“There is no greater burden than carrying an untold story.“
— Maya Angelou 

Natick kicks off Pride 2026 with eight great stories on the theme “Living in Truth.” Local voices along with award-winning storytellers share their truth with brief, true-life, transformative stories. 

This evening is organized in collaboration with Fugitive Productions which has been bringing true-life stories to the stage for a decade to communities in Greater Boston and Metrowest. 

These stories can be funny, heart-wrenching, and revealing. Audience members report that one or more stories sparked a memory or created a moment of reflection that lingers.

Please join us for a memorable evening. A great way to jump-start a month of celebration.

Admission: $5 donation at the door, benefitting OUTMetrowest and Natick Pride 2027.

This one is for both experienced dancers and swing dance wannabes. Sanctuary, a recently converted church, features a full stage, an enormous dance floor, and one of the best bars west of Boston.

From 6–7pm, we feature instruction with some of the best instructors in the area. Instruction will be led by Sergiy Georgiyev, the founder and director of Magenta Dance Place in Acton. who has taught ballroom across Europe and the US. Sergiy’s emphasis on maximizing confidence and minimizing stress has helped students achieve extraordinary success. He is a professor at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and collaborates with the MIT Ballroom Club and Harvard Dance Sports team. At Magenta Dance Place, Sergiy and his staff believe in the transformative power of dance and strive to create a vibrant community where everyone can express themselves through movement.

From 7–9pm, Eddie Scheer’s Swinging All Stars take to the stage. Chameleon Eddie Scheer is a Sanctuary favorite, gracing us with his vocal and drumming talents with a variety of groups and styles. He has been a fixture on the New England swing scene for more than 25 years. Whether with his jump blues band The Love Dogs, the 20-piece Compaq Big Band, or various smaller ensembles, his big voice and solid drumming have kept hearts beating and feet moving wherever he plays. The Swinging All Stars is a new unit featuring some of the best musicians in Boston — leaning toward the lighter, jazzy side of swing, but still with a deep connection to and reverence for the blues. 

Doors: 5:30pm • Instruction: 6–7pm • Dancing: 7-9pm • Tickets

Fugitive Stories and Old Frog Pond Farm in Harvard are partnering again for four afternoons on the farm. June’s theme is “Rooted”

Hearing a true story in a live performance is fun, moving, and transformative. Every event brings surprises. As always, Fugitive’s featured tellers include Moth and Massmouth Story Slam Winners and Champions, theater professionals, comedians, authors, podcast producers, teachers, and university professors. Several folks from the local community will also be telling their tales, some for the first time.

$15/online • $20/door
Online sales end at noon on the event date. Plenty of tickets at the door.

Seating starts at 2:30pm. Storytelling starts at 3pm. We recommend purchasing tickets in advance. This is an outdoor event. In case of rain, please check our website after noon on the day of the show. Our back-up location is the Harvard, Mass. UCC Church, 5 Still River Road (on the Harvard Common).

Please put Old Frog Pond Farm, Harvard, in your GPS. (The street address sometimes take you to the other side of the woods.)

ABOUT OUR CO-HOST, OLD FROG POND FARM
Old Frog Pond Farm is a 25-acre farm in Harvard and one of the few Certified Organic Orchards in Massachusetts. In the fall they open for pick your own apples and raspberries. Every year, the farm hosts an Annual Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit and gathers for Plein Air Poetry.

Visitors to the farm can purchase a ticket to take a self-guided tour around the pond and through the woods discovering the sculpture, native plants, and abundant wildlife that’s makes their home here. The self-serve farm stand is filled with fresh certified organic produce. fruit@oldfrogpondfarm.com

FEATURED FUGITIVE TELLERS
In addition to several local, hand-picked tellers, Fugitive brings regional, award-winning storytellers (see below).

Susanne Schmidt
Susanne is a comedic storyteller and a producer for The Moth. Her work has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, National Public Radio and HBO’s Inspiration Room.

Robin Schoenthaler
Robin has been a storyteller for about a decade and has been with Fugitive since 2018. In 2019 she won a Moth Grand Slam Championship and she is never going to stop talking about it — ever. She is also an award-winning essayist — mostly about love, loss, life, death, and Covid. Robin’s day job for 28 years was as a cancer doctor with MGH at Emerson Hospital in their Department of Radiation Oncology. She now helps people with second opinions about their cancers while she travels the world. Learn more about Robin at www.DrRobin.org. 

