Around Town

Dogs Reported Off-Leash in City Parks, Could Cause Hazard to Users of Fields & Athletic Facilities

By |

City of WatertownThe Watertown Health Department reminds people that dogs are not allowed in City Parks except for designated dog park areas. The Watertown Health Department has received reports of loose pets in City parks, in violation of City rules. Dogs that relieve themselves outside the dedicated dog parks can create a hazard for people, said Watertown Health Director Larry Ramdin. “We have been observing several pets loose outside of our dog parks in the grassed areas in the parks reserved for sports,” Ramdin said. “Dogs defecating in those parks poses a secondary risk to children who use the parks for recreation.”

Around Town

New Pop-Up Food Vendor at This Week’s Watertown Farmers Market

By |

The Watertown Farmers Market will be at Saltonstall Park, next to City Hall (149 Main St.) on Wednesday, July 27 from 2:30 – 6:30 p.m. and features a new pop-up prepared food vendor along with the usual lineup. The Farmers Market sent out the following information:

Join the WFM, on Wednesday, to pick from a variety of summer ripened fruits and veggies, fresh meats, seafood, and specialty foods, along with fine arts and crafts from local artisans. Be sure to stop by our community and city guest tents to learn about local agencies, services, and resources.This week we have an exciting new prepared foods pop-up, Nagomi Bento. For the first time, the WFM will have authentic Japanese bento bowls available for purchase. Grab your reusable bags, take a look at our layout below, invite a friend, and come on by! What’s Growing? Our fabulous produce vendors will be bringing plenty of fresh summer goodies like heirloom tomatoes, plums, peaches, kale, cabbage, blueberries, yellow onions, garlic, cucumbers, and summer squash!

Around Town

YMCA Naming New Building at Summer Camp for Former Watertown Teacher

By |

West Suburban YMCAThe new Loch Lodge at the West Suburban YMCA’s Camp Chickami is nearing completion. The multipurpose building is named after former Watertown teacher Jim Lochiatto. Jim Lochiatto, or Mr. Loch, made an impact on many Watertown children as an art teacher and working at the YMCA’s Camp Chickami, and now he is being honored by having a new building at the Y’s summer camp named for him. Since the 1950s, the West Suburban YMCA has run summer camps at its property in Wayland. It became a special place for Lochiatto having spent many years there, first as a camper and later working there.

Around Town

Works of Contemporary Fiber Artist on Display at Watertown Gallery

By |

The following information was provided by Storefront Art Projects:

Adrienne Sloane is a contemporary fiber artist with a political focus. She finds the 3-D image to go with the metaphor through her deep exploration of sculptural knit structures. 

Her work has often addressed timely but universal issues while remaining mindful of the rich historical context of her medium. Broadening her artistic toolbox, Sloane’s current work incorporates fiber in mixed media work. In PeaceWork, Adrienne uses found puzzles and plastic soldiers, to create a limited edition chessboard in a custom tin box, like an old board game. It’s called Culture Wars and she makes them to order. 

She has reconstructed jigsaw pieces into an artwork called Color Line with a blood red knit trail running through white to black pieces. Missing Pieces is a puzzle piece pile up with red names of Black murder victims on top of a crooked puzzle of the Constitution. Her Mona Lisa and bucolic landscapes in puzzle pieces framed with knitting round out this summer show.

Around Town

Small Saves Learns a Life Lesson in the Youth-Parents Game

By |

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.”

American Library Association

Watertown Library Wins American Library Association Award

By |

Watertown LibraryThe staff of the Watertown Free Public Library was honored for their promotion of ‘Zine Week by the American Library Association. The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Library:

The American Library Association has named the Watertown Free Public Library (WFPL) as a winner of the 2022 John Cotton Dana Award for marketing and public relations excellence. Called “the most prestigious award of the American Library Association” the honor comes with a prize of $10,000. WFPL won the award for the “Copy and Resist!” marketing campaign promoting the Library’s first-ever Zine Fest, held on Oct. 2, 2021.

Around Town

Watertown Farmers Market’s Wants to Know What Prevents People from Shopping at Market

By |

The following information was provided by the Watertown Farmers Market:

The Watertown Farmers’ Market has created a survey to learn what barriers prevent people from using the market’s food assistance programs.

The market provides free food to SNAP eligible customers through its dollar-to-dollar match program, as well as access to the Healthy Incentive Program (HIP), which gives an instant rebate on produce purchased from any of our HIP vendors ($40 to $80 per month depending on household size). These benefits are exclusive to the farmers’ market, and significantly underutilized within the Watertown community, based on data from the state. Through ongoing outreach and education about these programs, the market hopes to reach more people who are unaware of these benefits and to educate them, as well as to implement changes based on information collected. Our goal is to make it easier for eligible customers to access free food from the market. For more information about the market’s food assistance programs, visit our website.