Around Town

Watertown Launches Third Annual Call for Submissions for Community Sculpture Walk

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2022-24 Community Sculpture Walk artists (left to right): James Payne, Linda Hoffman, Peter Dellert, and Joe Chirchirillo. The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Public Arts and Culture Committee:

The Watertown Public Arts and Culture Committee (PACC) is excited to announce the 2026-28 season of the Community Sculpture Walk. The Community Sculpture Walk exhibits outdoor sculptures to enhance the use of open space in Watertown, encourage public interaction with contemporary art, and create an annual exhibition opportunity for artists at all career stages working in a variety of mediums.

The Community Sculpture Walk follows the Community Path from the Thaxter Street parking lot behind the Watertown Free Public Library to Howard Street. There are eight sites along the path for sculptures and additional sites may be added as the path is extended. Each year, up to four sculptures will be selected to be on loan for two years, so that each year four new sculptures will be on view.

Business

Addgene Supports Wayside Multi with Back-to-School Backpack Donation

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Sophia Suárez-Friedman, Program Director at Wayside Multi-Service Center, with backpacks donated by Addgene. (Courtesy Photo)

The following piece was provided by the Wayside Multi Service Center:

As the new school year approaches, preparation can make all the difference — and thanks to Addgene, youth supported by Wayside Youth & Family Support Network’s Multi-Service Center (Wayside Multi) in Watertown will be starting the year well-equipped and ready to succeed. Addgene, partnering with TeamBonding, generously donated backpacks filled with school supplies to the Wayside Multi, which serves local youth and families. These backpacks were distributed to children and teens who will benefit from having the tools they need to start the school year with confidence. Some backpacks were distributed to students through Project Literacy, a program offering free English classes through the Watertown Free Public Library, where they were met with enthusiasm.

Around Town

See Where Watertown Walks Series Will Go in August

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The City of Watertown’s Live Well Watertown hosts walks in town each Thursday, each with a theme or focus. See where the August walks will be in the announcement from Live Well Watertown. WEEKLY WATERTOWN WALKS

Thursdays 10:00 AM – 11:00 AMMeetup location: Please note location in each description below

August Walk Schedule

August 7 ~ City Walk ~ Walker PondMeetup:  Gore Estate / Parking Lot 5Join us to explore the existing paths at Walker Pond and connections to Gore Place. Learn more about the upcoming community meetings to help design the future Walker Pond Park.  More information can be found on the city project page here – Walker Pond. This walk includes some uneven terrain / surfaces.  Supportive walking/hiking shoes would be best for this walk. August 14 ~ Wellness Walk / Walk with a DocJoin us to hear a short presentation on the importance of vaccines at different life stages followed by a walk along the Charles River pathway.

Around Town

Watertown Group Remembering 80th Anniversary of Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki

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Candleboats float on the Charles River in Watertown in memory of those who died in the nuclear bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The following announcement was provided by Watertown Citizens for Peace Justice and the Environment:

Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the 80th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombing

Saturday, August 9, 2025

7:00 PM – Silent Vigil, Music, Testimonials – Watertown Square

8:15 PM – Floating of the Candle Boats – MDCR Dock

Speakers: Owen Madus, Massachusetts Peace Action and Sensei Morris Sullivan, Buddhist Monk

Musicians: Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin and Suzy Giroux

NEVER AGAIN – NO MORE HIROSHIMA and NAGASAKI! NO MORE VICTIMS – ABOLISH NUCLEAR WEAPONS! “Why do we stand in silence and float candle boats”? *To remember the more than 210,000 killed, and the many more injured, by the U.S. nuclear attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 in 1945.

Around Town

Celebrate National Farmers Market Week in Watertown on Aug. 6

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The Watertown Farmers Market will have a raffle, a scavenger hunt, food samples from a local restaurant and more during National Farmers Market Week. See more in the announcement from Live Well Watertown below. Come Celebrate National Farmers Market Week at the Watertown Farmers Market! Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2:30 – 6:30 p.m. This annual celebration highlights the vital role farmers markets play in the local food system as well as the value they bring to their communities.

Around Town

Watertown Unveils Self-Guided Arshile Gorky Tour, Includes New Mural & Artists Former Home

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Artist Brandon Marshall and his high school assistants, Charlotte and Isabelle, at the Opening Reception for the mural “Passage” on June 10, 2025. (Courtesy of the City of Watertown)

The following announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

Watertown is thrilled to announce the successful reception for “Passage,” the vibrant new mural honoring the profound legacy of renowned artist Arshile Gorky. The event, held on June 10th at the Grove Street underpass, was a wonderful celebration of art, community, and history. Inspired by Gorky’s dynamic palette and flowing forms, the “Passage” mural by Brandon Gaia Marshall is a powerful visual tribute to Gorky’s life and work, and to the resilience of those impacted by the Armenian Genocide. The mural serves as a poignant reminder of displacement and trauma, expressed through a shared language of color, abstract shapes, and representational imagery.

Letters

LETTER: Watertown Fire Department is Understaffed and at Risk

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In light of the recent tragedy in Fall River — where limited staffing hindered rescue efforts at an assisted living facility — it’s time to look critically at our own fire protection in Watertown. Watertown is dangerously understaffed, falling below national safety standards. According to NFPA 1710, fire apparatus should be staffed with a minimum of 4 firefighters. In April of this year, at a budget and fiscal oversight committee meeting, Councilor Piccirilli stated, “I’ve been a member of the NFPA for over 30 years and I really believe in this stuff and it’s a good way to run an organization” He also stated that “we should be meeting, at a minimum, the published national standards”

In Watertown:

• Engines operate with only 3, 1 officer, and 2 firefighters• Ladder trucks often run with just 2• Ladder 2, which covers the Eastside, a dense and growing part of town, regularly runs with 2 firefighters and no officer

Prior to the addition of a second ambulance, approved for fiscal year 2026, staffing has not increased since 2008:

• 2007: Minimum staffing dropped to 18• 2008: Cut again to just 17 firefighters per shift, where it remains today• From fiscal years 2023–2026, multiple staffing requests were submitted — all denied

Meanwhile, the city is growing rapidly, with more complex emergencies, more residents to protect, and an increasing call volume. High-Risk & High-Density Structures:

• Charles River Towers: 192 residential units in a high-rise• Arsenal Yards: 400,000+ sq.

Sports

Watertown Summer Basketball League Playoffs Start Wednesday, Cookout Thursday

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Donohue’s Kaos Club and New Day faced off for the 2023 Papas Elite Finals. (Photo by Natalie Nigito Photography)

Check out high quality basketball outside under the lights at Saltonstall Park when the Watertown Summer Basketball League playoffs begin this week. The teams are made up of current and former college players, and Thursday night there will be a cookout. The following information was provided by the Watertown Recreation Department:

The regular season has come to a close and the playoffs will open on Wednesday with a single elimination first round. New Day has claimed the top seed with an 11-4 record and earned a first-round bye along.