| Correspondent
CHARLTON — From an opening concert and fireworks display to the grand finale parade, Labor Day weekend offers lively family fun as Charlton closes Main Street and opens downtown to hundreds of activities during the its 126th Old Home Day celebration.
So pack your lawn chair, your running shoes, a hopeful champion frog or just your community spirit and head to the free hometown event with lots of family fun.
Old Home Day was established in 1897 as a social gathering of friends, neighbors and family at the end of summer, before the start of the fall harvest and the onset of winter.
Schedule: Old Home Day at Charlton
Today, it’s a lively community celebration that honors the past, the present and the people who make it possible.
It kicks off with an old-fashioned lawn party opening Saturday with food booths, a live concert by Tequila Bonfire and fireworks on the campus of Bay Path Regional Technical School.
The all-day Labor Day celebration begins at 7 a.m. with weigh-ins just before the green flag goes up in a kids’ soapbox derby race down Muggett Hill Road.
Hundreds of runners are expected to line up and hit a Town Common starting line for the 55th annual 5-mile race at 9 a.m. And for the youngest runners, ages 2 to 12, a fun run for children around the Town Common leaves at 11am
The Town Common will host dozens of booths offering food, crafts and games, while hours of live entertainment will be played on a stage located in front of the library.
The 42nd Annual Art Show, sponsored by the Charlton Cultural Council, will showcase works in a variety of formats by regional artists of all ages at the town hall from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Other perennial favorites include the Garden Club Flower Show at the Federated Church and a crowd-pleasing frog-jumping competition on The Common.
A children’s zone on the athletic fields behind the library will keep the little ones busy with bounce houses, pony rides, a pie eating contest, sack races and fishing derby.
At 2:00 p.m., city council officials will take center stage to announce and award the residents selected for the Citizen of the Year and community service awards.
The day closes with the Old House Day Parade led by Honorary Parade Brian Wolcott which steps down at 3:30 p.m.
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