Worcester Magazine Dec. 26, 2013 by Worcester Magazine

DECEMBER 26, 2013 - JANUARY 1, 2014 D

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PERSON OF THE

YEAR PETER STEFAN

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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Kirk A. Davis President Kathleen Real Publisher x331 Brittany Durgin Editor x321 Steven King Photographer x323 Walter Bird Jr. Senior Writer x322 Brian Goslow, Mätthew Griffin, Janice Harvey, Lynne Hedvig, Jim Keogh, Laurance Levey, Josh Lyford, Doreen Manning, Taylor Nunez, Cade Overton, Jim Perry, Matt Robert, Jeremy Shulkin, Barbara Taormina, Al Vuona Contributing Writers Don Cloutier Creative Services Manager x141 Kimberly Vasseur Creative Director/Creative Services Assistant Manager x142 Bess Couture, Becky Gill, Stephanie Mallard, Graphic Artists Helen Linnehan Ad Director x333 Rick McGrail x334, Theresa S. Carrington x335, Media Consultants Amy O’Brien Media Coordinator x332 Carrie Arsenault Classified Manager Worcester Magazine is an independent news weekly covering Central Massachusetts. We accept no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. The Publisher has the right to refuse any advertisement. LEGALS/PUBLIC NOTICES: Please call 978-728-4302, email sales@centralmassclass.com, or mail to Central Mass Classifieds, P.O. Box 545, Holden, MA 01520

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STEVEN KING

insidestories stories

hen the bombs exploded near the ﬁnish line of the Boston Marathon in April, who would have thought that less than a month later, Worcester would play a key role in the unfolding saga? That is exactly what happened over several days in early May, however, when local funeral home director Peter Stefan made the decision to prepare the body of one of the men suspected in the bombings for his funeral. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with police. What ensued was nothing short of a national and international spectacle over just where he should be buried – and who should do it. As fate would have it, Tsarnaev ended up right here in Worcester, under Stefan’s care. What followed was a media frenzy and an outpouring of both support and outrage. Protests were held outside the Main Street funeral home. Letters poured in from around the world. Police worked hard to keep a congested area of the city safe as what seemed like an army of people – reporters, onlookers, passing motorists – descended upon the Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Home. Through it all, Stefan maintained a folksy, almost grandfather-like attitude. He ditched his usual clothes for suits, but otherwise he was the same guy who has been helping the less fortunate for decades. Whether it is helping people gain access to needed medications or indulging his creative side by writing a movie script, there is a lot more to Peter Stefan than what transpired in May. Worcester Magazine is proud to name Peter Stefan our Person of the Year for 2013. -Walter Bird Jr., Senior Writer

28 55

4 Education 11 Spiral-Bound 12 Harvey 12 Letter 14 Worcesteria 16 Person of the Year 25 Night & Day 32 Film 33 Krave 38 Event Listings 45 Classiﬁeds 55 2 minutes with… ABOUT THE COVER Photo by Steven King Design by Kimberly Vasseur

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DECEMBER 26, 2013 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

{ education }

December 26, 2013 - January 1, 2014 ■ Volume 39, Number 17

New branch libraries stick out as major gain in 2013

STEVEN KING

Walter Bird Jr.

whole lot happened in Worcester this year. It may be hard to say just where the One City, One Library initiative ranks among the myriad accomplishments, developments and otherwise newsworthy moments that happened around the city in 2013, but the re-introduction of branch libraries to two public schools was significant, to say the least. It was also a big surprise to some. “They came and I wasn’t sure why they were there,” Tatnuck Magnet School Principal Erin Dobson says of a visit earlier this year by members of the Worcester Public Library Foundation. “They asked questions, logistical questions, like what do you need to make the library better?” Dobson says she remembers saying she thought some new tables “would make a huge difference.” What she ended up getting were 4,500 new books, six or so new computers, 25 iPads, five or six tables and two full-time librarians. Roosevelt Elementary School, which was the first school to open a branch library under the One City, One Library program, also received new technology and materials. So far, about $800,000 has been spent as part of the initiative, with roughly 25-30 community partners contributing in some way, shape or form. The goal is to raise $2 million, which would help open two more in-school branch libraries - one each at Burncoat Prep and Goddard Science and Technology – and help each branch connect to other schools within their quadrant. Goddard is slated to open in the spring and would also serve students at nearby University Park Campus School (UPCS). At Burncoat, where trailers are used for some space, two new trailers will replace older models and will serve as a library and classroom. Those are supposed to go out to bid by mid-January, according to Patty Eppinger, who is part of One City, One Library. In addition, a second mobile library – a smaller version of the Libby Mobile, called Lily – is set to be unveiled Jan. 8. It will serve elementary schools exclusively. That so much has been accomplished in such a short period of time impresses even those who have worked on the project. “To me,” says Ed Augustus, a member of the Library Foundation and director of Government and Community Relations at Holy Cross, “I think it’s lightning speed. Think about what you’re doing here. You’re taking four buildings, retrofitting space and provided new services, making sure they’re secure and allow access to restrooms and so much more. It gets complicated fast. The ability to work through this and problem solve is just great.” It comes at a near-perfect time, with public schools such as Tatnuck having already implemented literacy goals geared toward boosting the reading levels of the school district’s youngest students. In Worcester, 59 percent of students fail to read proficiently by third grade. Studies indicate that puts them at a greater risk of dropping out of school. What’s more, according to a recent news report, of the city’s 34 elementary schools, six have no libraries, one has no staff and 13 are run entirely by volunteers and work-study students. A city that once had nine branch libraries ended up having none, until

4 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM • DECEMBER 26, 2013

Tatnuck Magnet School Principal Erin Dobson the two most recent were added. “I think [One City, One Library] could have a really profound impact on kids and on families and on our community in general,” Augustus says, making note of existing reading goals at schools. “We are going to work on tying this to the third-grade reading infrastructure and integrate it into the curriculum in schools.” That is similar to what One City, One Library did in adopting its efforts to reintroduce the branch libraries. The idea was to bring together different organizations with a like-

minded pursuit and pool their collective efforts and energies. “There were a lot of groups dealing with literacy and people looking at the Worcester Public Library not being able to expand,” says Eppinger. “These groups were trying to solve literacy issues. We realized we were all headed in the same direction.” The opening of two new branch libraries, which are also open to residents after school, has had an immediate, shortterm impact. Dobson can personally attest to that. “I have a young son,” she says. “I’m able to take books out

STEVEN KING

{ education } that are appropriate for his age. Teachers are able to take out books appropriate for their lessons. There’s not more running around to Barnes & Noble or other branches to ﬁnd books. It’s had an impact on our students, but also on our greater community. I’ve seen former students come in and hang out and use a computer to do homework.” While no single person could claim all the credit for the One City, One Library initiative, one name universally comes up when talking about One City, One Library. “It was Mike O’Brien’s brainchild to look at these branches as a community resource and not just a pupil resource,” Eppinger says of the city manager, who many acknowledge was key in bringing so many different partners to the table. Like Augustus, Eppinger marvels at the speed at which the two libraries have come to fruition – and at how much has been accomplished toward the overall goal of improving reading skills among those for whom it is most important. “I really do, not only because the libraries are now open,” Eppinger says. “It really demonstrates if we work with a common goal we can achieve something greater than just a piece of it.” Have a story tip or idea? Call Walter Bird Jr. at 508-7493166, ext. 322, or email him at wbird@worcestermagazine. com. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @walterbirdjr and catch Walter with Paul Westcott every Thursday morning at 8:35 on radio station WTAG 580AM for all things Worcester!

Students gather for an opening ceremony at the renovated library at Tatnuck Magnet School. A wall painting is one of many upgrades to the library.

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{ education }

Junior League of Worcester sets out to educate, give back to community Taylor Nunez

t was just after the turn of the century when Mary Harriman became inspired. Harriman was a resident of New York City and in 1901, the Settlement Movement was in full force. Aimed to join together the rich and poor of society, Harriman set out to support the social movement after listening to an engaging lecture on the matter. It was then that the ﬁrst of the female organization, Junior League, was born. Now, over a hundred years since its inception, the Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. has 293 Junior Leagues across four different countries with a total of 155,000 women members. The Junior League of Worcester is just one of the many dedicated to promoting volunteerism while further developing the potential in all women

Worcester President Luanne Remillard, “This is important to league members and Worcester as trained volunteers can be much more effective in improving the Worcester community.” Currently, the Junior League of Worcester focuses on training and creating opportunities for adolescent girls from the Worcester area. One program that the Junior League of Worcester presents is Food4Thought. Aimed to empower female middle school students, Food4Thought is a series of adult-mentored workshops that focus on building life skills and raising selfesteem. It is the hope of the Junior League of Worcester that Food4Thought can further develop the potential already existing within the adolescents while fostering ownership of a positive, healthy and productive future. With adult mentorship, Food4Thought allows

and improving the surrounding community through effective action and trained volunteers. The Junior League of Worcester is where education and charity unite. In 1924, a little over two decades after the ﬁrst Junior League was created by Harriman, the Junior League of Worcester was created. During the early 1900s, women played a large role in the city of Worcester: In 1908, the Royal Worcester Corset Factory was the largest employer of women in the United States. It seems natural that the independent breed of women from the area wanted to join forces with the Junior League. The mission formed at the start of the Junior League of Worcester remains as its top priority: To serve the Worcester community. A large part of that mission involves proper training for those ready to serve the city. As explained by the Junior League of

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{ education } young girls to build relationships with trusted adults and expand their support groups, with hopes that the same trusted adults can be viewed as positive female role models in their lives.

children entering Worcester Public Schools is obese and nearly 70 percent of the adult population in the Worcester area is, too. With programs like Kids in the Kitchen, children can learn early on how to prepare healthy

“The Junior League of Worcester is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.”

scholarships to young women who have shown a dedication to volunteerism. With these scholarships, it is the goal of the Junior League of Worcester to empower young women to attend an institution of higher education while continuing to pave the way for a positive and productive future. It is the ultimate hope of the Junior League of Worcester to promote self-sufﬁciency among young girls in the Worcester community - to allow them to learn the skills they will need to provide for one’s own needs while possessing high self-esteem regarding

one’s own ability and worth. “Hopefully, the skills these girls gain will lead them to successful lives,” says Remillard. With programs like Food4Thought, Kids in the Kitchen and annual scholarships, the Justice League of Worcester is well on their way to spreading self-sufﬁciency. For more information on the Junior League of Worcester and its programs, visit jlwma. org.

worcestermagazine.com

- Junior League of Worcester City Desk

Another program put forth by the Junior League of Worcester is Kids in the Kitchen. The program will, worded by the Junior League of Worcester itself, “Empower youth to make healthy lifestyle choices and help reverse the growth of childhood obesity and its associated health issues.” As reported by Worcester Magazine this past July, one in ﬁve

meals and its importance. It also allows youth to take ownership in the battle against childhood obesity and provides them with an education on crucial areas such as health, nutrition and ﬁtness, but in a fun, hands-on atmosphere. In addition to these programs, the Junior League of Worcester annually offers

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Two months after completing her MBA from Nichols, Adriana Sanchez was promoted to COO at her company. Two months after that, following a Nichols-sponsored academic trip to Brazil, Sanchez says she was inspired to launch a side business. As she reflects on her Nichols experience, Sanchez says she gained the tools she needed to advance and the confidence she needed to take on any challenge.

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{ education }

Social media unites college communities during times of mourning Taylor Nunez

e are never alone. Physically, maybe, but never really alone. Social media makes sure of that. The relentless notifications filling the front screen on your iPhone reminds you that people are, in some way, attempting to reach out. In the wake of tragedy, this seems to ring truer than ever. In times where the grieving process reveals different reactions in all of us, there seems to be a trend in which we find comfort. This year, tragedy struck the Worcester collegiate community. Not once, not twice, but three heartbreaking and devastating times. As a graduate of Assumption College, two of these deaths rocked the communities I take part in. As a friend of Erin Rodriques, one of these deaths profoundly impacted my life. It broke my heart. It shattered my faith. Now, even as I write this article, I still have trouble convincing myself her death

happened. That it’s real. Fact, not ﬁction. Earlier this year, in July, a student of Clark University, Amanda Mundt, and the daughter of a Clark professor, Meagan Bell, were killed in a car accident in Haiti. Also killed in the crash was Mundt’s aunt and the driver of the vehicle, a native Haitian man. The students were on the trip to perform mission work in the southern part of the country. In the days that followed the deaths, Facebook served as an important tool to disseminate information. Mundt’s sister, Sarah, used Facebook to share information regarding services. Months later, Bell’s mother issued a thank you on Facebook to all those who had been supporting their family through the devastating time. Later in the year, about two months ago, I remember the exact moment I heard of Colleen Ritzer’s murder. I was in the car, just leaving the high school I work at, when a reporter on the radio revealed that a teacher

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had been murdered by a student in Danvers, Massachusetts. Little details were released and the reporter did not give a name. The report still spooked me. As someone that enters a high school on a daily basis for work, I could never imagine a student capable of such evil. Minutes later, I mindlessly opened the Facebook app on my iPhone. And then, with a tap of the screen, it felt like time stopped. It seemed like every post in my newsfeed related to an article revealing that my classmate was the slain teacher. Hands shaking, I opened a link to an article from boston.com revealing the impossibly sad news. Colleen Ritzer. I pictured her face from a senior year scene. She was hanging out with her then-boyfriend, a friend of mine, in his on-campus apartment and I had stopped by. It was the only real time I could recall interacting with her. Colleen and I weren’t friends, merely acquaintances, but her

death haunted me. In the days and weeks that followed, I would wake in the middle of the night. My heart would be furiously beating and I would be haunted thinking of her lifeless body laying outside in the cold, behind the high school she worked in, where she happily dedicated her life to teaching students. I did not need to know Colleen personally to have the death affect me. In the weeks that followed Colleen’s death, social media was a memorial dedicated to her. I couldn’t open Facebook or Twitter without the reminder of the senseless act of violence that ended Colleen’s life. And yet, the posts were somehow touching. In every post was a message of love. Despite the hate that took Colleen’s life too soon, the Assumption College community continuously and publicly offered prayers and sent love to Colleen’s friends and family. A simple search of #ripColleenRitzer brings hundreds of continued on page 10

DECEMBER 26, 2013 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

{ education } SOCIAL MEDIA continued from page 8

tweets offering condolences or sharing a story, albeit brief in 140 characters. Some people, including myself, retweeted positive messages Colleen tweeted months prior to her death to her students: “No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind,” an almost eerie foreshadowing to the legacy Colleen would leave behind and, “Find something good in every day,” what would later become the inspiration behind memorial bands created by Colleen’s friend and fellow alum Katelyn Mahoney. Not even two months after Colleen’s death, tragedy struck the Assumption College community again. This time, it wasn’t social media that informed me. It was Tuesday around 12:30 p.m. when I received a message from my friend. “Hi Taylor, you haven’t spoken to Erin Rodriques lately, have you?” The question provoked a sense of urgency and fear. My friend revealed that Erin had been missing since the morning before. Nobody had heard from her. She didn’t show up to work. And that was when the panic began. After texting at full speed all the questions racing through my brain, 10 minutes crawled by. Then I received another text. Her car was found. It wasn’t good. The next couple hours, I wouldn’t hear

from my friend. I searched every online newspaper looking for some sort of report of a found car. Then I found a headline that made my heart sink. “Submerged vehicle found in Spencer.” No details. Some time later, my friend conﬁrmed the news. Erin had been in a car accident and crashed into a pond down the street from the home she shared with her ﬁancé. She died. Later, as more heartbreaking details were

who was Erin’s best friend and was supposed to be the maid-of-honor in Erin’s upcoming nuptials in May, I called our former college newspaper staff members and delivered the news. Erin was the ﬁrst photography editor of Assumption College’s student-run newspaper, Le Provocateur. I worked with her throughout my undergraduate career and in those years we became friends. During our staff’s allnighters of churning out a newspaper, our

revealed, I masochistically read each and every article. It was as if I felt the more information I had, it would start to make sense. Like, if I had all the facts, I would feel better. It didn’t. I don’t. To lessen some of burden on my friend,

group had become a family. Each person from the staff that I spoke with had the same stunned reaction. We had lost one of our own. Our family would never quite be whole again. In August, a short time after Erin had

gotten engaged, everyone met up for the first time since a handful of us had graduated from Assumption in 2011. We had each seen each other individually but not as a whole and the reunion was a beautiful moment. Everyone excitedly talked about what they were doing, their plans for the future. Erin, as always, shared her story with a quiet grace but present electricity. Her excitement and happiness were almost palpable. For the majority of us, that was the last time we would see her. In hindsight, it’s a memory I am happy to be left with. If she has to be gone, at least the last time I saw her was a happy moment, not unlike other memories I have of her. The floods of tributes that swarmed social media were difficult to weather but somehow comforting. Even in my grief, no matter how alone I felt, I wasn’t. Since her death, the support I received in the forms of Facebook messages, tweets, texts, etc., have warmed my heart no matter how heavy it feels. It’s not fair. None of these deaths are. But in the end, in the face of all of these tragedies, there’s one thing that I can believe in: Never underestimate the power of community. We are never really alone and in that, we’ll all somehow heal together.

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ROUNDING OUT THE YEAR WITH AWARDS

Becker College has received several awards in 2013, most notably being on Princeton Review’s annual list of Best Colleges and ranking among the top video game design programs. Squeezing in a few more recognitions before the end of the year, Becker recently announced it has received six awards in the 2013 Education Digital Marketing STEVEN KING Awards competition. Becker received the Gold Awards for the 2013 President’s Report and for the Hufﬁngton Post blog by Becker College President Robert E. Johnson, Ph.D.; the Silver Award for its recently-launched mobile app; and Merit Awards for the following: its “Centuries of Tradition” video commemorating its 225th Commencement anniversary, the college’s Bridges alumni magazine, and its website becker.edu. Congrats!

GRANT TO FUND STEM INNOVATIVE MODEL

Last Thursday, Dec. 19, at Clark University, Congressman Jim McGovern announced a $1.1 million Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) grant, awarded by the National Science Foundation, to support the work developing a model to help recruit, prepare and sustain highly-effective math and science teachers for high-need urban populations.

GRANT TO HELP STUDENTS CHART COURSE TO GRADUATION

Another Central Mass. school, Fitchburg State University (FSU), is celebrating a grant award this month after The David Educational Foundation has offered up $200,000 to support technology that will give FSU students a streamlined experience in charting their education course toward Congressman Jim McGovern (right) and graduation. The grant, along with investments by the Fitchburg State University Foundation Clark University president David Angel and the university itself, will pay for the purchase and implementation of Ellucian’s Degree Works software. The technology provides web-based academic advising, degree audit and transfer articulation tools. It also allows students transferring to FSU to determine how coursework from other institutions can be applied to their new degree requirements. PHOTO SUBMITTED

HOLY CROSS STUDENT DEVELOPS APP

College of the Holy Cross Computer Science major and Russian minor student Mark Safran (picturerd at left) ’15 has developed an app allowing students to view the college’s menu items with their respective nutritional content. Safran spent this past summer working with Holy Cross assistant professor of mathematics and computer science Kevin Walsh. Safran began the summer by learning how to develop simple apps for the Apple iOS platform and experimenting with coding techniques. Later, he created a storyboard for the layout of the app, designed data structures and modified a code written by Ryan Hallisey ‘14, also a computer science major, to make the app interactive. The finished product is a comprehensive, up-to-date list of menu items and their nutritional content served in each of the college’s five dining areas. The project was part of the college’s Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium.

Send notes about Worcester colleges and universities, works of art by students and staff, opinion pieces and other higher-ed related content to editor@worcestermagazine.com with contact information to be considered for publication.

DECEMBER 26, 2013 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

{slants&rants} Harvey “I” before “E” except after “F” commentary | opinions

Janice Harvey

f the last days of 2013 represent the entire year, 2014 can’t arrive fast enough for this columnist. As weeks go, on a scale of 1 to 5, the last seven days rate a -3. And that’s generous. Let’s start with the day when I slipped on a piece of squished fruit in the hallway at school, went up in the air and came down like Buster Keaton on a banana peel. Follow that with the evacuation of North High, which began when a weird smell wafting up from the rear of the building turned out to be a burning car that spontaneously combusted. Evacuations are always tons of fun, but when it’s 10 degrees outside and there’s no time to grab coats, it’s even more fun than a wind-whipped barrel of monkeys. Toss in the challenge of pushing wheelchairs over ice patches all the way to the EcoTarium before the Worcester Fire Department gave clearance to return, and you’ve got fun with a capital “F.” At least I think that’s what the “F” stands for. Next came the snow – the ﬁrst storm of the season. Now, I know this is New England, and I also know it’s December, so I am aware of the chance that snow falls. What I don’t understand is why the side streets of Worcester are the land of the forgotten by the city plows. It didn’t help that the leaves were picked up so haphazardly this fall that piles still cling to the curb, but I’m pretty sure my street, which is part of the Burncoat area, was plowed with a butter knife and treated with a salt shaker. St. Nicholas Ave. was cleaned down to bare pavement, while surrounding streets looked like they’d been treated with a half-foot of wedding cake frosting. None of this is news, and I’ve come to expect shoddy plowing – but it’s the WALL of packed snow the plow dumped at the end of my driveway that drove me around the bend. No effort was made to avoid this - not even as I stood in said driveway with a SHOVEL IN HAND. I’m an English teacher, so I’m pretty sure there’s no “F” in the words “plow driver,” but

there should be. Three days later, it snowed again. School was dismissed two hours early – a good move. The “small” storm hit at the worst possible time, but most kids were home safe and sound by the time it revved up. Another half-foot of white stuff fell before it was over in the early evening, but around midnight, I did the right thing, the smart thing, I thought. I went out in my hideous snow removal ensemble and cleared the sidewalks, porch and driveway so that I’d be ready to go in the morning. Fat chance. When I went outside at 6:30 a.m., I faced another WALL of packed snow, only this time it was a frozen mix of dead leaves with the consistency of adobe bricks. And it wasn’t just at the foot of the drive – it was pushed INTO the drive. I couldn’t chip this stuff, especially since my shoulder was already hurting from the fruit fall and the previous two days of shoveling. So I did the only thing I knew to do: I sat down

Credit was not immediately given to the photographer of a photo of the band The Bee’s Knees that ran in last week’s Dec. 19 issue, on page 27. Worcester Magazine would like to apologize and say thank you to Louie Despres who has over the years generously provided the paper with outstanding imagery.

Tell us how you really feel

Letters to the editor should be legible, signed and brief (preferably no more than 200 words). A daytime telephone number must be provided for veriﬁcation. Worccester Mag reserves the right to edit letters for length, clarity, libelous or offensive material and style. Send letters to: Letters, Worcester Magazine, 72 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604 or E-mail: editor@worcestermagazine.com, or fax: 508-749-3165

12 W O R C E S T E R M A G A Z I N E . C O M • D E C E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 3

By Steven King

Photo Credit

1,001 words

... I faced another WALL of packed snow, only this time it was a frozen mix of dead leaves with the consistency of adobe bricks.

selﬁe

in the snow and cried like a girl. When I was done crying, I picked up the shovel and tore away at the adobe muck until I was able to squeeze the Hyundai past the bulk of it. Off to work I went, nose running. I parked in what felt like a different zip code, and as I entered the building, I was told to turn around and walk back out, because – get this – the building was being EVACUATED due to a weird smell. Now to my knowledge, there are two “As” in the word “evacuation,” but no “F.” But there should be. The same day, the cat started barﬁng. He barfed every time he tried to eat. He barfed on my sneakers, under the coffee table and on the Christmas tree skirt. He barfed over a sip of water. There most certainly is an “F” in barf. I called the vet. The vet handed me an estimate of what it would cost to diagnose Scout’s problem. The total for the estimated DIAGNOSIS was $548.00. “If there’s a blockage spotted after x-rays, he’ll have to go to Tufts right away for surgery,” the vet said. “If there’s a blockage spotted after x-rays, I have to go to Target for an urn that will hold his ashes,” I said. Vets don’t have a sense of humor about such things, I learned. When all was said and done, I paid $585.00 for Scout to have an enema. There is no “F” in enema, but there should be. Which brings me to 2014, a year that I sincerely hope won’t be as “F’d” up as the end of 2013. But with my luck, it could be.

