features 

(1-Oct-26) For many people, October means apples and pumpkins, but in Boxborough it also means that Diwalifest is coming. This is the fifth year of the annual celebration, which will be held on Sunday, October 18, from noon to 4:30 p.m. at the Sargent Memorial Library.  The rain date is October 25, but organizer Deepika Prakash is manifesting great weather for October 18.

“This is our fifth year, and as usual we will have food from local vendors, music, dancing, and a full day of activities…plus a few new things,” says Prakash. The traditional events will happen as expected, such as the Diya lighting, the Rangoli contest, and the incredible performances.  

But this year, the festival will also include a games corner for teens (on the library patio area), 17 food vendors, and folk Indian music instead of the classical music that is normally featured.  “This is a community celebration,” says Prakash, “and we want to reach out to some parts of the community that we haven’t reached as well before.”  

This year’s celebration will also include a story reading at The Silver Unicorn—a festival first.

Prakash notes that the celebration has always been all-inclusive.  The festival features many Indian cultural items, of course, thanks to the support of cultural programmer Arpita Das Pathak of Littleton.  But there are many non-Indian aspects that also reflect the community festival of lights.  

Past events have featured a local rock band, a student photographer, and a local event planner.  Working with local businesses, especially ones that are just starting out, and including a variety of vendors and cuisines helps bring people together, explained Prakash. Visitors come from all around, especially Boxborough, Acton, and Littleton.  The recurring theme is community.

As usual, the celebration is supported by the Boxborough Fire Department for emergency services, the Boxborough Police Department for traffic control, and the Department of Public Works for such logistics as trash cans.  “Big lesson learned from year one—when you have a big crowd and a lot of food vendors, there is an enormous amount of trash” Prakash said.  

The celebration also depends heavily on volunteer support, but Prakash is happy to report there is no shortage of that.  “(Volunteers) have to empty all the trash cans and then clean up the grass area at the end of the day,” she explains.  “After the first year, I learned never to have confetti again!” 

The primary partner for Diwalifest is the Sargent Memorial Library, which provides the celebration space. Library Director Peishan Bartley beams about the celebration. “Deepika is incredible, and the celebration just keeps growing!  We have talked about looking for a larger space, such as Flerra Meadows,” says Bartley, “but Deepika loves the cozy nature of the library space. It’s nice that it is so walkable with the new sidewalk, and that it is in the center of town instead of off in a corner.”

Although there is not nearly enough parking at the library, Deepika has arranged for parking at Blanchard Memorial School, Middlesex Savings Bank, the Town Hall, and the UCC church.  Visitors can walk from any of these locations, but there will also be shuttle service.  “Look for the Diwalifest parking signs, but please drive carefully when you are parking—there are a lot of young pedestrians who attend,” Prakash advises.

“Come join the fun on October 18 and celebrate our multi-cultural community.  Bring your appetite, your family, your friends, and a lawn chair, if you want. Most people sit on the grass, especially on the hill, but during the music and dance performances some people like to have a lawn chair,” says Prakash.  “I’m fine with it—whatever it takes to make this a community celebration!” Full details are available on the Diwalifest website: https://www.diwalifest.net/home 

(1-OCT-26) Boxborough Human Services Director Kimberley Dee has announced her retirement; Dee’s last day working for the Town will be November 13, 2026. 

Dee started as Boxborough’s Council on Aging Coordinator in November 2020 and was promoted to Human Services Director two years ago. Boxborough News reached out to Dee with questions about her career and her retirement plans. Dee’s responses have been edited for length and clarity. 

Q: Please tell us about your career path. 

A: I graduated from Salem State College with a BS degree in Geography and a specialization in Travel & Tourism. I worked at several travel agencies, most notably for Crimson Travel in Harvard Square, where I was a training specialist and later a travel instructor in Nashua, NH. I worked a variety of part-time jobs when my children were young. I sold home interiors and gifts through home parties in the evenings as an independent contractor. Later, I kept the books for a small company, and then I worked for my church as a religious education coordinator. 

I began working with older adults when I was an administrative assistant for another Council on Aging about 20 years ago. Then I worked as an activity director at an assisted living for 12 years before I came here. 

