Hear from the Owner of a Local Coffee Company, Learn About Local Government & the Arts Community

The Little Local Conversation podcast gets in depth with a variety of people in Watertown, and recent episodes have focused on a woman who imports coffee from her home country, one of the people behind the City of Watertown’s 311 Service Center, and a founding member of a Watertown-based theatre company. Little Local Conversations is hosted by Matt Hanna. Along with his profiles, he also does periodic updates about Watertown’s local government and the arts scene. Hanna provided the following details about recent episodes. Benita Chelagat (Coffee Plus 254)

Meet Benita Chelagat!

Watertown Gallery Featuring the Works of Longtime Boston Artist Nina Nielsen

The art of Nina Nielsen will be at Storefront Art Projects in Watertown from Feb. 21 through March 28, 2026. An opening reception will be held Feb. 21, 1-4 p.m. See more information in the announcement from the gallery, below. Storefront Art Projects is proud to present a selection of Nina Nielsen’s recent paintings. 

We all knew Nina Nielsen from the esteemed Nielsen Gallery  which she ran for 40 years on Newbury Street.

Small Saves: A Valentine’s Day Cartoon

James DeMarco grew up in Watertown and became a goaltender at age 5. It’s his life’s passion to stand between the pipes and keep the puck out of the net. Combining this with the love of cartooning Small Saves emerged in 1991 and took on a life of his own. “To play goal – then come home and draw Small Saves — is my ideal definition of a good day.”

WEEKEND FUN: Galentine’s Donut Decorating, “Little Women” on Stage, Olympics Watch Party, Valentine’s Dining

Have you heard of Galentine’s Day? Feb. 13th is now a day to celebrate women’s friendships, and in town you can take your friends to a Galentine doughnut decorating party at Blackbird Doughnuts. Fun! This is the week of the winter Olympics, and the library is offering a place to watch with others on a few days this week including Friday afternoon.

Watertown Actor Appearing in Play Developed at Armenian Museum in Watertown

Watertown’s June Baboian will appear in Boston Playwrights’ Theatre’s “Zabel in Exile,” a play by R.N. Sandberg about an Armenian writer and activist imprisoned in the Soviet Union. The play was developed at The Armenian Museum of America in Watertown. See the announcement from Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, below. A powerful memory play set in a Soviet prison in 1937, “Zabel in Exile” tells the story of Armenian feminist writer and activist Zabel Yessayan. As personal and political histories collide, Zabel confronts not only the ghosts of her past, but what it means to resist — and to remember — when the very worst of human history repeats itself. 

“It’s hard to overstate how proud I am to be bringing the first production of “Zabel in Exile” to Boston Playwrights’ Theatre,” BPT Artistic Director Megan Sandberg-Zakian, who will direct, says.

COMIC: Small Saves Has Big Hockey Aspirations

James DeMarco grew up in Watertown and became a goaltender at age 5. It’s his life’s passion to stand between the pipes and keep the puck out of the net. Combining this with the love of cartooning Small Saves emerged in 1991 and took on a life of his own. “To play goal – then come home and draw Small Saves — is my ideal definition of a good day.”

WEEKEND FUN: Polar Plunge, Later Night Munchies, Hand Sewn Craft, Mt. Auburn Cemetery Walking Tour

I am guessing you are truly missing the extreme cold weather, so how about signing up to do a polar plunge at Arsenal Yards on Saturday? That will make you plenty cold again. It is a fund-raiser for the Special Olympics, and it should be almost as fun to watch as to actually take the plunge. After getting soaking wet there, you could head over to the library’s maker space to make a hand-sewn valentine sachet for your loved one. Our maker space is not all about high tech!

Watertown’s Shana Gozansky Directing “Little Women” at the Mosesian Center for the Arts

Director Shana Gozansky (center, left) addresses (from left) Aislinn Brophy, Chloe McFarlane, Olivia Fenton, and Kaila Pelton-Flavin in rehearsal for Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s “Little Women.” (Photo courtesy of Actors’ Shakespeare Project)

A modern adaptation of “Little Women” will hit the stage at the Mosesian Center for the Arts from Feb. 5 to March 1. The Actors’ Shakespeare Project production is being directed by Watertown’s Shana Gozansky. Gozansky makes her debut with Actors’ Shakespeare Project (ASP) directing playwright Kate Hamill’s adaptation of the novel by Louisa May Alcott.