{"id":45337,"date":"2023-08-24T11:50:19","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T15:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelandmark.com\/?p=45337"},"modified":"2023-08-24T11:50:19","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T15:50:19","slug":"holden-days-returns-aug-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/2023\/08\/24\/holden-days-returns-aug-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Holden Days returns Aug. 26"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kristen B. Payson<\/em>
\nEditor<\/em><\/p>\n

HOLDEN \u2014 The annual Holden Days event returns to town Aug. 26, celebrating its 42nd year.<\/p>\n

Last year was the first after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, and Jennifer Stanovich, executive director of the Wachusett Area Chamber of Commerce, is expecting an even bigger turnout for this year’s event.<\/p>\n

“We have more sponsors than ever,” said Stanovich. “We’ve sold out in all areas, with more than 100 vendors.”<\/p>\n

That sell-out includes the Damon House Marketplace, which features local businesses and nonprofits.<\/p>\n

“We have all these businesses and sponsors that allow us to do this event each year,” she said. “That’s what keeps us going!”<\/p>\n

One question that is top-of-mind for some of the younger attendees: Will the Roaming Railroad return this year? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” she said. The mini train will be traveling its customary route around the Senior Center throughout the day.<\/p>\n

Activities are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in areas along Main Street.<\/p>\n

The opening parade starts at 9 a.m. from Pholicious, and travels to the center of town. Smiley Ball, the WooSox mascot, will be in the parade again this year, along with antique cars, local dance groups, kids’ groups, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year’s main event sponsor is Bay State Savings Bank, and their banner hangs proudly over Main Street.<\/span><\/p>\n

“This is a great, feel-good community event,” said Stanovich. “It really is an opportunity to bring the community together. We’d love to see a huge turnout this year.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Highlights of the day<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

She noted there is bandstand entertainment all day, with the duo Screen Door performing from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Decades by Dezyne, a perennial fan favorite, is returning and will perform at the main stage, along with Holden Back the ’60s.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reptile Shows of New England will be on hand in the Kids Corner from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as well. The exhibit allows up close and personal experience with a variety of reptiles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hank Stolz, the emcee for the day for many years, has contributed something new this year: WCRN is broadcasting live from the event all day. The WCRN booth will be right next to the Wachusett Area Chamber booth, near the Food Court. Stop by and check it out!<\/p>\n

Something new this year, food offerings have expanded to the Craft Corner, where the Jackson Effie Coffee Cabin will offer coffee and pastries, and the Kids Court, with the Cub Scout 46 Snack Shack<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Of course, the Food Court is not to be missed, with a Venezuelan food truck, Draught House Bar & Grill, Mexicali, Sweets & Java, Wong Dynasty, and more.<\/p>\n

“And who can resist the Holden Grange Shortcake Festival?” Stanovich said. “No matter what your taste, we have a great food court for breakfast and lunch. ”<\/p>\n

How to get around<\/strong><\/p>\n

Visitors are encouraged to park at Wachusett Regional High School or Dawson Elementary School. There is free WRTA shuttle service every 15 minutes, all day, from the schools to the center of town.<\/p>\n

Once in town, the trolley, sponsored each year by Holden Community Television, takes folks from venue to venue (and it’s free!).<\/p>\n

Remember, one lane of Main Street will be closed all day, so detours will be in place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kristen B. Payson Editor HOLDEN \u2014 The annual Holden Days event returns to town Aug. 26, celebrating its 42nd year. Last year was the first after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, and Jennifer Stanovich, executive director of the Wachusett Area Chamber of Commerce, is expecting an even bigger turnout for this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45340,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}