100 Reasons to Live in Dedham

I can't believe there have been 100 posts in a little more than 6 months. I set out to post once a week and have instead found things to post about nearly every other day. In celebration of this post and with some encouragement from friends, I'm going to list my top 100 reasons to live in Dedham. It initially felt like a difficult task, but when I sat down with a pen and paper and numbered 1-100, I got to 100 things in about 10 minutes.

They are in no particular order and feel free to leave any omissions in the comments.

1. Location, location, location
2. The neighborhoods and the neighbors
3. The teachers-they are the best!! (Let the contract negotiations end!)
4. Convenience-Do you ever have to leave?
5. Parks: Memorial, Paul and Condon
6. The Endicott Estate-sledding, public gardens
7. Fairbanks House(my neighbor!)
8. Dedham Community Theatre-Beer and Wine while you watch a great film
9. Museum of Bad Art
10. Dedham Pottery
11. Dedham Women's Exchange
12. Dedham Parent Time
13. Dedham Community House(Memeber yet?)
14. Dedham Civic Pride
15. Dedham Historical Soceity(Did you see we have a new director?)
16. Dedham Square Circle(Member yet?!)
17. Dedham Rotary Club
18. Dedham Civic Connections group(When is the next get together?)
19. Dedham Education Foundation
20. Dedham Education Partnership
21. Dedham Junior Women's Club
22. Motherbrook Group
23. Cafe Bagel(best bagels)
24. Kouzina's-best greek
25. Centre Deli-best meatballs, sandwiches
26. Deli After Dark(best place to listen to live music, great burgers)
27. Kikuyama(our very own sushi house)
28. Mocha Java(the best barista's, dedication to community and local artists)
29. Cafe Video Paradiso(the best North End pasteries, soups and sandwiches)
30. The Blue Bunny-so much more than a book and toy shop
31. Ron's Ice Cream
32. Sheepskate Yarn Shop(love hanging out with Eileen, go learn to knit with her..)
33. The Dedham Bike Shop-generations of kids getting their first bike
34. Courtyard Cafe-great breakfast in the Square
35. Isabella's Restaurant(the town's very own first class dining experience)
36. Maribu-Best place to pick up a little something to spruce up your wardrobe
37. Cheeky Diva-love the name, shop and great girlfriend gifts
38. Discover Music and Art(they really want you to do just that!)
39. Dedham School of Music(we have our own music school too!)
40. Whole Foods Market-they give 2% of their profits back to the community
41. Halfway Cafe-best tips and wings
42. The Village Manor-voted "Best Watering Hole" in a recent DR survey
43. Uniquely Global-a shop dedicated to showcasing talent from 3rd world countries
44. Gym Capital of the World(Dedham Strength, Dedham Athletic Complex, Planet Fitness, Gold's,...)
45. Yoga boom!( Yoga Energy, Yoga Now, Still)
46. James Joyce Ramble-the coolest 10K race in the country
47. Musicfest-an outdoor, day long music festival(June 5th this year!)
48. Oktoberfest
49. Flag Day Parade-the only one of it's kind...anywhere!
50. Foam Day
51. Holiday Stroll-was the Square hopping this year or what?
52. Christmas Tree Lighting(this is an event, not just a tree getting lit)
53. DJWC Summer Concerts at Endicott Estate and their Craft Fair in November
54. Dedham Day!! So much fun. Great community event. Nothing like waiting for a cow to poop.
55. DSC's Farmer's Market(I have several posts about the Farmer's Market...it's the best. Fresh fish? I mean, come on...)
56. Turkey Bowl-Dedham vs. Norwood(2009 game was a nail biter!)
57. Halloween at the Pineridge Pet Cemetary, "Haunted Lantern Tour"
58. Theater productions at the First Church
59. Story times at Dedham Public Library(and don't forget about the museum passes!)
60. Book club at DPL
61. New Years Eve Comedy Night
62. Wilson Mt.-the view of the city
63. Culter Park-the great boardwalk
64 Wigham Pond-canoeing anyone?
65. McGolf-great mini putt putt and driving range
66. Dedham Pool(they have great hours and are dedicated to making sure Dedham kids learn how to swim)
67. Historic homes of Precinct 1(walking tours coming soon!)
68. Top private schools(Nobles, Dedham Country Day, Ursuline)
69. Local band, Magic Magic
70. Turn Off TV Week(every April vacation, very well organized)
71. Single Stream Recycling
72. Tues/Wednesday night basketball leagues for men
73. Legacy Place(yes, deserves a spot on this list...)
74. Gilberts Wine and Spirts(Brendan loves that they know his name...shout out to Tom, Stan, Buddy, Jim and Daniel)
75. Lemon biscotti at Santoro's on Bridge St.
76. Brickhouse Cafe-great, small, restaurant on Bridge St.
77. La Leche League Dedham-helping nursing moms in and around Dedham
78. The Dedham Times-love the proverb of the week
79. The Dedham Transcript-love the segment "5 things I need to know..."
80. Free parking at the Endicott Commuter Rail
81. The Reynold's Brothers(our very own children's book author)
82. Heart pendants from Diana Giakazova-Dedham actually has it's own necklace.
83. Donahue Real Estate-dedicated to Dedham(local realtors and family owned)
84. Open air ice skating at Memorial Park
85. Great school(and other organizations) fundraising events-this town knows how to have fun
86. The Cigar Shop(a hidden gem in the Square)
87. Wardles Pharamacy(how many little locally owned pharmacies are around and thriving?)
88. Have a pet? Dedham Animal Hospital and Twinkerton Dog Groomers are each the best at what they do
89. Salem Food and Wine(best Italian sub)
90. Dedham Medical-all your medical needs under one roof
91. Our great public service workers(police, fire, postal, public works...they are the best)
92. Board of Selectmen(these 5 residents are out to make positive change and want your input too)
93. Town meeting(how cool is that we live in a town that still makes law by gathering the town together?)
94. All the budding artists, talented and smart people who live here
95. The "townies" who love their town, but are open to seeing it evolve
96. The local banks: Dedham Savings and Needham Bank who are dedicated to the community
97. The general pride people feel for their neighborhood(The Manor, East Dedham, Precinct ONE, Greenlodge, Riverdale, Endicott, Oakdale)
98. I'm living in the "Mother of All Towns"
99. The book by James L. Parr, "Dedham, Historic and Heroic Tales from Shiretown".
100.That I can make an "I LOVE Dedham" goodie bag and have it filled with amazing stuff!

101. That Dedham residents voted YES for education and a new Avery School is being built and DHS Athletic Fields are being repaired!