Town Manager Weekly Update - July 16, 2026
Elaine Lazarus
Hopkinton Senior Center Honored with "Community Greening Award" by the New England Botanic Garden
Each year, the Worcester County Horticultural Society (WCHS), which owns and operates the New England Botanic Garden, honors horticulture professionals, Garden members, volunteers, community groups, and students who exemplify the Garden’s mission—to create experiences with plants that inspire people and improve the world by connecting people and plants in meaningful ways. The WCHS awards up to four Community Greening Awards annually. These awards recognize the work individuals, businesses, municipalities, and community organizations do to create beautiful, sustainable, usable green spaces within their neighborhoods.
The Hopkinton Senior Center Greenhouse and Garden Clubs were recognized on June 25, 2026 at the WCHS Annual Meeting at Tower Hill for outstanding efforts to provide fresh vegetables, herbs, and native plants to the community.
The Greenhouse group grows over 1,500 plants annually from seedlings. Some of these plants are sold at the Annual Friends of Hopkinton Seniors Plant Sale each May, while others are planted in the many garden beds around the Senior Center. Garden Club volunteers regularly maintain vegetable, herb, and tomato gardens in previously unused spaces around the center, turning them into thriving sources for fresh, healthy food for seniors. Native plants throughout the center grounds support pollinators, local wildlife and help with water management and soil erosion.
Produce from the gardens is harvested and integrated directly into the Senior Center nutrition program to create fresh soups, salads, and supplement other meals. Throughout the growing season, surplus vegetables are also distributed to local seniors for their use at home.
Funding from the plant sale supports the program for the following year and produce used in our nutrition program helps the senior center keep grocery costs and meal fees down for local seniors. This volunteer-run project directly helps local seniors reduce their personal grocery spending while ensuring consistent access to fresh, nutritious vegetables and herbs.
Congratulations!
Sunday, July 19 Concert on the Common - Hopkinton Community Summer Band - 5 PM
The Hopkinton Community Summer Band is performing on the Town Common this Sunday at 5:00 PM. Formed in 2005, the band consists of Hopkinton musicians ranging from 8th graders to retirees. Please consider attending to support the band!
Hype the Arts at the Danforth on Saturday, July 18 from 12-3 PM!
Join others for a FREE event in celebration of art! Participate in awesome make-and-take art activities, watch masterful artist demonstrations, enjoy a museum scavenger hunt and help create a collaborative art project. Meet and hear from artists who are represented in the Danforth’s Annual Juried Exhibition. Food trucks, music and more. Enjoy a vibrant afternoon at the Danforth Art Museum and School - all are welcome and admission is free! For updates on this year’s Hype the Arts, follow along on the Instagram page (@danforthartframingham) or check the website. The Danforth Museum is located at 14 Vernon Street in Framingham.
Tick Safety
Summer is peak tick season in Massachusetts. Whether you're hiking, working in the yard, or spending time outdoors, taking a few simple precautions can help reduce your risk of tick bites and tick-borne illnesses. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services offers the following safety tips to help protect yourself and your family:
- Use repellents that contain DEET (20-30%). Follow the product label and avoid use on infants unless directed.
- Stay on marked trails or designated paths and avoid walking through tall grass, brush, and wooded areas when possible.
- Wear long sleeves, long pants, and light-colored clothing so ticks are easier to spot. Tuck your pants into your socks if you're walking in wooded or grassy areas.
- Perform tick checks after spending time outdoors (ticks like to burrow into underarms, in and around ears, between legs, around the waist, and hair.)
- Check children and pets for ticks after outdoor activities.
- Place clothing in a hot dryer for at least 10 minutes (or longer if clothes are damp) to kill any ticks that may have come home with you.
If you find a tick attached to your skin, remove it promptly using fine-tipped tweezers. Grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible and pull upward with steady, even pressure. Do not twist, jerk, burn, or cover the tick with petroleum jelly or other substances.