(24-SEP-26) For a second year in a row, the Boxborough Economic Development Committee (EDC) is planning a “Village for a Day” event intended to promote local businesses and help the community imagine what a walkable town center in Boxborough could look like.

The event will return on Saturday, October 3rd (rain date October 17) from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will take place in multiple locations along Mass Ave, including Middlesex Bank Plaza, the UCC Church lawn, and Town Hall. 

The EDC has invited local businesses, artisans, and organizations to set up a booth at one of these three locations, and the public will be encouraged to walk along Mass Ave from one location to another. Food will be available for purchase from Oscar's Burritos, Craft Food Halls, and Craft Indian Kitchen, and there will be free treats from local caterer C’est La Fête! and the Boxboro Regency. There will also be live music and activities for kids.

“‘Village for a Day’ is an event that aims to engage with Boxborough residents, local businesses, and organizations to help them envision and experience a walkable village center along Mass Ave at the intersections of Stow and Middle Roads,” commented EDC Chair Abby Reip. “Sidewalks and crosswalks will be drawn to encourage foot traffic to participating businesses.” 

Photo Credit : LCTV

(17-SEP-26) In May of this year, the newly-established Boxborough chapter of the Weed Warriors hosted four “work parties” to remove invasive plants from Patch Hill Conservation Land. The “party” continues with three Fall “work parties,” all at Patch Hill beginning at 9 a.m., on Saturday, September 26, Tuesday, September 29, and Tuesday, October 6. 

The Boxborough’s Weed Warriors chapter is led by Boxborough’s Land Stewards Coordinator Dave Barnett and managed by regional land trust organization, Sudbury Valley Trustees (SVT). Barnett explained that the goal of the Weed Warrior program is “to have a unified force of trained volunteers to tackle invasive species management throughout the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord River (SuAsCo) Watershed.”

“While a lot of progress was made (in May), we still have much more work to do to get the invasives in this area ‘under control’” Barnett told Boxborough News. “While it is impossible to completely eliminate the invasive species, it is very likely that in this area of focus we can get ahead of them and then stay in control with long-term monitoring and continued volunteer work. Our goal is to prevent the continued spread of the invasives further into the Patch Hill woodland because of its significant ecological value.” 

(10-SEP-26) The Boxborough FreeBee community market is returning on September 12 from 10:30 a.m. to noon on the lawn of the UCC Boxborough at 30 Middle Road. Taking on a festive autumn “Harvest Fair” theme, this monthly full market event promises a wide variety of free, seasonal, community-centered activities for all.

Alongside the market's standard weekly offerings of fresh gleaned produce and bread, visitors can look forward to a lively atmosphere with fun for all ages. Highlights include a petting zoo, live music provided by the Nashoba Valley Concert band, a free bouncy house, and face painting sponsored by Middlesex Bank. 

Attendees can also explore creative treasures at the craft table, take part in activities hosted by the Discovery Museum, enjoy free cookies from the Boxborough church, and connect with local organizations sharing valuable community information. Everything is completely free to help neighbors gather, connect, and celebrate the season together.

FreeBee was born during the pandemic and in the aftermath of the Swanson Road apartment fire, when Boxborough residents organized to support displaced families. Volunteers learned  that most food pantries were closed on Saturday and excess food normally given to them (“gleaned”) was going to waste. Volunteers began rescuing surplus produce and meat from local supermarkets and sharing it on the lawn of the UCC Boxborough. By 2021, the effort had become the FreeBee market, guided by its simple motto: “Give what you can, take what you need.”

The “harvest” theme of Saturday’s market is a nod to the Harvest Fair once sponsored by the Boxborough Grange, which included agricultural exhibits and judging. 

In addition to the day's festivities, this event marks the kickoff for early donations of gently-used Halloween costumes. The final FreeBee community market on October 24 will feature a Halloween costume exchange. 

For those who cannot make it to the September 12 event, the FreeBee Market continues to offer smaller, food-only "Food Rescue Saturday" tables at the UCC Boxborough lawn every week through October.

