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Attendees cracked can seals and settled into lawn chairs while kids punted giant inflatable soccer balls through the air. On a 17-by-10-foot project screen looming overhead, announcers analyzed the two teams set to duel that night.
That was the scene this past Saturday as the Burlington Watches Together party for the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off with the U.S. dueling Paraguay. The sponsored event was hosted by Love Burlington, Burlington City Arts and the Church Street Marketplace, and it marked day two of the city’s soccer festivities from June 11-July 19.
“Soccer is known as the world game,” said Samantha McGinnis, director of the Church Street Marketplace. “We’re really hoping to bring the community together and soccer lovers together for the really fun festive few weeks of this tournament.”
McGinnis said that Burlington Watches Together will support marketplace businesses.
Over a dozen downtown businesses will be showing World Cup games every day over the course of the month. Certain restaurants and bars, like Ri Ra’s Irish Pub, will show every game regardless of start time and are curating soccer-themed food and drink specials. Other businesses, like the Bern Gallery dispensary, are offering prizes if you shop while wearing a jersey.
Ri Ra’s helped eventgoers celebrate on Saturday with an outdoor bar. Two large metal buckets were loaded with ice and drinks, and bartenders were giving out World Cup merchandise gifted from local brands like Fiddlehead Brewing Company and Zero Gravity Brewery.
Andy Moore, Ri Ra’s general manager, said the World Cup hubbub is a way to forge local camaraderie between businesses and customers.
“It’s helping bring people downtown to see what businesses still have to offer,” Moore said. “It shows that it can still be fun down here, that the park is a beautiful park and that we still do good things.”
Burlingtonians can celebrate the World Cup at other venues, too.
The Fletcher Free Library will be screening select games on 100-inch TVs in the library’s upstairs meeting rooms. Librarian Barbara Shatara said the staff want to bring snacks from participating countries, like elote-flavored chips from Mexico, to blend soccer and education.
Shatara said that despite the controversy surrounding FIFA, the World Cup is a chance to bring people together in a positive way.
“The game of soccer is truly universal. You can go almost anywhere in the world and pick up a game of soccer,” she said. “It’s a great way to build community.”
The weekend’s watch party follows on the heels of Vermont’s recent emergence as a soccer hub.
The University of Vermont Catamounts men’s team won its first NCAA Division I national championship in December 2024. The following year, Vermont Green FC, representing the state in the United Soccer League, won its first League Two national championship that August.
Now, with the World Cup being co-hosted by the U.S., and international soccer fans travelling to cities as close as Boston, McGinnis said that Burlington Watches Together will continue to fuel the in-city hype for the world’s favorite game.
“Burlington has become a soccer town, and we’re hoping to bring that same energy we’ve seen with Vermont Green and UVM,” McGinnis said.
As the world continues to battle for soccer supremacy, other watch parties are set to occur around town.
On June 19, the Vermont Lake Monsters will host a watchalong at Centennial Field for the game between the U.S. and Australia.
“The world is so topsy turvy right now,” Moore from Ri Ra’s said. “Anything that can bring people together and show that there’s still good out there is important.”
Max Handelman is a reporting intern for the Burlington Free Press. Write to him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: World Cup watch parties in Burlington
Continue reading...
That was the scene this past Saturday as the Burlington Watches Together party for the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off with the U.S. dueling Paraguay. The sponsored event was hosted by Love Burlington, Burlington City Arts and the Church Street Marketplace, and it marked day two of the city’s soccer festivities from June 11-July 19.
“Soccer is known as the world game,” said Samantha McGinnis, director of the Church Street Marketplace. “We’re really hoping to bring the community together and soccer lovers together for the really fun festive few weeks of this tournament.”
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McGinnis said that Burlington Watches Together will support marketplace businesses.
Over a dozen downtown businesses will be showing World Cup games every day over the course of the month. Certain restaurants and bars, like Ri Ra’s Irish Pub, will show every game regardless of start time and are curating soccer-themed food and drink specials. Other businesses, like the Bern Gallery dispensary, are offering prizes if you shop while wearing a jersey.
Ri Ra’s helped eventgoers celebrate on Saturday with an outdoor bar. Two large metal buckets were loaded with ice and drinks, and bartenders were giving out World Cup merchandise gifted from local brands like Fiddlehead Brewing Company and Zero Gravity Brewery.
Andy Moore, Ri Ra’s general manager, said the World Cup hubbub is a way to forge local camaraderie between businesses and customers.
You must be registered for see images attach
“It’s helping bring people downtown to see what businesses still have to offer,” Moore said. “It shows that it can still be fun down here, that the park is a beautiful park and that we still do good things.”
Burlingtonians can celebrate the World Cup at other venues, too.
The Fletcher Free Library will be screening select games on 100-inch TVs in the library’s upstairs meeting rooms. Librarian Barbara Shatara said the staff want to bring snacks from participating countries, like elote-flavored chips from Mexico, to blend soccer and education.
Shatara said that despite the controversy surrounding FIFA, the World Cup is a chance to bring people together in a positive way.
“The game of soccer is truly universal. You can go almost anywhere in the world and pick up a game of soccer,” she said. “It’s a great way to build community.”
You must be registered for see images attach
The weekend’s watch party follows on the heels of Vermont’s recent emergence as a soccer hub.
The University of Vermont Catamounts men’s team won its first NCAA Division I national championship in December 2024. The following year, Vermont Green FC, representing the state in the United Soccer League, won its first League Two national championship that August.
Now, with the World Cup being co-hosted by the U.S., and international soccer fans travelling to cities as close as Boston, McGinnis said that Burlington Watches Together will continue to fuel the in-city hype for the world’s favorite game.
“Burlington has become a soccer town, and we’re hoping to bring that same energy we’ve seen with Vermont Green and UVM,” McGinnis said.
As the world continues to battle for soccer supremacy, other watch parties are set to occur around town.
On June 19, the Vermont Lake Monsters will host a watchalong at Centennial Field for the game between the U.S. and Australia.
“The world is so topsy turvy right now,” Moore from Ri Ra’s said. “Anything that can bring people together and show that there’s still good out there is important.”
Max Handelman is a reporting intern for the Burlington Free Press. Write to him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: World Cup watch parties in Burlington
Continue reading...
