By Bonnie Adams, Managing Editor
Westborough – Plans are now being finalized for the 11th Annual Westborough Spring Festival, which will be held Friday, May 3, through Sunday, May 5.
The festival is hosted by the Rotary Club of Westborough, but Co-Chairs Carol Burtt Borglund and Betsy Moquin said it has become an event that “truly involves residents, organizations and businesses from all sectors of the town.”
The weekend will start Friday evening with “Tres de Mayo,” a Mexican wine, beer and tequila tasting event at Julio's Liquors Metro Station.
Saturday morning, the Westborough Civic Club will be holding a Fishing Challenge at Minuteman Park.
The day's other events will be held at the Bay State Commons. The Westborough High School (WHS) Student Council will once again host their popular Carnival, featuring games for kids, and a Food Court. The “roaming railroad,” which will take kids and their families for a ride around the perimeter of the festival area, will also be returning.
Thirty-two local businesses and 24 nonprofit groups will be part of a Discover Westborough/Expo. And 18 different restaurants will be participating in a Discover Westborough/Food Expo as well.
A special ceremony will also be held Saturday at 12:45 p.m., when the Bay State Green Committee formally dedicates an area near the park's flagpole and sitting wall. Kim Levesque, the group's chair, explained that the ceremony will honor the many generous donors who helped to make the area possible. Included in that list, she said, were the Westborough Civic Club, the company Terrascaping, and members of the three founding families of the former Bay State Abrasives, which was previously sited on the property.
“It will just be a short ceremony to thank all of the donors for their time and money to help make this area so special,” she said. “It's also a way to acknowledge the history and legacy of the property.”
One of the most popular events of the weekend is the Music Fest, which will be going on all day Saturday. Featured will be performances by Elwood Craze, Penguin Apocalypse, Luanne Crosby, Tom Potosnak, Still River, and the High Street Quintet.
The annual Rotary 5K Road Race will start at WHS Sunday, May 5, at 8:30 a.m. Kids will be able to participate in their own special “dash” around the WHS track before the main event starts.? Runners are encouraged to attend the Lions Club's Italian Dinner, which will be held Saturday night at WHS.
Sunday, the event “goes to the dogs,” or at least a portion of it, with a doggie dash, dog spa and amateur dog show all on the slate.
Other Sunday features include a Rotary “ABC” tent sale featuring assorted “treasures,” hot-air-balloon stationary rides (weather permitting), and bus tours of historic Westborough, courtesy of the Westborough Historical Society. Off-site, a car show will be held in the East Main Street parking lot.
The presenting sponsor is once again Roche Bros. Other sponsors include Avidia Bank (Title), Ball Financial Services Company, Elite Dental Care and St. Mary's Credit Union (Platinum), Westborough Tennis & Swim Club and Curry Printing (Major).
“There are so many other people and groups who have donated or are volunteering,” Borglund said. “The Rotary hosts this, but we couldn's do it without everyone's support. It's our largest fundraiser.? It allows us to every year be able to give back to the town.”
Moquin noted that the event is a great way for anyone interested in volunteering to do so.
“Families sometimes volunteer together,” she said. “We also get kids who need to fulfill volunteer requirements for school or other commitments.
“It really is such a great day that brings the community together,” she added. “It's what living in a small town is all about.”
For more information about the festival, go to www.westboroughrotary.org.