(10-SEP-26) Do you enjoy reading Boxborough News each week? Have you considered joining the Boxborough News team? We’re looking to expand our team and seeking volunteers who can help with the following roles: website developer/designer, social media manager, community calendar editor, and photo editor.  

Over the past three years, Boxborough News has become a trusted resource for town news and information. Readers value our neutral, factual reporting on town issues, and our free weekly newsletter now reaches more than 800 subscribers.

To keep Boxborough News running, we rely on a small but dedicated team of volunteers. While we continue to need writers, we have also identified four specific non-writer volunteer roles:.

• Website developer/designer: we need technical assistance to upgrade our website 

• Social media manager: we need a point person for social media strategy

• Community calendar editor: we need someone to handle local announcements and events

• Photo editor: we need photography and photo organization 

Think you’re a good fit for any of these roles? Contact us at info@boxboroughnews.org. Consider donating your time and talents to Boxborough News! 

(10-SEP-26) The end of summer brings so many noticeable changes in the world around us and the world within us. We watch as the birds we have seen all summer begin to change their behavior and organize themselves into mixed flocks and start to migrate for warmer climates. We watch the summer flowers begin to fade and the fall flowers begin to bloom. Days get shorter and the light changes everything it bathes as the colors begin to change.

It is a perfect time to add a flow to your movement patterns and to sway with the changes that  are inevitably arriving.

Start standing up in Tadasana (Mountain pose) facing a chair. Feel the natural curves of your spinal column and remind yourself of the effort it takes to actively stand up tall. Resist gravity and its constant pull to shorten us over time. Breathe deeply and on the next exhalation, bend forward at the hips into a standing forward bend (Uttanasana). Place your hands on the chair seat even if you can easily reach lower. Keep your back straight with no rounding of your lower back. This is a change in how Yoga has been taught over the years but important due to osteopenia or osteoporosis diagnosis that many of us find ourselves facing. It is also an important change for all because we slouch and round our backs so frequently throughout our day, putting unnecessary pressures on the discs, that we do not want to continue that rounding in our Yoga practice. Yoga should be used to counter the wear and tear we accumulate in our normal life.

In your flat-backed Uttanasana, breathe deeply and work the legs straighter if you can do it without rounding. This is a fine line to travel and one that brings benefits to our comfort outside of our practice. From here, bend your knees and move to Chair Pose (Utkatasana) with your hands gently pressed against each other chest height. Hold here for a few breaths then stand up in Tadasana again.

This flow can be repeated 1-100 times a day and your breath will begin to flow with the body as you move. Exhale at any time your body is asked to transition from one pose into another.  Stay in each pose, Tadasana, Uttanasana or Utkatasana for as many full breath cycles you have time for, prolonging your exhalation as you move into the next pose in the flow before breathing normally again. 

The fluidity of the movements and the brainless flow to it once you get comfortable is remarkably beneficial to your sense of well-being physically, mentally and emotionally. 

(3-Sept-26) Are you interested in bringing cultural programming to the local community? The Acton-Boxborough Cultural Council (ABCC) is accepting grant applications until October 15. Grants support a range of programs in the arts and humanities throughout the year. Any person or entity residing in Massachusetts can apply for a grant from ABCC.  

Boxborough News asked Boxborough resident and ABCC Chair Ben Davies about the grant program and process. Davies told Boxborough News that the ABCC funds programs “that fall very broadly under the umbrella of arts and culture. This includes things like dance, music, and theater, but also things like art classes, lectures, installations, public art, and more….The most recent list of successful grantees (is) here: https://massculturalcouncil.org/local-council/acton-boxborough/.”

“After the application window closes (October 15), the (ABCC) meets regularly to review the grants in terms of multiple criteria such as benefit to the community, artistic excellence, and originality. We aim to fund successful grant requests in full wherever possible. Successful grantees are notified in early January,” Davies stated.

A grantee reception is typically held in early June at the Sargent Memorial Library. Davies told Boxborough News, “during the reception, we recognize the grantees who enrich our communities through their talents and efforts. Usually, we invite a few artists to perform previews during the reception… It's a lot of fun, and a great way to catch up with folks bringing arts to AB. All are welcome to attend!”

