On my walk over to Natick’s Oldtown Fall Fair held at Shaw Park (across from Bacon Free Library) a private family party was taking place, with kids enjoying a giant bouncy castle that had been trucked in earlier during the weekend. If only they had known that putting out a tarp with a pile of hay and some hidden items within may have entertained kids just as well, perhaps they would have gone that simpler route instead.

Such a hay pile was among the hugely popular old timey attractions at the Oldtown Fall Fair, organized to celebrate the town’s 375th birthday.

The event, put on by Eliot Church with support from Natick Center Cultural District, the Natick Historical Society, and more, attracted a large crowd of families and passersby to enjoy sticks and hoops, corn hole, juggling, and music.

Nothing said Oldtown, either, like the Millis Berfield Band’s rendition of Pinkfong’s “Baby Shark,” which it was playing as I showed up. Kids were delighted.

One attendee asked if I’ve been feeling a buzz in Natick of late. I don’t know about that, but there certainly was one at Shaw Park on Saturday.

 

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The Natick Cultural Council , which strives to promote excellence, education, and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretative sciences, has opened its application for fiscal year 2027 grants. The deadline is Oct. 15.

$15,400 in grant money is available, with a priority placed on Natick-based organizations and audiences.

Projects, performances, and activities may be conducted in-person or online.

Grants are typically awarded over the winter.

Read about last year’s grant award recipients.

Questions? Contact Ann A. Eggleston, Natick Cultural Council Chair, at natickculturalcouncil@gmail.com or 508-647-6400

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Loose balloons floated off into the clear sky overhead, and the smell of buttery popcorn was inescapable Saturday during the town’s 28th annual Natick Days community celebration.  

Families filled the town center on Sept. 19 to play games, eat food, jump in bouncy castles, and more. 

Over 130 local nonprofits and businesses from high school clubs to cultural organizations set up booths surrounding the Natick Common and lining Central Street. 

Choul Ngoal, a former Natick resident, said the event gave him the opportunity to connect with his community and bond with his two daughters. 

“It’s such a great experience to be here with many different faces,” Ngoal said. “Some are very familiar, some are not, but overall it just brings joy.” 

“It’s really fun to see all the different age kids and all their different booths for their school projects, for their school events,” said Nancy Marshall, who went with her daughter and 2-year-old grandson. “It’s fun for all ages.” 

Shresta Chakilam, 17, a senior at Natick High School, was at Natick Days to promote GrowWithGuidance, a nonprofit she founded two years ago to connect high school students with free college and career mentors. 

“Natick is such a powerful community with people who are just willing to support others,” Shresta said. ”I think that it’s amazing to hear about all the different organizations here and how we’re all just working to make the world a better place.”

For the Chakilams, Natick Days was a family affair. A few stalls down from GrowWithGuidance, Shresta’s younger sister, 13-year-old Ishitha, had a stand selling handmade accessories for her business, Pink Ribbon Jewelry. 

“It seemed like such a big event, and it would be so cool to actually have a stall here and actually sell here,” Ishitha said. 

Lauren Meurer, director of the Recreation and Parks department that organizes Natick Days, said the event was created as an opportunity for local nonprofits to fundraise on one big day at the town common, and it typically raises about $30,000 annually for participating nonprofits. 

“It’s the most Natick-centered day in town,” she said. 

Many of the nonprofit groups have been participating in Natick Days for its entire 28-year history, Meurer said. 
 

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The Natick Sons and Daughters of Italy come every year to sell hundreds of its famous Italian subs every year to raise money for scholarship funds that go to local students.

“People look for us,” said Adrienne Jones, a resident and volunteer with the Natick Sons and Daughters of Italy. “They come and go, ‘I need my subs, I need my subs.’”

“It just makes you feel like you’re part of a really vibrant community with a lot of diversity in it.”

This year was the first Natick Days for several organizations including the Natick Chinese Association. 

“I think it’s a good opportunity for us to showcase our nonprofit organization, so we can show the Natick residents we have the Natick Chinese Association,” said the group’s president Hillary Zhang. 

“Today we actually attracted quite a few Asian residents,” Zhang said. “They didn’t know our name before because previously it’s only in a local WeChat group.” 

Volunteers at the organization’s booth taught guests how to use a Chinese yo-yo, play pitch-pot, a game where players throw arrows into a pot, and make traditional paper crafts. 

Julie Wilson, 7, of Natick, learned how to cut out a butterfly design from red paper with the Chinese Association after she took a turn on a bouncy castle and got the chance to ring the bell in the First Congregational Church. 

“Good weather, friendly atmosphere, multiple tents of an array of different cultures,” Julie’s father James Wilson, said. “Seems like it’s going pretty smoothly.” 

This story is part of a partnership between the Natick Report and the Boston University Department of Journalism’s Newsroom program.