A palpable energy enlivened the town Common Thursday evening, May 1,  as dozens of people gathered for a May Day demonstration and filled the sidewalk with protest chants and clever signs, while passing cars blared their horns in solidarity.

As Town Moderator Bill Barton gavelled this year’s Annual Town Meeting to order at noon Saturday, May 3,  the line of registered voters waiting to sign in stretched to the Bromfield School driveway. The meeting drew 522 attendees, or 11% of the town’s 4,777 registered voters.

Fog, drizzle, and even occasional downpours did not keep Harvard voters from turning out for Tuesday’s Town Election. In all, 1,659 voters cast ballots. That was a turnout of 34.7%—the highest for a Town Election since 2018, when the issue of building a new elementary school drew 46% of voters to the polls.

The Park and Recreation Commission voted to sign the purchase and sale agreement for a 6-acre parcel of land at 57 Old Mill Road to construct a multipurpose athletic field. On May 3, Town Meeting will vote on using $440,000 of Capital Planning and Investment Committee funds to purchase the land.

The Devens housing working group is expected to recommend next week that Vicksburg Square and seven other parcels adjacent to Rogers Field be rezoned to allow reuse of existing buildings for housing as well as construction of hundreds of additional units.