{ citydesk }

BUSTED

STABBED AND NABBED: A 41-year-old man was stabbed and a 44-year-old man nabbed and charged with a crime that took place Thursday, Dec. 19. Millbury Police caught Scott Langevin, 135 Park Ave., Millbury and charged him with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a dangerous weapon and malicious destruction of property over $250. According to police, Langevin got upset that a car was parking in a parking spot on Mendon Street in Worcester he had shoveled earlier that night. He started yelling at residents and knocking on doors, looking for the owner. He returned to the car and started keying the driver’s side and kicked the bumper. When the owner came out, police say Langevin tried to run him over with his vehicle. The two engaged in a fight, during which Langevin allegedly stabbed the victim before fleeing the scene. Millbury police were notified and found Langevin’s abandoned vehicle. A State Police K-9 unit was called in and Langevin was ultimately found hiding in the woods.

D A M N E D LI E S and STATISTICS

1,051

- In acres, Lake Quinsigamond is among the largest lakes of natural origin in Massachusetts. It is more than 100 acres smaller, however, than Lake Chargoggagogmanchaugagochaubunagungamaug – otherwise known as Webster Lake (1,188 acres)

GANGED UP: Members of the Worcester Police Gang Unit and Vice Squad executing a search warrant at 3 Hacker Court on Wednesday, Dec. 18 arrested four men on drug and weapons charges. The search warrant targeted Jonathan Hardy, 26, who resides at 3 Hacker Court. According to police, officers showed up around 5:30 p.m. with the warrant and saw Hardy standing in a hallway with another man, identified as Christopher Fortin, 41, 31 Aris Way, Milford. Police saw Hardy holding money in his hand and believed they had just walked in on a drug transaction because they saw Hardy dropping a plastic baggie to the floor when they entered. Officers picked up the baggie and saw it contained several small, knotted, clear baggies of heroin. Both Hardy and Fortin were immediately arrested. Police found $496 cash on Hardy, along with several rounds of .40-caliber ammunition. A known gang member in Worcester, Hardy was charged with possession of a Class A substance with the intent to distribute and distribution of a Class A substance. Fortin was charged with possession of a Class A substance. Police then entered Hardy’s second-floor apartment and found several people inside. They recognized one of them as 20-year-old Adam McNeil of 1041 Main St. He had an outstanding warrant for firearms offenses stemming from an incident earlier this year at McDonald’s on Main Street. McNeil resisted arrest and had to be physically restrained. Also a known gang member, he was charged with resisting arrest in addition to the outstanding warrants. Another man inside the apartment, Juan Rivera, was found to possess a small amount of cocaine and Percocet pills. He resisted arrest, but was eventually subdued. He was charged with two counts of possession of a Class B substance with intent to distribute and resisting arrest.

WOO-TOWN INDE X Worcester Tech Principal Sheila Harrity named recipient of Terrel H. Bell Award for outstanding school leadership by US Department of Education. +2

Worcester businesses such as Nick’s Bar & Restaurant positively giddy about release of new movie, “American Hustle,” which features several locations in the city. +3

Tim is very bright. He’s going to write some good reports and the council will probably respect those reports.” - Mayor Joe Petty on Tim McGourthy, who will be replacing Roberta Schaeffer as president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau

Total for this week:

FILE PHOTO/STEVEN KING

A weekly quality of life check-in of Worcester

Holy Cross hockey team will feature an Oil Baron next season when former Alberta Junior Hockey League player Scott Pooley, who skated in the league with the Fort McMurray Oil Barons, joins the Crusaders. +1

V E R BATI M

Worcester will host two annual conferences for the New England Fuel Institute (NEFI) in 2014, with an expected 3,000 visitors and in excess of 500 hotel room bookings. +2

While tax breaks for businesses don’t please everyone, recent approval of two deals sets the stage for signiﬁcant advancement of the downtown CitySquare project. +2

Michael Barney, director of the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), is elected to the board of directors for the National Consortium for Specialized Second Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology. +1

+2 +3 -2 +1 +2 -1 +2 +1 Not a big fan of cars blocking the driveway at 72 Shrewsbury St. by trying to squeeze into half a parking space along the sidewalk. -2

Malfunctioning parking meters don’t help the city’s cause in the downtown area. -1

DECEMBER 26, 2013 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

{ worcesteria }

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14 W O R C E S T E R M A G A Z I N E . C O M • D E C E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 3

When he visited their school recently, New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft told members of the Worcester Technical High School team he would welcome them to Gillette Stadium at some point for a game. Still, the coaching staff at Worcester Tech was “shocked” to receive a package from Kraft late last week that contained tickets to the Pats’ Dec. 29 home game. And these aren’t just any ducats. The team will sit in lower-level end zone seats. They’ll also get to meet players on the ﬁeld before the game and watch the Patriots warm up. The gesture comes after Kraft visited the school in November to see up close and personal the work being done on the old footbridge that used to rest in Elm Park. It was removed and taken to Worcester Tech, where students are painstakingly putting together a new bridge, with help from students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). The city plans to name the bridge after Kraft’s late wife, Myra Hiatt Kraft. She went to school here and her father owned a Worcester company now owned by Kraft. “We are thrilled with Mr. Kraft’s extremely generous and thoughtful gesture,” Principal Sheila Harrity says. “Many of our football players will also be applying their technical skills to the design and construction of the Myra Hiatt Kraft Footbridge.”

LORDY, LORDY: Don’t tell Worcester

East Middle School teacher Stacy Lord that Worcester Public Schools aren’t up to snuff; she’ll have a pretty darn good argument. Lord posted the following on her Facebook page Monday, Dec. 16: “Just found out one of my former students just got accepted into Harvard on a full scholarship! What ﬁlls my heart even more is knowing she came in speciﬁcally to tell me because she remembered me saying to her four years ago that I wanted her to come back and visit me when she graduates HS and let me know where she is going for college. She found out [ Friday, Dec. 14] and came in today. Best Christmas present ever. Ya, that’s exactly why I teach because I really do believe in my students.” Worcester Magazine was tipped off by At-Large City Councilor Kate Toomey, who tells us the bright young girl’s name is Rosa Payva. Toomey points out Payva’s high school is North High, which usually gets mentioned for all the wrong reasons, especially since it’s a Level 4 school. “I see these stories,” Toomey says, “and I wonder why we can’t talk about the successes?” We’ll do our part. Congratulations, Rosa!

BUFFALOED: There’s been a lot of talk lately about how Worcester’s commercial tax rate isn’t exactly business friendly. There have even been suggestions that some businesses might flee the confines of the Woo for the more affordable rates in some surrounding towns – like Shrewsbury, for example. Well, chalk another one up for the city across the bridge. A Buffalo Wild Wings has set up shop there. The popular chain restaurant has taken the town “by storm” - at least that’s how the editor of The Shrewsbury Lantern describes it. One thing is for sure, BWW has generated some excitement. This past weekend the restaurant handed out coupons to its first 100 guests. If you got one you were entitled to a free order of wings for one year. Word has it there were some folks in line the night before. We here at Worcesteria do so love our Wings Over Worcester (yes, they’re WOW worthy), but we do wonder: when’s the last time a business opening in this city actually had people camping out the night before it opened? BE(A)WARE: In a recent email, the residential taxpayer advocate group AWARE ( Accurate

Worcester Assessments on Real Estate) takes issue with this month’s City Council vote to set the fiscal 2014 tax rates for residential and commercial properties. Specifically, the group picked up on how the ultimate winning tax proposal was adopted. At-Large Councilor Rick Rushton motioned to support Line 159 of City Assessor Bill Ford’s tax options. The residential rate under that option, which was ultimately approved on a narrow, 6-5 vote, is $19.54. The commercial rate is $30.83. While Rushton vocalized it on the council floor, at least one other councilor credited Mayor Joe Petty with the recommendation. The problem? Petty had not said anything about which line to adopt during the meeting. The Council has earned criticism in the past for the time-honored practice of coming into meetings with votes already lined up on certain issues, but has appeared more cognizant of late when it comes to possible Open Meeting Law violations.

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BLACK AND WHITE: Promotional ceremonies for ﬁre and police personnel are newsworthy

DO THE ROBOT: WARNER, the humanoid robot created by students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute ( WPI), ﬁnished seventh at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA) Robotics Challenge Trials at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. WARNER, the college’s Atlas Robot for Nonconventional Emergency Response, earned 11 points in the competition, which featured 16 teams from around the world. At 6 feet 2 inches and 330 pounds, WARNER wowed onlookers in one of the challenges, driving a Polaris Ranger XP 900 some 250 feet in just six minutes. The WPI team earned “Best in Task Vehicle Award” during the awards ceremony. Yeah, but can he do the Urkel? Can’t get enough Worcesteria? Check out Daily Worcester online at www.worcestermag.com. Have an item for Worcesteria? Call Walter Bird Jr. at 508-749-3166, ext. 322, or email him at wbird@worcestermagazine.com. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @walterbirdjr and catch him with Paul Westcott every Thursday morning at 8:35 on radio station WTAG 580AM for all things Worcester!

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A LEADER IN GOVERNMENT: State Sen. Harriette Chandler has been elected 2014 state director with Women In Government (WIG). The organization provides conferences featuring experts on a variety of public policy topics and their impact on states. The meetings, which cover such topics as healthcare reform, diabetes and the current status of women in state legislatures, also provide people with the chance to network with colleagues in other states. State directors help identify key issues in their states so WIG can properly tailor its programming. “Women In Government has been a leader on researching the effects of public policy on individual states in our nation,” Chandler says. “I have supported Women In Government for many years, and it is truly a privilege to continue my public service through this opportunity.”

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WORCESTER CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY

in their own right – it is always worth noting when men and women advance their careers in serving the city. The most recent police promotions, however, carried added significance, in that, they marked the first time in 20 years that a black man was elevated to the rank of lieutenant. There was even more drama because that officer, Ken Davenport, is currently part of a lawsuit against the city and Police Department over the alleged denial of minority promotions. It is a charge Police Chief Gary Gemme flatly denies. Davenport was one of two black men promoted last week, the other being Lee Boykin, who was named sergeant. Three other men were also promoted: James Ferraro, from sergeant to lieutenant, and Dave Doherty and Chris Murphy, from patrolmen to sergeant. emme says every effort has been made to include minorities in the hiring process. He says the department aims to hire at least one minority out of every four new hires. That ratio was exceeded in the recruiting Class of 2013; of the 17 members, eight were minorities. There are six minorities in the current class of 24, with Gemme pointing out that three female minorities opted out of the physical aptitude test. STEVEN KING As for the lawsuit’s claim that the city manager and police chief allowed a round of sergeant and lieutenant exams to expire in an attempt to exclude minorities, Gemme says there is a flaw with that argument. “It was a very diverse group,” he says of those candidates, saying the top patrol officer on the sergeant’s exam was a graduate of Amherst College – and white. For his part, Davenport says he is “comfortable with getting promoted,” even though he did so with his lawsuit still pending. He declined to comment on any ongoing legal issues. Gemme, in the meantime, says as far as any discomfort taking part in the promotion ceremony when one of the officers is currently suing him, “absolutely not.” And he stands by his and the city’s efforts to diversify the ranks. “There was one minority supervisor when I started [in 2004],” he says. Now there are five. “I know it’s taken some time.”

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CAFÉ BAROQUE Thursday, January 9 6:30 dinner seating, 8:00-9:00 concert Nuovo Restaurant 92 Shrewsbury St. Worcester Tickets $25 and $50

Tickets and information at worcesterchambermusic.org or by phone 508-217-4450. DECEMBER 26, 2013 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

{ PersonoftheYear }

PERSON OF THE

Walter Bird Jr.

Peter Stefan plays the sax, writes movie scripts and buries people. The ﬁrst two are hobbies that have not

gotten him into much trouble. The last one is what he does for a living and up until earlier this year, it was pretty much business as usual. That all changed with one fateful decision, one that plucked an otherwise quiet, reserved businessman from the hard-knock Main South area of Worcester and shoved him into the national and international conscious. Over the course of several days in early May 2013, Stefan and the Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Parlor he runs out of an historic white building on Main Street graced the cover of just about every major newspaper in the US, popped up on TV screens as part of daily and evening newscasts and ignited a controversy that, all these months later, still lingers.

TERROR HITS HOME For Stefan, it started late on

a Thursday night in May, the second of May to be exact. That is when he opened the doors of his funeral home to the body of suspected Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev. It was the sort of under-thecover-of-darkness intrigue you see in movies. In this case, the suspected terrorist had been killed in a firefight with police and run over by his brother, Dzhokhar. The two are believed to have set off two pressure cooker bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring hundreds more. They also are suspected of killing a police officer during a brazen public showdown with cops just three days after the bombing. Dzhokhar remains imprisoned. In death, however, Tsarnaev was about to become even more notorious. 16 W O R C E S T E R M A G A Z I N E . C O M

YEAR

PETER STEFAN Stefan ended up in the middle of it all, dealing with a political hot potato that saw nearly every local, state and federal lawmaker do their best not to handle. Believing with all his heart that everyone deserves a burial, the man whose mother worked in hotels and whose father toiled away at the old American Optical factory in Southbridge before dying when Stefan was only 3, decided to offer up his services to prepare Tsarnaev for burial when just about every other city and funeral director was saying no. Boston Mayor Tom Menino wanted nothing to do with it. The city of Cambridge refused to bury Tsarnaev, who had lived there. Muslims, many of them still shaken a dozen years after the tragedy of 9/11, also shied away from helping with his burial. The suspect’s mother was in Russia, where government ofﬁcials were none too eager to welcome the body back home and risk an international incident. That left Tsarnaev’s uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, essentially alone in wanting to bury his nephew and with virtually no cemetery, town or city willing to help him. When a funeral home in North Attleboro, which had initially agreed to take the body, backed out Stefan says he got the call. With a reputation that dates back decades for helping the most desperate and poor of families, sometimes at his own expense, Stefan just may have been the last hope family members had of burying someone who had become the most hated man in America. The carnage that was unleashed at the Boston Marathon was still vividly etched in the minds of people struggling to make sense of it all. Tsarnaev’s brother had been captured and victims, those who lived, were only starting out on the road to emotional and physical recovery. There seemed, at that

• DECEMBER 26, 2013

moment in history, very little public appetite for sensitivity and compassion when it came to where one of the men believed to be responsible should be buried, let alone for the man who decided he was the one to do it. In Worcester, there were furious protests, folks waving American flags and shouting across the bustling traffic of Main Street as they stood on a sidewalk across from the funeral home. The media predictably ensconced themselves just outside the property, kept at bay by a diligent police detail that had only just learned that a suspected terrorist’s body was inside city limits. Social media was abuzz with activity as anxious reporters tried to get the latest news out to the public before their competition. Elected officials typically all to eager to give a soundbite and get their mug in front of a camera suddenly pulled an ostrich move, hiding from sight and not at all willing to comment on whether Stefan was doing the right thing or the wrong thing. Some did, like Stefan’s friend, state Sen. Harriette Chandler; “She stepped up to the plate,” Stefan says. “It doesn’t get any better than Harriette.” Others worked a bit more behind the scenes, such as US Congressman Jim McGovern and Secretary of State John Kerry. Still others, however, including local clergy who might otherwise take up causes of compassion, uttered not a peep. Even now it can be debated whether Stefan should or should not have received the body of a man who, had he lived, likely would have been charged in connection with the bombing. Activists such as Billy Breault have not budged in their insistence that Stefan was wrong.

‘WE TAUGHT THE WORLD A LESSON’ Stefan, now far from the

limelight and free of the pursuit of the TV personalities who were nipping at his heels for interviews back then, is unfazed. He is as secure and content with his decision as the day he made it. And he believes public sentiment, by and large, has swung toward him. Even if it did not, Stefan believes he – and by extension, his country – did the right thing. After all, as he said many times during the ordeal, “We bury our dead.”

He is well aware of his place in history and is just ﬁne with it. When the moment was biggest, Stefan believes the city stood tallest. “I think, where this is the ﬁrst terrorist killed on American soil, [it means] we didn’t act like they would do,” a soft-speaking Stefan says as he sits in one room of the mansion that is his funeral home, the former Lucius J. Knowles house. “[In the Middle East] they dragged Americans’ bodies through the streets. We didn’t do any of that stuff. If we showed them anything at all, we rose above all of it and still did what we should do. We taught the world a lesson.” Stefan has praise for those he says stood by his side when others ran for cover. He singles out Police Chief Gary Gemme and Sgt. Kerry Hazelhurst. Chandler, too, did not duck questions. She believed then, and still does now, that Stefan covered himself and the city in glory by doing what was unpopular because it was what he felt was right. He did it even amidst the threats he claims to have received; he still gets some now and then, according to Stefan. For all the critics, there were just as many, and perhaps a whole lot more, supporters. That much is evident in the dozens upon dozens of envelopes Stefan keeps inside his funeral home in a large, plastic jar.

BY THE LETTER The letters came from all over,

inside the US and out. They came from within Worcester and throughout Massachusetts. They came from the East Coast, continued on page 18

{ PersonoftheYear }

STEVEN KING

“If we showed them anything at all, we rose above all of it and still did what we should do. We taught the world a lesson.” -Peter Stefan

DECEMBER 26, 2013 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

accepted disposal of the body. the West Coast and many points Then, I am not an owner or director of a funeral service. The in between. To be sure, not all government has no say so in this were encouraging, like one that matter. You made a decision. arrived from South Carolina. It reads: “Mr. Stefan, No doubt you Remember what country we are in. See the ﬂag on the cover have found yourself in a bad situation. This terrorist made his [of the card]! What about the choice and he has no rights now. rights of the participants and spectators of the Marathon? Let He exercised his rights while us live and learn.” alive. I cannot imagine why you continued from page 16

THIS WEEK AT For the Week of December 26th -January 1st For more information call 978.464.2300 or visit www.wachusett.com

29 2 9 Sunday Gear Up For Frosty Temps G

(9am-9pm) It’s ofﬁcially winter now, so best prepare for everything Mother Nature is sending our way! Stop by MTNside Ski & Ride for the warmest gear around!

26 2 6

30 3 0 Monday

(10:30am-2pm) Our sister company Polar will be sampling a variety of beverages, including new seasonal seltzers and some of their more classic sodas.

(9am-3pm) It’s that time of year—the kids are home and going stir-crazy! Treat them to some unforgettable fun and great winter exercise! (Reserve online or call 978-464-2300

27 2 7 Friday

31 Tuesday

Thursday

Sample Sam mp Polar Products

Science S i on the Slopes

December Vacation Club D

Ski or Ride in the New Year!

(11am-2pm) Mass Audobon, known for their work protecting the nature of Massachusetts, will be teaching us about animal adaptations and winter habitats!

(4pm-12am) Lifts will be spinning until midnight! We’ll have live music & entertainment, ﬁreworks, snow tubing, & more! Don’t miss out on our great food & beverage packages online!

28 2 8

Wednesday

Saturday

Live in the Coppertop Li

(8pm-10pm) Come check out some live music by Fred Ellsworth & The House Shakers while you sip one of our specialty winter cocktails at the Coppertop Lounge!

Learn to Ski & Snowboard Month

January is Learn to Ski & Snowboard Month, and we have incentives running all month long to help with your transition from pavement to snow! Bring a friend and you’ll both save!

ONGOING Events

NASTAR Racing: Test out your skills with

We now have snowshoeing open to the public at the Inn! Rent shoes at the front desk for full or half days, and go play in the wintery great outdoors!

SunDrop Air Bag: Find out what it’s like to ﬂy for a few moments as you tube off of a specialty crafted jump into the pillow-like SunDrop air bag! Check schedule online!

Bullock Lodge: Warm yourself by the ﬁre while savoring

recreational racing on a Giant Slalom course on Challenger trail every day from 11am-2pm, EXCEPT Tuesday and Thursday.

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18 W O R C E S T E R M A G A Z I N E . C O M

• DECEMBER 26, 2013

STEVEN KING

{ PersonoftheYear }

Peter Stefan holds a container of unclaimed ashes in the basement of his Main Street funeral home. There are hundreds of containers of unclaimed ashes dating back to 1908 stored in the basement. Among several handfuls of letters, that was the lone voice of criticism, although Stefan says there are others. Perhaps most surprising are the missives from residents of Cambridge, where Tsarnaev made his home and which refused to bury him. There was this: “Dear Mr. Stefan, I just

wanted to write a quick word of appreciation for working to ﬁnd a place to bury Tamerlan Tsarnaev. I’m sure the last few days have been trying, and I am sorry for what you and the funeral home have gone through. I think it is important that we treat the dead with at continued on page 20

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{ PersonoftheYear } continued from page 18

least some respect, and I hope you know that there are a lot of us that respect and appreciate your effort. Best wishes.” Another Cambridge letter writer offered this: “I thank you on behalf of our entire

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community for accepting the body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Your work is such an important service. Your heart must be very big and generous and courageous to be willing to provide this very signiﬁcant and basic service to Tsarnaev and his family. I was horriﬁed at the thought that hatred and vengeance would prevail. You were a beacon of light. Thank you. Thank you.” A doctor from Cambridge had this to say: “As someone who just followed this story in the news – I didn’t know anyone personally involved. I wanted to write to thank you for your humane, ethical, respectful and appropriate stance regarding Mr. Tsarnaev. Your maintenance of civility was appreciated and comforting.” And then there was a Cambridge woman who praised Stefan for “standing up for decency when no one else in Massachusetts did.” There were scores of other letters from Montana, Kansas, California, Wisconsin and from much closer to home, including one from Whitinsville. There is no hint of smugness, no trace of ego or self-righteousness in Stefan as he talks about his decision and the congratulations he has received, even if some of it was belated, such as the key to the city he was given by city councilors – after the municipal election in November.

WHERE IT BEGAN An only child, Stefan grew

up around Boston, spending time in Brockton, Roxbury and Dorchester. He went to English High School. He had grandparents who lived in Southbridge, where his father worked, and still has an aunt who lives there. He was “in and out of college,” but didn’t have a chance to ﬁnish because, “I had to work,” he says. He started in the funeral home business at a young age with a friend who owned a business in Dorchester. Stefan says he started working for Graham Funeral Home in the late ’60s, but the place he ﬁrst started at was Mahoney’s.

