"It's nice that it is so walkable with the new sidewalk, and that it is in the center of town instead of off in a corner." That's how Sargent Memorial Library Director Peishan Bartley explained why Diwalifest is staying at the library, even after talk of moving it to the larger grounds at Flerra Meadows.
Boxborough has never had a classic New England town green with shops around it. Look at the October 2026 calendar, though, and one stretch of Massachusetts Avenue keeps showing up. The library, the UCC Boxborough lawn, the Middlesex Savings Bank plaza and Town Hall at 29 Middle Road host almost every large community event this month. The town's Economic Development Committee is now openly asking whether that stretch should become a real village center.
The Sidewalk Came First
The groundwork started more than twenty years ago. By 2005 the town had finished a sidewalk from Town Hall and the Community Center to Sargent Memorial Library, which was planned as the first phase of a longer walkway toward the Acton line.
The second phase took longer. A $575,000 MassWorks Infrastructure Grant was awarded in 2017 to extend the sidewalk from the library to Liberty Square Road. The work was finished four years later as part of a $1.7 million upgrade to Route 111, which also included culvert repairs under the state highway. With that done, a person could walk all the way from Town Hall to Liberty Square Road. When it opened, then–Select Board Chair Wes Fowlks said the sidewalk was "already seeing a lot of use."
Five years on, this month's calendar puts that sidewalk to work. Organizers park cars in one lot and send people on foot to another.
October Along Route 111, by Date
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 3, rain date Oct. 17 | Village for a Day, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Middlesex Bank Plaza, UCC lawn, Town Hall |
| Sun., Oct. 18, rain date Oct. 25 | Diwalifest, noon to 4:30 p.m. | Sargent Memorial Library |
| Saturdays through October | FreeBee Food Rescue Saturday tables | UCC Boxborough lawn |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Final FreeBee Community Market, with Halloween costume exchange | UCC Boxborough lawn |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Blanchard PTF Fall Fest, 4 to 6 p.m., low-sensory hour 3:30 to 4 | Listed by the Blanchard PTF |
Sources: Boxborough News and the Blanchard PTF events page.
One familiar spot is missing. The Flerra Meadows playground has been closed since September 1 for a new main play structure, a new swing set and permeable rubber safety mats that meet ADA requirements. The work is funded at up to $300,000, including contingency, under the May 2026 Annual Town Meeting vote. In mid-September the reopening was expected in early October, and the Flerra fields stayed open during the work.
Diwalifest Outgrew the Lawn and Stayed Put
Diwalifest is in its fifth year, and organizer Deepika Prakash is adding to it. New this year are a teen games corner on the library patio, 17 food vendors, and folk Indian music in place of the usual classical program. For the first time, a story reading will be held at The Silver Unicorn. The Diya lighting, the Rangoli contest and the performances are all back. Prakash said the festival is trying to reach "parts of the community that we haven't reached as well before," and that visitors come mostly from Boxborough, Acton and Littleton.
Bartley said there have been conversations about a bigger space such as Flerra, but Prakash "loves the cozy nature of the library space." Staying put means the festival depends on the rest of the corridor. The library doesn't have nearly enough parking, so Prakash arranged parking at Blanchard Memorial School, Middlesex Savings Bank, Town Hall and the UCC church. People can walk from any of those lots, or ride a shuttle. Prakash asks drivers to follow the Diwalifest parking signs and to go slowly, since many young pedestrians attend.
The Boxborough Fire Department covers emergency services, the Police Department handles traffic, and the DPW supplies trash cans. Prakash said her biggest lesson from year one was how much trash a large food festival produces. She also suggests bringing a lawn chair. "Most people sit on the grass, especially on the hill," she said, though some like a chair for the music and dance performances. Full details are on the Diwalifest website.
Saturday the 24th Fills Both Ends of the Stretch
On October 24, two events from two separate volunteer groups fall on the same Saturday.