Paul Doncaster 
Paul is a published author, the father of two outstanding young women (and a bluetick beagle), and has been telling stories since 2016. He has told at events throughout New England, performed in two Moth GrandSLAMs, and been featured on the World Channel's “Stories from the Stage.”  By day, he is a user experience design professional, listening to the stories of others and using their words to create more user-friendly online experiences.

Kate Buhler
Kate is a multiple Moth StorySLAM winner who makes her living traveling the world as a consultant for luxury hotels, restaurants, and resorts. This provides the opportunity to meet amazing people and create new stories everywhere she goes. She is a member of the National Speakers Association, and gives talks on the question, “Why is good service so hard to find?" Kate has recently written, Inhospitable: Lessons Learned from a Lifetime in Service. For her, storytelling is an artform and a passion that strengthens the bond of human connection.  

Music: 5–8pm • No cover • Food: Yes, plenty. • Full bar, plus self-pour beer and wines
Dancing (optional)

THE Band

Swing Café — an acoustic swing, jazz, and rockabilly band that plays around New England at parties, clubs and concerts — is a toe-tapping Cadillac ride over classic and little-known songs from the 20s to the 50s, played on archtop guitar, mandolin, and bass. The band's love of the material, drawn largely from pop standards of the 30s, 40s and 50s, is obvious from the first downbeat. Swing Cafe's fun, classy stage presence and easy repartee are sure to delight audiences of all ages. The band’s smooth stage presence and often humorous audience repartee. Swing Cafe is a compelling, fun-filled frolic through the American songbook. Think Fats Waller, Louis Jordan, Nat King Cole, and the Everly Brothers all rolled into one trio.

Ted Powers (guitar & vocals)
Eric Kilburn (mandolin & vocals)
Peter Tillotson (double bass)

Craft Food Halls​

Craft Food Halls Boxborough offers a space built for gathering and connection. The venue blends a warm, open layout with an interactive pour-your-own beer and wine wall that features dozens of rotating options, giving you the freedom to explore new favorites throughout the night. Settle in with a full meal or keep things casual with our bar menu over the course of the evening. CFH Boxborough offers a setting that keeps energy high and the atmosphere loose, giving you a place to enjoy local talent without making the trip to Boston.

Music: 5–8pm • No cover • Food: Yes, plenty. • Full bar, plus self-pour beer and wines
Dancing (optional)

THE Band

The Blues Dogs have a lot of musical depth, and their musical experience ranges from the Berklee School of Music to some pretty scary South Side Chicago bars. The Dogs still like those rocking blues tunes. But mixed in with Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton and ZZ Top tunes are songs by Steely Dan, Stevie Winwood, Al Green, the Stray Cats, Bonnie Raitt, Eva Cassidy and more. With four lead vocalists and a rich mixture of rocking material, the band delivers a constantly changing and entertaining evening of danceable music.

Bob Jones (guitar, vocals)
Bob has backed up several national acts, including The Drifters and has opened for big British rock groups including Humble Pie and Savoy Brown. He played in a rockabilly band in California and got immersed in the blues while playing in a band from Chicago’s south side.

Jeff Thomas (bass, vocals)
Jeff learned to play the ukulele at age seven and took piano and guitar lessons in his youth. He studied bass at Berklee where he was required to learn to play many instruments, including trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, oboe, keyboards, percussion, drums, xylophone, and guitar.

Jim Medvedeff (keyboards, vocals)
Jim started his musical journey with classical piano and organ training at the age six. He counts British rock, Motown, and Leon Russell as his earliest influences. He spent his teenage years studying jazz and went on to study music theory and piano performance at the University of Colorado. He was on the road for four years which included opening for the like of BJ Thomas, Brenda Lee, the Cornelius Brothers, Wayne Cochran, and others.

Adam Wool (drums, vocals)
Adam began his drumming career in Boston playing then moved to Alaska in the 80s, playing in various settings including the Fairbanks Symphony, University of Alaska Big Band, and various dance bands. He also owned a music venue in Fairbanks where he hosted the Indigo Girls, Imagine Dragons, Snoop Dogg, Taj Mahal, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Johnnie Winter, Leon Russell, Bo Diddley, and more.

Craft Food Halls​

Craft Food Halls Boxborough offers a space built for gathering and connection. The venue blends a warm, open layout with an interactive pour-your-own beer and wine wall that features dozens of rotating options, giving you the freedom to explore new favorites throughout the night. Settle in with a full meal or keep things casual with our bar menu over the course of the evening. CFH Boxborough offers a setting that keeps energy high and the atmosphere loose, giving you a place to enjoy local talent without making the trip to Boston.

