Topsfield Fair, TD Garden Add COVID-19 Restrictions: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Wednesday, Sept. 22. The fall equinox is at 3:10 p.m. Here's what else you should know this afternoon:

• A Bridgewater man died in a Boston hospital Monday after suffering serious head injuries in a skateboard accident on Cape Cod.
• The 2021 annual "What the Fluff?" festival begins today in Somerville.
• The 16-year-old Northeast Metro Tech football player who suffered a serious head injury over the weekend is recovering from surgery.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

Three key events of fall in Massachusetts — the Topsfield Fair and the start of the Bruins and Celtics seasons — will have new rules in place to help slow the spread the coronavirus.

The Topsfield Board of Health issued a mandate this week ordering all visitors to the Topsfield Fair to wear a face mask while indoors on the fairgrounds.

The Topsfield Fair, which will return Oct. 1 through Oct. 11 this year after being canceled last year because of the coronavirus crisis, had already put a message on its website encouraging guests to wear masks at all times while at the event.

Meanwhile, fans planning to head to TD Garden to watch the Bruins or Celtics this season — as well attend concerts — will need to pack a copy of their coronavirus vaccination proof or get a negative COVID-19 test.

TD Garden officials said on Wednesday that starting Sept. 30 guests 12 years old and older will need to provide proof of full vaccination or a negative rapid or PCR coronavirus test. Self-administered or over-the-counter test results will not be accepted.

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Wednesday's Other Top Stories

Fatal skateboarding accident on Cape Cod: A Bridgewater man died in a Boston hospital Monday after suffering serious head injuries in a skateboard accident on Cape Cod earlier this month. Martin Luttrell, 48, hit a patch of sand and fell while skateboarding at his family's cottage in Dennisport on Sept. 11. His family said he wasn't wearing a helmet. Luttrell hadtwo children, ages 9 and 11, with his wife Kelley.

Football player recovering: The 16-year-old Northeast Metro Tech football player who suffered a serious head injury over the weekend is recovering from surgery, his family said in a brief statement. Brandon Cooke, of Winthrop, was hurt during a junior varsity game against Saugus. He had surgery at MassGeneral Hospital for Children.

Eat fresh: Patch's 2021 Massachusetts Farmers Market Guide

Picture This: Can't Get Enough Fluff!

You can keep your potatoes, Idaho. In Somerville, we're fine with our Marshmallow Fluff. The city's quirkiest – and most famous? — export will be celebrated this week at the 16th annual "What the Fluff?" festival. The festival runs from Sept. 22-26, honoring the invention of Fluff in Union Square.

Previously on Patch: Who Invented The Fluffernutter?

They Said It

"Pope Francis has been clear since the beginning of his papacy that sacramental marriage is a line he cannot cross. He seems to be trying to figure out how far he and other church leaders can go in terms of accompanying LGBTQ+ people as members of the church. He is really upholding the traditional definition of marriage as one man and one woman for life."

• Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA and longtime member of Dignity Boston. Boston-area Catholics who support same-sex civil unions are calling the Vatican's latest edict a "mixed blessing."

In Case You Missed It

Theft, vandalism part of latest TikTok trend: There are reports of students at Massachusetts schools participating in "Devious Licks," a TikTok challenge which encourages kids to steal school property or personal items from staff and post their hauls on the popular social media website. Police in Arlington say the challenge goes beyond theft, and includes vandalism like ripping soap dispensers off walls, clogging toilets and dismantling sinks. Officials in that town urged parents to discuss the trend with their children.