Summer officially kicked off in Natick this week with the first big Natick Nights & Concert on the Common doubleheader of the season.





























More than you really want to know about Natick, Mass.
Summer officially kicked off in Natick this week with the first big Natick Nights & Concert on the Common doubleheader of the season.
A Natick Report reader called our attention to a missing Little Free Library at John J. Lane Park on Speen Street, concerned that vandals might have been up to no good.
We reached out to Natick Recreation & Parks, which quickly got back to us. “We are aware of this, it fell over and is in the process of being repaired,” was the reply.
That’s good news, as is the fact that there is no shortage of Little Free Libraries in town. We’ve collected photos and locations of many of them.
Please send tips, photos, ideas to natickreport@gmail.com
Our roundup of the latest Natick, Mass., business news:
Congrats to Cocotree Kids, a Natick-based nonprofit that supplies kids in need with underwear, has won a round of startup funding through a pitch contest spearheaded by HarborOne Bank in partnership with The Greg Hill Foundation, FMP Productions, and The Boston Globe.
Cocotree and another outfit called Cape Verdean Women United were selected from eight finalists to share $50K in funding. The prize also includes tens of thousands of dollars in services.
You can help Cocotree by hosting a drive, donating, or volunteering.
An outfit called Trevor Express seeks to gain the Natick Select Board’s approval on Wednesday, June. 29 to set up shop in town as a marijuana courier and delivery company. It won’t have a retail presence, but will partner with those that do—Bada Bloom and Revolutionary Clinics (got to give them credit for persistence after earlier efforts for a retail license in town were stymied).
Trevor Express has hosted a community outreach meeting and met with the police on site.
Natick’s Marijuana Establishment Request for Information team has recommended that the town consider entering into a Host Community Agreement with the firm.
Trevor would operate out of 211 Oak St./1 Tech Circle in Natick.
More officially, here’s what Trevor Express seeks for licenses:
1. Delivery Courier: This type of licensee is allowed to deliver marijuana products from a licensed marijuana retailer to customers. A delivery courier is not authorized to actually sell marijuana products to consumers—only to deliver from retailers, who make the sales themselves.
2. Delivery Operator: This type of licensee is authorized to purchase marijuana products wholesale, warehouse the products, label them (but not repackage them), sell them, and deliver them
Another outfit called Your Green Package made an earlier bid this year in Natick.
Natick still awaits the opening of its two approved adult-use recreational marijuana retailers, ReLeaf (Rte. 9 west at former Papa Gino’s) and Redi (Cloverleaf Mall).
Elgarico previously was CEO for McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield, Ore. He has also served as chief operating officer for several health facilities.
When we saw live musicians were scheduled to play on the Bacon Free Library lawn on Tuesday night, we thought, hey, we should walk over there, grab a picnic, and catch some tunes.
The picnic turned into takeout from Pizza Shop at South Natick, but we earned it by lugging our folding chairs to the shady spot amidst high 70’s temperatures.
Folk duo Hungrytown had just begun entertaining the crowd with their singing, and guitar/banjo/harmonica playing, and stories from the road—a road they’ve badly missed during the pandemic. After all, it’s the road where Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson meet the characters and see the places that inspire their music. They even talked about talking a stroll around “your village” before the show. Maybe the iconic South Natick dam might someday be immortalized in one of their songs?
Although most of the crowd wasn’t familiar with Hungrytown’s songs in a sing-a-long sort of way, the melodies seemed to have a magical effect, especially on the 5-and-under members who outnumbered adults at least two-to-one. Kids showed off their eating-while-running, break dancing, ax throwing (yes, a plastic ax!), and non-stop energy skills. Some big kids walked around carrying smaller kids, and others walked their moms and dads and grandparents ragged in rings around the library.
We clutched our salad and sandwich, kept our legs out of tripping lanes, and enjoyed both shows—the pre-bedtime kids and the once audience-starved musicians.
Please send tips, photos, ideas to natickreport@gmail.com