The town celebrated itself in a big sweaty way on Saturday at Natick Days, cornholing, noshing, and showing off its red-and-blue from Natick Common on up to the fire station.

Ticket sales appeared to be brisk, with kids jostling for their chance to steer cars on a mini-speedway, show off their slapshots and throwing arms, and win fabulous edible prizes from cakes to candy. The annual community event raises thousands of dollars for lots of good causes, with non-profit and youth groups promoting their activities.

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Attendees snagged freebies from rubber wrist bracelets to Needham Bank hardhats to all variety of frisbees. The humidity took its toll on some of the giveaways: We went to grab some chocolate from a bowl at the same time as a teen, and we warned “Oh, it’s melted.” The teen replied: “It’s still chocolate,” and gobbled it down.

Nobody was going hungry at Natick Days, where food options abounded.

Natick High ski team members might have had the most enviable job of sitting beneath a cobbled-together dunk tank that actually involved water balloons being squeezed over their heads rather than a full-fledged dunking. Still, a chance to cool off.

Sports teams gave their all to raise funds for their causes and deliver fun to attendees. Endless balls of cotton candy tumbled from a machine hosted by the Natick High gymnastics team, while other sporty teens corralled younger kids taking part in various contests.

All that practice throwing things into small holes at Natick Days may be paying off in other ways. In stopping by the Keep Natick Beautiful tent, I heard from Pat Conaway that the party people who take to the town’s woods are more frequently tossing their bottles, etc., into receptacles.

Town employees made their pitches, too, introducing people to a town branding project using little pom-poms and affordable housing initiatives using legos.

Natick Days table promoting town branding initiative

We heard tell that the Select Board might be returning in ’24 with a more flashy display than their modest table in front of Town Hall. But they’ll never be able to compete with Public Works and those trucks…

Of course, there were the usual celebrity sightings at Natick Days.

We got a little nervous when we saw “Tickets” above Police Chief Hicks though…

All in all, Natick Days is a wholesome event, though we eagerly watched for examples of edginess. Despite signs urging attendees not to bring pets, other than service animals, we did notice a shirtless guy with a live snake snuggled around his neck who got plenty of double-takes from passersby. Not to say this wasn’t a service animal.

Natick Days snake — Cutting edge fashion: Snack necklaces

Then there were the kids who spied a tent sponsored by a realtor: “That’s my mom’s competition,” one blurted out. I feared/hoped shenanigans might ensue, but the kids merely joined in with others trying to win water bottles.

Now that’s the Natick Days spirit.

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