2020 MetroFest Still On, But Reimagined For Pandemic Era
FRAMINGHAM, MA — As fun as it would be, you just can't have 8,000 people gathered in one place right now.
The annual MetroFest festival typically takes place in mid-June, attracting thousands to Bowditch Field in Framingham for food, games, and entertainment. The 7th annual MetroFest is still happening this year, but it will be a lot different due to coronavirus pandemic, which has slowed but is still a threat in Massachusetts.
"Our hope is that this weekend will help kick off the recovery for our region," MetroWest Visitors Bureau Executive Director Erin Lynch said Wednesday. "We anticipate as the summer goes on more and more businesses will reopen, and we'll actually continue promoting and highlighting them as an extension of the spirit of MetroFest."
This weekend, organizers with the MetroWest Visitors Bureau are holding the festival online — although there will be an eating component that attendees can enjoy IRL.
Beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday, locals can log on to attend the free virtual festival. There will be booths to explore featuring local restaurants. Music will be provided by The Reminiscents, the Natick School of Rock, and Eguie Castrillo and His Orchestra, and headliner Norman Brown, a jazz guitarist who has played with artists ranging from Stevie Wonder to Boyz II Men.
MetroFest will also feature virtual booths set up by local businesses, who will hold classes and question-and-answer sessions. The Medway food truck Pangea Cuisines will be open for in-person takeout. Eastleigh Farm's ice cream bus will also be participating, as well as La Cantina Winery in Franklin, Lost Shoe Brewing in Marlborough, and Firefly's BBQ in Marlborough.
Lynch said the visitors' bureau considered postponing until later in the summer or calling off MetroFest completely. But the festival is largely about exposing local businesses, and that's something they desperately need coming out of the pandemic.
"As it became less and less likely that we'd be able to have thousands of people anytime in the near future, that's when we knew our options would be to either cancel or make it a virtual event," she said.
MetroFest is also one of the biggest annual boosters for the visitors' bureau, which is why they're especially grateful for the support of this year's sponsors, including Avidia Bank, MetroWest Medical Center, Middlesex Savings Bank, Wegmans, the Framingham Cultural Council, the Natick Center Cultural District, Downtown Framingham, Inc., the MetroWest Chamber, and the Franklin Cultural District.
Even if 8,000 people can't get together this year at Bowditch Field, MetroFest can still lift spirits after an especially tough spring, Lynch said.
"We feel like music, food and art are a great way to help the community celebrate the positive things that are still happening," she said.
To attend MetroWest 2020, sign up on the festival Eventbrite page.
This article originally appeared on the Framingham Patch
