Above: Heritage Day is one of Southborough’s most popular community gatherings. (photos by Beth Melo)
[Editor’s Note: For more up-to-date stories on Heritage Day 2017 and related activities, click here.]
This year, Heritage Day falls on Monday, October 9th with festivities the day and evening before. Make sure to save the dates.
Note: If you are looking to exhibit, be sure to get your vendor form in by this Friday, September 22nd. And if your organization plans to march in the parade, don’t forget to email Doreen Ferguson at dferguson@southboroughma.com.
For those of you unfamiliar, Heritage Day is the the annual town celebration of our community. While it honors the town’s history, it is rooted in the present, bringing together different segments of the community.
The festivities really kick off the day prior. Chestnut Hill Farm will hold its annual Harvest Festival. That is on Sunday, October 9th from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm. (Stay tuned for more details.)
St. Mark’s Church is also joining the Sunday fun again this year. For the second year, they are inviting the community to join them for a dinner that evening at 5:30 pm. (Once again, stay tuned for more.)
The dinner is meant to fill the gap for families participating in the Rotary Club’s annual Light-Up Southborough event that Sunday night. (You may know it as “the Pumpkin Wall”.)
Lit pumpkins are displayed on the stone wall running from the Southborough Library, up the street towards Town Hall. The pumpkins are carved and submitted by residents in the afternoon for display that evening.
On Monday morning at 10:00 am, the annual parade lets organizations toot their own horn. (Expect to see marching scouts, youth leagues, playgroups, school bands, etc. There are also fire trucks and a few “floats”.)
From 10:00 am – 3:00 pm, exhibit booths on St. Mark’s Field also allow community groups to raise awareness and/or funds. And local vendors get a chance to sell their wares or promote their business.
Confirmed as part of this year’s fun are the pie eating contest, moonwalk, inflatable obstacle course, craft fair, and a soccer challenge.
Other annual features include The Friends of the Southborough Library’s Book and Bake Sale at the library (9:00 am – 3:00 pm) and an Open House at the Fire Department (usually 11:00 am – 2:00 pm)*.
The Historical Society has also teased plans for “bringing Heritage back to Heritage Day” with activities in and outside the Museum this year.
I’ll be sharing many more details as the event gets closer. So stay tuned.
*The Fire Department always warns that their open house could close if staff and trucks are called out for an emergency.
Updated (9/20/2017 2:45 pm): I inserted the information on St. Mark Church’s potluck.
Updated (9/22/2017 8:38 am): Recreation learned that there won’t be a scarecrow contest this year. I stripped from the activities above and replaced the flyer with their updated version.