According to the CDC, an estimated 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year. Early symptoms can include fever, headache, fatigue, muscle or joint aches, and a rash. If you develop symptoms after a tick bite, contact your health care provider promptly.
Wildfire Smoke Alert from the Mass. Department of Public Health
Smoke from Canadian wildfires is impacting air quality in Massachusetts. This creates hazy conditions and raises fine-particle pollution levels in some areas. Poor air quality can have significant adverse effects on sensitive groups. This includes children, older adults, pregnant people, and those with chronic medical conditions. It also affects people who are active outdoors. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health offers resources on wildfire smoke and air quality. Please check these resources. Share them with patients, residents, and community partners when needed.
Wildfire smoke safety tips:
- Monitor Air Quality at this website: AirNow.gov; follow the public health and air quality advisories.
- Limit outdoor activity and strenuous exercise when air quality is poor; move activities indoors when possible
- Keep indoor air cleaner by closing windows and doors, setting air conditioning systems to recirculate, and using high-efficiency (HEPA) air filters when available
- Avoid activities that increase indoor particle levels, including smoking, burning candles or incense, frying or broiling food, and using non-HEPA vacuums
- Follow medical guidance if at greater risk for asthma or other health concerns
- Keep medications available, and contact a health care provider with concerns
- Have a supply of N95 masks, learn when and how to use them, and practice having your child wear small N95 or surgical masks
- Seek immediate medical care for chest pain, chest tightness, severe shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing.
Wildfire smoke resources:
- Climate Fact Sheet: Wildfire Smoke – Provides information on health risks, populations at increased risk, and steps to reduce exposure during wildfire smoke events; available in 15 languages.
- Climate Fact Sheet: Poor Outdoor Air Quality – Provides information on health risks, populations at increased risk, and steps to monitor air quality and reduce exposure; available in 15 languages.
- Asthma Prevention and Control – Provides information on reducing asthma symptoms through effective care, environmental improvements, and disease management.
- AirNow – US Government resource that provides comprehensive air quality data for your local area as well as state, national, and global views. Use its interactive Fire and Smoke map and color-coded Air Quality Index (AQI) to track conditions and make informed health decisions during smoke events.
- Wildfires - Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units – Provides guidance on wildfire health risks and steps families, schools, and communities can take to protect children before, during, and after wildfire smoke events.
Reminder - Real Estate Taxes Due
Fiscal Year 2027 Q1 and Q2 Real Estate bills are out, and the due dates are August 3 and November 2.
Senior Center Closed on July 31
The Senior Center will be closed on July 31 due to work that requires the building’s water to be off that day.
Hopkinton Emergency Fund - Volunteer Treasurer Position
Help support neighbors in times of financial emergencies. The Hopkinton Emergency Fund is looking for a volunteer treasurer. The position maintains financial records, provides updates to the Emergency Fund Board, participates in review of requests, among other duties. Time commitment is less than 4 hours/month. Please contact Judith Weinthaler, Executive Director, at jwein...@gmail.com or 413-548-5469.
The private nonprofit Hopkinton Emergency Fund supports Hopkinton residents in times of financial emergencies such as impending eviction, medical bills, and car repairs. Visit the website for more information, at HopkintonEmergencyFund.Org
Free Outdoor Movies on the Common
Movies will begin at dusk, around 8:15 pm. Don’t forget your blankets, lawn chairs, and favorite snacks!
July 23 E.T.
August 6 The Wizard of Oz
Free Concerts on the Common - Sundays at 5:00 PM
July 19 - The Hopkinton Community Summer Band
July 26 - FM Collective
August 2 - Roy Scott Big Band
August 9 - Carolyn Rae and The Rumors
August 16 - Kymberlee O'Brien Music
August 23 - Knock on Wood
Farmers Market
The Farmers Market is on the Town Common every Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
account are public records unless qualified as an exemption under the
*Massachusetts Public Records Law
<http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/preidx.htm>*.