5 Things You Need to Know Today: March 18

Today is Friday, March 18. Here are five things you need to know:

1. Warm streak: According to the National Weather Service, there will be a chance of showers today, mainly before 7 a.m. It will be cloudy, with gradual clearing during the day. The high temperature will be near 61 degrees. It will be breezy, with a west wind between 15-24 mph, and gusts as high as 40 mph.
2. Battle of the Bands: If you are still looking for weekend plans, head over to the Moose Lodge at 140 North St. on Saturday from 7-10 p.m. for the North Reading Youth Services Battle of the Bands. Middle school and high school students will compete for the grand prize of music lessons from Alpha Omega Music Studios. Tickets are $8.
3. Chamber business guide: The Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce will produce its Guide to Doing Business Locally, which will be mailed to every home in Reading and North Reading this spring. Every current chamber member will be listed in the directory and on the website at no charge, according to the chamber. A listing in the printed guide is exclusive to chamber members. Non-members can participate by joining the chamber by April 1, the chamber said in a press release. Membership forms can be found on the chamber’s website, www.readingnreadingchamber.org, or by contacting Executive Director Irene Collins at telephone 978-664-5060 or by e-mail at RNRChambercom@aol.com.   
4. Moms Talk: Did you miss this week’s Moms Talk Q&A on how to ? If you didn’t see it Wednesday, give it a read today. And if you have a question you would like our Moms Council to address, e-mail editor Matt Bashalany at matthew.bashalany@patch.com.
5. End of the Stamp Act: On this day in 1766, he British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, a taxation measure enacted to raise revenues for a standing British army in America. Passed in March 1765, the act forced colonists to buy a British stamp for every official document they obtained, according to History.com. The act led to protests and violence by the colonists. On the same day that Parliament voted to repeal the Stamp Act, it also passed the Declaratory Act, which said the British government had free and total legislative power over the colonies.

To find more things to do today, check out our event listings.