With a deadpan sense of humor, Stefan says, “Mahoney himself was an Irish guy, but buried mostly Italians. He was a con man, but a nice guy.” Graham and Putnam, he says, were Protestant names. He bought them and added

Mahoney to have an Irish ﬂair. “It was,” he quips, “a Madison Avenue move, that’s all.” He came to the funeral home in Worcester in the ’70s. It had opened in 1916 as Graham Funeral Home. The building had been home to Lucius J. Knowles and his wife and two daughters. It is spacious with four ﬂoors. The fourth is used by employees now, but once served as servants’ quarters for the Knowles. “I stuck with this one because I thought the Greeks, Romanians and Albanians would come to me,” he says, referencing his ethnic background and the city’s large population of immigrants from those countries. “None of them ever came to me, unless they were poor ones. Every single city you go to, the people go to their ethnic funeral home for the most part. The only time it didn’t work was when I came here. They didn’t come here.” He guesses it was because he accepted minorities and poor people. “I wasn’t high class enough I guess,” Stefan says. The families that have come through his doors over the years would more than likely disagree. Stefan, indeed, has been a champion of the downtrodden and unfortunate. The funeral home always had that reputation and Stefan has carried it forward. He has done funerals for free, without a second thought.

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CRITICS TOOK AIM Stefan took care of Tsarnaev

for free as well. Many things could and have been said about his handling of the suspected terrorist, but doing it for money is not one of them. Long before Tsarnaev’s body showed up, Stefan had been making sure anyone who wanted a funeral got one. He even has a rental casket people can use if they cannot afford one. It is, perhaps, an extension of his childhood; growing up in a working, middle-class neighborhood with a mother he says “always did things, was always helping out.”

“Over the years I’ve always buried the poor,” he says. “They were always burying the poor when I got here. They worked with the middle income and the poor people. Some days I make a nickel, some days I

make a dime, some days I lose a dollar, but overall you do enough. Who wants to be a millionaire, anyway?”

“I didn’t take a nickel for this funeral, not a nickel,” he says. “The reason I did that was so nobody could say, ‘You did it for the money.’” What criticism, opposition and vitriol was directed at Stefan was not at all about whether he proﬁted off burying Tsarnaev. It was an argument of philosophies, of

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{ PersonoftheYear } continued from page 21

ideologies and of what was right and wrong. Stefan believes he was right. Others, not so much. “I ﬁrmly believe this guy was responsible for killing a lot of people and shooting two police ofﬁcers,” Main South activist Billy Breault, who has known Stefan many years, says of Tsarnaev. “What Peter did, I think it was wrong for him to get involved. This guy was an alleged terrorist. We brought him into our city. I think that was a mistake. I’ll stand by that. The mayor of Boston said they weren’t going to bury him. The Cambridge city manager said don’t bring him here. Ed Markey said send him back to Russia.” Despite standing opposite Stefan on this issue, Breault is just as frank about all the good he believes the funeral director has done. “Peter’s done a lot of good things over the years,” he acknowledges. “He takes care of people nobody took care of. He has taken people in that others won’t. Nobody has picked up the cause for those that have no advocate more than him.”

PUSHING LEGISLATION That advocacy stretches well

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beyond offering up burial services. Stefan does not just talk the talk when it comes to caring for people – he walks the walk. There is no bigger proof of that than what you will ﬁnd in the basement of the Graham Putnam & Mahoney funeral home, where rows and rows of cardboard cylinder boxes are stacked on shelves. Inside are the ashes of the deceases. Stefan is not sure just how many he has, but there are scores of them, some dating back to the early 1900s. They are the remains of the departed, left unclaimed for whatever reason. Stefan holds them carefully when he takes a box off the shelf, joining a visitor in wondering why a family member would not claim a relative’s remains.

As an advocate for the poor, Stefan is also the main proponent behind a proposed bill to establish a recycled medication program. It is something he has been doing out of the public eye for years. The way he sees it, unused medicine should end up being used, not tossed away – not with so much money being thrown away with it. He has ﬁled a proposal with Chandler, who is the lead sponsor of the bill, which she expects to ﬁle in January after

the start of the next Legislative session. “The prescription thing bothers the hell out of me,” Stefan says of what he sees as a waste of perfectly usable medicine. “We turn around and throw half the stuff away. I went to a nursing home on a pickup one time. I’m sitting there and the girl there, she has these bubble packs. She’s opening them up, they’re pills wrapped individually, and she’s throwing them away. I said, ‘What are you throwing away here?’ She says it’s Lipitor, high blood pressure medication. She says you can’t reuse it.” Stefan’s question, of course, is “Why not?” He drafted a proposal that draws from similar legislation in 30 other states and introduced it to Chandler about four months ago. According to Stefan, the state has about 212 of what he calls “needy-med” clinics, small health care facilities he claims could serve as mini-pharmacies that clear all the recycled medicine. He claims the state could save up to $10 million annually. “HIV medication, for example, is expensive,” Stefan says. “There are a lot of people that need it. Well, you might have somebody that gets six pills, and they’re $40 or $50 a pill. They take one pill, have a reaction and the other four go down the drain. It makes no sense, not at all.” Chandler agrees and cites a bill she ﬁled several years ago regarding the use of medicine at nursing homes. “It makes such sense to do that today,” says Chandler, who makes no secret of her admiration of Stefan, referring to him as “sweet, unassuming, humble.” The senator was just about the only state lawmaker to publicly support her friend during the Tsarnaev episode. “I felt he was beguiled at that point,” Chandler says. “He was only doing what he thought the right thing was to do.” As for why so many other lawmakers steered clear of the issue, Chandler says, “I don’t know the answers. I only know the situation encouraged me to step forward. I know him. At the very time there were protestors saying ugly, ugly things, he was doing the decent, humane thing.”

AIDS EPIDEMIC It was not unlike how Stefan

handled the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. When so many other funeral homes were loathe to accept victims of the thenmisunderstood disease, Stefan did not ﬂinch. He was among the ﬁrst funeral directors to accept people who had died from AIDS. “I think they were freaking out because of the fact, well what they thought back then, if you came close to people with AIDS, you’d get it, which wasn’t true,” Stefan says. “What

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happened was they hid it, too. They wouldn’t put it on death certiﬁcates for years.” Stefan estimates he has handled funeral arrangements for a “few hundred, probably more” AIDS victims. “You took precautions, if you knew [the person had the disease],” Stefan says. “We didn’t have any problems with it. And the AIDS virus, after 24 hours or 16 hours, after the person passes away, it’s not going to do anything. It can’t survive. We never turned them down.” Stefan says he felt pushback because of it. One time, he says, he went to a local doughnut shop. “I gave the guy $3 or $4,” he recalls. “He took the money and washed the money off. He took the money and then he recognized me, then he washed the money. I laughed at him.” For Stefan, handling AIDS victims was no different than handling anyone else. And in a neighborhood with a large concentration of poor families and minorities, who found themselves at a greater statistical risk of contracting AIDS, it was not like he could have avoided it. When folks have needed help, Stefan has been there – whether it is providing pills that might otherwise be thrown away, performing funerals for whatever a family could afford or working with a local Spanish church to help buy clothes for needy children. He has also partnered with AIDS Project Worcester to provide holiday meals. His many efforts have not gone unnoticed or unrecognized. The walls of the main ﬂoor of his funeral home are dotted with this plaque and that, all bearing some inscription thanking him for his help. One plaque, from the Belmont A.M.E. Zion Church was given to Stefan “for being very compassionate and

helpful and going the extra mile helping the people that you help, especially the minorities. We thank you on behalf of the people who appreciate it and those who don’t. God bless you.” Stefan does not do what he does for any sort of platitudes or public thanks. In fact, it was Chandler who had to point out that he was just appointed to a second, five-year term on the state’s Board of Registration of Funeral Services and Embalming. He finished his first term by serving as chair. Chandler also praises Stefan for encouraging more women to enter the funeral service business.

‘STRANGEST OF THE STRANGE’ There are, it turns out, many

sides to Peter Stefan and one of them is artistic. As a saxophone player, he has been a studio musician for years. Outside of music, his other foray into entertainment comes by way of movie scripts. With some help, Stefan has penned a couple of them. One is a comedy called “Shangri-Loon,” a spoof on the popular “Six Feet Under,” which no longer airs. He also has a script for a horror movie, “The Crematory,” which he says was accepted as a ﬁnalist in the Los Angeles Horror Film Festival.

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{ PersonoftheYear } Both movie scripts, although in different genres, draw on the many experiences Stefan has had as a funeral director. His, he says, is a business that has dealt with the “strangest of the strange.” “I’ve had everything here, from vampires to nudists,” he says, proceeding to tell the tale of a man who showed up one day dressed as a vampire. The man wanted to prearrange a funeral for his sister, who, he assured Stefan, was also a vampire. Stefan says he directed the man to a cemetery to pick out a plot. “Somebody saw him up there and the police bagged him,” he says. “So they call me

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and say, ‘We have some fruitcake up here, dressed up like a vampire who says he knows you.’ I get up there, they got him in the back of the cruiser. He says, ‘Tell these people I’m sane.’ I say, ‘It’s not going to be easy, but I’ll try.’” As it turned out, Stefan says, the man had climbed up on a wall and tried to ﬂy over the driveway to get on the sidewalk. Then there was the nudist funeral. “The guys says to me, ‘We’d like to wear our native dress.’ I said, ‘What the hell is that?’ He says, ‘Nothing.’ So I said do whatever you want, I’m going to stay upstairs. About eight o’clock I hear the sirens out there, lights ﬂashing, the horns blaring. I go downstairs to see what the hell is going on and there’s two of them on the front porch with no clothes on having a cigarette.” “You really can’t turn people down,” Stefan says. “You name it, I’ve seen it. The strangest of the strange and the funniest of the funniest have happened here. Some guy came in once and claimed to be a warlock. This is not the normal operation you’re going to meet people coming in and doing something the regular way.” For all the oddities and all the fun, the very nature of Stefan’s business – as well as the clientele with whom he deals – ensures plenty of somber moments. “I think we deal with a lot more of the sad

While protesters were an omnipresent scene across the street from the funeral home, a different crowd showed up Tuesday, May 7, including these women, who held a vigil with Saint Francis & Therese Catholic Worker and prayed for peace and in support of Stefan’s work. stuff than anybody else,” says Stefan, adding, have any money, it’s tough.” “When you’re dealing with people that don’t

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‘AFuneral TRUEdirector. HERO’Musician. Movie script writer. A helping hand to the poor. The guy that buried a suspected terrorist. Peter Stefan is a lot of things. What, then, is his true calling?

“Who the hell knows? To be human I guess,” he says. “If you just sat around and did funerals it would be boring.” For several days this year, things were anything but boring around Stefan’s funeral home. The spectacle has faded, the bad guy has long since been buried – in Virginia, the TV cameras have moved on and life has returned to normal, such as it is, at Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Home. But the impact of that emotional and turbulent time remains. And the actions taken by a man who simply felt compelled to bury a fellow human are a part of the history of one moment in time forever etched into the American fabric. Some will always be offended that Stefan took in the body of someone who allegedly brought so much horror and tragedy to the streets of Boston. Others will recall him as nothing less than a man who did the right thing when he could have done what so many others were doing – turn away. “I clearly felt very strongly this was the right thing to do,” says Chandler. “I am so grateful he stood up and did what he did. We all like to see people make a difference in the world and he made a difference.”

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FILE PHOTOS/STEVEN KING

Taylor Nunez

Even on the heels of last year’s great success, First Night Worcester needed capital to make this year’s event just as outstanding. In a November press release, it was revealed that First Night Worcester chose to appeal directly to the public with a GoFundMe campaign with high hopes of raising enough money to close the financial gap they needed. As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, First Night Worcester relies solely on donations and does not receive any public funding, making it increasingly difficult to pull off the city-wide event. However, First Night Worcester was able to push beyond their financial setbacks – with much thanks to The Hanover Insurance Group – and will be going off without a hitch this New Year’s Eve with activities, musical acts and more.

continued on page 27

DECEMBER 26, 2013 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

night day &

{ music }

The Flock end their string of

Thursday night shows at The Lucky Dog Brian Goslow

They did the impossible.

They made Worcester fall in love with Aha! They got 20- and 30-somethings to steal their parents’ spandex clothing. They rocked the high seas with the music of Tears for Fears, Duran Duran and … gasp, the Go-Gos. And, for a good part of the past decade, they were one of Green Street’s longest running musicals. But, like everybody, the Flock of Assholes wants to rule the world. To focus their attention toward reaching that goal (and perhaps, as drummer Alex Van Handjob AKA Chris Larrivee says, acknowledging they’re getting too old to drag themselves to work on Friday, only to have another show that night), they’re about to end their string of Thursday night shows at The Lucky Dog Music Hall, spend more time with their manicurists and foot massagers, and plot global domination one weekend at a time. “We felt that the residency was sort of our version of rehearsing for the weekend shows,” says guitarist Andy Hummers (AKA Roger Lavallee). “At this point, we know hundreds of songs and are so amazing that rehearsal can only be a detriment at this point. We’re doing it (ending the Thursday night shows) in the best interest of our fans, truly.” By devoting their attention to their weekend shows, the group, fronted by Simon LeBoner (Erick Godin) and also featuring bassist Stink (Matt LeBoef), keyboardist Kaiser GooGoo (Bill Beck) and manager/ photographer & occasional backup vocalist Phil Shpincer (Tony Biernacki) will able to leave their fans “Hungry Like a Wolf” for their next show more passionately than ever before.

Thanks to their well-tuned ’80s-themed stage show, the group has seen a huge increase in weekend bookings that go well into 2015, not only on the club circuit, but weddings and boat cruises throughout New England. You’ll still be able to catch them at the Lucky Dog once a month; they’ve discussed putting on special once-in-a-lifetime notto-be-missed theme performances of the soundtracks to iconic ’80s movies like “Purple Rain,” “Footloose” and “The Breakfast Club” that would follow screenings of the ﬁlms. “Maybe we will do more ‘theme’ shows like we have in the past, like our ‘Flock goes Goth’ Halloween shows, or maybe do a ‘Best of Live Aid’ show,” Hummers says. “The possibilities are endless.” The thought of the Flock, which celebrates its eighth anniversary in April, getting bigger instead of a one-night stand wasn’t part of the plan. “Originally, our dream was to outlast the lifespan of the band Wham! We hit that milestone about a half-hour into our second show,” Hummers says. “Since the ’80s, as a decade, only lasted roughly nine or 10 years, we look forward to lasting longer than the ’80s did.” It’s unlikely success for a band whose members spent decades, individually, trying to establish themselves playing their own original music; part of doing that meant looking down on those bands who only played the hits, i.e., the sometimes dreaded “cover band” syndrome. The Flock has somehow managed to escape that tag, instead being seen as a fun night’s entertainment that guarantees waking up the next day singing songs you previously wouldn’t have admitted liking, then or now. “Playing covers, it’s not about presenting art,” Hummers says, pointing out, that at a

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• DECEMBER 26, 2013

EMILY HORNSBY

Flock show, the audience is as much a part of the show as the band is. “We’re there to entertain people who want to have fun. We don’t just play the songs — there is a lot of comedy and parody involved.” LeBoner says he could have never imagined singing Was Not Was’ “Walk The Dinosaur,” a Flock audience favorite, let alone The Police’s “Synchronicity II” or “Saved by Zero” by The Fixx. “I certainly never dreamed I would be playing ‘You’re the Best Around’ from the Karate Kid soundtrack,” Hummers adds. Hummers, in his alter-ego, Roger Lavallee, has been producing bands for over 20 years;

one of the things that makes his services much sought after is the amount of time he spends researching the style of music the acts he’s going to record plays to ensure he makes them sound the way it wants to sound. Not only has this made him a walking musical encyclopedia, but a master of a wide variety of styles. With thousands of songs in his DNA, he can pay attention to the performance as much as the music. “I know all these songs by osmosis, so I don’t have to spend a lot of time learning songs or thinking about what I’m playing. That stuff comes easy,” Hummers says. “It leaves room in my brain to do the ‘show’ part of it, which is the between-song banter and even having fun in the middle of songs, commenting on a silly lyric or making a joke out of a serious moment.” The Flock would have flown out of the public eye faster than their namesake Flock of Seagulls did if their audiences weren’t having a great time. “For me, the reward has been seeing all of our fans enjoying themselves to some of the finest music ever,” Hummers says, tongue firmly in cheek. “The shrieks of excitement when we strike the opening chords to ‘Your Love’ by the Outfield, or ‘Jessie’s Girl’ are more reward than you might imagine.” So what will the band do now that it’s free on Thursday nights? “I don’t know about the rest of the guys, but I’m looking forward to a residency on my couch catching up on episodes of Cosby Show, Cheers and Night Court. They’re still on, right?” Hummers asks. The Flock ends their residency series with a special Christmas show this Thursday, December 26 at the Lucky Dog Music Hall, 89 Green St., Worcester.

night day &

{ arts }

FIRST NIGHT continued from page 25

First Night Worcester, completely volunteer driven and funded by button sales and donations, is a night celebrating the city of Worcester and the new year that goes beyond the typical bar crawl or liquor-soaked house party. Instead, First Night Worcester offers an evening of family fun. As Executive Director

Worcester is a special and important tradition in this city and the second oldest First Night in the country. Events like this show our vibrant city and our impressive commitment to arts and culture. We wanted to do our part to ensure this tradition continues.” The Hanover Insurance Group’s donation? To match, dollar-for-dollar, all contributions for up to $15,000.

FILE PHOTO/STEVEN KING

Howard McGinn describes it, “First Night Worcester is a celebration of the city and community that promotes the arts and culture - everyone loves First Night!” Fitting for an event welcoming the new year, First Night Worcester’s theme is, “It’s A New Day at First Night.” Even after last year’s triumphant display of talent and despite finances, First Night Worcester is more robust than ever with a packed program at all performance locations. Even with a hearty lineup in place, none of it could have been made possible without the necessary funding First Night Worcester so badly needed. “Like many nonprofits in the arts, we have seen a significant reduction in corporate support for the past three years, almost 50 percent. We reduced our expense by almost 70 percent but still saw a shortfall,” McGinn explains. One donation that solidified First Night Worcester came from The Hanover Insurance Group. After the public appeal was made for First Night Worcester, The Hanover Insurance Group felt compelled to give what they could. As stated by Jennifer Luisa, assistant vice president of Corporate Community Relations at The Hanover Insurance Group, “First Night

Community School students and Columbus Park School students, who team together for an after-school basketball program for a total of eight weeks. To celebrate the program, the students will host a sports venue for families at First Night. Maureen Binienda, principal at South High, believes that First Night provides the perfect opportunity to kick off the program. “First Night represents family spending time together as we end the old year and start the New Year. Many begin the new year with resolutions to lose weight and

to live healthier lifestyles. What better way than to join Worcester on the Move for First Night?” As diverse as our ﬁne city, First Night Worcester offers something for everyone to enjoy. Welcome 2014 with the city and attend First Night Worcester. Buttons are $12 or $15 at the door on New Year’s Eve. Children ages 7 and under are free! For more information on First Night Worcester and the programming, visit ﬁrstnightworcester.org.

Providing the opportunity for Worcesterarea residents to come and celebrate the New Year in a family-friendly atmosphere, Luisa ﬁnds it’s a successful evening for all involved. “It’s a win for the city, local businesses and the performing artists.” With funding, First Night Worcester is able to offer a well-rounded program for all ages. For younger children, there will be pony rides and face painting. Additionally, for all ages, a large variety of music is a staple for the event. From the Greater Worcester Opera to country recording artist Ayla Brown to Jazzed Up Trio, The Russo Brothers and Walter Crocket & the Wannabee Wabbits, there is a genre for everyone across several stages set up around the city. For a second year in a row, Polar Beverages will be sponsoring First Night Worcester with a ﬁreworks display. Celebrating New Year’s Eve (and performing) in Worcester will also be the renowned mindreader Eric Dittelman, from the television show “America’s Got Talent.” Also joining the acts? Acrobat Li Liu. Premiering at First Night Worcester is Worcester on the Move, a health and wellness initiative for Worcester students. The program is the collaboration of South High DECEMBER 26, 2013 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

te r a H e o w l i S d y a l y g P U a s ’ r t e y n i a z t a R g a a l p M h r ’ e s t D s e i ner c r o W

A Special Thank You to Ralph’s Diner, Narragansett, Rich “The Amazing Dick” Leufstedt, The Great Whiskey Rebellion and Nancy Chang for making this event possible.

PHOTOS/STEVEN KING

28 W O R C E S T E R M A G A Z I N E . C O M

• DECEMBER 26, 2013

DECEMBER 26, 2013 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

night day &

{ music }

Best Central Mass. Shows of 2013 Central Massachusetts has always had a great heavy music scene and 2013 was no different. In fact, this year was one of the most eventful that I can remember in recent years. New venues, old venues staying awesome and great bands from the area and abroad rifﬁng it up – Worcester is still going strong. Following is a list, in no particular order, of some of my favorite heavy shows this year. Here’s to hoping next year has just as many bang-overs and actual hangovers. Ramallah Reunion Worcester Palladium on Oct. 24

The return of Ramallah was music to my ears, literally. One of the most disgustingly brutal and terrifying hardcore bands to have ever existed, a reunion of the once-defunct band was not something I ever expected to see. The entire lineup was great and a sober Rob Lind on the mic was a great sight to see.

tion, Neufeld slays on guitar and it was great to see him return to that roll, just for a little while. Classic songs, great vibes and people going nuts. Stooooooked. Plus they have a new album and tour coming out in 2014, so there is even more reason to appreciate the monster that is CBK.

entire Hotel Vernon vibe really can’t be duplicated (and I wouldn’t want anyone to try) and the combination of these two awesome bands on one show with $1 beers pouring from the rafters was one for the record books. Loud, oddly lit, drunk and insane, just the way I like it.

A Loss For Words Worcester Palladium on Nov. 2

Shoe City Records Showcase (Featuring Streetsweeper, Immolate, No Shit, Suffer on Acid, Fuming Mouth and a surprise Abomination reunion) Rad Skatepark on Oct. 12

A Loss For Words may not adhere to the rigid guidelines set forth by the heavy music powers that be, but they have an unrelenting ethic, a close connection to the hardcore scene and this is my list. This show was awesome, totally sold out, people having a ton of fun, the beers ﬂowed like beer and Yellow Stitches played, which was an unexpected surprise.

Tinnitus Five Year Anniversary W/ Cleansing Wave Hotel Vernon on June 13

I had seen both of these bands a bunch of times at this point, but there was something about this show that was extra special. The

So many awesome bands played this that I couldn’t even list them all. Rad Skatepark is not only a – ahem – rad skatepark, it is also an awesome venue and Shoe City Records always delivers the goods. This was a once in a lifetime chance to see a lot of these bands and anyone who didn’t make it, I apologize. It was worth the price of admission just to see the super-rare plastic table mosh in action.

Suffer on Acid, Senzu, Vein-Friendsgiving Marlborough house extravaganza on Nov. 30

The bands ruled, but the real show was in

FREDDIE ROSS

Joshua Lyford

The Mongoloids, Wrong Answer, Revenge, Villain The Raven on June 5

I wasn’t at this show (I was on tour), but it needs to be included. The Raven has been offering up great hardcore shows recently and that shouldn’t be overlooked. For a show of this size to happen there says a lot and I didn’t stop hearing about how great it was for months. I hope shows like this happen more often, and props to The Raven for doing cool all-ages hardcore shows.

Danzig featuring Doyle (Rock and Shock) Worcester Palladium on Oct. 19

I wasn’t at this show either, I wasn’t willing to pony up the money and I honestly think Danzig is a bit of a dingus, but that didn’t stop me from kicking myself when I heard the set list that featured some incredible cuts from The Misﬁts. No one got beaten up for taking cell phone pictures of his royal highness, Danzig, though, so that alone is a success.

