Around Town

Watertown Scout Brings Home District Pinewood Derby Trophy With a Car Designed All by Herself

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Elisa Ruby Peck and her proud dad, Jon, after Elisa won the District Pinewood Derby. By Jon Peck

When it comes to Scouting and Pinewood Derby Racing, the competition is fierce across the country and the rules are unwavering. Divided into divisions by age, each Scout is given an Official Grand Prix Pinewood Derby Kit with a block of wood, some wheels and an eye-watering amount of guidelines regarding weights and materials. With a level playing field, winning is based on engineering, creativity and a usually healthy dose of parental support. For 8-year-old Elisa Ruby Peck, a second grader at Hosmer Elementary and a proud member of Watertown’s Cub Scout Pack 30, the secret to beating the pack winners from 12 surrounding cities and towns was leaving the adults in the dust.

Entertainment

Come Join the Very First Creative Chats Conference

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Matt Hanna has hosted Creative Chats since 2025 to talk about creativity with a variety of guests from Watertown. On Thursday, June 4, from 12-4 p.m. Hanna will host the first Creative Chats Conference at the Mosesian Center for the Arts. See more information in the announcement below. Since January 2025, we’ve had over a dozen Creative Chats gatherings to get creative people face-to-face to mingle, hear a featured conversation on the topic of creativity and the creative life, and engage in the conversation themselves. Now it’s time to end the second season with something a little bigger!

Entertainment

COMIC: Small Saves Looks for a Little Help From His Friends

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James DeMarco grew up in Watertown and became a goaltender at age 5. It’s his life’s passion to stand between the pipes and keep the puck out of the net. Combining this with the love of cartooning Small Saves emerged in 1991 and took on a life of his own. “To play goal – then come home and draw Small Saves — is my ideal definition of a good day.”

Entertainment

Oud Masters John Berberian & Antranig Kzirian to Perform at the Armenian Museum of America

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John Berberian (right) and Antranig Kzirian will perform together at the Armenian Museum of America in Watertown for an evening of storytelling, Armenian folk traditions, and improvisation. The following announcement was provided by the Armenian Museum of America:

The Armenian Museum of America is pleased to present “Music in Color: Oudflections” on Thursday, June 11 at 7 p.m., an intimate and dynamic evening celebrating the rich traditions and contemporary evolution of Armenian music with two generations of oud players. This program is generously sponsored by Nancy R. Kolligian. 

This special duet performance brings together legendary oud virtuoso John Berberian and acclaimed contemporary musician Antranig Kzirian for a unique “East meets West” musical experience blending storytelling, classical compositions, Armenian folk traditions, improvisation, and modern interpretation. 

The oud is a fretless, pear-shaped string instrument that has been central to Middle Eastern and Armenian musical traditions for centuries. In Western Armenian music, the oud is held to be sacred due to its expressive, emotive sound and is often used to accompany traditional songs, dances, and community gatherings, helping preserve cultural memory across generations. Among Armenian-American communities, the oud remains an important symbol of heritage and identity, connecting diasporic families to Western Armenian culture through performances, celebrations, and the continuation of traditional music practices.

Around Town

Watertown’s Community Preservation Program is Turning 10 Years Old

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The City of Watertown provided the following information:

Join the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) for a special Annual Public Hearing to celebrate completed Community Preservation Act (CPA) projects and help us update the CPA Plan. When: July 16, 2026, at 7-8:45 p.m.

Where: Watertown Free Public Library, Watertown Savings Bank Room

Stay tuned for more details and visit watertown-ma.gov/cpc for information about Watertown’s Community Preservation Program and Community Preservation Committee. Questions: Contact Lanae Handy, Community Preservation Coordinator at lhandy@watertown-ma.gov

Around Town

Watertown’s Tipsy Tea Party 2026: “Drag me to the Disco!”

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The Tipsy Tea Party will be hosted by the City of Watertown’s Events Team at the Commander’s Mansion on Sunday, June 28, 2026 from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. See more details provided by the Events Team, below. Pride Month is around the corner, and that means the Tipsy Tea is back! 

Join the City Events Team and the Friends of the COA for a festive gathering featuring delicious brunch bites, a cash bar, and fabulous drag entertainment in celebration of Pride. This year’s theme is “Drag Me to the Disco!” 

Tickets are $40 and go on sale Friday, May 1, 2026. Please note this event is 21+. Visit our website to meet this year’s dazzling performers, and don’t forget to set a reminder — tickets go fast! The Commander’s Mansion is located at 440 Talcott Ave., Watertown.

Entertainment

Watertown Dancer Performing in Boston Ballet’s “The Sleeping Beauty”

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Simone Zupka

A Hosmer School student will be performing with in the final production of Boston Ballet’s 2025-26 season, “The Sleeping Beauty.” See more information provided by Boston Ballet, below. Simone Zupka of Watertown will perform in Boston Ballet’s production of Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty in the role of Fairy Page. Simone has been a student at Boston Ballet School for four years, and this marks her second production with Boston Ballet. Performances of Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty will take place at the Citizens Opera House in Boston, where audiences will experience this beloved classical masterpiece brought to life by Boston Ballet’s dancers.

Letters

LETTER: Experience at Jewish Voices Critique the Antisemitism Commission Event

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“Jewish Voices Critique the Antisemitism Commission” — That was the title of the meeting at the Watertown Library on May 21. It tells you things could have gotten ugly. Thanks to careful planning and skilled moderation, even though the event was tense, it mostly remained civil. The topic was urgent and divisive. In December, 2025, the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism released its policy recommendations.