Page 8 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MArCH 27, 2026 The Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler Good morning, Saugus Part of me wanted to chill out last Saturday at a local coffee shop in Methuen instead of working in Saugus. But I knew I had to be there at the Saugus Middle High School for the First Annual Saugus Community Festival. As a newsman covering Saugus for the past decade, I knew it was going to be a big deal. So, I wound up spending more than four hours milling around in the crowd – observing, talking to people I knew, interviewing folks about their impressions of the festival and snapping a few photos to go with my story in this week’s Saugus Advocate. (Please see “A Town Displays Its Diversity.”) I’m a regular visitor at the annual Saugus Founders Day in September and the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony and Festivities in early December. Both of those events draw a few thousand people apiece. And I got them on my calendar every year. I heard one report this week that last Saturday’s Festival drew 750 people. Before the event, I figured it could easily hit 500. Based on the passion and enthusiasm of the event’s organizers and attendees, I’d say there’s a good chance of doubling that amount next year. And in a few years, we could be talking about another signature event for Saugus – an event that could pack the halls of Saugus Middle High for years to come on a Saturday in March. Hats off to all the volunteers, from kids to seniors, who helped make last Saturday special for the community – particularly the members of the Saugus Cultural Council and the Saugus 411 Committee, the two groups that agreed last year to merge the Saugus Cultural Festival with the Saugus 411 event. I know I won’t forget this year’s event. Here’s a “Shout Out” to the wonderful ladies of the Saugus Garden Club who sent me home with a gorgeous floral arrangement featuring pussy willows in a Stoneware Honey Pot. In between writing my stories this week, I got to enjoy a fresh touch of spring in my office – courtesy of the Saugus Garden Club. Saugus United Parish Food Pantry The Saugus United Parish Food Pantry will be open today for me. Congratulations Laurie!” Want to “Shout Out” a fellow Saugonian? This is an opportunity for our paper’s readers to single out – in a brief mention – remarkable acts or achievements by Saugus residents or an act of kindness or a nice gesture. Just send an email (mvoge@comcast.net) with a mention in the subject line of “An Extra Shout Out.” No more than a paragraph; anything longer might lend itself to a story and/or a photo. Protecting retirement assets from AI, tomorrow Robert Siciliano (CSP, CSI, CITRMS) will be at the Saugus Public Library tomorrow (March 28) from 1 to 3:30 p.m. to offer a free program titled “The Strategic Human Firewall: Protecting Retirement Assets in the Age of AI Deception.” For retirees in 2026, protecting a lifetime of savings requires moving beyond basic awareness. As AI-driven threats like voice cloning and deepfakes become the “new normal,” criminals are bypassing technical perimeters by targeting the Human Blindspot™ — our natural instinct to trust the familiar. This program deconstructs SAVE THE DATE! July 4th, 2026. Members of Saugus’ 250th Celebration of America’s Independence Committee, chaired by Corinne Riley, are hard at work planning a program called “Saugus as it was in 1775,” which will be held at the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site from noon to 4 p.m. on the Fourth of July. Stay tuned for more details. (Courtesy graphic to The Saugus Advocate) (Friday, March 27) from 9:30-11 a.m. at 50 Essex St. in the basement of Cliftondale Congregational Church. The food pantry welcomes all neighbors facing food insecurity on Friday mornings. Volunteers are also welcome. Please call the Food Pantry Office at 781-233-2663 or go to the website (cliftondalecc. org) for details. Legion Breakfast on Fridays There’s a good breakfast deal for Saugus veterans and other folks who enjoy a hearty breakfast on Friday mornings. The American Legion Post 210 at 44 Taylor St. in Saugus offers Friday morning breakfasts for the 2026 season. Doors open at 7:30 a.m., with breakfast served from 8-9:00 a.m. for an $8 donation. Veterans who cannot afford the donation may be served free. This week’s “Shout Outs” From Jean Swanson: “I’d like to send a Shout Out to Corrine Riley, Tori Darnell and Vanessa Dellheim along with their committees for organizing the First Annual Saugus Community Festival last Saturday. The festival was a huge success with over 750 attendees.” From Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member Jeanie Bartolo: “This ‘Shout Out’ is for Laurie Davis, Saugus Senior Director, for being chosen Citizen of the Year by the Saugus-Everett Elks Lodge last week. She so deserves this honor. Every time I see Laurie at the Senior Center she always has a big smile and kind words the predatory “Pig Butchering” phenomenon, where scammers “fatten up” victims through emotional grooming before draining their wealth. By mastering the Triple-A Protocol, attendees shift from “default to trust” to a “verify everything” mindset. We cover the technical basics — from password managers to multi-factor authentication — to harden your digital home. Learn to transform your personal defense into a Strategic Human Firewall™, ensuring that your retirement remains secure in an era of industrialized deception. This is a fully interactive, nontechnical session. We’ve stripped away the jargon to focus on practical, real-world strategies you can use immediately. Come prepared to ask questions and engage in a candid dialogue about protecting yourself or your organization’s money and your own peace of mind. Learning objectives: • Mitigate the Human Blindspot™: Recognize how psychological “action bias” and manufactured urgency cloud judgment during AI-enhanced scams. • Identify Pig Butchering Tactics: Detect the warning signs of long-coninvestment fraud and emotional grooming used to exploit seniors. • Execute the Triple-A Protocol: Implement a mandated workflow — Analyze, Authenticate and Act — to verify every highstakes digital request. • Harden Technical Basics: Deploy password managers, MFA and “Out-of-Band” verification to protect Social Security and retirement accounts. • Neutralize Deepfakes: Establish family code words to defeat AI voice cloning and “Grandparent” kidnapping scams. Join us at the Saugus Public Library on March 28; brought to you by the Friends of the Saugus Public Library. Seating is limited. Registration is required. Register at www.sauguspubliclibrary. org/events or call 781-231-4168 ext. 3106. News from the Democratic Town Committee The Saugus Democratic Town Committee sent out an email to its members this week with two “alerts”: • An invitation to join the Saugus & Friends Resist group tomorrow (Saturday, March 28) for the third “No Kings” standout from 11 a.m. to noon in Saugus Center at the corner of Central and Hamilton Streets. This is a peaceful protest against the Trump administration policies. The group will resume its weekly standouts at the same time every following Saturday. Signs are available or bring your own. Contact saugusfriendsresist@gmail.com for more information. • The next Saugus Democrats meeting will be on Wednesday, April 29, at the Saugus Public Library at 6 p.m. in the Community Room of the first floor. Palm Sunday Service & Passover Meal Cliftondale Congregational Church invites the community to a special Palm Sunday Service & Passover Meal on Sunday, March 29, at 10:45 a.m. The service will be led by Pastor Joe Hoyle and guest Rabbi Nathan Joiner from Rauch Israel Synagogue. It will be a meaningful time to explore the roots of our faith ahead of Easter. This is a free event, and all ages are THE SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 9
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