skeletonmusic
Skeleton playing music. Public domain image
Halloween is right around the corner, and Newton has some fun activities to help you celebrate the season, despite all this rain.
Rainy days are great for movies, and the West Newton Cinema is hosting a celebration of Hollywood legend Jack Lemmon, with screenings of some of his films and a panel discussion with his kids. And there’s plenty of music to help pass the rainy Sunday, with several concerts around the city.
To keep your rainy weekend packed with fall (and dry) fun, here are eight things to do in Newton this weekend.
Friday, Oct. 24
All day, West Newton Cinema will start its three-day centennial celebration of Hollywood icon Jack Lemmon, who was born in Newton in 1925, and on Friday they will show the critically acclaimed “Days of Wine and Roses.”
From 7 to 8:30 p.m., the St. Ignatius Concert Series will present “Life & Death,” a concert featuring frightening classical music played by soloists Ming-hang Tam on violin and Aubrie Dionne on flute.
Saturday, Oct. 25
At 5 p.m., West Newton Cinema will host a conversation with Jack Lemmon’s family members as well as a cocktail reception (with lemon cakes and lemon martinis) and a screening of “Some Like it Hot.”
From 12 to 1:30 p.m., the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton will host a free social justice lunch with guest speaker Chloe-Rose Crouch, executive director of the Community Day Center of Waltham, whose work is made possible with help from Newton volunteers and donations.
From 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., the Suzuki School of Music will host Spooky Suzuki, a Halloween celebration for students of the music school, at Newton Presbyterian Church, 75 Vernon St.
Sunday, Oct. 26
From 2 to 3 p.m., the Newton Free Library will host a free concert performed by the Kalliope Reed Quintet, titled “Música de México y Memorias,” featuring works by Mexican composers Nubia Jaime Donjuan, Arturo Marquez, and Diana Syrse, while exploring the topics of memory and remembrance. The concert also includes Kalliope’s most recent commission, “Suite No. 1 for Reed Quintet” by award-winning Mexican composer and clarinetist Ábraham Gomez. In celebration of this theme, the concert will also include selected arranged movements of Maurice Ravel’s famous Le Tombeau de Couperin—a piece Ravel wrote in a joie de vivre remembrance of friends who passed during WWI in the French Baroque style of renowned composer, Couperin–which the Quintet has programmed to honor both Ravel’s 150th anniversary and the Newton Free Library’s 150th year of service in 2025.
From 3 to 5 p.m., the Charles River Wind Ensemble will perform a concert, “When Dawn Lights the Sky,” at 300 Hammond Pond Parkway in Chestnut Hill.
From 3 to 4:30 p.m., All Newton Music School, 321 Chestnut St, West Newton, will host a string chamber music concert. Tickets range from $10 to $35.