ABCC is one of 329 all-volunteer local cultural councils serving every municipality in Massachusetts. The state legislature appropriates funds annually to the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), which then allocates funds to local councils. Local councils use funding guidelines and priorities established by the MCC and may add local guidelines and priorities as well. “ABCC then distributes these funds to support performances and cultural activities in and around our towns,” Davies wrote.

Davies joined the ABCC in 2022, shortly after he moved to Boxborough, and he has chaired the committee since 2025. ”I joined the council because the local arts scene had a profound impact on me as a younger person growing up in New England, and I wanted to do something meaningful to support that scene here in AB. I would encourage anyone with any interest in putting on a show, giving a class, or using their creativity to make our towns even more beautiful and interesting places to live to consider applying for a grant. And we're always happy to answer any questions folks have!”

The ABCC currently consists of three members from Boxborough and four from Acton, but additional members are welcome; Boxborough places no limits on the number of council members. Davies told us that the committee is “always looking for more folks from either town…If you're interested in helping support arts programming in our communities, please submit an application at your local town hall, come to one of our meetings, or reach out to us at abccinformation@gmail.com.” 

The ABCC meets via Zoom on the first Tuesday of every month. Meetings are posted on the Town’s website and open to all.

(6-AUG-26) Lavanya (“Lala”) Selvaraj opened Two Friends Chocolates at 629 Massachusetts Ave in Boxborough in 2020 after starting the business in her Boxborough home in 2016. The business has evolved from making chocolates and hot cocoa to serving up hot and cold “drinking chocolate” as well as “sparkler” cold fruit drinks. Over the past few years, Selvaraj has hired several local teens. She loves teaching them and helping them understand what it takes to run a business, she explained, from making the product to packaging to customer service.

(6-AUG-26) The Town of Boxborough welcomed Lynda Cajka (pronounced Ch-eye-ka) as the new Principal Assessor in July 2026. The Principal Assessor “is responsible for determining the value of every real and personal property within the Town for the purpose of taxation.” 

Cajka comes to Boxborough with considerable experience in both the private and public sectors. She started her career in residential real estate sales, transitioning to appraising, eventually starting her own business. Cajka said she didn’t always aspire to be an assessor; she just “sort of stumbled into the field” when she was recruited by the town of Westford. After Westford, she joined Boxborough, but left during a turbulent time for the town. In retrospect, Cajka said she “wished she had never left.” Cajka is happy to be back in Boxborough working in a “stable, professional environment with supportive management.”

As the Principal Assessor, Cajka envisions doing more resident outreach. She plans to send out postcards to residents notifying them of upcoming inspections. She said “a property owner’s tax is based on the assessment, which is the full and fair cash value of the property.” Cajka recommends that residents view their property record cards, found on the Assessors page on the town website, every year and reach out to her office with any questions. She can be reached at 978-264-1700, extension 720, or by email at lcajka@boxborough-ma.gov. 

In addition to sending out postcards for inspections, Cajka recently developed a flyer that explains exemptions for seniors, veterans, and the blind. She plans to work with the Human Services Director and Community Services Coordinator to do a presentation on this topic in the near future.

When Cajka is not analyzing home sales, conducting inspections, administering abatements and exemptions, or preparing the annual recapitulation for the Department of Revenue, she and her husband can be found on a beach on the Cape; biking; traveling to Europe, the Caribbean, and South America; or gardening.  

As an avid gardener, Cajka installed a waterfall feature and a pond where three very large Koi produced 60 baby Koi, which attracted a number of bears. To protect the Koi, she installed an ultrasonic device as a deterrent. The system seems to be working without harming either the bears or the Koi. 

By Nate Kim and Eric Zhao

(23-JUL-26) The sounds of kids arriving by foot, by bike, and by car signaled a new week at Flerra Summer Playground, a half-day summer program held outdoors at Flerra Meadows in Boxborough during the month of July. 