Slapshot Club Oasis on May 12

This was a bit of a surprise, but it was fantastic. I had seen Slapshot before and I assumed that I would again, but I certainly didn’t expect it to be in Worcester at Club Oasis. The lineup was rad, it was Gator King’s split release as well, and it was a fun night. I have mixed feelings about Club Oasis, but once in a great while, they put on all ages (where old men can still drink at the bar) shows and that is respectable.

Worcide DIY Beneﬁt 97D (The Shop) on Oct. 26

October was a busy month and this show was one of the most fun nights out there. 97D is a fantastic venue and I had only been introduced to it this year, but you really can’t go wrong with rad bands, rad people, a ﬁre pit and an air of unpredictability. Considering the level of chaos that ensued when all of the bands played (and with that many costumed maniacs) it was a miracle that this show remained at the level of pure unadulterated fun that it did. But it did, and a big hell yeah to that.

New England Metal and Hardcore Fest Worcester Palladium from April 19-21

Comeback Kid “Turn it Around 10 Year Anniversary” Worcester Palladium on June 14

Comeback Kid is one of the tightest hardcore bands to have ever existed and they completely kill it with their current lineup featuring Andrew Neufeld on vocals, but it is a special treat to see them with Scott Wade on the mic ripping through some of their most beloved songs, a la 2003. Not to men30 W O R C E S T E R M A G A Z I N E . C O M • D E C E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 3

the living room. Marlborough is like Worcester’s psychotic twin brother when it comes to house shows. Turkey touchers, food ﬁghts, interior/exterior remodeling and a manic night of savagery, more shows need to be this debaucherous.

Abomination at Shoe City Showcase

You really can’t argue with NEMHCF, with as many acts as they line up, there has to be something for everyone. Featuring sets in the upstairs and downstairs venues, you were hearing awesome rock from all directions. Some standouts for me were Turnstile, The Greenery, Incendiary, Trapped Under Ice (I believe their last Worcester show before hiatus), Suicidal Tendencies, Terror and Power Trip. After 14 years, NEMHCF’s still has it. Here’s to many more years to come.

night day &

{ photosoftheyear }

Find all of Worcester Magazine’s Best Photos of 2013 at worcestermagazine.com All photos by Steven King DECEMBER 26, 2013 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

night day &

{ ﬁlm }

Orcas, weight loss, and a boozy apocalypse Jim Keogh

About this time every December I ponder the things I’ve learned in the past year, and I never fail to ﬁnd that movies have been one of my best teachers. Romance, war, laughter, winning, losing, zombies … ﬁlms cover all of life’s basic terrain and then some. If you pay attention to the images on the screen you can unshackle your mind.

32 W O R C E S T E R M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Here lie five of my top lessons of 2013: • There is nothing more gratifying than inhaling the fumes of a true box-office stinker. Honestly, isn’t it vastly more fun to boo than applaud, to see the mighty plummet after they’ve been exalted? The Red Sox’s perennially losing ways allowed New Englanders to build a reputation as the nation’s most formidable complainers — we found grace in our misery; bathed in our victimhood — until our team did us the disservice of winning the World Series in 2004 (then another in 2007, and this year), and suddenly we weren’t so special anymore. Ah, but the movie studios brought us catastrophes like “RIPD,” “After Earth” and “Pacific Rim,” and their failure made us feel bitter, and then superior all over again. You think you’re better than me Johnny Depp? Hey, I never starred in “The Lone Ranger.” Can you say the same? • I have watched documentaries about factory farming, and I still eat meat. I have seen films depicting the disastrous effects of climate change, yet I still drive an SUV. But “Blackfish,” a devastating expose about Sea World’s deplorable treatment of killer whales, will forever keep me, and anyone else whom I can convince, away from that godforsaken aquatic park. • The passing of longtime TV and newspaper film critic Roger Ebert still feels like the death of a beloved uncle. His rogerebert.com site was once a repository not only of his exquisite reviews, but of his longform essays about growing up in Chicago, forging a writing career, battling alcoholism and cancer, and his trenchant observations • DECEMBER 26, 2013

about our busted health care system, religious zealotry and attacks on science. Today, the site looks different, reads different and pretty much sticks to movies. The writers are certainly skilled, but every now and then I hit the archives and pull out a sample of his work to remind me that there is “skilled,” and there was Ebert. • Family considerations aside, if I had to choose how I’d want to spend my few remaining hours on this planet, it would probably be on the pub crawl orchestrated by Simon Pegg and crew in “The World’s End.” Second place would be holing up in James Franco’s house with Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, et.al. in “This is the End.” And way, way down the list is the prospect of outracing homicidal zombies alongside Brad Pitt in “World War Z.” • Matthew McConaughey has to be the front runner for an Academy Award. Doesn’t he? For “Dallas Buyers Club” he dropped 40 pounds, and Academy voters adore physical transformation (look how skinny Christian Bale got for “The Fighter” and how fat George Clooney got for “Syriana” – protruding

ribs or man boobs help your cause). Couple the extreme weight loss with the fact that McConaughey plays a man struggling with AIDS, a disease that devastated much of the movie-making community over the last few decades, and you may have a repeat of Tom Hanks winning for “Philadelphia” (lost weight, played an AIDS victim). Of course, the sentimental vote may go to 77-year-old Robert Redford, whose character faces his own mortality in “All is Lost.” Redford only speaks a handful of lines, but he should be heartened by the fact that in 2011’s “The Artist,” Jean Dujardin uttered two words, and he still won.

night day &

{ dining}

krave

Anzio’s Brick Oven Pizza FOOD ★★★★ AMBIENCE ★★ SERVICE ★★★ VALUE ★★★★ 135 Westborough Rd., Grafton • 508-839-4900 • anziosbrickovenpizza.com

Excellent Pizza Pie Michael Brazell

Situated on a twisty and turny length of Route 30 in Grafton, Mass. is Anzio’s Brick Oven Pizza, a delightful Italian restaurant specializing in New York-style thin-crust Italian pizza. Along with a full menu of Italian dishes, sandwiches and soups, Anzio’s is an Italian restaurant worth making the drive to Grafton for an excellent pizza pie. Visiting on a cold December Friday night, my co-diner Markos and I spotted Anzio’s tucked amongst two or three other businesses just off the road. The unassuming exterior does not look like a casual Italian restaurant, as an indoor mini-golf, a roadside ice cream stand and local market keep Anzio’s tucked in the rear. Despite this, diners are welcomed

to two main dining rooms, both comfortable and adorned with dim, but cozy lighting, and a small and quiet bar to the right. While the two main dining areas are warm and inviting, Markos and I were unfortunately sat in a third dining space effectively on the outside of the restaurant with makeshift outdoor tables, no place settings and ﬂanked by the aforementioned ice cream shop. We were sat here only because every other table was ﬁlled at the time we arrived, but this setting just isn’t appropriate for dining, as the belowfreezing outdoor temperatures required us to keep our winter jackets on throughout the entire meal. I understand the restaurant is trying to maximize space, but this made for a very uncomfortable meal, and guests should probably be quoted a 10 or 15 minute wait, instead of being sat immediately in what should be a three-season or waiting room only. While the dining arrangement was subpar, we were very pleased with our dinners. We began our meal with an order of meatballs, an interesting item to have for an appetizer, but we were happy that we ordered it. Four meatballs slightly smaller than a baseball arrived quickly on a plate, covered in a delicious homemade tomato sauce, which were hearty and warm. I followed that up with

a cup of creamy tomato bisque, which had delicate ribbons of basil, terriﬁc chunks of soft tomatoes and was delightfully hot for the cold night, served with a wedge of garlic bread. While the soup and meatballs were excellent, Anzio’s has made a name for themselves with one true specialty: their awesome brick-oven pizza. An Italian-style pie is cooked hot in a brick oven, arriving thin and crunchy to the table, with a soft inner crust. Markos and I had a difﬁcult time deciding between the Sausage e Pepe, a pizza with sweet Italian sausage, roasted peppers, caramelized onions and a spread of fontina cheese, or the Barbecue di Pollo. Thank heavens we went for the Barbecue di Pollo! The large pizza arrived after about 20 minutes and it was well worth the wait. A thin dough crust with a crunchy bottom was topped with a homemade barbecue sauce that was sweet, tangy and at times had a delightful ketchupy-taste, which sounds bizarre but truly hit the spot. Soft, delicate sliced grape tomatoes sat beside strands of arugula, while thick hunks of grilled barbeque chicken was doused completely in a thick layer of gooey mozzarella cheese. The large pizza was $18 but given the size of it, the quality of the toppings and the perfectly

crunchy crust, the price is well worth it. While Anzio’s certainly specializes in pizza, the restaurant also has a focused Italian menu, with paninis, calzones and a list of about 10 entrees covering your standard Italian dinner fare. Prices are reasonable for the size of the entrees, as most specialty pizzas are about $12 or $13 for a small and $18 for a large, while sandwiches are all less than $10 and not a single dinner entree tops $15. Service at Anzio’s was good, but not stellar, though part of this could have also been because of our seating location, which was off the beaten path of our server. Further, we were impressed by the small bar having a handful of craft beers on draft, surprising for a restaurant that also serves soft drinks in 20-ounce bottles. Despite one miss-step on the seating arrangement, Anzio’s Brick Oven Pizza on Route 30 in Grafton is well worth the drive for any Worcester-area resident who is keen on an excellent slice of pizza at a fair price.

SHOP HEALTHY. EAT HEALTHY. BE HEALTHY.

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krave

night day &

BITES ... nom, nom, nom Brittany Durgin

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602 SOUTHBRIDGE ST. | (RTE. 12) AUBURN | 508-407-8880

Bistro celebrates New Years with a special four course prix-ﬁxed dinner with a complimentary champagne toast on Tuesday, Dec. 31, from 3:30 p.m.-midnight. The Mark Jodice Quartet will perform in the bar area throughout the evening. Dinner is $75 per person or $90 with wine pairings, not including tax and gratuity. For reservations, call 978-568-1500 or visit chloebistro.com.

continued on page 36

Join us New Years Eve! Prix Fix Menu: 3 course meal includes complimentary champagne Only $30 per person | 4-10pm - Reservations highly recommended

508-926-8861 1394 Main St., Worcester • liviasdish.com 34 W O R C E S T E R M A G A Z I N E . C O M

• DECEMBER 26, 2013

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krave

It’s Chili! Warm up with Worcester’s chili offerings this winter

Brew City

104 Shrewsbury St. Worcester 508-752-3862 brew-city.com FOOD ★★★★½ AMBIENCE ★★★★ ½ SERVICE ★★★★½ VALUE ★★★★½

Sara Jane Nelson

In addition to some fantastic beer choices, Brew City serves up great American-style food. Between the drinks and eats, there is just enough variety without getting too fancy or making your choices too tough. And, it’s easy to hang out at the bar and watch the game while enjoying a bite.

I had a bowl of the Brew City Chili for dinner, but I only went for the cup size, which turned out to be enough for me. The restaurant’s chili is a homemade sweet and spicy chili, with melted Monterey Jack and chopped scallions on top. This was the kind of chili that actually tasted homemade. The beef was chunky and well seasoned, the vegetables cooked to the right texture, and there was an aspect of roasted tomato that I liked about the sauce. The melted cheese and scallions, paired with the chunky texture of the meat and vegetables, made the overall texture pleasantly dynamic. The sauce used for the chili was more aggressively seasoned than most. While this wasn’t an overly spicy chili, I would put it in about a medium to spicy range. The cup of Brew City Chili will cost you $3.99. There is also a bowl size for $5.29. The portion and quality offered deﬁnitely ranks this high on the chili scale, making it a great value. Breakk Break

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455 Park Avenue Worcester | 508-752-7711 Mon-Fri 11:30 am - 10 pm | Sat 12 pm - 10 pm | Sun 10 am - 9 pm

Rated Best of Worcester County on

DECEMBER 26, 2013 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

continued from page 34

DINE AND DANCE AT SLIDERS AND DOGS AT INDIAN RANCH FINDERS AND Indian Ranch in Webster celebrates New Years KEEPERS Eve on Tuesday, Dec. 31 with a buffet dinner Finders and Keeps in West Boylston has

Open for Dinner: Wed.-Sat. 4pm-Close Meet our new Chef Michael!

139 Water St. • Worcester 508-754-6100 thegreyhoundworcester.com

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night day

krave

The Grey The Grey Hound Pub Hound Pub

at 8 p.m. that will include baked haddock with seafood stufﬁng, pan-seared tenderloin tips with wild mushrooms and more. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be offered from 7-8 p.m. This is a 21-plus event. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. For more information and tickets, visit indianranch.com.

NEW MENU AT BREW CITY Brew City on Shrewsbury Street has launched

new winter lunch and dinner menus featuring pork ossobuco, pomegranate glazed hen, Brew City’s classic Guinness meatloaf. To see what else is new and try these dishes, visit Brew City, 104 Shrewsbury St., Worcester. brewcity.com.

always offered a lot of choices. Now, the side-by-side restaurants offer a new array of sliders and dogs. Sliders include haddock sliders with tarter sauce, pulled pork sliders based in barbecue sauce and served with diced onion, buffalo chicken sliders with buffalo sauce and bleu cheese dressing, grilled meatloaf slider with gravy and more! Dogs include Chicago-style dog with sweet relish, mustard, celery salt, tomato slices, sport peppers and white onions; Fenway frank, two Kayem skinless franks grilled and served on a plain roll; and the “Big Dog,” an 8-ounce grilled all angus beef dog served on a grilled roll. See all slider and dog menu items at ﬁnderspub.com or visit them at 171 West Boylston St., West Boylston.

Tu-Th 11:30-9 Fri & Sat 11:30-10 Sundays noon-8 Closed on Mondays •

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GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE Buy $50 Gift Card - Get Additional $10 credit Buy $100 Gift Card - Get Additional $20 credit

Now Booking Holiday Parties! 281 Main St., Worcester | 508-762-9501 | ritualworcester.com minutes from DCU Center, Mechanics Hall and Hanover Theatre

New Years Eve Comedy Par ty FREE VALET Take-Out & Catering Available 36 W O R C E S T E R M A G A Z I N E . C O M

• DECEMBER 26, 2013

krave

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MASTER SINGERS WINE TASTING The Master Singers of Worcester will perform

at a wine tasting and silent auction event at Pakachoag UCC Church on Friday, Feb. 7, from 7-9:30 p.m. Savory treats, fancy desserts and a selection of ﬁne wines from around the world will be offered. Checks or cash will be accepted, as well as credit cards subject to a service fee. Pakachoag UCC Church, 203 Pakachoag St., Auburn.

WHAT A TREAT Pole dancing, while often associated with

strip clubs, is now appearing in fitness clubs, dance studios and homes, providing a new form of exercise. The dancing-on-a-pole activity has found a new audience - one we have to admit is pretty unexpected - at Sweet Kitchen & Bar at 72 Shrewsbury Street in Worcester. Escape Aerial Arts, Worcester’s new alternative fitness and dance studio specializing in pole dancing and aerial arts in Kelley Square, has plans to host monthly Sweet Escape pole dance revues at Sweet. It held its first event Winter Wonderland! themed show Dec. 8. Dancers from all over New England are expected to perform each

month. Guests will be encouraged to stay after the scheduled performances when the dance ﬂoor will be open to all. Each month’s show will be a different theme. Those interested in participating as a dancer in a Sweet Escape show should send an email to SweetEscapePDR@gmail.com. Learn more at facebook.com/pages/Sweet-Escape-PoleDance-Revue/224485987726496.

’GANSETT RELEASES LIMITED-EDITION STOUT Narragansett has announced its collaboration with Autocrat Coffee, another Rhode Islandbased company, to release a limited-edition Autocrat Coffee Milk Stout. According to Narragansett, “The full-bodied milk stout is enriched with the robust ﬂavor of Autocrat

Wexford House Restaurant

Tuesday-Saturday, 11:30am-10:00pm

508-757-8982

Located at the corner of Shrewsbury Street and Route 9 in Worcester

Coffee to achieve an extraordinary taste experience.” Further, the stout “delivers a ﬂavorful, smooth, dark brew with notes of roasted barley, chocolate malt and rich crystal malt. The exacting touch of hops provides just the right amount of bitterness to balance the sweet notes of the malts and milk sugar.” To ﬁnd a local retailer carrying the Autocrat Coffee Milk Stout, visit narragansettbeer.com.

Where Good Friends Meet for Food & Drink Fresh Seafood - Chicken Dishes Great Steaks - Homemade Italian Allen’s Specialty: Middle Eastern Food We will be open New Year’s Eve! Many Specials Available Plus Our Full Menu!

DECEMBER 26, 2013 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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music >Thursday 26

CA$H For Your Junk Vehicle! FREE REMOVAL ~ 1-800-922-8281 257 Granite St., Worcester 508-755-8631 www.standardautoinc.com

WANTED!

Lucid Dreaming. The Raven, 258 Pleasant St. 508-304-8133 or facebook.com/events/187048818163297. Spreadin’ Rhythm Around World Debut. “Fats” WallerStyle Harlem Swing Rent Party! Dr. Nat Needle -piano/ vocals, Camille Collins Lovell -violin/vocals, James Butrym - bass/vocals. $5 Cover. 8:30-2 a.m. Nick’s Bar and Restaurant, 124 Millbury St. 508-753-4030. Free Live Acoustic Original Reggae and Jamaican Buffet at One Love Cafe. Both meat and vegetarian entrees. Call (774)272-3969 for reservations. $10 per person Buffett. 5-10 p.m. OneLove Cafe, 800 Main St. 508-753-8663 or facebook.com/ events/164007660454055. Relaxing and Heartwarming Piano Music: Vannga Tran. Vannga Tran is a part time professional pianist who resides in Worcester, MA. Besides being a pianist, she is a full time teacher and part time university instructor. Vannga specializes in romantic and easy listening music, pop/rock/rock’n roll/disco music, music from the 30’s until the present, musicals, ﬁlm music, ballroom dancing music, pop and folk music from many countries. Included with Regular Admission: $12 Adults, $9 Seniors (65+), $7 Youth (6-18), Free to Members & Children under 6. 6:30-7:30 p.m. Tower Hill Botanic Garden: Stoddard Education and Visitors Center, 11 French

THE RESTAURANT SHOW Each week your host Ginny talks to restaurateurs from some of the top local eateries to spotlight what they do — their stories, their menus, and what makes the local restaurant scene so great.

TUNE IN Saturday 10am - 11am and Sunday Noon - 1pm

Drive, Boylston. The Union Ukulele Club. 7-9 p.m. Union Music, 142 Southbridge St. 508-753-3702. Open Mic Night w/ Host Ed Sheridan. Our weekly Open Mic Night is back for the winter/spring! Musicians of all kinds are encouraged to attend and participate. Our ever-capable host Ed Sheridan plays host to this classic event. Advance registration not required. No Cover. 8-11 p.m. Blue Plate Lounge, 661 Main St., Holden. 508-829-4566. Thursday Open Mic w/ Ed Sheridan. Free. 8-11 p.m. Blue Plate Lounge, 661 Main St., Holden. 508-829-4566. Audio Wasabi. 8:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Gardner Ale House, 74 Parker St., Gardner. 978-669-0122. Karaoke Thursdays! Every Thursday Night! Hosted by DJ Fast Track! 18+ No Cover. Come Rock the Mic Every Thursday Night at Karaoke! 8:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Club Remix, 105 Water St. 508-756-2227. Live Band Karaoke with Fingercuff. Live Band Karaoke with Fingercuff EVERY Thursday at Angry Ham’s Garage Bar and Grill! Over 250 songs to pick from. Sign up and sing with an AWESOME Live Band! loveshackmusic.com 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Angry Ham’s Garage Bar and Grill, 2 Beacon St., Framingham. 508-620-8888. The Flock Of A-Holes 80’s Christmas show! Worcester’s favorite 80’s cover band playing you all the hits. The winner’s of several awards for best cover band in Worcester. Many years in a row. Lead vocals--Simon Lebonah Guitar--Andy Hummer Drums-Alex Van Handjob Bass--Stinq Keyboards--Keiser Goo Goo Manager/ Photographer--Phil Sphincter $6. 8:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Lucky Dog Music Hall, 89 Green St. 508-363-1888 or facebook.com/pages/Flock-ofAholes/127019150125. College Night Featuring DJ Danny Fly. Come and experience Worcester’s HOTTEST College Dance Party! DJ Danny Fly will be spinning your favorite Top 40, Dance, Hip Hop! 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Industry Bar Room, 109 Water St. 508-756-2100. Karaoke. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Classic’s Pub, 285 Central St., Leominster. 978-537-7750. Open Mic Night! 9-11 p.m. Canal Restaurant & Bar, 65 Water St. 508-926-8353. Thirsty Thursday with DJ Matty J. As of November 21 2013, this event will be held if it is followed by a Friday Holiday or for private parties, DJ Matty J helps you get the weekend started early with old school jams,club remixes, HD videos and Karaoke! No Cover charge. 10 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Center Bar & Grill, 102 Green St. 508-438-0597.

>Friday 27

Kitchen Jams, Blue Light Bandits, The Sunshine Group. The Raven, 258 Pleasant St. 508-304-8133 or facebook. com/events/586393048100919.

