At 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 3, two events were scheduled to open in Framingham at the same minute. On the Centre Common, the city's second annual Framingham FEST was scheduled to have 140 booths and no admission charge. On Clinton Street, Jack's Abby was scheduled to open an Oktoberfest big enough that the brewery planned to close the street for it. The city had named a rain date for FEST, and that date landed on top of the brewery's scheduled Sunday.
Same start time, different addresses
FEST was scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Common, at Edgell Road and Oak Street, and it was free. The city says more than 210 vendors expressed interest this year, against roughly 100 applicants for the first FEST in 2025. Organizers invited 140 booths and about a dozen food and beverage vendors, and Grace and Co. Sourdough is one of the names on the food list. The inaugural FEST drew more than 5,000 people to the Common, which is the baseline that makes 140 booths a real step up. The school mascot competition was scheduled to return, with more schools than last year.
The stage schedule the city circulated was set to start with the Framingham Blazers Jazz Band at 11:10 a.m. Mostly Petty, a Tom Petty tribute band that also plays other '80s and '90s rock, was scheduled to follow at 11:45. The Mass Capoeira Culture Center was scheduled to perform at 1:30 p.m.
Jack's Abby's 15th anniversary Oktoberfest was billed as its biggest yet. The brewery planned to close Clinton Street on Saturday and Sunday for live street bands, a beer garden, German-inspired food and the standard competitions. Those included a Stein Hoist, a Stein Race, a Pretzel Eating Competition and a costume contest. The four-day run was scheduled to open Thursday with a beer dinner and continue Friday with a cask tapping.
Saturday's street festival was scheduled to run 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday was scheduled to run 11 to 6 as a family and dog day, with a kids' area, a bouncy house and a dog costume contest. The announced admission started at $12.51, and kids were free. The announced beer list included Copper Legend, a 5.7% festbier, and Hell Less, a 3.0% helles sold only at the beer hall. It also included Fest of Both Worlds, a hoppy pilsner brewed in collaboration with Warsteiner of Germany.
The rain date was the real schedule
Put the two events side by side and the Sunday column was the one that mattered.
| Framingham FEST | Jack's Abby Oktoberfest | |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Oct. 3 | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Centre Common, free | 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Clinton Street festival, admission starts at $12.51 |
| Sunday, Oct. 4 | Rain date only, 1 to 5 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., family and dog day |
Jack's Abby's Sunday was on the calendar regardless. FEST's Sunday rain date was conditional on the city calling off Saturday. If the city had done so, FEST was scheduled for 1 to 5 p.m. against a brewery day scheduled until 6. Anyone planning to attend both would have had their Sunday plans hinge on a call made on Friday night or Saturday morning.
Weather had made this more than a technicality. Framingham District 2 reported on September 29 that the National Weather Service was forecasting a partly sunny Saturday with highs in the upper 60s. That forecast could have changed before Saturday, and the September 26 weekend showed how fast MetroWest calendars move when a nor'easter is in the picture. The city postponed the Nick Paganella Corner dedication from September 26 to October 10 ahead of that storm, and events in Sudbury, Marlborough, Franklin and Northborough were postponed, moved indoors or canceled.
There was a third stop for anyone planning an earlier start. The Wayside Inn Foundation had scheduled its free Apple Fest Family Day for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 72 Wayside Inn Road in Sudbury. It was scheduled to open an hour before FEST, and District 2 put the drive between the two at around 15 minutes.
The posted Saturday schedule, in sequence
The scheduled hours lined up in one useful way. FEST was due to end at 3 p.m., and the Clinton Street festival was scheduled until 9. That put the free daytime event first and the ticketed one second.
- 10 a.m.: Apple Fest at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, scheduled to run until 2 p.m.
- 11:10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.: The scheduled opening stretch at FEST, with the Blazers Jazz Band followed by Mostly Petty.
- 1:30 p.m.: Capoeira was scheduled for the FEST stage, with the booths and food vendors scheduled to remain open until 3.
- After 3 p.m.: Clinton Street, where the scheduled festival was due to continue until 9.
The city said the 2026 FEST parking map would go out through its own channels; I did not find it published when I checked. Last year's FEST used the lots at Plymouth Church and First Parish Church, plus Framingham State University's Salem End lot after noon. That was last year's pattern, not a confirmed 2026 arrangement.
At Jack's Abby, the brewery lists a large lot at 100 Clinton Street with entrances off Clark Street and Bishop Street. It also sits a short walk from the Framingham Station MBTA stop. With the brewery's schedule calling for Clinton Street to close on Saturday and Sunday, its event schedule was the place to confirm how to arrive.
The Common's next scheduled date
FEST was scheduled for the Common, with another date set one week later: Saturday, October 10 at 10 a.m., when the city is scheduled to dedicate Nick Paganella Corner. The dedication is rain or shine. The corner is the triangular parcel north of the Common along Edgell Road, in front of First Parish in Framingham and Plymouth Church. Those are the same two churches whose lots served as FEST parking in 2025.
The naming has moved through a clear sequence. The Framingham Veterans Council voted 6-0 in May to recommend naming the parcel for Paganella, a longtime veterans advocate and community leader. Mayor Charlie Sisitsky sent the request to the City Council in a June 22 letter. The Council approved it 10-0 on June 30. The original date of September 26 gave way to the nor'easter forecast.
Two days later, on Monday, October 12, the city holds its sixth annual Indigenous Peoples Day celebration from noon to 2 p.m. It is at a new location this year, on the Edwards Church campus at 39 Edwards Street.
The Common was scheduled to host FEST on October 3 and is scheduled to host the dedication on October 10. Clinton Street was scheduled to host the brewery's biggest weekend, and Edwards Street picks up October 12. The city's rain call on FEST was the first decision in that run of dates.
If you're weighing a move to the streets around the Centre Common or Clinton Street, Barber Real Estate can help you see them on an ordinary Tuesday as well as on a festival Saturday. Schedule a free consultation.
