By Justin Roshak, Contributing Writer
HUDSON – Plans for the Hudson Department of Recreation’s annual RECtober Fest continued to take shape two weeks ahead of the event as officials spoke with Select Board members at a Sept. 13 meeting.
The Select Board offered their support for the event, also voting to grant a twelve-hour entertainment license to run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2.
The Select Board further approved a one-day beer and wine license for the event, good from noon to 8 p.m. on Oct. 2.
“Good luck,” Select Board Chair Scott Duplisea told Director of Recreation Steven Santos. “Hope you have good weather.”
As Santos and his team secured permits, Santos noted that some festival plans were still under discussion.
“We’re trying to mimic what we did in 2019,” he said. “But we’re still trying to figure out how many of our vendors will be available.”
Hudson has long held a town celebration around this time of year. For some time, it dubbed that festival “Pumpkin Fest.” In 2019, celebrating the 22nd annual festival, though, organizers renamed the event “RECtober Fest.”
Festivities also moved from the Morgan Bowl to the Riverside Park Baseball Field that year due to resurfacing work being done on the Morgan Bowl track.
Though it went forward, the event further shifted to daytime hours due to the then pressing threat of the mosquito-borne illness, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).
The COVID-19 pandemic subsequently forced the event’s cancellation in 2020.