38 W O R C E S T E R M A G A Z I N E . C O M

• DECEMBER 26, 2013

The Johnny Romance Band. The Johnny Romance Band returns to The Liberty Tavern in Clinton! With special guest Sabrina Jones! Funk, rock, R&B, everything to dance and party to! 9-12:30 a.m. Liberty Tavern, 301 High St., Clinton. 978-365-4800. Gary Landren and his honky-tonk piano. Just because the holidays are winding down, does not mean that we stop celebrating! What could be more fun than Gary Landgren and his honky-tonk piano? Free. 2-3 p.m. Briarwood Continuing Care Retirement Community: Birches Auditorium, 65 Briarwood Circle. Dana Lewis LIVE! Classic Radio Hits from the 50’s to the 80’s “The Soundtrack of your Youth” Free! 5:30-8:30 p.m. Webster House Restaurant, 1 Webster St. 508-757-7208. Thank Friday it’s Dr. Nat - 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m., then Sandstorm Organ Trio at 9 p.m.! 5:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Nick’s Bar and Restaurant, 124 Millbury St. 508-753-4030. Open Mic. Open to musicians, poets, comedians or anyone with a talent! Hosted by Patrick McCarthy. 6:30-9 p.m. Nu Cafe, 335 Chandler St. 508-926-8800 or nucafe.com/events. BILL McCARTHY @ PERFECT GAME. Classic & Contemporary Acoustic and Not-So-Acoustic Rock! Catch Bill playing a large variety of classic & contemporary acoustic rock: Beatles, Who, Dead, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, C.C.R., Elvis Presley, Stones, James Taylor, Simon & Garfunkel, The Cars, Steely Dan, Warren Zevon, Hendrix, and much more! Free. 7-10 p.m. Perfect Game Sports Grill and Lounge, 64 Water St. 508-792-4263. Rob Adams. 7:30-10:30 p.m. Canal Restaurant & Bar, 65 Water St. 508-926-8353. Chris Reddy Acoustic Loops from Hell. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Rye & Thyme, 14 Monument Sqare, Leominster. 978-534-5900. Jay Graham. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. The Mill, 185 West Boylston St., West Boylston. Karaoke. Karaoke by Star Sound Entertainment 8 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Chooch’s Food & Spirits, 31 East Brookﬁeld Road, North Brookﬁeld. 508-867-2494. Karaoke. 8 p.m.-2 a.m. RG Scooters Pub, 84 Lakefront St., Lunenburg. 978-348-2453. Live Bands. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Black Sheep Tavern, 261 Leominster Road, Sterling. 978-422-8484. Tom Yates & The Workingman’s Band. The band features guitarist/vocalist Tom Yates who was winner of the Guitar Center King of the Blues Competition for New England. Performing Classic Songs from early rock to Woodstock: Pop-rock, psych-rock, surfrock, folk-rock, country-rock, blues-rock. Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Hendrix, Clapton, Dylan, Donovan, Byrds, Eagles. (myspace.com/ workingmansband) No Cover. 8-11:59 p.m. The Westender, 493 Boston Post Road West, Marlborough. 508-485-1185. Live Music. 8:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Gardner Ale House, 74 Parker St., Gardner. 978-669-0122. The Southern Rock Experience, with special guests

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Tavern for some more Rock, Funk, Soul and Blues.Special Guest Jack Rabbit Slim. Southern Rock Tribute Band based in Central Sabrina Jones. 9 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Liberty Tavern, 301 High St., Mass paying tribute to. The Allman Bros., Molly Hatchet, The Outlaws, Ozark Mountain Daredevils Charlie Daniels Band, Blackfoot, Clinton. 978-365-4800. The Ramm Jamm. Local DJ plays the classics and requests at Lynyrd Skynyrd and many more. Jack Rabbit Slim (facebook.com/ local bar. Cold beer, reasonable prices make this a great start for the jackrabbitslimband) High energy band covering all your favorite Canal District Friday Nights. Free. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. 3-G’s Sports Bar, classics rock, alt rock and top 40 hits. $7. 8:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Lucky The Music Room, 152 Millbury St. 508-754-3516. Dog Music Hall, 89 Green St. 508-363-1888 or facebook.com/ The Ric Porter Band. The legendary Ric Porter leads this TheSouthernRockExperience. excellent band as they make the Plate shake like the old days! $5. Beatlewood. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Michael’s Cigar Bar, 1 Exchange 9 p.m.-midnight. Blue Plate Lounge, 661 Main St., Holden. 508Place. 508-459-9035. Boom Box. $5. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Greendale’s Pub, 404 W Boylston St. 829-4566. 508-853-1350. Drunken Uncles. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Rivalry’s Sports Bar, 274 This holiday vacation, the EcoTarium opens its doors to families, inviting Shrewsbury St. 774-243-1100. them to solve a Wildlife CSI mystery called “The Case of the Live Bands. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Classic’s Pub, 285 Central St., Wildlife Poacher” from Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 26-28, each Leominster. 978-537-7750. day from 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. The mystery involves a secret wildlife NEW! “High Voltage Friday’s” High Energy poacher’s camp, which features bones, traps, snares, fur, primitive weapons Hardcore with DJ Chananagains! Every Friday and clothing. For more information, visit ecotarium.org. Night! 18+ $10, 21+ $5. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Club Remix, 105 Water St. 508-756-2227. The Bruce Marshall Group at The Simple Man Tribute This! The premier GNR tribute, with special Saloon. Legend Bruce Marshall formed the BRUCE MARSHALL guest Electric Funeral (Black Sabbath tribute). The GROUP in 1991 and has been performing and recording steadily area’s premier GnR and Black Sabbath tribute bands are back! 9 throughout the US since their inception. The 4-piece band takes p.m.-12:30 a.m. JJ’s Sports Bar and Grill, 380 Southwest Cutoff, its listeners on a soaring ride through their 6 CD’s in addition to Northborough. 508-842-8420. putting out a healthy dose of Toy Caldwell songs from the Marshall Auntie Trainwreck. Stop by for incredible sushi and teppanyaki, Tucker catalog. (facebook.com/pages/The-Bruce-Marshallphenomenal drinks, and plenty of fun as we bring our blend of Group/105042126205929) Free. 9 p.m.-midnight The Simple Man Classic Rock, Blues, Alternative and Party favorites to the stage at Saloon, 119 High St., Clinton. 978-365-1949 or facebook.com/ Sakura. 21+, No Cover. 9:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Sakura Tokyo, 640 Park events/1440089719543606. Ave. 508-792-1078 or facebook.com/events/120603344779872. The Johnny Romance Band. The JRB Returns to The Liberty

{ listings}

Max Courtney. A part of the ‘Traditional Irish Music Series’. 9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. The Grey Hound Pub, 139 Water St. 508-754-6100. Never in Vegas. 9:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Jillian’s - Worcester, 315 Grove St. 508-793-0900. DJ One-3. 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Perfect Game Sports Grill and Lounge, 64 Water St. 508-792-4263. Friday Night Dance Party with DJ Blackout. DJ Blackout bringin’ the energy to get the party poppin’ all night long. No cover charge. 10 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Center Bar & Grill, 102 Green St. 508-438-0597. Supernova Friday. The Supernova has arrived Worcester! Come out every Friday to Worcester’s hottest new nightclub, Bar FX, and be a part of Worcester’s growing EDM scene. Resident DJ’s Frankie Feingold & Goofy Bootz hit you with the hardest house in the city every Friday night. $10 (18+). 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Bar FX, 90 Commercial St. 774-823-3555 or facebook.com/barfx.worcester.3. Top 40 Dance Party. Free. 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Speakers Night Club, 19 Weed St., Marlborough. 508-480-8222 or speakersnightclub.net. Video DJ Jay Senior. No Cover. 10 p.m.-2 a.m. PiNZ Entertainment / Blue Dog Sports Bar & Grille, 110 So Main St., Milford. 508-473-6611 or pinzbowl.com. DJ Music Master Sound. 11 p.m.-2 a.m. Canal Restaurant & Bar, 65 Water St. 508-926-8353.

>Saturday 28

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FIRSTNIGHT WORCESTER FIRSTNIGHTWORCESTER.ORG

Sponsors:

BUTTONS ON SALE NOW! $10 UNTIL DECEMBER 25 | $12 AFTER DECEMBER 25 $15 AT THE DOOR | KIDS 7 AND UNDER FREE DECEMBER 26, 2013 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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Upload your listings at worcestermagazine.com. Click the Night & Day toolbar, then choose Calendar to place your event listing in both our print and online weekly calendar.

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Lucius Natick, Biclops, OTCM DJ, Chernobyl Child and hosted by Tell MC. The Raven, 258 Pleasant St. 508-304-8133 or facebook.com/events/1390326831214504/?ref=23. Mirror Image: Jazz Guitar Duo. Mirror Image is Tom Ewart and Jeff Mac. Both guitarists, Jeff plays lefty, while Tom plays righty. Together they are on the same musical page . instrumental jazz with a slight edge. Included with Regular Admission: $12 Adults, $9 Seniors (65+), $7 Youth (6-18), Free to Members & Children under 6. 1-2 p.m. Tower Hill Botanic Garden: Stoddard Education and Visitors Center, 11 French Drive, Boylston. JAZZED UP Trio LIVE. If you like the music of Buble’, Sinatra,

Bennett, and Connick Jr, you will love JAZZED UP Trio featuring vocalist / pianist Mauro DePasquale, bassist, Phil Madison, and drummer Ed Conley. No Cover. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Coral Seafood, 225 Shrewsbury St. 508-755-8331. Dana Lewis Live! Dana Lewis, Playing the greatest Hits from the 50’S to the 80’s. “The sound track of your youth” 7-10 p.m. Nancy’s Quaker Tavern, 466 Quaker Hgwy (Route146a), Uxbridge. 508-779-0901. Cafe’ con Dios. Donation. 7:30-10 p.m. Faith Baptist Church, Main Auditorium, 22 Faith Ave, Auburn. 508-579-6722. Belit. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. The Mill, 185 West Boylston St., West Boylston. Live Bands. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Black Sheep Tavern, 261 Leominster Road, Sterling. 978-422-8484.

COUNTDOWN CELEBRATION EVENTS

CHAMPAGNE PACKAGE

★ Fireworks Show

Includes Countdown Celebration Events plus...

★ Ski or Ride 4pm–Midnight

Adults $49 Juniors

★ Magician Eddie Raymond

(Ski 4pm-12pm) $10 COW Card refund for people who only ski until 10pm

★ Balloon Drop ★ Live Music featuring Freevolt 9pm–Midnight

All Season Passes Valid from 4pm – Midnight!

UBING SNOW TAILABLE! V ALSO A $5 0 6-1 Peprmm itting Weather

Gourmet New Year’s Eve Buffet Menu Highlights: Hors d’oeuvres in The Black Diamond: 6-7pm Shrimp Cocktail Cheese Display Vegetable Spring Rolls in a Zesty Orange Glaze Mini Beef Wellingtons with a Mushroom Duxelle Chicken, Artichoke, and Sun-dried Tomato Skewer with a Balsamic Glaze Dinner Buffet in the Spruce Room: 7:30-9pm Dijon-Rosemary Encrusted Sirloin of Beef with a Rosemary Pinot Noir Demi Glacé Baked Halibut with a Honey Pecan Butter Chicken Marsala Cheese Tortellini in a Sun-dried Tomato Basil Cream Sauce Maple-Glazed Baby Carrots Rice Pilaf

Worcester Historical Museum invites the public for a special evening tour of Salisbury Mansion by candlelight on Friday, December 27, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Decorated for the holiday season, the mansion features unique period rooms dressed up by area ﬂorists and garden club members. Tours are free with museum admission. Salisbury Mansion, 40 Highland St., Worcester. UFC 168 Silva vs Wiedmen. 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Jillian’s Worcester, 315 Grove St. 508-793-0900. CLUTCH GRABWELL’s End of the year bash. Clutch Grabwell’s explosive sound and intensity is unlike anything else. Their relentless energy and swagger are the foundation of a raging live show that has gripped crowds from Boston to Los Angeles. Their unparalleled mix of hard rock and pop has earned praise from fans and critics alike. $10. 8:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Lucky Dog Music Hall, 89 Green St. 508-363-1888 or facebook.com/ TheSouthernRockExperience. Cosmic Slim & His Intergalactic Plowboys. Jug-bandy, rhythm-and-bluesy, country-rocky, jam-bandy eclectic electric music expressly designed for toe-tapping and rug-cutting. From the Mississippi Sheiks to Buck Owens, Burrito Brothers to Nat King Cole, Slim’s roots run deep and wide, guaranteeing a good time to be had by all. $5. 8:30-11:30 p.m. Blue Plate Lounge, 661 Main St., Holden. 508-829-4566. Live Music. 8:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Gardner Ale House, 74 Parker St., Gardner. 978-669-0122. 9Teen. $5. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Greendale’s Pub, 404 W Boylston St. 508-853-1350. Babe Pino. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Rivalry’s Sports Bar, 274 Shrewsbury St. 774-243-1100. Babe Pino Band. Fixed betwixt Christmas and the New Year, this night is Blues Year Eve and the Pino Ward boys plan on partying about as hardy as we can to end a great year. Thanks for supporting

live music that’s local and loco! Happy New Year No Cover charge. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Rivalries Bar, curleys corner, Shrewsbury St. Bees Knees and Friends Celebrate 10 Years! 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Ralph’s Chadwick Square Diner, 148 Grove St. 508-753-9543. BILL McCARTHY @ TJ O’BRIEN’S. Classic & Contemporary Acoustic and Not-So-Acoustic Rock! Catch Bill playing a large variety of classic & contemporary acoustic rock: Beatles, Who, Dead, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, C.C.R., Elvis Presley, Stones, James Taylor, Simon & Garfunkel, The Cars, Steely Dan, and much more! Free. 9 p.m.-midnight Admiral T. J. O’Briens, 407 Main St., Sturbridge. 508-347-2838. Chris Reddy Acoustic Loops from Hell. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. The Outlook Restaurant, 79 Powers Road, Westford. Live Bands. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Classic’s Pub, 285 Central St., Leominster. 978-537-7750. Live Bands. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. RG Scooters Pub, 84 Lakefront St., Lunenburg. 978-348-2453. SoUp. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Michael’s Cigar Bar, 1 Exchange Place. 508459-9035. The Bruce Marshall Group at The Simple Man Saloon. New England Blues Legend Bruce Marshall formed the BRUCE MARSHALL GROUP in 1991 and has been performing and recording steadily throughout the US since their inception. The 4-piece band takes its listeners on a soaring ride through their 6 CD’s in addition to putting out a healthy dose of Toy Caldwell songs from the Marshall Tucker catalog. (facebook.com/pages/The-Bruce-Marshall-

n the items o n r u t re d o o e very g “I’ve seen som d good sales.” -Jim Taylor e u in t n o c s a listed as well

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Assorted Desserts & Specialty Coffees: 9pm

Why Drive Home After The Fun… Stay At The Wachusett Village Inn Includes: Shuttle Service to and from the Mountain, New Year’s Eve Lodging for two at Wachusett Village Inn

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plus tax & tip Reservations required call 978-464-2300 x3705

Wachusett Mountain Just off Rt. 140 in Princeton, MA! (978) 464-2300 (800) SKI-1234 www.wachusett.com Wachusett Mountain operates in cooperation with the MA Dept. of Conservation and Recreation

40 W O R C E S T E R M A G A Z I N E . C O M

• DECEMBER 26, 2013

Bentley Pub began a weekly campaign in Worcester Magazine and within a few weeks, Jim Taylor noticed signiﬁcant results. Now is the time to kick-start your business for the New Year. Call Worcester Magazine at 508.749.3166 x333 or email sales@worcestermagzine.com

night day

Upload your listings at worcestermagazine.com. Click the Night & Day toolbar, then choose Calendar to place your event listing in both our print and online weekly calendar. Sunday Blues Jam with Da Funk. Blues Jam and More! Group/105042126205929) Free. 9 p.m.-midnight The Simple Man Hosts: Da Funk House Band Bring your instruments, drumsticks Saloon, 119 High St., Clinton. 978-365-1949 or facebook.com/ or voice to one of the most fun, versatile jams in the area! Always events/1440089719543606. something new! 3-7 p.m. Chooch’s Food & Spirits, 31 East The Flock of Aholes. The awesome 80’s are back at JJ’s! 9 Brookfield Road, North Brookfield. 508-867-2494. p.m.-12:30 a.m. JJ’s Sports Bar and Grill, 380 Southwest Cutoff, Big Jon Short - solo acoustic country blues. Free. 5-8 Northborough. 508-842-8420. Throwback To The 60s Band! Throwback To The 60s is a premiere 60s showband playing all the hits Get out your running shoes and head to the DCU Center for Arena with psychedelic stage setup complete with lava lamps. Attack! On Saturday, Dec. 28, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. The daylong event It will be a “groovy” holiday time! Free. 9 p.m.-12:30 features distance running races held inside the DCU Center with no mud, no a.m. Mohegan Bowl and All Star Pub Webster, MA, 51 color dyes, no gimmicks, just running. Races include a half marathon, 10K, Thompson Road, Webster. 508-949-2695. 5K, Push Rim 5K and a CrossFit Throwdown event. DCU Center, 50 Foster St., Auntie Trainwreck. 21+, No Cover! 9:30 p.m.-1 Worcester. Sneaa.org/arena-attack-race-series. a.m. Sakura Tokyo, 640 Park Ave. 508-792-1078 or facebook.com/events/120603344779872. “Tantrum Saturdays” Dance Party Every p.m. Vincent’s Bar, 49 Suffolk St. 508-752-9439. Saturday Night with DJ Tony T. Get ready Worcester for The Hangover Hour Spoken Word Salon 5 p.m.; Then some great dancing to the beats of Tony T. He has been known to Andy Cummings 8:30 p.m. 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Nick’s Bar and get the dance floor bouncing. As always if you are 21+ and get Restaurant, 124 Millbury St. 508-753-4030. here before 10 p.m. you won’t have to pay the cover charge. Watch Blues Jam w/Jim Perry. Blues Jam with special guests weekly for the surprise contest each week. 18+ only $10 21+ only $5. Free. 6-10 p.m. Greendale’s Pub, 404 W Boylston St. 508-853-1350. 10 p.m.-1:45 a.m. Club Remix, 105 Water St. 508-756-2227 or Open Mic Sundays at Perfect Game with Bill remixworcester.com. Mccarthy. To check the schedules and open slots visit: Center Bar Saturday Nights. DJ E-Class and Mike DJ Kartier m.facebook.com/groups/209610855806788?ref=bookmark&__ take turns bringing the beats to make you move every Saturday user=578549000 I Free. 6:30-10:30 p.m. Perfect Game Sports Grill Night! No Cover charge. 10 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Center Bar & Grill, 102 and Lounge, 64 Water St. 508-792-4263 or m.facebook.com/groups Green St. 508-438-0597. /209610855806788?ref=bookmark&__user=578549000. Dj Reckless. 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Perfect Game Sports Grill and Josh Briggs and Friends. No Cover charge. 9-12:30 p.m. Lounge, 64 Water St. 508-792-4263. Funky Murphy’s Bar & Grill, 305 Shrewsbury St. 508-753-2995. Saturday Nights with DJ E-Class. DJ E-Class bringing the Karaoke. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Classic’s Pub, 285 Central St., Leominster. R & B remixes to get you out on the dance floor all night long! No 978-537-7750. Cover charge. 10 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Center Bar & Grill, 102 Green St. 508-438-0597. >Monday 30 DJ Music Master Sound. 11 p.m.-2 a.m. Canal Restaurant & Blue Mondays - Live Blues. 7-10 p.m. Gardner Ale House, 74 Bar, 65 Water St. 508-926-8353. Parker St., Gardner. 978-669-0122. Driftin’ Sam Politz 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Then Karaoke 9 >Sunday 29 p.m. till close. 7 p.m.-2 a.m. Nick’s Bar and Restaurant, 124 Revolution Sunday’s! Drag Show Extravaganza Hosted by Lady Sabrina and Bootz! Featuring The Remix Girls, Millbury St. 508-753-4030. Open: Worcester.Open mic and open decks event at The Electric Special Guests, and DJ Whiteboi Spinning Beats! Haze every Monday night. Open Mic 8-10 p.m. Open Decks 10-1 18+ $8, 21+ $5. Midnight-1:30 a.m. Club Remix, 105 Water St. p.m. Sign-up for slots starts at the venue at 8 and is first come first 508-756-2227. serve. House equipment for DJs: Pioneer DJM900NXS Mixer 2x Trace The Way, Kerrigan, Hitlist, Align The Stars, CDJ 2000s 2x Technics 2000s. All music welcome! Collaboration is Honest John, Sidewinder. The Raven, 258 Pleasant St. 508encouraged! 21+, Free Entry, $2 PBRs. Free. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Electric 304-8133 or theravenrockclub.com/Events.php?offset=0. Haze, 26 Millbury St. 508-799-0629 or facebook.com/electrichaze. Sunday Brunch w/Chet Williamson. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Lucky Dog Monday Night Open Mike Jam. 8:30 p.m.-1:30 Gardner Ale House, 74 Parker St., Gardner. 978-669-0122. NECMC End Of Year Jamboree w/ Borrowed Time. Host a.m. Bring Axe, Stix, Voice. 8:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Lucky Dog Music Hall, 89 Green St. 508-363-1888 or theluckydogmusichall.com/. Band: Borrowed TIME! Doors open at NOON- Music from 1-5 p.m. Bop & Pop Jazz Organization. Classic Hammond Full course Roast Beef dinner will be served. Non members without meal/ $7 NECMC Members $10 Non Members - $15 Members w/o Organ Quartet grooves every Monday night at the Dive. Free. 9 p.m.-midnight. Dive Bar, 34 Green St. facebook.com/ meal $5 Non Members w/o meal - $7. Noon-5 p.m. Veterans Of BopNPopJazzOrganization. Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 1385 Uxbridge, 13 Cross Road, Uxbridge. 207-277-3277. >Tuesday 31 Nature’s Glory - 15 Pieces for Piano: Joseph Blanchard. Joseph Blanchard, a self-taught pianist and composer, Open Mic Tuesdays/Local Musicians Showcase @ Greendale’s Pub With Bill Mccarthy. To check the is inspired by the melodies and harmonies of the Romantic 19th schedules and open slots visit: MySpace.com/OpenMicWorld. Free. century classical composers. His feelings, conveyed through improvisation, eventually become completed works. He has recorded 7:30-11:30 p.m. Greendale’s Pub, 404 W Boylston St. 508-8531350 or MySpace.com/OpenMicWorld. many of his original compositions on three compact discs. Included Andy Cummings Swingabilly Lounge. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Rye & with Regular Admission: $12 Adults, $9 Seniors (65+), $7 Youth Thyme, 14 Monument Sqare, Leominster. 978-534-5900. (6-18), Free to Members & Children under 6. 1-2 p.m. Tower Hill New Years Eve party with Punch Drunk Monday and Botanic Garden: Stoddard Education and Visitors Center, 11 French more. Punch Drunk Monday (PDM) is more than just a cover Drive, Boylston. band. PDM provides our audience with an engaging rock & roll Blues Jam with A Ton of Blues. 3-7 p.m. RG Scooters Pub, experience. PDM plays a variety of high energy music from the 84 Lakefront St., Lunenburg. 978-348-2453.

80’s, 90’s to current radio and Internet hits. Kim Newcomb - Vocals, Andy - Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Ron Strowdomis - Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Tom - Drums and Percussion, Eric - Bass (punchdrunkmonday.com) $8 w/ a complimentary champagne toast at midnight. 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Lucky Dog Music Hall, 89 Green St. 508363-1888 or facebook.com/PunchDrunkMonday. New Years Eve with The Flock Of A-Holes! We guarantee this will be an incredible night. Get here early tonight! Free. 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Sakura Tokyo, 640 Park Ave. 508-792-1078 or facebook.com/ pages/Flock-of-Aholes/127019150125. Remuck Bros with opener Dezi Garcia. 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Jillian’s - Worcester, 315 Grove St. 508-793-0900. Max Creek. $25-30. 8:30-12:30 p.m. The Stafford Palace Theater, 75 Main St., Stafford Springs. 860-851-9780 or thestaffordpalacetheater.com. NEW YEAR’S EVE - The James Montgomery Band with The Uptown Horns and Lydia Warren. The James Montgomery Band, Lydia Warren & The Uptown Horns - all together in one band, all night! Local Blues Legend James Montgomery, who Peter Wolf has called “the John Mayall of New England,” and his rockin’ band. The Uptown Horns are those Rayban-wearing, horn-carrying professionals whose signature horn riffs can be heard on the turntables of America on chart toppers like Grammy-award winning James Brown’s “Living in America,” the B-52s’ “Love Shack,” Buster Poindexter’s “Hot Hot Hot. Lydia Warren, who has been turning heads on the Blues scene since her 2001 debut at the ripe old age of 17. $85 includes DINNER, SHOW, Champagne Toast, Noisemakers & Partu Favors. 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Bull Run Restaurant, Sawtelle Room, 215 Great Road, Shirley. 978-425-4311 or tickets.bullrunrestaurant.com. Walter Crockett and the Wannabee Wabbits- First

{ listings}

Night. Two sets, with Walter Crockett on lead guitar, Bob Dick bass, Fran McConville mandolin, Mark Manuel keys, Dave Dick electric guitar and banjo, Matt Cassell percussion, with special guest Sarah Cassell on vocals - and featuring the Fantabulous Wabbettes, Jojo McConville and Maddie Hayman, on ﬁddles. Free with First Night button. 8:30-10:15 p.m. Wesley United Methodist Church, 114 Main St. 508-754-8437 or ﬁrstnightworcester.org. “The New Years Time Machine” with Niki Luparelli and the Gold Diggers featuring Dan Gabel. $30 Tickets Include the Show, Hor Dourves, and Champagne Toast at Midnight! New Years Eve at Nicks! $30 Cover. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Nick’s Bar and Restaurant, 124 Millbury St. 508-753-4030. Back to the Future NYE Ball. Back to the Future Ball Come bring in the New Year with us, here at the Beechwood Hotel, as we go back into the 80’s and celebrate the Future. WXLO DJ Chuck Perks will be here with DJ Ken Costco from A Touch of Class Event Productions to set the mood. Hors D’oeuvres and Champagne toast at midnight. You can add dinner at Ceres Bistro to the total ticket price and save $15 on your ticket! $50 per person. 9 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Beechwood Hotel, Grand Ballroom, 363 Plantation St. 508-4531112 or beechwoodhotel.com/specials.php. Boomers 2013/14 New Years Eve Singles Night In Thompson, CT. Let’s start the new year with a bang up party! Your opportunity meet some great folks from the Southern Central MA and Easter CT area! Single hard working professionals that are looking to escape and just have fun! $15 night of event and $12 RSVP. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Travel Destination eccentricnewengland.com. Hip Hop/Blues every Tuesday Night. 21 plus $3 Ticket

Worcester Magazine’s Walter Bird Jr. joins Paul Westcott, live, every Thursday at 8:35 a.m. Paul Westcott Show WTAG 580 AM 5 a.m. - 9 a.m.

