Above: The annual end-of-summer festival includes a slew of free family-friendly activities. (top 2 rows of photos by Beth Melo and family, bottom from flyer and edited from pic on vendor Crystal Entertainment’s website)
Southborough Recreation’s “Summer Nights” festival takes place tomorrow night. I’m rounding up all the details about the fun, the parking, and other logistics.
A warning for residents with skittish dogs — make sure they’re well secured. As always, the night will be capped off with bangin’ fireworks.
All the details below are the planned activities. Unfortunately, the forecast chances of showers could dampen some of the activities.
Schedule
Festivities & Food sales are set to open at 5:00 pm tomorrow, Saturday, August 23rd. Parking on-site opens at 4:30 pm. (Plan ahead, since parking at Neary School will be limited this year. Scroll down for parking details.)
Live music will begin at 6:00 pm. The festivities run until dark, ending with the fireworks show to shoot off around dusk (soon after 8:00 pm)
Event Map
Rec is encouraging families to come up with a plan for where to meet if parents and kids get separated. (You can use Recreation’s tent, where there will be staff to help. But there are plenty of easily spotted landmarks to choose from.) The map (right) for the campus layout right is from 2023, but things should be pretty much the same.
Fun for all Ages
The free family-friendly fun has evolved over the years. But this year is expected to be very similar to recent summers — except for this year’s big new addition, a trackless train. (See an example pic from the vendor’s website, right.)
In the Kids Zone, families can again enjoy inflatables (including an obstacle course), a photo booth, face painting, and other free kid-friendly entertainment.
Booths for groups promoting themselves will offer giveaways and/or free fun (like Southborough Youth Basketball’s “pop-a-shot” mini hoops game and Middlesex Savings Bank’s twisted balloon creations). And on the tennis courts, kids can take a turn trying the ARHS Robotics team’s devices. (That may change based on the potential rain.)
Vendor booths will also include the usual vendor selling light up toys, etc.
For teens and adults, the other entertainment is the food and music.
The event won’t be fully rocking until 6:00 pm when the band hits the stage. This year, the band Below Deck has Southborough Rec enthusing about the Nautical Vibes they’re feeling:
Join us in our first themed event!
We are heading out to sea with local yacht rock band, Below Deck, in full nautical attire. We want to see your blue stripes, sailor hats and boat shoes as we dance and sing the night away featuring all of your favorite yacht rock tunes.
The band promotes itself as playing:
Smooth grooves, sun-soaked harmonies, and the unmistakable sound of late-70s and early-80s AM gold—this is the world of Below Deck, the premier Yacht Rock tribute act delivering nostalgia with a fresh, high-energy twist.
You can check out a sample of their sound below:
You may want to bring your picnic blankets and/or chairs to enjoy dinner with the show. But there’s no need to pack a picnic, thanks to. . .
Food Trucks Galore
More than a dozen vendors will be parked/setup on the “food truck court” on the blacktop (near the playground):
PotatoPotato: Poutine, fries, tots- Cousins Maine Lobster: Lobster rolls, quesadillas, mac and cheese
- Birds Nest Italian Street Food: Meatball & chicken parm sliders, fried ravioli
- Anzios Brick Oven Pizza: Pizza
- Trolley Dogs: Gourmet hot dogs
- Easy Street Tacos: Tacos, nachos, quesadillas
- Mac Daddy: Gourmet Mac & Cheese with toppings
- Travelin’ Bones Barbecue: Barbecue, wings, and more
- Say Cheese: Gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches
- Sugarcane Hut: Fresh fruit juices and smoothies
- Trombetta’s Farm: Ice cream
- Uhlman’s Ice Cream: Ice cream
- Yummy Mummy Bakery: Brownies and cookies
Parking & Pickup
At 4:30 pm, parking will open at Neary School (59 Parkerville Road) and Trottier Middle School (via the Deerfoot Road entrance). Neary’s lot will fill up quicker this year (since some of the lot is reserved as a staging area for the school roof replacement project that is still in progress).
There is no street parking on Parkerville. But there is an overflow lot at 225 Turnpike Road (at the corner of Parkerville and Route 9, about a 10 minute walk).
If you are dropping off or picking up attendees, you should use the Lundblad Field turnoff on Parkerville Road. (See image right.)
Sponsors & More Pics
The event put on by Southborough Recreation is made possible through donations from: Friends of Southborough Recreation, St. Mark’s School, Middlesex Savings Bank, Eversource, Main Street Bank, and Concierge Physical Therapy.
Below are my pics of the fun from past years (taken by me and my kids):
