A water slide, a dunk tank, a petting zoo and a visit from Pat the Patriot will fill the fairgrounds at the Wrentham Developmental Center this Sunday, August 16, from noon to 4 p.m., as Gilly's House hosts its annual Summerfest. Admission is free for everyone, and organizers say food and activities will be provided at no cost throughout the four-hour event at 131 Emerald Street.
The festival is being promoted by the Foxborough Police Department, which announced that its Public Safety Co-Response Program will be represented at Summerfest by clinicians Christina and Victoria. According to the department's announcement, the pair will share information about the co-response program, connect community members with helpful resources, hand out swag, and answer questions from residents who stop by. The co-response model itself is backed by state money: the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health funds Co-Response and Jail Diversion Program grants that place licensed clinicians alongside police officers so people in crisis can be steered toward clinical care instead of the criminal justice system.
Gilly's House was founded in Wrentham by Barbara and David Gillmeister in memory of their 25-year-old son, Steven “Gilly” Gillmeister, who died from a heroin overdose on October 24, 2016, according to NIH MedlinePlus Magazine. The organization now runs a non-profit transitional residence for up to 21 men in recovery, and CBS News has reported that it is the only sober home in Massachusetts staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by people who are themselves in long-term recovery. Residents must be clean for at least 40 days and hold a job while living at the facility, per that report.
From Ticketed Fundraiser to Free Community Gathering
Summerfest didn't start out this way. The event was first held in August 2022 at American Legion Field in Wrentham as a $50 ticketed fundraiser, according to town event records, before evolving into the free, alcohol-free, community-wide festival now held at the Wrentham Developmental Center fairgrounds. Early proceeds from those ticketed years funded capital improvements at Gilly's House, including new windows and boilers.
This year's lineup includes a circus workshop, arts and crafts, dragon foam, and a bouncy house alongside the water slide, dunk tank and petting zoo. A DJ set from Jeff Hall will provide the soundtrack, and a restaurant cook-off featuring multiple local restaurants will give attendees a taste of the area's food scene. The Norfolk Lions Club is sponsoring hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and drinks for the day, and Pat the Patriot is scheduled to make a special guest appearance. Residents with questions about the event can email Maureen at [email protected] or visit www.gillyshouse.com for more details.
A Historic Site With Ongoing State Ties
The fairgrounds themselves carry their own history. The Wrentham Developmental Center originally opened in 1910 as the Wrentham State School and now operates under the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services on a campus spanning more than 400 acres, according to Buildings of New England. The property continues to serve state residential care operations even as it hosts community events like Summerfest.
Gilly's House has also drawn support from other institutional partners over the years. In December 2024, the Center for Community Recovery Innovations, a subsidiary of MassHousing, awarded the organization a $28,579 grant to preserve 11 sober living units for men in recovery in Wrentham, and the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation has maintained a relationship with the home, recognizing co-founder Barbara Gillmeister as a “Patriots Difference Maker of the Year” with a $20,000 grant in 2020. Foundation team members have continued to visit and donate supplies since then.
Recovery Progress and Funding Debates in the Background
The festival arrives amid encouraging statewide numbers. Opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts fell to 978 in 2025, marking the first time in over a decade that annual fatalities dropped below 1,000 and representing a nearly 60% decline from the 2022 peak of 2,364 deaths, according to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Health officials have credited expanded naloxone access and community recovery programs for the drop. In Norfolk County, where both Wrentham and Foxborough sit, the drug-involved overdose death rate stood at 14.6 per 100,000 residents in 2024, lower than neighboring Bristol (25.7) and Plymouth (22.5) counties, per data compiled by USAFacts from CDC mortality tracking.
Even so, funding for recovery organizations remains an open question in parts of the state. In July, Gilly's House leadership took part in a media investigation examining how Massachusetts municipalities are spending opioid settlement funds, noting that while Western Norfolk towns like Franklin have actively funded recovery efforts, millions of dollars statewide remain unspent by local governments, according to the Franklin Observer. Massachusetts municipalities receive their settlement dollars over a 15-year period, leaving nonprofits like Gilly's House to continue leaning on community partnerships, local business sponsorships and state grants to keep their doors open.
