Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/category/more/)
Dear Editor,
Wow! Watertown, you knocked Watertown Helps Out (WHO) out of the park! The Watertown Community Foundation has organized WHO for 12 years and this was the best one yet. Watertown residents, community partners, corporate sponsors, students, and city leaders came together in an extraordinary month of community service. Together, we logged more than 1,000 volunteer hours dedicated to 40 different projects directly supporting 20 nonprofit organizations across our city.
The effort to bring a food co-op to the Watertown area reached a major milestone recently, and has gained momentum in its effort to open a retail store. The Charles River Food Co-op surpassed the 1,000 member mark, which is a “big deal,” said Sam Garwin, president of the Co-op’s Board of Directors. “Two-thousand represents the number of people where, if we had that many people who were on a regular basis shoppers at our store, that would bode very well for the long-term success of the store,” she said. “So 1,000 means we’re halfway there, which is amazing.” A co-op is a business that is 100% owned by its co-op shareholders.
Twenty-five people came out to the Indivisible Progressive Watertown No Ice-Citizens Bank Protest in Watertown on March 7, 2026. (Photo by Joshua Touster)
The following announcement was provided by Indivisible Progressive Watertown:
Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has gone “too far” in its immigration crackdown and are making communities “less safe.” But how can they voice their concerns with ICE and the Trump administration? One action they can take is to go after the companies that are supporting and abetting the government’s aggressive immigration crackdown. One of these companies is Citizens Bank, a major financial institution with 1,000 branches in 15 states, most of them in the Eastern US. On Saturday, June 6, the De-ICE Citizens Bank Coalition will hold a National Day of Action to protest the billions of dollars of financial support the bank has provided to prison companies operating dozens of ICE immigration detention centers across the country.
The Watertown Boys & Girls Club will hold the 2026 Stephen P. Mugar Memorial Golf Tournament on Monday, Aug. 3. Registration is open for golfers and the club seeks sponsorships in an effort to raise up to $80,000 in matching funds. See more details in the information from the Club, below. Since its inaugural tournament in 1978, the Watertown Boys & Girls Club annual golf tournament has been the cornerstone of the Club’s fundraising calendar.
The Watertown Farmers Market returns on June 10, 2026. (Courtesy of Watertown Farmers Market)
The Watertown Farmers Market season begins this week, with the first market of 2026 taking place on Wednesday. See more information about what to expect, how to get there, and food asssistance programs in the announcement provided by the Watertown Farmers Market, below. We’re excited to kick off the 13th year of the Watertown Farmers’ Market in the newly renovated park space! Stop over next Wednesday, June 10, 2026, from 2:30-6:30 p.m. to celebrate all the market has to offer!Join us to welcome back familiar faces and welcome newcomers.
The Parade started the festivities for Watertown Pride 2026 on June 6. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Watertown Pride returned to Watertown Square for the fifth year on Saturday, June 6, 2026. A volunteer handed out Pride flags. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
A parade from Moxley Field to Saltonstall Park started the celebration. The Good Trouble Brass Band performed at the pavilion in Saltonstall Park.
Crews will be doing sidewalk work in multiple parts of Mt. Auburn Street this week, including in the business district in Coolidge Square. Businesses will remain open during the construction, some may be accessible only using rear entrances. See more details in the announcement from the City of Watertown, below. Concrete Removal
Concrete sidewalk panels will be removed along the eastbound side of Mount Auburn Street between Bigelow Ave.
The following announcement was provided by the organizers of the Town Wide Yard Sale:
Join us for the 2026 Town Wide Yard Sale on Saturday, June 13th and Sunday June 14th! For one fee of $10, you can schedule your yard sale on Saturday, June 13th, Sunday, June 14th, or both days! We’ll do the advertising, provide a list of addresses to buyers and make it a community event for all to enjoy!!!
Click the links below to see our informative flyer or to access our registration form. 2026 Town Wide Yard Sale Flyer – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dDjupcOobBSkEm_StNcdeaDmU1lTzG2a/view?usp=sharing
2026 Town Wide Yard Sale Registration Form – https://forms.gle/aPfo7L9x5JpHjDiT8
*Registration by Monday, June 8th, is required to participate as a seller. There is a $10 fee which allows you to participate in both days or either date.
*Participation as a shopper does not require registration or payment.
The following announcement was provided by the Pigsgusset Initiative:
How much do we truly know about the ground beneath our feet and those who lived here for thousands of years? Before it was Watertown, this place was known as Pigsgusset — “the meadow at the widening of the river.”
Community members are invited to go behind the scenes of the groundbreaking new public history tool, “Pigsgusset and Watertown: What You Might Not Know About the original Peoples and the Founding of Watertown” on Wednesday, June 17th from 7-8:15 p.m. at the Watertown Free Public Library. Members of the Pigsgusset Initiative, a working group of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment, will host a panel that will describe the creation of an online StoryMap and will preview the soon-to-be released history tool. Mishy Lesser, co-founder of the Pigsgusset Initiative and Learning Director of Upstander Project, will facilitate the panel. She will be joined by Marilynne K. Roach, President of the Historical Society of Watertown, and Jennifer Wolfrum, coordinator of the Pigsgusset Initiative. Together they will share their experience working together over the past three years to bring this history project to life. Participants will be able to preview the most recent version of the StoryMap and there will be time for questions and discussion following the presentation. The Pigsgusset Initiative is dedicated to healing and justice through the un-erasure of Indigenous peoples from the place now called Watertown.
