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by Katrina Margolis
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The town of Walpole has an immense amount of camaraderie and community spirit. The sheer number of people walking around wearing Walpole Raiders apparel on any given day demonstrates the unique sense of support and neighborliness in the town.
Walpole Day included a kick-off parade, vendors, live music, a kidz zone, and more.
On Saturday, May 13, the town celebrated all of this with its 10th Annual Walpole Day. The day was kicked off with a parade that began at the high school, continued down Common Street, went through the heart of Walpole on Main Street, and finished at Town Hall. The festivities then continued at Stone Field. Hosted and organized by the Walpole Recreation Department, every-thing from vendors, food, live music, and a “Kidz Zone’ were there for the enjoyment of the town.
This was Arielle Carney’s second year organizing Walpole Day. “We start in the fall, gathering sponsors, putting our sponsorship packet together, putting together ideas and brainstorming new elements, thinking about how we want this year’s event to unfold,” the Recreation Coordinator said. “We really gear up in January and go full force in planning, recruiting vendors, reaching out to local performers. We partner with School of Rock, who does a really great job booking youth acts from the area.” The event went on rain or shine, and this year the town really lucked out. Walpole Day went from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Later on in the evening, the pouring rain promptly began.
For the 10th year of Walpole Day the Recreation Department added roaming puppets, which were incredibly interative with the kids. Photos by Katrina Margolis
“Turnout has been great! We were lucky with the weather,” Carney confirmed. “I checked the weather a week out and then just obsessively check it every day leading up to it.”
This year, there were a few minor changes to the event to help it run more smoothly. “We opened the library parking lot for the food court this year, which was really helpful. In the past, the lines have gotten kind of crazy, so that helped with event flow a lot better,” Carney explained. For the 10th year, they added a small, but unique addition. “We have roaming puppets this year! This was a new addition. They looked like they jumped straight from the pages of a book,” she said. “They’re really interactive. I didn’t know that they spoke! They have these little voices and characters and bios that are associated with each character, so it’s been really cool to watch them interact with the kids.”
Thanks to the fortunate weather situation, and the dutiful planning on the Recreation Department, the 10th year of Walpole Day may have just been its most successful yet.
