Above: An obstacle course and robotics are just some of the fun activities in store this long weekend (photos by Beth Melo)
Editors note: if you were wondering if any activities are canceled due to rain, the answer is no. Chestnut hill farm has tense. And as of Sunday morning, the Rotary club is still planning on holding the light up event.
This weekend is Southborough’s annual Town celebration for Heritage Day. (Giving us another good reason to be grateful that Hurricane Matthew isn’t headed this way.)
The main event is on Columbus Day with the fun beginning on Sunday. Here’s an updated post with everything you need.
The official schedule from the Town is here. But it doesn’t provide a lot of detail.
So, here are all the details and important links, rounded up for you.
Saturday night, October 8, Steeple Coffeehouse is offering toe-tapping fun. It’s not part of the official Heritage Day festivities but helps kick off the weekend.
Sunday, October 9, 2016:
The Trustees of Reservations is holding its 2nd (hopefully annual) Chestnut Hill Farm Festival from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. It will include goat milking and pie baking contests, face painting, and pumpkin decorating to name a few activities. (Click here to learn more.)
When you’re done there, head downtown to drop off your decorations from 4:00 – 6:00 pm.
If you’ve rigged up something good for the Scarecrow Display, trot it over to the Community House to participate. (Click here to learn more.)
For Light Up Southborough, drop off your jack ‘o lanterns on the “pumpkin wall” along Common Street.
This year, you can kill time until dark at St. Mark’s Church’s free Community Pasta Dinner.(Click here to learn more.)
After dark, come back to see the pumpkin wall in its full glory from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. The display starts by the library, just past the Southborough Rotary Club’s table where they’ll have apple cider. (Take a moment to stop and thank them for organizing the Light Up event for the 18th year. The Rotary will be fundraising for their scholarship programs.) The lit display proceeds past the cemetery to the top of the hill then around the corner onto St. Mark’s Street. (Click here to learn more.)
Monday, October 10, 2016:
The Southborough Library opens its Book and Bake Sale at 9:00 am, while across the street on St. Mark’s field, exhibitors are still setting up their booths. Swing by the library for an early morning treat – like a slice of pumpkin bread (then come back later for a cookie). Take advantage of book sale offers like “One free book per child” and stuff-a-bag deals.
At 9:30 am, the booths open. (Expect community organizations pitching their causes/raising funds, vendors selling fun wares and lots of food, plus fun activities to draw you in as you pass by).
Also at 9:30 am, community organizations and kids convene at St. Anne’s to organize for the Town’s big annual parade. The Parade march begins at 10:00 am and heads from Boston Road to East Main Street, turning the corner around St. Mark’s field. (For drop-off details, click here.)
Parade watchers will include the Scarecrows lined up in front of the Community House through 2:00 pm.
Action on the field will get busy around 10:30 am – 2:30 pm with free entertainment:
- Inflatable Obstacle Course
- Moonwalk (provided by Middlesex Savings Bank)
- Photo Booth provided by Coldwell Banker Real Estate
10:30 am – 1:00 pm is the free Knight of Columbus Soccer Challenge for 9-14 year olds. (Click here to learn more.)
Around 10:45 the ARHS Robotics Team will give hands on demonstrations of some of their robots in the Community House Parking Lot. (Click here for details from a past year’s post. Fee info may be different this year, but the basic idea is the same.)
At 11:00 am, the Fire Station holds its Open House until 2:00 pm.
(This is always with the warning that they could be called away for an emergency. But that hasn’t been a problem yet.)
11:30 am – 1:30 pm “Hit the Bus” will entertain with live music from the Gazebo
The pie eating contest is at noon at the Boy Scout Troop 92 booth.
The annual contest pits kids against each other to see who can be the piggiest eater. 
(It’s speed, not quantity, that counts.) Children try to be the first to finish a small Table Top pie without using their hands.
At 2:30 pm, Skyrise Children’s Theater’s all star child cast will perform a “Moon Cheese” for the public. That takes place in Pilgrim Church.
At 3:00 pm, Exhibitors close up shop.
What happens for pumpkin lighting if it rains-when would it be cancelled?
At this point, the Rotary club is still planning on holding the event. They are hoping that it won’t be raining is heavily tonight, but there is no news of them planning to cancel.