Charles River Watershed Association to Host 2025 Herring Festival on Sunday, May 18 in Watertown (Press Release)
A free day of family fun with food trucks, indigenous speakers and dancing, community art, and more!
MEDIA ADVISORY: May 12, 2025
Contact: Stefan Geller, Senior Communications Manager
Phone: 781-572-9341
Email: sgeller@crwa.org
WATERTOWN, MA – Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) will host its 2025 Herring Festival this Sunday, May 18 at the Watertown Dam, a family-friendly event celebrating the annual migration of fish from the ocean into the Charles River.
The event is free to attend and will feature communal art making, food trucks, indigenous speakers and dancing, guided tours of the Watertown Dam, a live fishing demonstration and fun activities for all ages.
Each spring, the Charles River becomes a vital spawning ground for numerous fish species such as the Alewife, Blueback Herring, and American Shad. These fish and their annual migration hold cultural significance to the Massachusett, Wampanoag, and Nipmuc Nations – the past, present, and future caretakers of the Charles River and its watershed lands.
This is CRWA’s second annual Herring Festival and is part of the nonprofit’s 60th Anniversary Meet Your Watershed event series. Through the steadfast support of dedicated citizens in the watershed, CRWA has made great strides toward a healthy and resilient Charles River since its formation in 1965. Throughout 2025, CRWA is celebrating 60 years of progress through a series of events across the watershed.
WHAT: 2025 Herring Festival
WHO: Charles River Watershed Association
WHEN: Sunday, May 18, from 11 AM to 3 PM
WHERE: Watertown Dam – 64 Pleasant Street, Watertown, MA, 02472
(To find the Festival space, please navigate to Dealtry Memorial Pool Parking.)
REGISTER: CRWA.ORG/EVENTS
