5 Things To Do Around Tewksbury This Weekend: 9/11 Ceremony, Bambino League

Merrimack Valley Pavilion will present a free movie night on Friday, screening The Lego Movie. Families can pre-register and order pizzas.

This Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and as usual Tewksbury will recognize the date. A procession will leave from the Town Common at 8:25 and arrive at the Tewksbury 9/11 Memorial, on the grounds of the library, where speakers will include Larissa Gay, whose father was on Flight 11; Tewksbury Police Department chief Ryan Columbus; and Tewksbury Fire Department chief Joseph Kearns.

The complete program:

This weekend’s fair lineup features the Franklin County Fair, one of the state’s larger events. It opens Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Greenfield, Mass., about a two-hour drive. Tickets can be purchased online. If you go, stop by the roundhouse for handmade crafts, including quilts.

The Big E opens on Sept. 17.

Music and food lovers can stay local with Better Left Acoustic at Bobby & Jack’s Memphis Barbecue at 6:30 or The Setback at TJ Callahan’s, or head north to The Biergarten in Merrimack for the NH Bacon & Beer Festival 2021, which runs from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets were still available at press (post?) time.

Lovers of Greek food can visit Andover’s Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Church at 71 Chandler Rd. for the annual Greek Food Festival. The event runs Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. and features music, gyros, souvlaki, baklava and more.

Families can head up to the Salem Literary Festival: Children’s Day on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Salem Public Library, 370 Essex St.

This event features in-person literary fun for families with kids of all ages and children’s literature enthusiasts. Families can hear from these authors beginning at 10:30 a.m.:

Carrie Finison, author and illustrator of Dozens of Doughnuts
Mark Hoffmann, author and illustrator of Dirt Cheap
Jamie Michalak, author of Dakota Crumb: Tiny Treasure Hunter
Ashley Wolff, author and illustrator of How to Help a Pumpkin Grow
Keynote Author Tricia Elam Walker and illustrator Ekua Holmes, Dream Street

The full 2021 eight-week season for Bambino Baseball, which helps youth and young adult players with physical or mental challenges enjoy some team time outdoors, starts this Sunday at 11:30 a.m. at the East Street baseball fields. The league is seeking volunteers, and community service hours are available for students who help out. Learn more about this great program.

Also on Sunday, if you have yet to experience the SOWA Open Market, this looks like a good weekend to head down to the South End. SOWA offers a wide selection of local farms and food makers as well as 70+ artists in the Arts Market. And, food trucks and the beer garden are back.

Virtual Events:

Travel back in time to September 12, 1953 to attend the Newport, Rhode Island wedding of Jacqueline Bouvier and John F. Kennedy. This by-donation livestream history program will feature a historical overview of the day’s events through pictures, videos and commentary.

On Sunday at 3 p.m., travel virtually to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to see the beautiful paintings and drawings of Edouard Manet. Free. Register here.