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By Robby McKittrick
Hometown Weekly Reporter
On Saturday, September 29, thousands of families, friends, and kids visited Westwood High School to experience Westwood Day.
This is the 7th year that the Westwood Recreation Department has run the event, and it is always popular among the residents of Westwood. However, this year in particular boasted a huge turnout.
“This [year] is larger than it usually is,” said the head of the Westwood Recreation Department, Nicole Banks. “The great weather is bringing everybody out today. We probably estimate around 5,000 people will come through the event with all of the activities included.”
The event was absolutely packed with families. Parking close to the action was difficult during the middle of day, and there seemed to be an endless line of cars parked on the nearby side streets.
It was almost as if you were parking for a Patriots game at Gillette Stadium instead of a local town event.
The affair included 140 vendors overall, 16 food vendors, different games, inflatables, and many other activities. For example, there was a bounce house, a rock climbing wall, and an area for picking your favorite pumpkins.
“We get all of our town and school departments involved with it,” said Banks. “Our activities include…anything you could possibly want.
“The 140 vendors in the vendor village is the largest we have ever had,” Banks added. “Same with the food court. Same with the activities. It just keeps growing.”
In addition to Westwood Day, the town also runs other events during this weekend. On Friday night, Westwood hosted a home football game and fireworks. In addition, before the event on Saturday morning, the town held a 5K road race and a kids “fun-run.”
“We make a whole weekend out of it,” Banks explained.
Overall, Westwood Day is simply just a fun event that everyone in the Westwood community can enjoy.
“It’s great,” said local Westwood resident John Donahuy. Donahuy, who attended the event with his two younger children, said that this was his first Westwood Day, as he had scheduling conflicts in past years.
He was definitely impressed with the showing.
“It’s a nice event that the community can come out for, and there is a ton of support around here from all of the vendors,” said Donahuy. “They really make a nice environment for little kids, adults, and older folks.”
“I think it’s great for families and kids [to] get everybody out [during this] beautiful day,” said another Westwood resident, Debbie Reilly. Debbie and her husband, Steve, have come to the event for the last few years and typically come with their friends.
After a successful day, it appears that Westwood Day will be popular for years to come.
“It was wonderful,” said a Westwood resident as she was leaving the event. “There were so many great families. It was a great day.”
