Southborough tricentennial committee reports progress on events, fundraising and archives

Dawn Morris, chair of the Tricentennial Committee, updated the Select Board on planning for Southborough’s 300th anniversary in 2027, including fundraising, outreach and programming.

The committee has held 14 meetings to date and reviewed planning from more than 25 peer towns, Morris said. The group has formed five event subcommittees, drafted a tagline and logo, launched a web page and begun an archive of photos and documents to be digitized and returned to owners.

Morris said the committee has created Friends of Southborough 300, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to handle donations, sponsorships and fundraising. “We’ve established a fundraising subcommittee and have been meeting over the last five months,” she said. The committee reported selling more than 60 full-size commemorative bricks and 22 mini bricks; a single brick is $300. The committee said it expects to place its first production order in May and aims to sell 300 bricks over time, though installation is expected in 2027.

Morris told the board the town previously set aside $3,030,000 as seed money for the tricentennial; the committee said that state rules require the town to wait until within one year of the celebration, or six months prior, before drawing on that appropriation. In the meantime, the nonprofit will conduct private fundraising, sponsorship outreach and merchandise sales, Morris said.

Planned events include a drone show or fireworks, a grand parade, historical programming, a house tour, a time capsule, a family barbeque and a music festival. Morris said the committee is coordinating with the Parks & Recreation Department and other town departments, and is reaching out to neighboring Shrewsbury’s tricentennial committee to avoid scheduling conflicts.

The Select Board asked for periodic updates and endorsed the committee’s plan to report at least twice a year.

The Select Board did not take any formal vote on funding or approvals during the update.