At the April 22 meeting, the Town of Southborough Tricentennial Committee discussed logistics for several planned 2027 events — a historic house tour, a community barbecue paired with a music festival and the parade — and reviewed early work on a proposed drone show.

Patty (committee member) reported that house-tour planning is among the most advanced event efforts. She said organizers expect “somewhere between 7 and 9” houses and described a self-guided model with a booklet that doubles as the ticket and map; the committee discussed staging houses so visitors begin at different numbered start points to avoid crowding. Patty said typical house-tour staffing includes two volunteers per house in shifts and that homeowners may limit access to certain areas.

Patty also reported outreach to Algonquin High School staff: she said she had been in contact with the school principal, Sean Bevan, and with teachers including Sarah Stein, and that guidance counselors and the DECA marketing program might supply volunteers. “We could utilize some of the high school kids who have community service requirements,” Patty said, adding she would include guidance counselors on follow-up emails.

On the community barbecue and music festival, committee members said two Trident teachers had expressed interest in collaborating on a musical component that could be combined with a barbecue. Members discussed auditions and all-ages programming to encourage broad participation. Jenny Martin and Michelle (committee member) were identified as continuing leads on community-barbecue and music-festival planning.

The committee reviewed the drone-show status and said Andrew (committee member) and Travis had been exploring options; members planned to do additional work with them when they are available. “We’ll have to do a brain drain on Andrew when he comes back,” one member said, describing the need for more details before committing to a drone program.

Parade planning continues with a smaller working group; a member reported a recent volunteer change left the parade team short of one person and said the group’s immediate core now consists of five people. The committee scheduled follow-up working-group meetings and asked staff to book meeting space for early May sessions.

Members emphasized volunteer needs across events: house-tour staffing, parade volunteers and volunteers to support the music festival and screenings. The committee set a target to have houses identified and ordered by the end of 2025 and said more detailed dates and public announcements will follow as homeowners and volunteers confirm participation.