a buyback program, too.

Curious about Curion?

Curion, located at the former Moe’s Southwest Grill and Pizza Hut space in Sherwood Plaza, specializes in “sensory evaluation” and consumer product research.

curion

 

Curion’s customers include companies in the food & beverage, personal care, beauty, fine fragrance, and home & fabric care industries. It has testing facilities across the country, including in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, New York, and San Francisco.

Curion recently invited locals to get paid for testing products.

It is also in the hiring process.

We reached out to Curion for more, and will update this post if we hear back.

Cloverleaf Mall update: Self-storage out, but a fresh start; Redi marijuana shop getting ready

The Natick Planning Board returned to the subject of Cloverleaf Mall’s failed attempt to get a self-storage facility into space next to what’s slated to be Natick’s first recreational marijuana shop.

During a sometimes contentious Jan. 5 Planning Board meeting (56 minutes into the Natick Pegasus recording), the Board voted 3-2 vote in favor of the amendment, but that wasn’t enough votes for approval. The board continued the hearing to its Feb. 2 meeting, where the applicant would have a chance to explain the purpose and intent of its proposed withdrawal (in writing or in person). A motion to reconsider the original vote could take place.

The applicant did not appear at the Feb. 2 meeting. About three hours and 21 minutes into the Natick Pegasus recording, Director of Community & Economic Development Amanda Loomis had spoken to the applicant about potential other uses.

“I think it has been agreed that self-storage isn’t the best use for this site,” she said. “But there are some other really good uses that could be considered but that could take time.” These uses would also entail loading and unloading in the back, a topic of discussion during the earlier Board meetings.

The Board’s denial of the original wouldn’t allow for the applicant to return with these potential better uses, though allowing the applicant to withdraw the original proposal would.

In the end, the Board voted to allow withdrawal of the application.

Meanwhile, the recreational marijuana shop, dubbed Redi (from Cypress Tree Management), has finalized its architecture plans and submitted for a building permit in Natick. So construction on that could start soon.

“Our timeline from there to opening will have a number of dependencies including final inspections and approvals from both the Town of Natick and from the Cannabis Control Commission,” says Victor Chiang, CEO of Redi, which has a shop up and running in Newton. “We’re very excited to work through this process as the town and all of its representatives have been a pleasure to work with and have been diligent in helping us through the process.”

Salmon taps medical director

Salmon at Natick, a senior living community on Rte. 9 (Whitney Place), has named Dr. Asif Merchant as its medical director.

Merchant joins Salmon from Newton-Wellesley Hospital, where he works as chief of geriatrics and extended care network, and as a partner of New England Community Medical Services.

In September 2020, Merchant was appointed to Governor Charlie Baker’s COVID Vaccine Advisory Group.


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Filed Under: Business, Kids, Sports

Congrats to Natick’s Fall All-Scholastics student-athletes

January 11, 2022 by Admin Leave a Comment

The Boston Globe’s Fall All-Scholastics list is out, and Natick is represented by numerous outstanding student-athletes, both All-Scholastics and All-Stars.

The All-Scholastics:

  • Jake Adelmann, football, Natick High School
  • Kyra Hacker, soccer, Natick High School

See the entire list of All-Scholastics and All-Stars from across the state.


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Filed Under: Schools, Sports

COVID puts some Natick winter sports on ice temporarily; forces spectator changes for sports, arts

January 7, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

In coping with the COVID-19 surge, Natick Public Schools is putting a handful of its winter sports on pause after consulting with local and state health officials.

Here’s the plan:

  • Boys’ varsity Ice hockey: Paused 12/31, return on 1/10
  • JV boys’ ice hockey: Paused 1/6, return on 1/17
    9th grade boys’ ice hockey: Paused 1/6, return on 1/17
  • Wrestling (all levels including Middle School): Paused 1/4, return on 1/15
  • Boys’ varsity basketball: Paused 1/4, return on 1/15
Spectators of Natick High and Middle School athletics are in for a change, too, as are those with other schools in the Bay State Conference. NPS calls this move “a proactive measure to limit the scope of the latest COVID 19 surge.”

Natick High School and Middle School Athletics will be adopting the following protocols for all home games/contests until Tuesday Jan. 18.

  • limiting spectators to 2 adult guests per player for both home/away teams
  • visiting teams will be arriving dressed to play with no locker room availability
  • live streaming games at as many levels as teams/Natick Pegasus can handle

Wellesley High’s recent temporary suspension of winter sports due to rising COVID-19 rates created a weird local media frenzy before the school system shortly thereafter announced a resumption of activities the next week.


Natick Public Schools also announced a temporary change for attendees of its arts/honors recitals:
  • Family members only, seated in auditorium in family clusters with 6 feet of distancing between family groups


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