In week three of four, with arguably the best weather yet, campers started their days with favorites like German Dodgeball, and then cooled off with arts and crafts under the tent or enjoyed a wide variety of board games. “Tie-Dye Tuesday” brought excitement as campers transformed their blank white shirts into colorful creations, while “Water Wednesday” helped campers beat the heat with the water slide on a sunny, picture-perfect summer day.

Behind the scenes, however, the program’s smooth, clockwork-like operation has come with new challenges this year. Flerra Summer Playground has faced budget constraints and changing enrollment numbers, which have impacted staffing.

Flerra Summer Playground director Brian Picca explained, “Two years ago, we had record-breaking numbers of registrants. We anticipated our number last year to reflect that same number, but [last year] we were down about 150 campers.” Due to the enrollment changes, the program had to reduce the number of paid staffers as well. 

“Overall, registration-wise we still aren’t at the number we’d like to be,” continued Picca, “so we may have to reduce staff again next year. But we’d prefer to increase the costs a little bit more just to help cover the costs of paying counselors, vendors and craft supplies.” 

In advance of this summer’s season, the town increased the cost of the Flerra program “to help offset increasing vendor and supplies costs.” 

Picca emphasized, “We don’t want to have to reduce the number of counselors[;] we value having the high schoolers working for us and giving back to them since they were campers themselves.” 

The increased scarcity of jobs has also led to a more selective evaluation of current counselors. Picca said, “We’re really looking at who’s doing a total job of keeping the kids safe, watching campers interact with other campers, performance overall to determine if we can hire back those same counselors and which 8th-graders get paying jobs next year.” 

Even with one of the tightest budgets in recent memory, Flerra Summer Playground remains a hit with Acton and Boxborough residents. 

“I think it’s going really great,” said Laura Spurling, another one of Flerra Summer Playground’s directors. “Kids seem really happy and parents have been giving lots of positive feedback about the program. Our last week is our big fun week with the water balloon fight and talent show. We still have openings, so if people still [want to] sign up, we’d definitely take more campers.” 

Flerra’s fourth and final week will run from July 27 to July 31. Registration is still open online at https://boxboroughma.myrec.com.

(23-JUL-26) For residents with a little extra free time this summer and an interest in learning about town history, there are two books that detail the history of Boxborough – one written back in 1891 and the second written in the 1980s. 

Late in the nineteenth century, a comprehensive history of Middlesex County was published by Samual Adams Drake, titled “History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts containing carefully prepared histories of every city and town in the county.” Encouraged by this work and by her friends, Lucie Caroline Hager felt “that a history of Boxborough printed in a small volume separately…would be favorably received” and set to work to write one. 

Lucie was born in Littleton and moved to Boxborough when she married in 1882. She was a school teacher, bookkeeper, and a writer of prose and poetry. “Boxborough: A New England Town and its People,” the product of her efforts, was published in 1891. 

As indicated by its title, the book is divided into two sections. The first half tells the history of the town for its roughly first 100 years. The second half presents biographical sketches of the prominent families who lived in town during that period. A biography of Lucie and a selection of her poems are included in the section on the Hager family.

Boxborough celebrated its bicentennial in 1983. As part of that commemoration, four residents, Janet Calhoun, Susan DeStefano, Katherine Talmadge, and Elizabeth West, spent 18 months working with others to create “Boxborough: A Portrait of a Town: 1783-1983”.  

As its introduction states, “Portrait” is a combination of thousands of pages of written records with hundreds of hours of oral interviews documenting the memories of people living in town.  This sprightly written, copiously illustrated volume is organized by topic rather than chronology, e.g., “Government,” “Schools,” “Library.”  

It brings to life Boxborough’s history as a small farming town up until the 1960’s, and documents the changes in Boxborough as it grew rapidly through the 1970s and early 1980s. There are multiple copies of each book at Boxborough’s Sargent Memorial Library. Copies can also be purchased at the Boxborough Museum or by emailing the Boxborough Historical Society at BoxboroughHistoricalSociety@gmail.com. 

(9-JUL-26) Boxborough's volunteer-powered FreeBee Market returns for its sixth season on Saturday, July 11, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. on the side lawn of UCC Boxborough, 30 Middle Road. What began as an emergency response to the challenges of 2020 and the fire on Swanson Road has grown into a joyful community tradition centered on food rescue, sustainability, and neighborly sharing.