Charter TV3 7 a.m. - 9 a.m.

DECEMBER 26, 2013 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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night day

Upload your listings at worcestermagazine.com. Click the Night & Day toolbar, then choose Calendar to place your event listing in both our print and online weekly calendar. (door sales only), Free sometimes, check facebook for details Doors at 6 p.m., music at 9 p.m. Different Artists each week. Hip Hop/R&B nights, every other Tuesday night hosted by the Ace of Blaze Blues Nights, every other Tuesday hosted by Jon Short Free. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Electric Haze, 26 Millbury St. 508-799-0629. Karaoke. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Classic’s Pub, 285 Central St., Leominster. 978-537-7750. New Years Eve at Ralphs Diner! DJ/Music/Karaoke/ Dancing! No Cover. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Ralph’s Chadwick Square Diner, 148 Grove St. 508-753-9543. Jubilee Gardens with Satelite Rockers. don’t miss Jubilee Gardens and Satelite Rockers for New Years Eve bash! Join Jubilee at 10 p.m. and ring in the new year with Satelite Rockers! 10 p.m.-1 a.m. Beatnik’s, 433 Park Ave. 508-926-8877 or jubileegardens.com. Bill Mccarthy @ Blackstone Tap New Year’s Eve. Spend New Year’s Eve with me and the gang at Blackstone Tap for my 7th Annual New Year’s Eve Bash! I’ll be playing all your favorite Classic & Contemporary Acoustic and Not-So-Acoustic Rock! Free. 10:15 p.m.-1:15 a.m. Blackstone Tap, 81 Water St. 508-797-4827.

>Wednesday 1

Open Mic Night. The Raven, 258 Pleasant St. 508-304-8133 or theravenrockclub.com/Booking.php?id=OpenMic. Live Music with Matt Robert. The Worcester-based guitarist plays a blend of rootsy originals and interpretations of ancient folk, blues, and jazz, as well as current roots and rock tunes. Incorporating a wide range of guitar styles, including open tunings and slide, as well as mandolin and harmonica, Matt ties a thread between all types of seemingly disparate musical genres all with a

sound of his own. (facebook.com/mattrobertmusic) 6:30-8:30 p.m. Nu Cafe, 335 Chandler St. 508-926-8800 or nucafe.com/events. Wednesday Night Open Mic/Local Musicians’ Showcase W/ Bill Mccarthy @ Guiseppe’s. To check the schedules and open slots visit: m.facebook.com/groups/20961085 5806788?ref=bookmark&__user=578549000. Free. 7:30-10:30 p.m. Guiseppe’s Grille, 35 Solomon Pond Road, Northborough. 508393-4405. Karaoke. Karaoke by Star Sound Entertainment. 8 p.m.-midnight Dark Horse Tavern, 12 Crane St., Southbridge. 508-764-1100. Karaoke. Come down to Jillian’s of Worcester for Karaoke every Wednesday night! Wednesdays at Jillian’s is Ladies Night which means all ladies, eat and play for Free. 8:30-1:30 p.m. Jillian’s Worcester, 315 Grove St. 508-793-0900. Wacky Wednesday Night Jam @JJ’s Sport Bar. Open mic jam session. All are welcome. We offer a drum kit., bass rig and a full PA system for all to use. Free. 8:30-12:30 p.m. JJ’s Sports Bar and Grill, 380 Southwest Cutoff, Northborough. 508-842-8420. Karaoke. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Classic’s Pub, 285 Central St., Leominster. 978-537-7750.

arts

ADC Performance Center (@ The Artist Development Complex), 18 Mill St., Southbridge. 508-764-6900 or adcmusic. com/Index.htm. Anna Maria College, 50 Sunset Lane, Paxton. 508-849-3300 or annamaria.edu. ArtsWorcester, Creatures, Real and Imagined, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Dec. 7 - Jan. 11. Hours: closed Sunday - Monday, 1-4 p.m. Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday - Friday, 1-4

p.m. Saturday. Admission: Free. 660 Main St. 508-755-5142 or artsworcester.org. Asa Waters Mansion, Admission: $3 for guided tour $7-10 for tea. 123 Elm St., Millbury. 508-865-0855 or asawaters.org. Assumption College: Emmanuel d’Alzon Library, 500 Salisbury St. 508-767-7272 or assumption.edu/dept/Library. Booklovers’ Gourmet, Pen & Ink Art Display by Karen Sirard, Through Dec. 31. Hours: closed Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday - Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. 55 East Main St., Webster. 508-949-6232 or er3.com/book. Clark University: Cohen-Lasry House, 11 Hawthorne St. Tribute This!, the area’s premier Guns N Roses tribute band, performs live with special guest Electric Funeral, a Black Sabbath tribute band, at JJ’s Sports Bar and Grill on Friday, Dec. 27, from 9 p.m.12:30 a.m. JJ’s Sports Bar and Grill, 380 Southwest Cutoff, Northborough.

clarku.edu/departments/holocaust. Clark University: Schiltkamp Gallery, 92 Downing St. 508-793-7349. Clark University: Traina Center for the Arts, CONstruct/ conSTRUCT: The Organizing Principle, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, through Nov. 29. 92 Downing St. clarku. edu. Clark University: University Gallery, Hours: noon-5 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday - Tuesday, noon-8 p.m. Wednesday, noon-5 p.m. Thursday - Saturday. 950 Main St. 508-793-7349 or 508-793-

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7113 or clarku.edu. Clark’s Cafe and Art On Rotation Gallery, Hours: 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday - Saturday. Admission: Free for galler. 310 High St., Clinton. 978-549-5822 or 978-365-7772 or aorgallery.com. College of the Holy Cross: Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, reThink INK: 25 Years at Mixit Print Studio, Part II, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, through Jan. 31. Hours: closed Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday Friday, 2-5 p.m. Saturday. 1 College St. 508-793-3356 or holycross. edu/departments/cantor/website. Danforth Museum of Art, Hours: noon-5 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday - Tuesday, noon-5 p.m. Wednesday - Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday - Saturday. 123 Union Ave., Framingham. 508-620-0050 or danforthmuseum.org. Dark World Gallery, Hours: closed Sunday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday - Saturday. 179 Grafton St. darkworldgallery.com. EcoTarium, Science + You, Through April 27, 2014. Hours: noon-5 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday Saturday. Admission: $14 adults; $8 for children ages 2-18, $10 college students with IDs & senior citizens. Children under 2 & EcoTarium members Free. Additional charges apply for Tree Canopy Walkway, Explorer Express Train, planetarium programs & other special progra. 222 Harrington Way. 508-929-2700 or ecotarium. org. Fisher Museum Harvard Forest, 324 N. Main St., Petersham. 978-724-3302 or harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/museum.html. Fitchburg Art Museum, Hours: noon-4 p.m. Sunday, closed

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Upload your listings at worcestermagazine.com. Click the Night & Day toolbar, then choose Calendar to place your event listing in both our print and online weekly calendar.

{ listings}

Monday, noon-4 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday. 25 Merriam Parkway, Fitchburg. 978-345-4207 or fitchburgartmuseum.org. Fitchburg Historical Society, Hours: closed Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday - Tuesday, 10 a.m.-midnight. Wednesday, closed Thursday - Saturday. 50 Grove St., Fitchburg. 978-345-1157 or fitchburghistory.fsc.edu. Fitchburg State University: Hammond Hall, 160 Pearl St., Fitchburg. fitchburgstate.edu. Framed in Tatnuck, Hours: closed Sunday - Monday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday - Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. 1099 Pleasant St. 508-770-1270 or wwwframedintatnuck.com. Fruitlands Museum, 102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard. 978456-3924 or fruitlands.org. Gallery of African Art, Gallery of African Art Free Tours, Thursdays, through Dec. 19; Weekly Thursday Tours at the Gallery of African Art, Thursdays, through Dec. 26. Hours: closed Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday - Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission: Donations accepte. 62 High St., Clinton. 978-265-4345 or 978-598-5000x12 or galleryofafricanart.org. Higgins Armory Museum, WOO Card good at Higgins Armory Museum, Through Dec. 31. Hours: noon-4 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday. Admission: General Admission: $12 for Adults, $10 for Seniors (age 60+), $8 for Children (age 4-16), Children 3 and under are Free. 100 Barber Ave. 508-853-6015 or higgins.org. Highland Artist Group, 113 Highland St. highlandartistgroup. com. Mass Audubon: Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, Hours: 12:30-4 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday. 414 Massasoit Ave. 508-753-6087 or massaudubon.org. Museum of Russian Icons, Crossing the Threshold: Traditional Folk Art from the Russian Home, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, through Dec. 28; Series of One Icon Exhibits, Through June 20, 2014. Hours: closed Sunday - Monday, 11-3 a.m. Tuesday - Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, 11-3 a.m. Friday, 9-3 a.m. Saturday. Admission: Adults $7, Seniors (59 and over) $5, Students (with ID) & children (3-17) $2, Children under 3 Free, Groups (any age) $. 203 Union St., Clinton. 978-598-5000 or 978598-5000x17 or museumofrussianicons.org. Old Sturbridge Village, Admission: $7 - $20 charged by age. Children under 3 Free. 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge. 800-733-1830 or 508-347-3362 or osv.org. Park Hill Gallery, Hours: closed Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday - Friday, closed Saturday. 387 Park Ave. 774-696-0909. Post Road Art Center, Hours: closed Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday - Saturday. 1 Boston Post Road, Marlborough. 508485-2580 or postroadartcenter.com. Preservation Worcester, Hours: closed Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday, closed Saturday. 10 Cedar St. 508-754-8760 or preservationworcester.org. Prints and Potter Gallery, American Contemporary Art & Craft Gallery, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, through Dec. 31. Hours: closed Sunday, 10-5:30 a.m. Monday - Tuesday, 10-7 a.m. Wednesday - Thursday, 10-5:30 a.m. Friday, 10-5 a.m. Saturday. 142 Highland St. 508-752-2170 or printsandpotter.com. Quinebaug Valley Council for the Arts & Humanities, the Arts Center, Hours: 2-4 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday - Friday, 2-4 p.m. Saturday. 111 Main St., Southbridge. 508-3463341 or qvcah.org. Quinsigamond Community College: Administration Building, 670 West Boylston St. qcc.edu.

44 W O R C E S T E R M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Rollstone Studios, Hours: 11-4 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday - Saturday. Admission: fre. 633 Main St., Fitchburg. 978-348-2781 or rollstoneartists.com. Salisbury Mansion, Hours: closed Sunday - Wednesday, 1-8:30 p.m. Thursday, 1-4 p.m. Friday - Saturday. 40 Highland St. 508-7538278 or worcesterhistory.org. SAORI Worcester Freestyle Weaving Studio, 18 Winslow St. 508-757-4646 or 508-757-0116 or saoriworcester.com. Taproot Bookstore, Hours: noon-5 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday - Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. 1200 West Boylston St. 508-853-5083 or TaprootBookstore.com. Tatnuck Bookseller & Cafe, Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday - Thursday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday Saturday. 18 Lyman St., Westborough. 508-366-4959 or tatnuck. com. The Foster Gallery, 51 Union St. 508-397-7139 or thefostergallery.com. The Sprinkler Factory, Indoor Games, Saturdays, through Jan. 18. 38 Harlow St. sprinklerfactory.com. Top Fun Aviation Toy Museum, Hours: 1:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday - Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. 21 Prichard St., Fitchburg. 978-342-2809 or 978-297-4337 or topfunaviation.com. Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Guided Garden Tour, Sundays, through Dec. 30. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday. Admission: $12 Adults, $9 Seniors & $7 Youth, Free to Members & Children under. 11 French Drive, Boylston. 508-869-6111 or towerhillbg.org. Tower Hill Botanic Garden: Stoddard Education and Visitors Center, 11 French Drive, Boylston. towerhillbg.org. Tower Hill Botanic Garden: The Great Hall, 11 French Drive, Boylston. towerhillbg.org. Tower Hill Botanic Garden: The Orangerie, 11 French Drive, Boylston. towerhillbg.org. Westboro Gallery, Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday - Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday - Saturday. 8 West Main St., Westborough. 508-870-0110 or westborogallery.com. Worcester Art Museum, Holidays at WAM 2013, Sundays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, through Dec. 29; WAM Talk: Louise Virgin, Curator of Asian Art at WAM, speaks on “A Screen for the New Year: Pines and Plum Blossoms”, Thursday; Worcester Art Museum Audio Tours, Through Dec. 31; Meditation in the Galleries, Fridays, through Dec. 27; December Zip Tours, Saturdays, Dec. 7 - Dec. 28; Families @ WAM Tour, Saturdays, through April 13; Families @ WAM: Make Art!, Saturdays, through May 4; Works in Process: from Print to Proof, Sundays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Dec. 7 - April 15; Holidays at WAM 2013-Ballet Arts Worcester Presents The Nutcracker, Sunday; Sunday Sermon: Michelle Putnam, Professor at Simmons College, speaks on “Continual Enlightenment: The Vision of Saint Jerome & Age”, Sunday; U-student Wednesdays Free admission to COWC students, Wednesdays, through Dec. 31; WAM Talk: Ihab Dabbagh of the Islamic Society of Greater Worcester speaks on “Misconceptions about Islam”, Wednesday. Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday - Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Admission: Free for members, $14 adults, $12 seniors, Free for youth 17 and under. Free for all ﬁrst Saturdays of each month, 10am-noon. 55 Salisbury St. 508-799-4406 or worcesterart.org. Worcester Center for Crafts, Cups, Cups, Cups!, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Dec. 5 - Dec. 24. Hours: closed Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Saturday. 25 Sagamore Road. 508-753-8183 or worcestercraftcenter.org. Worcester Historical Museum, Alden Family Gallery, Through Dec. 31, 2015; In Their Shirtsleeves, Through Dec. 31; Stories They Tell, Through Dec. 31; Worcester in the 1960s, Through Feb. 8,

• DECEMBER 26, 2013

2014. Hours: closed Sunday - Monday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday Saturday. 30 Elm St. 508-753-8278 or worcesterhistory.org. Worcester Public Library, Silk Road Art Guild Exhibit of Art inspired by Literature, Sunday. Hours: 1:30-5:30 p.m. Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday - Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday - Saturday. 3 Salem Square. 508-7991655 or worcpublib.org. WPI: George C. Gordon Library, 100 Institute Road. wpi.edu

theater/ comedy

Sunday Night Cinemageddon! Every Sunday Night in the Diner! - Sundays,through December 29. Free. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Ralph’s Chadwick Square Diner, 148 Grove St. Call 508-753-9543 or facebook.com/ralphs.diner. A Revue of Jesus Christ Superstar featuring Andy Cummings, Denise Cascione, Aimee Kewley, and Derek Sylvester! Two Shows - 8 p.m. and again at 10 p.m.! - Saturday, December 28. $10 Cover. 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Nick’s Bar and Restaurant, 124 Millbury St. Call 508-753-4030. New Year’s Eve at Zing! Comedy with Headliner Myq Kaplan - Tuesday, December 31. Myq Kaplan is a 2010 Last Comic Standing ﬁnalist and has appeared on the The Tonight Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, Conan, and more. He also performed on the very ﬁrst Scamps Comedy show at Amazing Things in 2008 when he was just starting out. $30 general public; students & seniors $28; members $25; $15 for reception. 8 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Amazing Things Art Center, 160 Hollis St., Framingham. Call 508-405-2787 or visit amazingthings.org.

lectures >Friday 27

Celebrity Visit at the SPL. Shrewsbury’s own Catherine Brunell will be dropping by the Shrewsbury Public Library for a special one evening event that you don’t want to miss! Most recently seen singing alongside Carrie Underwood in the NBC live musical production of The Sound of Music, Catherine Brunell’s body of work extends far beyond the small screen. She will talk about her work on stage (full bio below) as well as her road from Shrewsbury to Broadway. Free - but must register online. Seating is very limited. 6-7 p.m. Shrewsbury Public Library, Large Meeting Room, 609 Main St., Shrewsbury. 508-842-0081.

class/ workshop >Friday 27

Kids Crafternoons: Wrapping Paper Beads. Take a break from all the new stuff you got for the holidays and put that wrapping paper to a new use. We are making beads with it! Join us for this easy craft that uses something we already have. You may bring your own paper if you want, but some will be provided. Ages 5 and Up Children: $3; Adults: Free with museum admission. 11 a.m.-noon. Worcester Historical Museum, Fletcher Auditorium, 30 Elm St. 508753-8278.

>Monday 30

Learn to Play Chess - Teens & Tweens. Over Christmas Vacation, learn how to play chess! Adam & Ben Piche are champion teen chess players from CT, and will teach you from the bare basics if you’re new to chess, or help you improve your game. Free. 2-4 p.m. Jacob Edwards Library, Pioppi Room, 236 Main St., Southbridge. 508-764-5426.

>Tuesday 31

Kids Crafternoons: New Year’s Crowns. 2013 is coming to an end. While we love history, we are looking forward to starting a new year and seeing what is in store for our great city. Come by and make a crown and ring in 2014 in style then stay to play in the Alden Family Gallery. Ages 3 and up Children: $3; Adults: Free with museum admission. 11 a.m.-noon. Worcester Historical Museum, Fletcher Auditorium, 30 Elm St. 508-753-8278.

dance >Tuesday 31

New Years Swing Dance Party - Juke Joint 5. 7:30 p.m. Group Dance Lesson - 8 p.m. DJ Dance Music 8:30 p.m. Juke Joint 5 ~ DJ AlanHep2theJive, Pot Luck Sandwich Dessert Buffet ~ Champagne Toast Tuesday Dec 31st. All Dance2Swing events are always a mixture of singles & couples. $20. 7:30-8:30 p.m. Leominster Elks Lodge 1237, 134 N. Main St., Leominster. 978-2637220 or dance2swing.com.

fairs/ festivals >Sunday 26 through Sunday 5

Holly Days: Woodland Magic at Tower Hill Botanic Garden.Thousands of colorful lights provide the background for whimsical decorations! Some of the most clever volunteers, staff, and local designers craft unusual ornaments and displays from bits of nature, embellished with touches of glamor. Included with Admission. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston. 508-869-6111 or towerhillbg.org.

>Tuesday 31

First Night Worcester at WHM. Ring in the new year with Free admission to Salisbury Mansion and Worcester Historical Museum with your First Night Worcester button. Free admission with First Night Worcester Button. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Worcester Historical Museum, 30 Elm St. 508-753-8278. Noon Year’s Eve. Celebrate the New Year EcoTarium-style with kid-friendly count-downs (12 and 2 p.m.), noise-makers, bubble wrap “ﬁreworks,” and lots of festive fun! This event is part of First Night Worcester 2014. Regular EcoTarium admission rates apply without a First Night Worcester button. Admission is Free with a First Night Worcester 2014 Button. Children under age 7 are Free when accompanied by an adult with a First Night Button. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. EcoTarium, 222 Harrington Way. 508-929-2700.

>Tuesday 31

First Night Worcester ’14. Come out and ring in the New Year with First Night Worcester! We’ve got nearly 50 performances planned on 15 stages around Lincoln Square with a lineup that includes headline performances at Tuckerman Hall by Wrentham native (and American Idol semi-finalist) AYLA BROWN and MindReader/Comedian (and America’s Got Talent semi-finalist) ERIC DITTELMAN. For the full schedule of events and to buy a button visit firstnightworcester.org. Buttons are $10 before 12/25, $12 after 12/25 and $15 at the door. Children under 7 Free. 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Worcester Art Museum, Note: event will take place in multiple venues around Lincoln Square, 55 Salisbury St. 508-799-4909 or firstnightworcester.org/events/2013/12/event-listing.

SERVICE DIRECTORY

www.centralmassclass .com Call Carrie at 978-728-4302 to place your ad or e-mail sales@centralmassclass.com

ADVERTISING

CLEANING SERVICES

$99

FENCE, STONE & CONCRETE ,

Rose’s Cleaning Services Residential & Commercial Carpet Cleaning Car Detailing Upholstery Cleaning Move In & Out Cleaning

$50 Off Caps or Masonry • Free Inspection All Types of Masonry • Water Leaks

NEW ROOFS

978-728-4302

8 weeks ........... $31.50/week = $252 12 weeks ......... $26.75/week = $321 20 weeks ......... $25.20/week = $504 36 weeks ......... $23.60/week = $850 52 weeks ......... $22/week = $1144 Minimum commitment of 8 weeks.

ASK about double blocks (size 3.75” x 1.75”) and COMBO pricing into our other zone and reach 40,600 households in 26 towns in Central Mass each week. FREE line ad included with each block purchased. Book for 52 weeks and receive a Spotlight Business of the Week! Ask for details!

CHIMNEY SERVICES

CHIMNEY CLEANING

SIZE PER BLOCK 1.75 X 1.75

Quality Chimney

Shampoo 1 room & get 2nd room free!

508-410-4551

*References available upon request Fully Insured

RUBBISH REMOVAL

ADVERTISING

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YOUR COMPLETE FENCE & STONE WORK COMPANY

• CONCRETE SPECIALISTS - Walkways, Patios, Sidewalks & Pool Patios... • FENCE ALL TYPES - Vinyl, Chain link, Ornamental & Wood... • STONE HARDSCAPES - Patios, Stone Walls, Pavers, Walkways & Pool Patios...

508-835-1644 for free estimate

FLOOR COVERING

ADVERTISING

Flooring

BUSINESS REFERRAL PROGRAM

Refer a business to join our Service Directory, and if they advertise with us, you’ll receive a $25 credit on your account for future advertising. We appreciate your business in the

30 Years in Business

C&S

Carpet Mills CARPET & LINOLEUM 30 Sq. Yds. $585 Installed with Pad Berber, Plush or Commercial Free Metal Included Call Tom

DUMPSTER SPECIALS

10 yd. - $250 • 15 yd. - $300 Home Clean-outs Landscape Clean-ups Demo Rubbish • Appliances “Give us a call & we’ll talk trash.”

800-861-5445 or 508-886-2624

Central Mass Classifieds!!

508-864-7755

ADVERTISING

PAINTING

ADVERTISING

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Keegan P. McNeely We take the PAIN out of Painting

www.blackdogpainters.com Power Washing Available Insured | References

978-502-2821

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Call us today to schedule your Winter advertising!

