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events
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COMMUNITY EVENTS
Spirit of Shrewsbury headed to Oak Middle School Sept. 25
By Laura Hayes Senior Community Reporter SHREWSBURY - After a virtual festival last year, a hybrid Spirit of Shrewsbury will be both in person and virtual this year.
This year also marks the festival’s 25th anniversary.
“I’m looking forward to offering something to our community to try and kick start them and get them back together and not have everybody be so fearful,” said President Maria Smith. “Our whole goal and focus is to offer something fun and light and uplifting through all that we’ve been through and give people a ray of sunshine.
“We’ll make it through this,” she continued. “We’re persevering.”
In-person festivities kick off on Friday, Sept. 24 with the Miss Shrewsbury Pageant at the First Congregational Church.
The main event, including the Town Expo and craft fair, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 25.
Smith said they were forced not to hold any live Spirit of Shrewsbury events last year, though they did hold a couple of events virtually.
Organizers labored over the question of whether they should move forward with the festival this year.
Organizers ultimately did proceed with planning Spirit of Shrewsbury with caution. This year, the festival will be a hybrid of normal festivities, Smith said, with some of the events in person and others being virtual.
“Not knowing whether it was going to be well-attended, I tried polling the community basically to see what their feeling was,” Smith said.
Some residents still weren’t comfortable being around other people due to new COVID-19 variants, despite the event being held outside. “Others are just dying to be able to safely attend events,” Smith said. Spirit of Shrewsbury will be held rain or shine.
Besides the expo and craft fair, scarecrows will be displayed on the Town Common. People will have a chance to eat at food trucks and get their faces painted. The Shrewsbury High School Robotics Team and Gymnastics Learning Center will do a demonstration.
Some of the traditional events, like the talent show, will be held virtually.
“It was well-received last year,” Smith said. “So, we are duplicating that effort this year by offering the talent show virtually.”
The parade will also be virtual.
“I must admit, I’m interested to see how that happens,” Smith said.
Organizers asked people to submit clips of them walking down the road as if they were walking in a parade.
This year, the Grand Marshal of the parade is Robert “Chief Joseph” Terkanian.
“I’m excited because he is absolutely the most deserving person ever to be honored as a grand marshal,” Smith said.
Smith has wanted to name him as grand marshal several times in the past.
“The only reason why he accepted this year, with much arm twisting, I must admit, is because there is no fanfare,” Smith said.
Noelle Sowden and Nithya Sudharshan posed for a photo at the Spirit of Shrewsbury Expo in 2019. The expo is back, this year, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 25. The Shrewsbury High School Robotics Team demonstrated some of their tech at the Spirit of Shrewsbury Expo in 2019.
PHOTOS/MELANIE PETRUCCI
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COMMUNITY EVENTS Animals and their humans flock to 23rd annual Pet Rock Festival in Grafton
By Ed Karvoski Jr. Contributing Writer GRAFTON - Lots of animals and their humans flocked to the grounds of Wyman-Gordon in North Grafton for the 23rd annual Pet Rock Festival on Sept. 12. Attendees also included music fans.
“Due to the pandemic that shut down the world in 2020, Pet Rock Fest was held as a virtual event,” a press release noted. “But like a stuffed animal compared to a real dog, nothing beats the real thing.” 2021 marked the festival’s fourth year in North Grafton after previously taking place in Shrewsbury, Worcester and Sturbridge. Once again, proceeds go to local animal charities.
The five-hour event balanced fun activities with education on animal issues. Representatives from numerous animal organizations provided information about their causes. Only vegetarian food was available.
An amateur dog show awarded medals, trophies and prizes for the best ears, ownerdog look-alike, “waggiest” tail, best vocalist and sweetest face. Judges of an adoptable pet parade unanimously chose the foster-based rescue No Mutts Left Behind to win $500.
On the field, a police search was demonstrated by Grafton’s Officer Joe Coggans and K-9 Zita. Also, the Southboroughbased Pups in the Air offered multiple Frisbee-fetching presentations.
Meanwhile, NBC-TV’s “The Voice” finalist Billy Gilman headlined on the music stage. Gilman is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest singer to reach #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Album charts.
Learn more about the Pet Rock Festival, its fundraising and animal welfare efforts at petrockfest.org and facebook. com/petrockfest. For more photos, visit communityadvocate. com.
Kaitlyn Gillis and Kelly Edmonton of the foster-based rescue No Mutts Left Behind guide participants in the adoptable pet parade. Britney Wilder accepts the Best Ears trophy on behalf of her dog Bashful during the amateur dog show.
A four-legged star of Pups in the Air named Limit catches a Frisbee at the Pet Rock Festival.
PHOTOS/ED KARVOSKI JR.
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