An Organizing Committee consisting of five residents from Ashland Hopkinton, and Upton, have started a grassroots organization independent of any government lead by a five member Organizing Committee including Tim Jones of Ashland and Mike Wechsler of Upton. They have set for themselves the goal of recruiting eight bands from each town for a total of sixteen bands. As of the writing of this article on July 23rd, they have eight bands and seven porches signed up. Jones and the Organizing Committee are aware that the neighboring town of Holliston did hold a Porchfest approximately eight years ago that was never repeated. They believe the small population of Holliston, similar to the size of Ashland or Hopkinton, may have contributed to the event not being sustainable. They hope that by combining the two towns and building a solid organization, they can make it sustainable to repeat annually.
According to Jones, “The towns of Ashland and Hopkinton have been incredibly helpful! Ashland’s Town Manager, Michael Herbert, is even generously giving his time to attend their first upcoming Organizing Committee Meeting. Ashland’s Economic Development Director, Beth Reynolds, has paved the way for us to apply to use Ashland’s Corner Spot for our Grand Finale from 6pm to 8pm which will feature the popular band “RoadDawgs.” Lastly, web designer, Kirk Israel, was extremely generous with his skills for little pay to help these smaller Metrowest communities that otherwise have been left out of the Porchfest phenomenon. Kirk Israel is the secret behind the websites of the largest Porchfests in Massachusetts.