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ANSWERS TO TODAY’S PUZZLES

Refer a business to join our Service Directory, and if they advertise with us, you’ll receive a $25 credit on your account for future advertising. We appreciate your business in the

Central Mass Classifieds!! TREE SERVICES

BUSINESS REFERRAL PROGRAM

ADVERTISING

TREE SERVICES

TREE CUTTING Jason Magnus Magnusson O Owner on ev every jo job

• Tree Removal • Bobcat Work • Firewood • Lot Clearing • Storm Work • Furnace Wood • Wood Chips

Tree Removal & Trimming - Chipping - Pruning Brush Removal - Stump Grinding Aerial Bucket Service Fully Insured • Free Estimates VISA/MC

Home: 508-867-6119 Cell: 413-324-6977

508-865-4370 www.skyhooktree.com

PLACE YOUR AD ONLINE ANYTIME, 24/7. www.centralmassclass.com (Excludes free ads, legals & Service Directory ads)

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www.centralmassclass.com “Full Houses”--a pair plus three of a kind, and no Uncle Jesse. Los Angeles Times SundaybyCrossword Puzzle JONESIN’ Matt Jones

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

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Swiss cash 36 Tea server campus 2 Big name in consumer 38 Begin 87 Pane in an infested attic? electronics 40 Modern waltz violinist Andre ___ 91 27-day pope of 31605 Man of steal? 41 Blooming 92 __’acte ©2013 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) 94 Range rover For answers to this puzzle, call:1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle #655 6/24/12 xwordeditor@aol.com

46 W O R C E S T E R M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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Home Of The Free, Thanks To The Brave MILITARY HERO OF THE WEEK Is there a special service person in your life? The Central Mass Classifieds would like to feature members of our Armed Forces on a regular basis. If you have a special service person in your life, please email sales@centralmasslcass.com with some information, photo, brief summary of his/her service, and we will be happy to recognize them in the Central Mass Classifieds. The brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces should be remembered all year long.

Call Carrie at 978-728-4302 or email sales@centralmasslcass.com for more information.

Fun By The Numbers Like puzzles? Then you’ll love sudoku. This mind-bending puzzle will have you hooked from the moment you square oﬀ, so sharpen your pencil and put your sudoku savvy to the test!

Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must ﬁll each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can ﬁgure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle! Puzzle Solutions on Previous Page

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LOOK TO US FOR... Holiday Messages Service Directory • Autos • Legal Notices Central Mass Homes • Employment Winter Bulletin Board Items for Sale • Real Estate Sudoku & Crossword & Much More! Early deadline for the January 2nd issue. Deadline is Thursday, December 26th at noon. SERVICES BABYSITTING Stay-at-home, former daycare owner, will babysit in my home during day or evening when needed. Got an appointment? Lunch with friends? Call me. Beautiful, country home, fenced yard in Sutton. References provided. 774-280-2575 CASH FOR GOLD CASH FOR GOLD Turn your broken & unwanted gold jewelry into Cash. We pay more than anyone! WEST BOYLSTON ANTIQUES Rt 12 across from CVS 508-8352080 Open Mon-Sat. 11-5

COMPUTER SERVICES Wachusett Systems and PC Support"Your computer Support and Service Specialist" *Hardware & Software installs *Security & Virus Removal *Custom Builds *Remote assistance & More!! Call Gary today 978-464-5875

BUILDING/ REMODELING BUILDING/REMODELING Jeff Downer Carpentry For all your building & remodeling needs. Lic. & ins. Free estimates. 508-835-4356 www.jeffdowner.com

CHIMNEY CLEANING

BILLING SPECIALIST

BILLING SPECIALISTS CHM/MEDICAL Serving Worcester County for 30 years. Call for a free on-site Consult for increasing revenue reimbursement.

1-800-527-9990 or 508-795-0009 x116

AUTOMOTIVE

Chimney Cleaning $99 $50 Off Caps or Masonry. Free Inspection. All Types of Masonry. Water Leaks. Quality Chimney. 508-410-4551

Ruchala Chimney Sweeping -Caps -Cleaning -Waterproofing -Chimney Liners Serving the Wachusett Area. Certified and Insured. ruchalachimney.com 978-928-1121

SERVICES

REAL ESTATE

EMPLOYMENT

PLACE ADS: ONLINE: www.centralmassclass.com EMAIL: sales@centralmassclass.com

CLEANING SERVICES

RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL CLEANING

FIREWOOD

Virtue’s Cleaning Cleaning is a virtue. Meticulous, reasonable, reliable. Call me at 508-925-5575

Commonwealth Fence & Stone Your Complete Fence & Stone Company. All fence typesCedar, Vinyl, Chain Link, Post & Rail, Ornamental, Pool. Hardscapes- Stone Wall, Walkways, Patios. For a free estimate contact: 508-835-1644

CHARLIE’S FIREWOOD 16"-18". Seasoned $230.00, Green $180.00. All hardwood. 508-882-0163

We Clean Corners Accepting New Clients Complimentary Estimates

Color Consulting & Decorating Interior, exterior paint colors, designing window treatments & furniture layouts. Melissa Ruttle (978)464-5640. www.colorsconsulting.com

NEW ENGLAND CLEANING 978-210-9799 Ofﬁce Cleaning 24/7 Availability Customized Service Plans Green Cleaning Options Uniformed Employees Full Insurance Coverage newenglandcleaning.biz Rose’s Cleaning Service 3 Rooms $99! Weekly~Bi-Weekly~ Monthly Worcester & Surrounding towns Free Estimates 508-373-8440

DISCOUNT OIL Midnight Oil 508-853-2539 MidnightOilService.com Lowest Possible Pricing Standard and Deluxe Burner Service Contracts OLD MAN OIL Why Pay More? Serving Wachusett Region. Scott Landgren 508-886-8998 24 hour service (774-234-0306 service only) Visa, MC, Discover, Cash. www.oldmanoil.com

ELECTRICAL SERVICES Ambitious Electrician Established 1989, fully insured. Master license #A14758. Call David Sachs 508-254-6305 or 508-886-0077

RESEARCH Do you use tanning booths? Women ages 16-65 invited to participate in a research study. Compensation provided. (508) 856-1534 or e-mail study@umassmed.edu Docket H-14513

PHONE: 978-728-4302 FAX: 508-829-0670

FENCE & STONE

DECORATING

www.squeekycleaners.com

MERCHANDISE

CLEANING SERVICES

Squeeky Cleaners

508-829-1999

HOME SERVICES

WINTER BULLETIN BOARD

Reaches Over 90,000 Readers in Print and Online • Ads post immediately! New postings every day!

Kurt Smollin, Electrician All your electrical needs. Additions, pools, spas, service upgrades. 28 yrs exp. Quality work. Masters Lic. 20050A Insured. Call (508)829-5134.

INSPIRATION

Seasoned Firewood Cut/split 16"-18". All hardwood (128 cu.ft.) $250.00/cd. Free local delivery. 978-422-8294

HEALTH,MIN ND

Need a friend?? Call Dial-A-Friend

508.852.5242

REFLEXOLOGY

Inspirational Messages Recorded Daily

Therapeutic Foot Reﬂexology Session! The Holidays are fast approaching!

24 Hours Everyday MASSAGE Give the Gift of Stress Relief Today! Are you Stressed? Have Anxiety or Depression? Pain from Work & Traveling? Get a massage today with Helen Nguyen for only $39 (reg $55)

Massage and Prenatal Therapy

Book a session for $50 in December and receive a gift certiﬁcate for a FREE session to use for yourself or as a holiday gift! *Offer expires 12/31/13.

As always when you book ﬁve sessions you will receive a free session with your rewards card. Call 774-312-6535 for appointment.

Pathways To Wellness Associates, LLC 50 Elm Street, Suite 3B Worcester, MA 01609

500 West Boylston Street Worcester, MA 01606

508-400-1977

DE C E MB E R 2 6 , 2 0 13 • W OR C E S T E R M A G A Z INE .C OM

www.centralmassclass.com LANDSCAPING

Peace and Tranquility in your own Backyard

HEATING/ AIR CONDITIONING Rutland Heating & A/C Heating System Tune-up Special $130.00 Fall Special, 1 Zone Tankless Boiler Starting at $5,500. Call 774-234-0306

508-885-1088 HOME IMPROVEMENT

Full landscaping service & so much more! Thank you for your business in 2013! It has been a pleasure helping you with making your landscaping ideas come to life and we look forward to serving you again in the new year.

We wish you a prosperous, healthy and wonderful 2014! www.brunelleandsonslandscaping.com

Johanson Home Improvement Reliable & Dependable Licensed & Insured Custom Carpentry * Painting Bathroom Remodel and Repair Door & Window Install AND MUCH MORE! No Job Too Small Chad (508) 963-8155 www.johansonhomeimprovemt .com

FLOORING/CARPETING

HEATING & PLUMBING

C & S Carpet Mills Carpet & Linoleum 30 Sq. Yds. $589 Installed with Pad. Free Metal Incl’d. Berber, Plush or Commercial. Call Tom: 800-861-5445 or 508-886-2624

A&B Plumbing Service "We do every job like it’s our own home" All types of repairs, Water Heaters, Faucets, Gas Piping, Fixtures, Outside Faucets, Waste Piping, Garbage Disposals and more! Al Belsito Master Plumber/Owner. MA Lic.#12814 Cell 508-868-2112 abelsitoplumb@gmail.com.

Need it Fixed? General Home & Small Business Repairs Light Construction No Job Too Small Call Bob at 978-422-8632 or 978-790-8727 CELL email: fixit@callbobhill.com www.callbobhill.com

Chaffins Plumbing & Heating Residential & Commercial Service. Serving the Wachusett Area for 25 Years. Boiler Installations, Gas Piping Service. Fully Insured. M.P.L. #9372 508-829-4466

Cornerstone Masonry Master Stone Masons Brick & Block Stone Walls, Walkways, Patios, Fireplaces. We do repairs. 978-580-4260 Major credit cards accepted 30 Years Experience

Creative Floors, Inc. Ceramic-Carpet-Vinyl Marble- Granite- Laminate Wallpaper Pre-finished Hardwood Sales-Design- Installation Residential & Commercial Free Estimates. Carpet Binding Financing Available Come visit our showroom! 508-829-7444 www.creativefloorsinc.com FURNITURE RESTORATION Paul G. Hanson Refinishing, repairing, veneering and chair regluing. A full service shop. Pick-up & delivery. Call Paul (978)464-5800 GARAGE DOORS Allied Services Garage doors & electric operators. Bulkheads. Installed & repaired, residential. Call 508-829-3226

SCOTT BOSTEK PLUMBING & HEATING Small Jobs Is What We Do Residential Repair Specialist Water Heaters-DisposalsFrozen Pipes-Remodels & AdditionsDrain Cleaning-Faucets Ins. MPL 11965 Free Estimates 25 yrs Exp. Reliable 774-696-6078

HOME REPAIR/ RESTORATION

PAINTING/REPAIRS

RUBBISH REMOVAL

TREE SERVICES

Stressing about painting your home? Call Black Dog Painting Company! We take the PAIN out of PAINTING! Interior? Exterior? Power-washing? You Name it! Visit BlackDogPainters.com Or Call 978 502 2821 for a FREE on-site Quote

TOTAL DISPOSAL Dumpster Specials 10yd. $250, 15yd $300. Home Clean-outs Landscape Clean-ups Demo Rubbish, Appliances. Give us a call and we’ll talk trash. 508-864-7755

Sky Hook Tree Owner on every job. Tree Removal & Trimming. Chipping. Pruning. Brush Removal. Stump Grinding. Aerial Bucket Service. Fully Insured. Free Estimates. VISA/MC 508-865-4370 www.skyhooktree.com

RUBBISH REMOVAL

KEEGAN P. McNEELY Tree Removal Bobcat Work Firewood Lot Clearing Storm Work Furnace Wood Wood Chips 508-867-6119/413-324-6977

Lee Skoglund Services 10, 15, 20-yard container service. Yard & building materials. Office equipment & materials. Attics, cellars & estates cleaned, guaranteed by your closing date! Free estimates. Lee Skoglund 508-757-4209

TREE SERVICES

Ross A. McGinnes Tree work, Stump removal, pruning & removals. Free estimates. Fully insured. Call 508-829-6497

Painting Unlimited Services Skilled, Reliable, Reasonable. Meticulous prep & workmanship. Interior/Exterior Painting/Staining, Powerwashing. Free Estimates. Fully Insured. HIC #163882 Call Tim: 508-340-8707

LANDSCAPING & LAWN MAINTENANCE Burnham Maintenance Spring Clean-ups. Bark Mulch, Screened Loam & Compost. Small Tree & Brush Chipping & Clean-Up. Landscape Maintenance. Fertilization Programs. Please call 508829-3809

BATHTUB REFINISHING

MASONRY

PAINTING/REPAIRS

LAWN & GARDEN

Don’t Replace,

Refinish! t 5)064"/%4 -&44 5)"/ 3&1-"$&.&/5

“Yesterday, my bathtub was ugly.

Today, it’s beautiful!”

After!

ALL WORK GUARANTEED

We Also Repair and Refinish: t $PVOUFSUPQT t 5JMF 4IPXFST 8BMMT t 4JOLT 7BOJUJFT t 'JCFSHMBTT 5VCT 4IPXFST

Call for a FREE Estimate! 508-655-2044 Each Miracle Method franchise independently owned and operated.

48 W O R C E S T E R M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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See our work at MiracleMethod.com/

www.centralmassclass.com HELP WANTED LOCAL

LANDSCAPING & LAWN MAINTENANCE Dave’s Tree & Landscaping Enhancing the view from your home. Call for consultation & free estimate. (508)829-6803.

EMPLOYMENT Committed to Excellence Several Positions Open – Varied shifts available Machine Helpers • Machine Operators • Packers Material Handler • Ink Tech • Plate Mounters • Quality Support GARLOCK PRINTING AND CONVERTING CORPORATION continues to be an innovative visionary leader in the manufacture of flexible packaging. Our cutting edge technology and knowledgeable and innovative workforce allows us to meet and exceed the expectations of our current and potential business partners who embrace and demand supplier excellence. Our pursuit for excellence extends to your career as well. We are seeking ambitious people, not afraid of responsibility. We offer steady work, great wages and benefits in a financially stable, safe and clean working environment. Shifts available 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 12 hour swing. We provide associates with growth opportunities through career advancement to help you reach your maximum potential. Comprehensive benefits package: -10 Paid Holidays -Medical and Dental Insurance -Paid Time Off -Attendance Incentive

-401K with company match -Life Insurance -Safety Incentive

Apply on line at garlockprinting.com or send resume to hr@garlockprinting. com (PDF format) Wendy LeBlanc is recruiting for this position. EOE

HELP WANTED LOCAL

Looking to Hire in 2014? We’ve got the audience for that!

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Business Partner wanted to assist in developing new customer base in a 1.25 billion dollar health and wellness company. Exceptional commission and bonus program. Extensive training provided. Must be career minded enthusiastic individual. Please call 774-614-1206 to arrange for a personal interview. Moms, Dads and Others Lose weight, stay home Earn Money showing others how to do the same! Full training. I lost 16lbs and earned $320 my 1st month..you can too! Sue 774-275-0646

Buy 1/4 page or larger and get one FREE Contact Carrie, Classiﬁed Sales Manager, at 978-728-4302 or email carsenault@centralmassclass.com for details

$20 13

Treasure Chest ofCENTRAL FR MASS EE CLASSIFIEDS Ads!

in the

1. Mail completed form to Central Mass Classifieds, P.O. Box 546, Holden, MA 01520 2. OR FAX the completed form to 508-829-0670 3. OR Email the info with name/address/phone number to sales@centralmassclass.com

NO PHON E OR DERS ACCEPTED FOR FR EE ADS PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY... We are not liable for misinformation due to ad being illegible:

TR EASUR E CHEST - ITEMS UN DER $2013

Have you advertised in the Central Mass Classiﬁeds before? Please check one. ___ Yes ___ No Name ____________________________________________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________________________ Town ______________________________ Zip ______________ Phone _______________________ Email Address (optional) ______________________________________________________________ Ad Text: (approx 20 characters per line includes letters, spaces, numbers, punctuation) _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

PL E ASE R E A D TH E RU L ES:

Maximum 4 lines (approx. 20 characters per line). We reserve the right to edit if ads come in that are too long. NO phone orders accepted. See ways to submit above. Merchandise Ads Only - NO autos, snowmobiles, RV’s, trailers, boats, ATV’s, etc. We have a special rate for these ads ($20 till it sells). NO business Ads accepted for this section. If we suspect the ads are being sent in by a business, we reserve the right to refuse. Limit 1 ad per name/address/phone number every 2 weeks. Ads will run for 2 weeks. Limit 1 item per ad (group of items OK if one price for all and under $2013) Price must be listed in ad. NO Cemetery Plots

DEADLINE FRIDAY 5 PM to begin following week • HAPPY TREASURE HUNTING! HELP WANTED LOCAL

HELP WANTED LOCAL

To land a Dream Job, you need an awesome interview. Interview Tutor Interview Prep Services www.interview-tutor.com 508-365-0077

The Millbury Housing Authority is accepting resumes for a part -time (18-25 hours per week) clerical housing assistant position. Applicants should be detailed oriented, have strong communication skills, and be able to interact in a positive manner with all tenants, applicants, staff and housing advocates. Computer and word processing skills are necessary, in particular the ability to use Quick Books and Excel, as well as the ability to use all office equipment. Wage rate is $12.00 to $13.00 per hour based on experience. Resumes will be accepted until 4:00 P.M., Friday, January 3, 2014. Please mail resumes to: Millbury Housing Authority, 89 Elm Street, Millbury, MA 01527 Attn: Janet Cassidy AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Retail Sales Looking for self-motivated, enthusiastic, outgoing person to join our team at our family owned Alternative Energy store. Sell wood, pellet, and gas stoves, solar etc. Knowledge in green energy a plus. We will train in product knowledge. Weekends a must. FT/PT Higgins Energy Alternatives, 978-355-6343 Ext. 224 or ron@higginsenergy.com

HELP WANTED LOCAL Esthesticians wanted for new SKIN launch! Multi Billion $$$ International Company Proven results in 7 daysAbility to work from home or travel Call to schedule appt with FREE trial of products Sue (774)275-0646

Shippers/Movers Major firm in Leominster, MA. Off 100 Crawford Rd. Moving products with 2 wheel dolly, able to lift/ move 50+lbs. 8pm-4am. $15/ hr. Paid weekly. Call Dutton 1-888-786-0791

FR EE!

SUBMIT ITEMS UNDER $2013 FOR FREE! Here’s all you need to do! 3 ways to submit...

CAREER TRAINING

Now Hiring 7-D school van drivers. Village Transportation. 978-422-6808 Apply at: 125 Clinton Rd. Sterling, MA.

Get a Jump start in January with our Help Wanted display special!

Items Under

MERCHANDISE ITEMS UNDER $2,013 1 Ashton-Drake porcelain girl doll for $35.00 978-342-0595 2006 McFarlane’s Baseball Figurines Series-15 MLB Set of 6, still in package. Never opened. $60.00 978-466-6160 Ariens ST 524 Snowblower Good condition. $300.00 For appointment call 508-829-5161

FOSTER PARENTS

FOSTER PARENTS WANTED Foster Care Information Session Every 3rd Wednesday of the Month • 2pm-4pm (Please Call for Details)

Seeking families throughout Central Massachusetts who are interested in improving a child’s life. Call to inquire about our upcoming foster parent training. $500 BONUS

Call for Details (Must mention this ad during inquiry)

688 Main Street, Holden, MA Toll Free (877) 446-3305

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Holiday Greetings Best Wishes For The Holiday Season

May Christmas bring you all the “magic” of the season.

Thanks to all for your loyalty and friendships! PEACE & JOY,

Miles Funeral Directors

Marilyn, M.T. Pockets Sterling Center • 978-422-8360

Proudly Serving the Wachusett Area

35 Park Ave., Worc., MA

508-791-2383

508 886-8998

Nana’s Stained Glass 441 Marshall Street • Leicester MA 01524

www.nanasglass.com

Peduzzi Family!

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!

Empire Granite Co. 508-757-3091

508-892-0369

from the

Toomey’s Rent-All Center

OLD MAN OIL o l d m a noi l . c om

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays and a Happy and Healthy New Year to all our friends and customers. Thank you for your business this past year!

Warm Holiday Wishes!

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!

From …

Creative Floors www.creativeﬂoorsinc.com

1653 North Main Street Holden, MA 508-829-7444

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year! Take a ride to Sunnyside! 944 Main St. Holden, MA

508-829-4333 SunnysideFord.com

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from our family to yours! Thanks for all your support! RaysTrueValue.com • 22 Howe Ave. Millbury, MA • 508-865-9037

The General Rufus Putnam House

wishes you a Happy Holiday Season! Specializing in elegant overnight accommodations. 344 Main St. Rutland, MA (508) 886-0200

A 1750 Bed & Breakfast - Listed in the National Register of Historic Homes

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Happy Ho lidays and a Happy He althy New Year to You and Yours!

ds at n e i r F r ou From Y

ass M l a r t Cen eds! fi i s s a l C

Carrie Arsenault

Bess Couture

Head Classiﬁed Elf & Classiﬁed Sales Manager

Assistant Elf & Graphic Designer

www.centralmassclass.com ITEMS UNDER $2,013

FURNITURE

MOBILE HOMES

AUTO/TRUCK

Complete twin bed frame asking $15.00 cash only. Will deliver locally. 508 829-9240.