FreeBee was born during the pandemic and in the aftermath of the Swanson Road apartment fire, when Boxborough residents organized to support displaced families. As volunteers worked to meet immediate needs, one group discovered another gap: most food pantries were closed on Saturday and excess food normally given to them (“gleaned”) was going to waste. Volunteers began rescuing surplus produce and meat from local supermarkets and sharing it on the lawn of the UCC Boxborough. By 2021, the effort had become the FreeBee Market, guided by its simple motto: "Give what you can, take what you need."

(9-JUL-26) In the days leading up to the Fourth of July weekend, Boxborough residents reported several black bear sightings on the eastern side of town. 

John Ehrlich of Davidson Road shared that a black bear visited his yard several times between June 30 and July 4. Most sightings were in the evening, roughly 7:30-9 p.m., with one visit around 8 a.m. “Looks youthful,” Ehrlich reported, “perhaps 1-2 years, solitary, no visible tags. Handsome critter.”

On Friday, July 3, Boxborough resident Susan Bak saw a bear cross Mass Ave (Route 111) while she was driving westbound around 4:30 p.m. “It was medium size,” she said. “It was just after Flamingo” [Market & Liquor] and before Sadler Lane. “He was running from my left [south] to right [north].”

“In that black bears have moved east, we must learn to live safely knowing they're around,” commented Boxborough Conservation Trust President Rita Gibes Grossman. “The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has a good resource on bears and we strongly recommend everyone read it: https://www.mass.gov/black-bears-in-massachusetts.”

The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife reminds all Massachusetts residents to remove bird feeders, secure garbage, protect pets, and use electric fencing for chickens and other livestock. And, if there is a bear in your yard, “wait for the bear to leave, then remove or secure food sources on your property.”

Grossman also suggests that Boxborough residents report any bear sightings to the Boxborough Police Department and to the “MassBears” research project at Amherst College at https://massbears.wordpress.amherst.edu/.

(9-JUL-26) Movement is necessary. Thinking is necessary. Coordinating these two together are essential for our physical and mental health well-being.   

Many of the inventions during my lifetime of working with people's bodies and studying mobility science have unintentional consequences that hurt us over time. Ask any of my students how much I railed against backup cameras in cars. Are they a safety measure, yes. Should we use them at times, yes, but for people who have let their usage become a habit and never turn around anymore to see out the back window of a car? Many have upper back immobility issues. All have lost the thoracic rotational ability.  Most have shoulder and neck pain that follows them daily. 

Another example we have all heard of is “tech neck.” Fifteen years ago it never existed, but now has a medical term associated with it. It is a deformative realignment of the neck vertebrate that resembles whip lash on an x-ray. It is caused from hours of looking down at a computer screen or our phones in our hands. Physical therapy and Yoga can help the associated pain, but if we don’t change the root cause, it continues to reemerge in our lives. 

All of the painful physical manifestations of our habits are reversible with conviction. Most can be prevented with knowledge and understanding. Anything that becomes a habit that we do without thinking is probably a red flag area for your body. Our movements should be mindful and intentional and varied. Look over your shoulder and twist to look for cars, move your computer screen higher and simply put the phone down. Do hand yoga exercises to stretch out overly shortened muscles or add mobility training to your day. 

Or better yet, simply write notes by hand. The brain lights up like a Christmas tree when you hold pen to paper and write, but the brain stays dark with no neurological connection when typing on a keyboard. We know our bodies are designed to move and our brains are designed to think. We have learned that not moving is tantamount to disease and discomfort in our life. Can you imagine how damaging using AI is to our brain? Things that make life “easier” are not designed with our overall health in mind. 

Humans are physical beings whose bodies can do amazing things. We need to use the  muscles and brain to coordinate neuroplasticity for a successful and pain-free aging process. That coordination keeps our brains young and flexible, but many of these inventions that are designed to make our lives easier are slowly taking away our physical and mental abilities as we age. Use of AI will accompany great losses in our brain health overall.