Northborough – Children scramble to gather candy at Northborough's Applefest parade. The parade is part of an annual weekend-long celebration that aims to bring community members together and to encourage town spirit, according to the event's planner, Michelle Gillespie. Vendors sold food on Blake Street, where local businesses set up booths to promote their goods and connect with the community. The event typically attracts over 4,000 attendees, according to Gillespie.
The male and female winners of the Applefest 5k Road Race (left) Chris Benestad of Northborough and Karen McGahie of Boylston are congratulated by Corridor Nine Area Chamber of Commerce Race Director Dave Jacobs. The race was presented by Corridor Nine, and sponsored by AstraZeneca, BJ's Wholesale Club and the Community Advocate.
Five thousand runners have participated in the annual race since it began 18 years ago. 500 runners entered this year's contest – the largest registration number in the history of the race.
Finishing in first place was Benestad, 34, with a time of 16:17 and the first-place woman finisher was McGahie, 49, with a time of 19:15.
For the last four years, Corridor Nine has invited Central Mass. high school cross country teams to compete in the race and awards trophies to the first-place boys and girls teams. Algonquin was the big winner this year with both the boys and girls teams taking home first-place trophies.