NEW QUEEN $149 pillow top mattress set

BARRE Visit Waterwheel Village A 55+ Home Community 978-355-3454

2006 Ford F250 2006, 4X4, clean, low mileage, plow and utility box included. $16,000 978-464-2630

REAL ESTATE WANTED

AUTO/VAN

WE BUY HOUSES FAST CASH 508-499-8595 sellyourmahouse.com

2002 Kia Sedona 160K miles. Moon roof, AC, power front seat. Runs well. $2,500.00. 978-400-6232

Furnace-Compact Hot air oil. $550.00 Call Paul 978-355-3454 Green Heritage Dinnerware All Pieces $60.00 508-752-2425 Hitchcock Furniture End tables, coffee table. 90" Sofa. All Exc. cond. $600.00 or B/O 978-343-2442 Media Fireplace electric black 48"L w/remote, 2 doors on bottom, shelf on top. Can email pic. $400.00 508-755-4323 Men’s leather medium jacket w/Am. Flag & navy emblem on back. Never worn $99.00. Diane (508) 981-1941 Paper Shredder $25.00 508-892-3676 Penn Reel #7.04 Antique $20.00 508-752-3371 Shrewsbury 508752-3371 SNOWBLOWER Toro heavy duty 2 stage 10 hp. electric start well maintained needs nothing del avail. $550 508-829-6009 Swarovski Cat Pin, 1-1/4" high by 1-1/2" wide. Cat made of crystals with green eyes & pearl ball. Price: $65.00 508-852-7233 Truck Cap Fits 6’ bed, Ranger S10 size. $300.00 508-816-8859 Two-5ft. long glass & gray formica lighted store showcases. Good cond. $175.00 Call Don 978-549-2331 Leominster

New in plastic, Can deliver, Call Luke 774-823-6692

OTHER COMMUNITY Volunteer for Research Study on Bone Health and Exercise

Healthy women 25-35 wanted for 2 yr study in your home. Compensation provided! 508831-5338 email: MBL@wpi.edu

REAL ESTATE APARTMENT FOR RENT BURNCOAT/GREENDALE 1 bd, laundry, appl’s & off st. parking. HT/HW Incl’d. From $775.00. 508-852-6001 GRAFTON & MILLBURY 1 & 2BD Apts. starting at $795 & up. Some incl’d heat & hot water. New paint, off st. prkg., onsite laundry. 1st/sec. 508-8395775 RUTLAND 1BD FREE HEAT Ldry, pkg, H/HW, plowing, Rubbish Removal. 1st/last/sec. Lease. Price reduced from $700. $600 to June. No pets/ No smoking. 508-886-4864 COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

FOR SALE Sears Craftman 12" - 2 speed Ban Saw 1 1/8 HP 6" depth cut Built in work light Work surface 23" x 27" Tilt blade of 45 degrees $100. or Best Offer 508-752-2768 For Sale Lincoln Stick Welder & Accs. All Brand New ,Welder,cart, 2 auto darkening helmets with spare lenses,50’ 10 Gauge ext. cord,3 waterproof stick tubes with rods,various spare welding sticks,welding gloves,chip hammer,etc.600.00 or B.O. you P/U 508-829-2995 508-829-2995

Space for Rent: HOLDEN 1105 Main St approx 1000 sq feet available 1-1-2014 call Sue at 508-829-4333 x301

AUTOMOTIVE AUTO/MOTORCYCLE 1999 Road King Under 8,000 miles. Too many extras to list. Always stored in room temperature. $15,000.00 978-4645525 or 781-879-8275 cell 2008 Honda Metropolitan Scooter Black and gray. Mint cond. 469 miles. Asking $1650.00. Includes helmet. 207289-9362 OR 207-450-1492. 2008 Suzuki GSX 650/K8. All black with silver and red trim. Less than 850 miles. Cover, new battery, and lock. $5500.00 508-792-6080 AUTO/SUV 2004 Chevrolet Trail Blazer Great condition. New transmission. Low miles. 4WD. $4,799.00 Dan 508-641-6839 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe White, 93K miles. Cruise control, A/C, power, seat warmers, loaded. Recent new tires. All leather. Clean, well maintained. Asking $6150.00 or BO 508-886-2370 2010 Subaru Forester 2010 Subaru Forester 2.5X Premium loaded, 4WD, Automatic, navigation, $8800, call or text for more details 508-687-0596.

CONDOMINIUM FOR RENT HOLDEN - HUGE, bright, open concept, one level, 2BD/2BA condo w/walk-in closets, lge windows & high ceilings. W/D hkups. $1700/m incl’s heat. Also, 2BD townhouse. $1500/m incl’s heat. 508-667-7434

AUTO/TRUCK 2000 Ford F150 Flareside Pickup Showroom condition inside and out. 100K miles. All power, needs nothing. $8500.00 Call 978-466-6043

AUTOS 1962 Chevrolet Impala sport coupe. Older restoration. Nice driver. $8,500 978-422-6646 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham Sedan. 79k miles. Grey exterior and interior. $6500.00 or B/O 774-242-2370 badday1123@gmail.com

SNOW PROFESSIONALS DIRECTORY

~ Since 1965 ~

SNOW PLOWING TREE TRIMMING BRUSH CHIPPING

SENIOR & DISABLED SERVICES

Residential & Commercial SERVING THE HOLDEN AREA

978-534-1000

508.829.3809

Shoveling and Snow Blowing

Serving North Central Mass wbtotalhomecare.com Licensed, Bonded & Insured

DON’T GET SNOWED IN THIS WINTER... Call a Professional!

1988 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6 cylinder gas. Very good cond. Runs exc. $3500.00 195k miles. Located in Sutton, MA 774-287-0777 1996 Jeep Cherokee 4WD, blk, auto-start, keyless entry, fold-down seats, rims, spare. KBV $4000, asking $2500. 774-234-0214 1997 Oldsmobile LSS New muffler, brakes & battery. 130 estimated miles. Good cond. $2000.00 firm. Leominster 978-534-1915 1999 Acura TL well maintained, reliable car. good tires, exc sound system, drives well, ht’d seats and more. Lots of power! Luxurious and sporty! 1 owner. Garaged. Brian $2,900 508-865-4410 2000 Mercury Sable Wagon. 131K miles. Exc. cond. inside & out. Asking $2,200.00 Call Kathy 978-728-4702 2001 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe, Rare car, loaded, mint condition. $7,995 508-875-7400

& Cl ws Pets, Pet Supplies, Services & More! Call 978-728-4302 to place your ad

. B O J M P X µT

Canine Playground Doggie Daycare

First day is FREE with this coupon! We also offer Overnight Boarding! C Cel Celebrating 10 years! 978-537-2584 www.manilowsdoggiedaycare.com 391 Harvard St. Leominster, MA 01453

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www.centralmassclass.com

CENTRAL MASS Homes & Ser vices A Monthly Real Estate and Home Services Feature Paula K. Aberman Associates, Inc. Paula Savard

Gail Lent

ABR, CRB, CRS, GRI

ABR, CRS, GRI

Sandra DeRienzo

Mark Gerber

Tracy Page

Tracy Sladen

ABR, GRI

(978) 537-4971 • 1-(800) 924-8666

2086 Main Street, Lancaster www.paulasavard.com

OPEN HOUSE ON DEMAND

Gardner $49,500 Residential building lot in country location with great access to Rt. 140 or Rt.2. Close to the Westminster line. Current perc. Lightly wooded and mostly level 3.77 acres Owner will consider holding ﬁnancing for the right buyer. Aberman Assoc Inc. Gail Lent 978-537-4971x15 www.gaillent.com

Our sellers are standing by for short notice showings from 11am -1pm every Sunday WE ARE NOT ON SITE. Please call us at 978 537 4971 x 0. In most instances, we will call you back in 10 minutes. Properties are listed on www. paulasavard.com

Spencer $159,900 Move in ready, this Ranch style, one owner, home, set on a knoll overlooking scenic view from huge picture window in spacious, fireplaced living room. New roof shingles installed in April, 2013. refinished HW floors, replacement windows, dining rm or 3rd bedroom off kitchen. Freshly painted livng rm,& bdrms. Relax, or dine, in screened patio on warm summer eves. Spacious rear yard. Aberman Assoc. Inc Sandra DeRienzo 978-537-4971 x43

$199,900 Littleton

Clinton $219,000

Easy highway access.Open concept ranch style starter home with additional living area in lower level. New Septic installed September 2013. Aberman Assoc. Inc Paula Savard 978-537-4971 x 14 www.paulasavard.com

2 Family, 2 units side by side. Unit 1 has 3 br and 1 full bath. Unit 2 has 2 br and 1 full bath. Aberman Assoc Inc. Mark Gerber 978-537-4971 x 63

Petersham $225,000 Antique farmhouse turned into country contemporary. 1000 s.f inlaw over 2 car attached garage, decks, enclosed porches and breezeways add to farmlike setting. 2 plus acres, circular drive. 1/2 mile from Rt 101 and Rt 32. 1/2 hour from downtown Leominster or Amherst. Floorplan for main house 1 1/2 story 3 bedrooms 2 full baths ﬁrst ﬂoor laundry. Inlaw has 1 bedroom 1 full bath and laundry. Separate side entrance. Aberman Assoc Inc. Paula Savard 978-537-4971 x14 www.paulasavard.com

Ceramics

Carpet

Vinyl

Pre-Finished Hardwood

Beaulieu Couristan Lexmark Milliken Mohawk Philadelphia Shaw Supreme

Adura

Bruce Century Mullican Sommerset

Tarkett

Laminate Faus Mohawk Shaw

FINANCING AVAILABLE FREE ESTIMATES

CREATIVE FLOORS, INC

CERAMIC • CARPET • VINYL • MARBLE • GRANITE • HARDWOOD • LAMINATE • WALLPAPER L SERVICE • SALES • INSTALLATION • RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL

508-829-7444 • www.creativefloorsinc.com

1653 North Main Street • Holden

Tuesday 9-6 • Wednesday, Thursday & Friday 9-5 • Saturday 9-1 • Closed Sunday & Monday nday

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Leominster $179,900 Modern 3 bedroom ranch with updated features. Extra Large Mas Br on first floor was originally 2 room. 3rd bedroom lower level or convert 1st floor back. Lower level workshop, playroom . Aberman Assoc Inc Paula Savard 978-537-4971 x 14 www.paulasavard.com

Templeton $244,900 4 br 2.5 bath colonial. Eat in kitchen with breakfast bar, atrium door to deck area. Formal dining formal living with crown molding, mellow hardwood floors. easy access to Rt 2 at exit 20 2 1/2 ceramic tile bathrooms, laundry on first floor. Aberman Assoc Inc. Paula Savard 978-537-4971 x14 www.paulasavard.com

Leominster $280,000

American Olean Dal-Tile Florida Marazzi Shaw UCTD U.S. Ceramic

Stainmaster

Clinton $58,900 Commercial - 800 SF of ofﬁce space and over 2000SF of warehouse. UMass Medical clinton campus 2 blocks from site. Street frontage on Catherine. Aberman Assoc Inc. Paula Savard 978-537-4971 x 14 www.paulasvard.com

4 br 3 bath Multilevel. Quiet cul de sac. Easy access to highways, shopping. Families thrive with their own space. 4 bedrooms 2 full baths. Wall to wall carpet covers hardwoods in bedroom level. Living area kit, lr, dr, enclosed porch, fenced kennel sized yard. Family room level has exterior access. 3rd full bath on this level. Aberman Assoc Inc. Paula Savard 978-537-4971 x 14 www.paulasavard.com

Blue Mountain Brewster Chesapeake Patton Sancar Seabrook Warner York

Congoleum

Moises Cosme

Lunenburg $239,900

Creative Floors… Where Experience is Everythingg

Mannington

Anna Mary Kraemer CRS

3 br 1 bath Cape. Large eat in kitchen with gas fireplace. Spacious living room with working fireplace. Two bedrooms (one up and one on main floor). Additional room upstairs used as a third bedroom and living room currently used as a fourth bedroom. Beautiful level lot, partially wooded. Storage room on back side of two car garage. Room sizes are approximate. Aberman Assoc Inc Yasmin Loft 978-537-4971 x 61

Wallpaper

Armstrong

Yasmin Loft

Carpet Binding

Tara Sullivan

Sherry Crocker

www.centralmassclass.com AUTOS

Over 40 Acres! Over 3000 Vehicles! USED & NEW AUTO PARTS

91 DAY GUARANTEE

We buy vintage vehicles & antique auto related garage contents.

FREE Nationwide Parts Locator Service Deposits conveniently taken over the phone.

Trust us to do it once and do it right.

• Foreign & Domestic • Early & Late Model • Engines • Transmissions • New Radiators • Gas Tanks • Wheels • Tires • Balancers • Exhaust Manifolds • Window Motors

Amherst-Oakham AUTO RECYCLING

AUTOS

JUNK CARS

2006 Honda S2000 ext Black int Brand new top 93oct/synth oil only used Florida car adult owner 59k miles $16,500 508-816-0141

Unwanted Cars & Trucks Junk cars. We pick up. Pay top dollar cash, $250 & up. Titles necessary. Girard’s 978-2974883 or 978-790-7110 Open 6 days a week. We also sell used parts. 978-297-0605

AUTOS

ROOKS ROTHERS

Toll Free1-800-992-0441 Fax 508-882-5202 Off Rte 122 • 358 Coldbrook Rd., Oakham, MA www.amherstoakhamauto.com

USED AUTO PARTS

508-792-6211

Worcester No.

508-799-9969

Worcester, MA

REAL ESTATE

CAMPERS/TRAILERS 1998 Dutchman Pop-up Camper Refrigerator, stove, sink. Heater, port o potty, kitchen table. Sleeps 8. $1700.00. 978840-0782 Ask for Kenny. 24 ft Light Weight 2004 Terry Dakota Travel Trailer Sleeps 7, bunk beds & full bed, 16ft awning, A/C, Central heat, microwave & 3 burner stove. Dual powered fridge/freezer. Loads of storage, outdoor shower. 2 batteries, travel septic. Like new. $8,500.00 508-579-6622 Truck Camper 1985 Bought new in 1991. Real Life brand. Bathroom, shower, self contained. 8ft truck bed. $2900.00 B/O 774-287-0777 Utility Trailer, Heavy Duty 15" wheels, with removable sides. 6’X 8’. Located in Sutton, MA $650.00 774-287-0777

The Hills at Paxton Village offers seniors an active lifestyle, including access to area concerts, art exhibits and educational venues, while conveniently located near high-quality medical services. Don’t miss out on your chance to be part of this vibrant new community! Rents Range from;

$896 One Bedroom

Rent Includes: * Professionally Managed-Elevator Bldg. * Maintenance Free Living * Heat and Hot Water Included * Community Center * Fitness Room * Walking Trails * Patio and Resident Garden

PARTS & ACCESSORIES Used Auto Parts 91-day guarantee. Engines, transmissions, wheels, mirrors & tires. Excellent service, junk car removal. Amherst-Oakham Auto Recycling, 358 Coldbrook Rd, Oakham, MC Visa Disc & Amex. 508-882-5241 SNOWMOBILES Artic Cat Snowmobile Z440, studded track. Has cover. Runs, needs a little work. $750.00 978-365-6567 STORAGE

NEW CONSTRUCTION 260 Grove Street * Paxton, MA 01612 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments Available for Fall OCCUPANCY The Hills at Paxton Village is a brand new apartment community in a wooded, peaceful setting offering maintenance-free living to seniors* 62-years of age and older. Our pet friendly and smoke-free community offers (45) one-bedroom and (5) two-bedroom units, a community room and ﬁtness center, walking trails and an exterior terrace with landscaped garden area.

We Buy and PICK UP Your junk or wrecked cars or trucks. We Sell New and Used Parts. Airport Auto Parts, Inc. 56 Crawford St. Leominster, MA 01453 978-534-3137

Utility Trailer. Made from a 1970 Chevy short bed pickup body. $225.00 Call Larry 508-886-6082 Rutland MA.

Auto or Boat Storage 14’x36’ $210/m Also, 1000 sq. ft. w/loading dock. $420/m Rutland. 207-280-0687

Utility Trailer 5’ X 8’. Floor, sides and gate are 3/4" pt. Removable fold down gate in rear. $1400 invested, asking $800 firm. Can be seen in Holden. 508-791-6444

$1,071 Two Bedroom

* Spacious 1 & 2 Bedroom Floor Plans * Pet Friendly * Ample Closet Space * Additional Resident Storage * Designer Finishes * Smokefree building

Now Leasing!

OPEN HOUSE:

1/30 10am-12p

Maximum income limits, per household size, not to exceed 60% of AMI (gross income) 1 Persons 2 Persons $35,160 $40,140 Minimum income limits apply (please inquire for details) ‘Head of household must be 62 years of age or older. Other household members must be at least 55 years of age.

For Information or an application please contact S-C Management Corp. at 508-799-3990, TTD 711 or email us at thehillsatpaxtonvillage@gmail.com or visit us at thehillsatpaxtonvillage.com.

WELLS YOU BOUGHT... √ Life Insurance √ Home Insurance √ Fire Extinguishers √ Smoke Alarms √ Carbon Monoxide Detectors ...Just in Case √ Now, you should buy a Well Dome “Just in Case”

Call Paul 978-355-3454 WellDomes.net Think about it! You bathe and drink your well water.

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www.centralmassclass.com LEGALS/PUBLIC NOTICES LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE Notice is hereby given by Pat’s Service Center of 5 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA, pursuant to the provisions of Mass G.L c. 255, Section 39A, that they will sell the following vehicles on or after January 3, 2014 by private sale to satisfy their garage keeper’s lien for towing, storage, and notices of sale: 1. 1999 Ford Expedition VIN# 1FMPU18L6XLA86152 2. 2007 Toyota Yaris VIN# JTDJT923475051652 3. 2001 Chevrolet Impala VIN# 2G1WF52E619334905 Signed, Pat Santa Maria, owner Pat’s Service Center 12/19, 12/26, 1/2

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE Notice is hereby given by Boulevard Towing of 550 Franklin Street Worcester, MA, pursuant to the provisions of Mass G.L c. 255, Section 39A, that they will sell the following vehicle on or after December 27, 2013 by private sale to satisfy their garage keeper’s lien for towing, storage, and notices of sale: 2006 Mercedes Benz E350 VIN# WDBUF56J16A877353 Signed, Pat Assad, owner Boulevard Towing 12/12, 12/19, 12/26

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Worcester Probate and Family Court 225 Main St. Worcester, MA 01608 Docket No. WO13P3929GD CITATION GIVING NOTICE OF PETITION FOR APPOINTMENT OF GUARDIAN FOR INCAPACITATED PERSON PURSUANT TO G.L. c. 190B, §5-304 In the matter of: Robert J Flagg, III Of: Worcester, MA RESPONDENT Alleged Incapacitated Person To the named Respondent and all other interested persons, a petition has been filed by Department of Developmental Serv, of Shrewsbury, MA in the above captioned matter alleging that Robert J Flagg, III is in need of a Guardian and requesting that Lynne S Martin of Worcester, MA (or some other suitable person) to appointed as Guardian to serve Without Surety on the bond. The petition asks the court to determine that the Respondent is incapacitated, that the appointment of a Guardian is necessary, and that the proposed Guardian is appropriate. The petition is on file with this court and may contain a request for certain specific authority. You have the right to object to this proceeding. If you wish to do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance at this court on or before 10:00 A.M. on the return date of 01/07/2014. This day is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline date by which you have to file the written appearance if you object to the petition. If you fail to file the written appearance by the return date, action may be taken in this matter without further notice to you. In addition to filing the written appearance you or your attorney must file a written affidavit stating the specific facts and grounds of your objection within 30 days after the return date. IMPORTANT NOTICE The outcome of this proceeding may limit or completely take away the above-named person’s right to make decisions about personal affairs or financial affairs or both. The above-named person has the right to ask for a lawyer. Anyone may make this request on behalf of the above-named person. If the above-named person cannot afford a lawyer, one may be appointed at State expense. WITNESS, Hon. Denise L. Meagher, First Justice of this Court. Date: January 14, 2013 Stephen G. Abraham Register of Probate 12/26/2013 WM

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TOWN OF SUTTON PLANNING BOARD Sutton Planning Board Public Hearing Notice In accordance with the provisions of Sections IV.C., V.B. and V.D. of the Sutton Zoning Bylaw – Site Plan Review, Groundwater Protection, and Route 146 Overlay District Bylaws, the Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the application of Atlas Box LLC of Sutton, MA. The application is for an 188,000 s.f. expansion of the existing headquarters at 223 Worcester Providence Turnpike. The hearing will be held at the Sutton Town Hall, third floor, on Monday, January 6, 2014 at 7:20 P.M. A copy of the application can be inspected in the office of the Town Clerk during normal office hours. Jon Anderson, Chairman 12/19, 12/26/2013 MS TOWN OF SUTTON ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS TO ALL INTERESTED INHABITANTS OF THE TOWN OF SUTTON In accordance with the provisions of M.G.L. Ch. 40A, §11, the Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing at the Sutton Town Hall, on January 9, 2014 at 7:30pm on the petition of Karen T. and Michael A. Bronson. The petitioners request variances from Section III.B.3. Table II and III of the town’s zoning bylaws to permit the reconstruction of a non-conforming single family dwelling which will not meet setback and lot coverage requirements. The property that is the subject of this petition is 172 Manchaug Road and is located in the R-1 Zoning District. A copy of the petition may be inspected during normal office hours in the Town Clerk’s Office located in the Town Hall. Any person interested or wishing to be heard on this variance petition should appear at the time and place designated. Richard Deschenes Board of Appeals Clerk 12/26/2013, 1/02/2014 MS

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Worcester Probate and Family Court 225 Main Street Worcester, MA 01608 Docket No. WO13D3107DR DIVORCE SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION AND MAILING George F Wells, Jr. vs. Nouhad Waked Sierra To the Defendant: The Plaintiff has filed a Complaint for Divorce requesting that the Court grant a divorce for irretrievable breakdown. The Complaint is on file at the Court. An Automatic Restraining Order has been entered in this matter preventing you from taking any action which would negatively impact the current financial status of either party. SEE Supplemental Probate Court Rule 411. You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon: Peter B Clifford, Esq. Clifford & Clifford 47 Harvard Street Worcester, MA 01609 your answer, if any, on or before 03/10/2014. If you fail to do so, the court will proceed to the hearing and adjudication of this action. You are also required to file a copy of your answer, if any, in the office of the Register of this Court. Witness, Hon. Denise L. Meagher, First Justice of this Court. Date: December 11, 2013 Stephen G. Abraham Register of Probate 12/26/2013 WM

Keep it Legal

To place your legal ad in Central Mass Classifieds, please call Carrie at 978-728-4302 or email sales@centralmassclass.com Deadline is Monday at noon.

Two minutes with...

Steven Merrow

Steve Merrow is a part of Worcester’s music scene, however, he stays – for the most part – off the stage and out of the headlines. Merrow has been doing sound at Ralph’s Diner on Grove Street in Worcester since 1999. He cut his teeth in the Worcester music scene as a teenager doing sound for the band She’s Busy. Still very green, he made connections and was introduced to local icon and veteran soundman Rod Libby, Joe Cocker’s soundman for about 14 years. For the next six years Libby took Merrow under his wing and taught him everything he could about the art of live audio and recording, working together throughout New England.

You’ve seen hundreds of bands; how’s your hearing? Do you wear earplugs?

I’ve worked with thousands of bands, some famous some not, from metal to country. All nice people, no matter how awesome or strange. Form James Montgomery to The Nude Comic, one big awesome entertainment family. And as for my hearing! It’s good and no I don’t use ear plugs, I’m a sound guy.

What kind of background do you need to become a soundman?

Education to become a sound guy; you should take courses dealing with recording, mixing, instrument microphone mounting and rigging. It’s tough with all the new digital equipment. I would love to go back to school.

What constitutes good sound at a bar?

What makes good sound in a nightclub or any venue is the right sound system for that size room. Ralph let me do whatever I wanted, so after the old JBL system died at the bar I brought my own equipment in and installed it the way Rod taught me.

Is Ralph’s known for its atmosphere or for the sound quality?

I hope both; Ralph would have wanted it that way. Although, when I handed Metal Thursday over to Jimmy Bain, it didn’t go over too well with the metal crowed. It makes me very happy that I’m respected at Ralph’s and Worcester as a sound guy!

What’s a sound check?

A sound check is a level check on a band or instrument to ﬁnd EQ and volume level at the mixing board. I do them frequently.

What’s your favorite kind of music?

I don’t have one, Rod taught me to be objective with audio, to break it down in my head. But if I had to pick one I would say newer country only because I can sing to it and my dad.

You’re regularly out late? Do you have a day job? I do; I’m a sales person at Ray’s True Value in Millbury. After all these years I can be out ‘til two and still get up for six, no problem. Plus it’s easier for me these days now that I have Jay Vinnuti and Jimmy Bain doing sound.

If a show goes till 2 a.m., what time do you get home? Depends where the show is; I do sound other places as well. When I’m leaving from Ralph’s, about 15 minutes.

What’s one of the craziest nights you can remember at Ralph’s on or off the stage?

Every night is awesome, but there have been some big ﬁghts and some weird shows. Ralph’s is still here after 30 years

and hopefully it will be around for another 30 years!

Best show you’ve ever worked?

That’s easy, Stevie Ray Vaughn at E.M. Lowes in 1985, I was a stagehand.

-Steven King, Writer and photographer DECEMBER 26, 2013 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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DECE M B E R 26, 2013