I’ve seen it on TV during national broadcasts of Patriots games and driven around it as I get familiar with the town; but I’ve never stepped foot onto Foxboro Common until last Thursday.

I made my first trip onto the Common in the morning to cover The Friends of Boyden Library’s 22^nd annual Teddy Bear Picnic and quickly realized this island of fun in the center of town is much larger when you’re not driving around it.

The crowd of roughly 185 parents, children and teddy bears looked relatively small from a distance as I made my way to the gazebo stage where Tina Stone was leading the crowd in song.

While this event was geared towards children, I must admit, I thoroughly enjoyed it and strongly urge parents to take the little ones to this picnic next summer. Stone was fantastic, singing amusing songs while the children danced and tossed teddy bears into the air around the Common. It definitely made for an excellent photo opportunity and provided some comical relief while I was on assignment.

Even some over-sized bears were heaved towards the sky, adding to the light-hearted and fun-loving atmosphere around the Common.

I’m happy to report no children or teddy bears were injured during this event.

Simply put, this picnic was just plain fun and the venue – especially for a newcomer like me – was a nice way to take in the heart of the town and get to know some of the community’s youngest citizens.

About six hours after leaving the Common, I returned to catch some of the Concerts on the Common Series presented by the Foxboro Jaycees. While waiting for “Victims of Gravity” to take the stage, my girlfriend, Amanda, and I took a seat on one of the benches on the Common and just took in the surroundings.

Despite it being after 6 p.m. and vehicles moving in and out of the rotary pretty consistently, I found the Common to be pretty relaxing.

It was a perfect night to be outside and a nice change of pace to just sit back, relax and observe the Gem of Norfolk County from its center.

Shortly after the concert started I walked around the Common, taking photos of the band and concertgoers before viewing some of the memorials and of course, the ever-present Foxborough town sign.

I have to admit, I figured the Foxboro Common wouldn’t be much different from other town commons or centers I have been in but surprisingly, I found it to be a unique setting with a perfect blend of fun and relaxation. I’m sure you will be seeing me enjoying the Common again sooner rather than later.

Catching Lightning in a Viewfinder

After leaving the Board of Selectmen meeting Tuesday night, I noticed some incredible lightning bouncing around the skies above and – with camera in hand – decided to try and capture some of it.

So I went to one of my new favorite places in town … you guessed it, the Foxboro Common!

I walked around the Common trying to find the best viewing spot and angle for photos. I found it between some trees close to the road across the street from Congdon Auto Center and began snapping. View the photo gallery above to see some of my shots and of course, other photos from my visits to the Common last week.

Hope you enjoy.

Other Thoughts

Patch recently became the sponsor of Patriot Place’s Sounds of Summer Concert Series located at the North Marketplace near CBS Scene and Tastings. I, along with Foxborough Patch’s Ad Manager, Alexandra , sat at a table across from Qduoba and GameStop this past Sunday during the concerts to hand out Patch stuff, talk about what we do and sign people up for free newsletters sent directly to their e-mail’s inbox.

I met a lot of people from Rhode Island and some from Walpole but none from Foxborough. Hopefully, I will meet more of you in the coming weekends. We will have Patch editors and ad managers located around Patriot Place on Sundays from now until Aug. 26 so stop on by!

Looking Ahead

In the immediate future we have the start of Patriots training camp – always an exciting time for fans as a new NFL season is set to begin Thursday, July 26 at the Patriots’ practice field.

Speaking of Patriot Place, that facility has a TON going on! We highlight the events taking place each day in our 5 Things You Need to Know columns so be sure to look for it there and I strongly encourage you to check some of these events out as the folks at Pats Place sure know what they are doing.

We will also be looking into story ideas we gathered from Tuesday’s Board of Selectmen meeting, begin our back-to-school preparations and begin working on some features and profiles of happenings around town. As always, if you have a story idea, let me know!

Be sure to log onto Foxborough Patch each day and check us out as we are constantly updating the site with news and information about our town!