The first is the season's last FreeBee Community Market on the UCC Boxborough lawn, with a Halloween costume exchange. FreeBee started after the 2021 fire at one of the Harvard Ridge Condominiums buildings, when neighbors collected household goods for the displaced residents. It later took on a broader goal of keeping food out of the waste stream, and it's now in its sixth year. Everything at its events is free. The September market gives a sense of the format. It had the Nashoba Valley Concert Band, a petting zoo with a miniature donkey, face painting sponsored by Middlesex Bank, and tables from the Boxborough Minutemen, the Boxborough Emergency Response Committee and the library. Smaller food-only "Food Rescue Saturday" tables continue on the same lawn every week through October.
The second is the Blanchard PTF's Fall Fest, from 4 to 6 p.m., with games, crafts and food trucks. A low-sensory half hour runs from 3:30 to 4. The PTF is collecting small toys for prizes in a blue bin on the Blanchard porch.
One of the newest businesses on Mass Ave plans to be at Fall Fest. Bloom Dance Center, formerly Bolton Dance Center, moved this summer to 1233 Mass Ave, a few minutes from its old location. Owner Monique Dorian said she walked into the plaza, asked about space, and heard back from the landlord when a unit opened up in June. The studio teaches ballet, tap, jazz, modern and creative movement. It doesn't enter dance competitions, and its adult classes have students from 18 into their 60s. Dorian plans a booth at Blanchard's Fall Fest. "The pizza guys next door have been great," she said of her new plaza neighbors.
Village for a Day Is a Rehearsal
The other October events happen to land on this stretch. Village for a Day is held there on purpose. The EDC scheduled its second annual event for October 3, with October 17 as a rain date. It runs across Middlesex Bank Plaza, the UCC Church lawn and Town Hall. Food comes from Oscar's Burritos, Craft Food Halls and Craft Indian Kitchen, with free treats from C'est La Fête! and the Boxboro Regency. New this year is a free 9-hole mini-golf course behind Town Hall, with each hole sponsored by a local business.
EDC Chair Abby Reip explained the purpose. The event is meant to help residents "envision and experience a walkable village center along Mass Ave at the intersections of Stow and Middle Roads," and "sidewalks and crosswalks will be drawn to encourage foot traffic to participating businesses."
Chalk crosswalks are a small detail, but there is planning work behind them. In spring 2024, Tighe & Bond completed a Village Center Feasibility Assessment for the town, paid for with a state community planning grant. Reip said Town Planner Alec Wade is applying for a grant to hire a consultant to draft a village center overlay or zoning district, with the EDC and Planning Board working on it together. So the October events double as a public test of an idea the town is starting to put into its zoning.
November Moves the Conversation to Town Hall
Once October ends, the same stretch hosts the decisions. Fall Town Meeting is Monday, November 16. The Select Board voted on about half the warrant on September 28. It held back several items for more information, including the proposed purchase of 276 Middle Road, and planned to vote on them October 14.
The Middle Road article fits the season. The Agricultural Commission wants voters to approve buying the 18.57-acre Richardson Family land for $1,475,000 for agricultural and conservation use, and it voted to seek $300,000 in Community Preservation Act funds toward the price. The land borders 93 acres of existing conservation and agricultural land. Ginny Richardson served as Town Clerk for almost four decades, and she and Clyde Richardson farmed the property and sold fruits, vegetables and Halloween pumpkins there.
The new fire station project moves forward in the same weeks. The town expects to file for Site Plan Approval on October 19, and the first of three planned Planning Board public hearings is set for November 18.
The library hosts one more gathering before the year ends. On Saturday, November 21, from 10 to 11 a.m., the Boxborough Conservation Trust will hold a George Krusen memorial presentation at Sargent Memorial Library. A walk at Beaver Brook Valley Preserve follows from 12:45 to 2:30 p.m., with November 28 as the rain date.
If you're following the village center idea, or wondering how this fall's planning votes could change Mass Ave over the next few years, Laura Rakauskas is glad to talk through what she's seeing in Boxborough. Let's Connect.
