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Winners of 2025 Historical Preservation Awards Announced at Event Hosted by Gore Place

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The winners of the 2025 Historical Preservation Award. (Contributed Photo)

The following announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

The Watertown Historical Commission announced its 2025 Historical Preservation Awards at aceremony on June 5, 2025 attended by over 75 people. “Watertown has a rich history and it takes work to preserve it,” Commission Chair Elise Loukas said. ‘These awards celebrate people and organizations who do the work and help us all in preserving the city’s history for future generations.”

The awards ceremony is held every two years to honor individuals, organizations and projects that have shown leadership in historic preservation in Watertown. This year’s ceremony was held at Gore Place’s Carriage House.

Around Town

First Watertown Swap Shop on Saturday — Free to Residents

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The following information was provided by the City of Watertown:

The Watertown Swap Shop is a free resource for our residents to share household items. As a volunteer-run sustainability initiative, we hope to encourage sharing and reuse, reduce consumption and waste, and connect neighbors across our community. Hours and Location

The Watertown Swap Shop will be open 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. the First Saturday of every month unless otherwise noted (weather depending) from April through October. The hours of operation will be dependent upon the availability of volunteers to oversee the program. Closed during the winter months. The 2025 dates are:

June 7 (First day open, taking donations only!) (Note, if there is lightening while the Swap Shop is scheduled to be open, it will close early for everyone’s safety.)

July 12 (Second Saturday of July)

August 2

September 6

October 4

The Swap Shop is located at the Watertown Recycle Center, 76 Stanley Ave.

Around Town

Watertown Student Selected as Member of National Society of High School Scholars

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The National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) announced Stefano A. Barresi from Watertown, MA, has been selected to become a member of the esteemed organization. The Society recognizes top scholars who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, scholarship, and community commitment. The announcement was made by NSHSS Co-founder and President James W. Lewis. “On behalf of NSHSS and our co-founder Claes Nobel, a member of the family that established the Nobel Prizes, I am honored to recognize the hard work, passion, and commitment that Stefano has demonstrated to achieve this exceptional level of academic excellence,” said Lewis. “Stefano is now a member of a unique community of scholars – a community that represents our very best hope for the future.”

Around Town

Watertown Arts Market Returns to Arsenal Park, Seeks Volunteers

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The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Arts Market:

The 2025 Watertown Arts Market will be held on August 9 from 12-5 p.m., and this year we’ll be back at the new and improved Arsenal Park! 

We love Arsenal Park for all the greenery and shade, but it has a much bigger footprint than Filippello, so we’ll definitely need a full team of volunteers to help us keep things running. We hope that you’ll join us, and spread the word to other interested people. 

In addition to donating your time to help create an awesome community event supporting the arts in Watertown, students can receive service hours toward the school requirements, and local businesses can qualify as event sponsors. Please feel free to reply to me with any questions about qualifying for either of these two options. We especially need assistance with setting up (9:30-11:30 a.m.) and breaking down (4:30-6:30 p.m.), so all willing hands are welcome during these time periods. Families who want to get involved can sign up for a 1 hour water wagon shift to help keep our artisans hydrated through the event. 

If you’re available to volunteer again this year, you can sign up here:

2025 WAM VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP

Around Town

See Photos from Watertown’s 2025 Pride Parade & Event

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The 2025 Watertown Pride Parade. (Photo by Natalie Nigito)

Watertown showed its pride on Sunday with the fourth annual Watertown Pride celebration. The day began with a parade from the temporary Watertown High School on Moxley Field, down Main Street to Saltonstall Park. Face painting at Watertown Pride 2025. (Photo by Natalie Nigito)

Entertainment was provided by DJ Zeneida Ramos and The Femmes.

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Watertown Celebrates Arshile Gorky’s Legacy with “Passage” Mural Reception

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The artist Brandon Gaia Marshall at work on the mural “Passage” in May 2025. Photo courtesy of the City of Watertown. The following announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

Watertown is proud to announce a special reception for “Passage,” a new mural honoring the profound legacy of renowned artist Arshile Gorky. The reception, co-hosted by Mount Auburn Cemetery, will take place on June 10, 2025, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Grove Street underpass on the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway. 100 Years of Arshile Gorky

The year 2025 marks a century since Arshile Gorky, born Vosdanig Adoian, departed Watertown for New York City.

Around Town

Historical Society of Watertown Offering Historic American Legion Artifacts to the Public

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The following announcement was provided by the Historical Society of Watertown:

Three or more decades ago, when American Legion Post 99 closed, the Historical Society of Watertown acquired a quantity of their documents and artifacts. It is a sad fact that small museums, such as ours, have limited space for proper storage and now that we are slowly cataloging our accumulated collection, it has become clear that while it is appropriate that we keep some of these items, we lack the room to house them all. The next step in cases like this is to offer the items to another appropriate party or organization. Last month, we donated a photo from 1930 to the Shutt Detachment, Marine Corp League, depicting the dedication of the WWI memorial stone out in front of their building at 215 Mt. Auburn St., which was occupied by the American Legion Post 99 at that time.