The city’s annual Natick Days festival, which celebrates the community and serves as a huge fundraiser for local nonprofits, will take place at the Natick Center on Saturday, Sept. 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (weather permitting: Sept. 8, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.) About 100 groups will participate in the festivities.

Depending on how you count, this could count as the 25th anniversary of the event, which began in 1998 but was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event features games, food, music and more on the Natick Common and surrounding streets. Thousands are expected to attend.

New this year will be a shuttle via the Natick Connector, in addition to a shuttle to the Natick High School parking lot, says Lauren Meurer of Rec & Parks. Stops on the Natick Connector include the Cole Center, West Hill Park, Cedar Gardens, Casey’s Diner and the Community Senior Center. “We hope this will help make the event accessible to people from all over town,” says Meurer.

The event is managed by Rec & Parks, with support from the Natick Center Cultural District, city agencies and sponsors.

Do you have great memories or anecdotes from Natick Days worth sharing? Let us know: [email protected]

Fun fact: Natick Days is called “Days” (plural), according to Deb Sayre, co-founder of the Farmers Market, because the high school used to have a football game every Friday night that was considered the kickoff to the event, and besides, Days sounds better than Day.

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