Music: 5–8pm • No cover • Food: Yes, plenty. • Full bar, plus self-pour beer and wines

THE Band

For nearly a decade, Momentum has been rocking the Merrimack Valley with a diverse mix of recognizable tunes. From festivals to bars, covers to originals, there's always a strong groove, great lyrics, and a musical surprise around every corner! 

Carol (vocals/guitar/percussion)
Carol loves all forms of sharing music — writing, performing, producing shows, and teaching dance! After many years performing with Sweet Adelines a cappella, she started fronting bands and recording her own tunes.

Mark (guitar/vocals)
A guitarist since the age of 13, Mark grew up in a musical family environment that took him back and forth between the East and West coasts. He is well-versed in a variety of styles — rock, blues, country, jazz. A self-admitted guitar “nerd,” Mark has played or recorded with numerous bands and projects over the years.

Ted (keyboards/vocals)
Ted has been playing keyboards for most of his life. He has a wide range of experience, having played for musical theater, for a touring kids music band that played a gig at the Kennedy Center, in addition to several bands, and at his local church.

Craft Food Halls​

Craft Food Halls Boxborough offers a space built for gathering and connection. The venue blends a warm, open layout with an interactive pour-your-own beer and wine wall that features dozens of rotating options, giving you the freedom to explore new favorites throughout the night. Settle in with a full meal or keep things casual with our bar menu over the course of the evening. CFH Boxborough offers a setting that keeps energy high and the atmosphere loose, giving you a place to enjoy local talent without making the trip to Boston.

Music: 5–8pm • No cover • Food: Yes, plenty. • Full bar, plus self-pour beer and wines

THE Band

Sarah Levecque is a songwriter and guitarist who moves easily between the sturdy roots of American music — influenced in equal parts by early blues, country, folk, and rock music. 

"Her musical style could easily be categorized as Americana or roots music. But, whatever the genre, her voice and songwriting approach will stop you in your tracks. She's got this smoky, ethereal delivery that makes you hang on to every word. Sarah Levecque is an introspective artist who writes from the heart and puts a lot of emotional weight into her songs. Perhaps her greatest gift is her ability to clearly articulate the human experience and share her passion, vulnerability, and strength with the listener."  —Geoff Wilbur's Music Blog (Album Review: Sarah Levecque -Moments of Silver)

Sarah Levecque (guitar & vocals) 
Peter Zarkadas (guitar & vocals) 
Johnny Sciascia (upright bass) 

Craft Food Halls​

Craft Food Halls Boxborough offers a space built for gathering and connection. The venue blends a warm, open layout with an interactive pour-your-own beer and wine wall that features dozens of rotating options, giving you the freedom to explore new favorites throughout the night. Settle in with a full meal or keep things casual with our bar menu over the course of the evening. CFH Boxborough offers a setting that keeps energy high and the atmosphere loose, giving you a place to enjoy local talent without making the trip to Boston.

Music: 5–8pm • No cover • Food: Yes, plenty. • Full bar, plus self-pour beer and wines
Dancing (optional)

THE Band

Dave Limina (keyboards, vocals)
Dave performs and records with jazz, blues, funk and soul artists from around the world including a 25-year stint with the award-winning Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters, Redtenbacher’s Funkestra, Mighty Sam McClain, BB King, RL Burnside, Joey DeFrancesco, Scott Hamilton, Chuck Berry and many more.  As the piano department chair at Berklee College of Music, he has shared his musical knowledge and passion with thousands of students.

Myanna (saxaphone)
Myanna, one of the hottest saxophonists around, plays music that mixes jazz improvisation with funky rhythms, expressive playing, and catchy tunes. She has won awards for Best Jazz Artist several times from both the Boston Music Awards and The Boston Phoenix readers’ poll. She has recorded three or her own CDs, and is featured on multiple recordings with The Love Dogs and as a side player on many other recordings.

Eddie Scheer (vocals, percussion)
Eddie has been one of the pillars of the Boston Blues/R&B scene for more than 20 years. As the leader of his award-winning band The Love Dogs, he’s toured the U.S. and Europe and recorded four critically acclaimed CDs. He’s played with virtually every top-level musician in the Northeast at one time or another, and has hosted his “Tuesday Night Allstars” series in Brighton for more than a decade.

Craft Food Halls​

Craft Food Halls Boxborough offers a space built for gathering and connection. The venue blends a warm, open layout with an interactive pour-your-own beer and wine wall that features dozens of rotating options, giving you the freedom to explore new favorites throughout the night. Settle in with a full meal or keep things casual with our bar menu over the course of the evening. CFH Boxborough offers a setting that keeps energy high and the atmosphere loose, giving you a place to enjoy local talent without making the trip to Boston.