Circle of Peace Statue Returns to Town Common in Full Form
September 21, 2026
• The seven-figure bronze statue, which often engages children in play, officially reopened Saturday.
After a minor car accident and months of repairs, the bronze children on the Town Common are finally free.
The Circle of Peace, a statue featuring a group of children holding hands in a circle, remained off-limits since March 2025, when a car veered onto the common and collided with the art piece. Due to extensive damage, the statue was removed from the site and later returned with barriers to prevent any interaction.
The Needham Community Revitalization Trust Fund, which funded the statue and others like it, held a rededication ceremony to celebrate the repairs on Saturday morning. The event coincided with the 25th anniversary of its installation.
Paul Good, chair of the trust fund, said the statue has come to signify “community, connection and joy.” Shortly after the statue arrived in 2001, Good recalled watching little kids dart across the common to engage with it. An opening in the statue invites young passersby to join hands with the children and complete the circle.
“I was like, ‘This is exactly what we were going for, to have the kids automatically have that connection and just see it as a way of being able to play, connect and be a part of stuff,’” Good said. “That’s basically where the Circle of Peace came from. It’s what its message is that we hope will continue for decades, as it has already done.”
The statue, designed by artist Gary Lee Price, originally sat closer to the center of the Town Common, but after the common renovation in 2023, it was moved slightly closer to Great Plain Avenue.
Part of the statue was “in pieces,” Good said, leading Price’s studio to return the piece to Utah for repairs.
Several sections sustained damage “beyond normal fabrication repair,” leading the studio to strip down the film on the surface of the metal and cast replacement sections, according to Price’s business manager Chance Lundgren. That took about six weeks total to complete, from receiving the piece to when it was ready to come back to Needham, he added.
Once the statue was returned, it remained caged for close to a year. Rubberized turf was also reinstalled beneath it, Good said. He attributes the extended delay to town procurement process time, insurance processing following the accident, vendor availability and weather for final turf installation.
“We know this sculpture has a great history in Needham,” Lundgren wrote in a message, “and we are grateful we were able to bring it back to life to be enjoyed for many more years to come.”
Looking closely at the statue’s faces, there are children across different backgrounds represented, including a child with Down Syndrome. Bud Roche, a founder of grocery chain Roche Bros. who sponsored the statue, hired people “from all walks of life,” Needham store manager Kevin McCafferty said.
In that regard, Roche was ahead of his time, McCafferty said. In the early-1980s, when he first started working with Roche, McCafferty said he worked alongside special needs employees often.
“He always gave people the opportunity,” McCafferty said after the ribbon-cutting. “Bud Roche was all about people… His motto was, ‘Treat people the way you want to be treated, and you will never go wrong.’”
The statue also became a symbol of humanity and solidarity in the wake of 9/11, when vigils took place by the steps of Town Hall.
“It couldn’t have arrived at a more perfect time for people to be able to really get into their mind that this is humanity,” Good said, gesturing to the statue, “and the things that happen, in these different ways, are not really who we are.”
A plaque in the center of the statue reads, “It is only through reaching out that we are drawn together.”
In his artist statement, Price notes his intention to represent “the continuum of humanity.”
“The clasped hands represent the interaction and cooperation, together with compassion and respect, which engenders humanity. Respect for each other’s uniqueness bridges the gap between any indifference,” the statement says. “I created a space in the circle and it is fascinating to watch children interact with the piece. Quickly, they notice the gap and instantly clasp the two outstretched hands and complete the circle. Each and every person is a vital element in this wonderful circle of life.”
After a short ceremony and ribbon-cutting, Caroline, 4, quickly ventured toward the statue, as if waiting for her moment. While under repairs, she repeatedly asked when the statue would be open again, her mom Kaitlin Cerlen said.
“She loves it. She literally made me call Town Hall to find out what was happening with them,” Kaitlin Cerlen said. “She was fixated on why they were not open.”
Caroline played with the cut ribbon and walked along the inside of the circle, touching the children’s faces and smiling. She was soon joined by her little sister, and the pair took a photo.
“I remember it when I was younger,” Caroline said.
“Earlier she told me, ‘it feels like home,’” Kaitlin Cerlen said.
