Worcester Magazine March 12 - 18, 2020

MARCH 12 - 18, 2020 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

CULTURE • ARTS • DINING • VOICES

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M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

IN THIS ISSUE

M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020 • V O L U M E 45 I S S U E 29 Find us on Facebook.com/worcestermag Twitter @worcestermag Instagram: Worcestermag

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21 Featured ......................................................................................4 City Voices...................................................................................8 In Case You Missed It ... .......................................................10 Cover Story ...............................................................................11 Artist Spotlight .......................................................................17 Lifestyle......................................................................................18 The Next Draft..........................................................................20 Dining Review..........................................................................20 Table Hoppin’ ..........................................................................21 Film .............................................................................................22 Film Capsules ..........................................................................22 Calendar ....................................................................................24 Adoption Option ....................................................................28 Games .........................................................................................29 Classifieds .................................................................................30 Last Call .....................................................................................31

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the cover

Jay Leone and Erik Tidd, co-owners of Free Play Bar and Arcade.

Photo by Ashley Green; Design by Kimberly Vasseur

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Ahead Full Tilt: What’s with all the video game bars coming to Worcester?

Story on page 11

M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

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FEATURED

‘A dream come true’

Singer-songwriter Amy Kucharik returns to John Henry’s Hammer Coffeehouse RICHARD DUCKET T

with a captivating joie de vivre.

Her musical style embraces folk music, the blues, jazz and swing, my Kucharik had the right sort of background and shows include wonderful standards (“If I Could Shimmy — including playing Like My Sister Kate”) and Kuchamusic and writing poetry — to becoming a songwriter. rik’s material. She performs shows “I wanted to write songs from a for children as well.

With Khrysti Smith, who very early age, and I just couldn’t doesn’t perform as much with figure out how to do it,” Kucharik Friends With Benefits as in the said. Then one day the answer past since moving to the Western was at hand. “It wasn’t until I part of the state, the vocal harmopicked up a ukulele and I put nies will bring “a real folksy feeling chords under lyrics.” to it,” Kucharik said of the March Kuchraik, who lives in Somer14 show at John Henry’s. ville, is now a well-established There will be “folk originals and singer-songwriter in the MassaAmericana stuff.” Kucharik has chusetts area playing the ukulele released two full albums of origisolo (along with foot percussion, nal music, and plans to play some mouth trumpet and harmonica), new songs at John Henry’s. or with bands that include Amy The previous performance Kucharik and Friends With there, people seemed “excited to Benefits. hear the novelty songs.” That was “It’s sort of surprise and a fine, but “this time I’m hoping dream come true to do it profespeople will be excited about the sionally,” she said. range we do,” she said.

She’ll be at John Henry’s Ham“Sometimes people think I’m mer Coffeehouse on March 14 funny when I don’t mean to be.” with Amy Kucharick and Friends With Benefits members Greg Toro One serious song begins, “ ‘You said you could kill me.’ That line (upright and electric bass) and will draw laughs and I say ‘No, no, Khrysti Smith (vocals) playing wait, this is not funny.’” as a trio. Jay Luby (voted Female Still, “I think humor is really Vocalist 2011 in Rhode Island’s good to get a point across that Motif Magazine and a finalist in people don’t feel preached to. I’m the 2017 Rhode Island Songwritwriting on hopeful. There’s like ers Association Songwriting moments of hope.”

Contest) opens. The show is part Kucharik had played classical of the JHH 2019-20 Concert Series. piano growing up in Southern March 14 is Pi Day, so Kucharick Illinois and studied French horn is expecting there will be some from sixth grade through college. pie.

Meanwhile, she majored in art The last time Kucharik was at and creative writing at Southern John Henry’s in 2017 she played Illinois University and earned an solo. “It was fun,” she recalled.

MFA in poetry.

“The ukulele is portable. It’s a She is also an artist and friendly instrument. I feel it brings graphic designer, and didn’t take a happy vibe into the room, even to songwriting and performing though I play sad songs on it.”

Kucharik also plays a lot of her until after moving to Somerville around 2010. humorous and witty songs and “I’d been writing poetry for “novelty songs” that happily go “over the top.” Relationships are a years,” she said, and was also getting into “blues parody lyrics.” constant theme, but the humor “I’d been learning guitar and can also be ironic with unspoken was making slow, slow, slow progundertows: “Let’s talk about Gerress on that,” she said. At a party man Expressionism/ Let’s talk with a friend she saw a ukulele, about your artistic vision/ Let’s picked it up, and “after an hour I talk about whatever became of Michael Jackson’s glove/ Let’s talk could play a few chords.”

It had been the missing link about really cool guitars, or where we got our scars/ Let’s talk about to helping her write songs. “With the piano I was reading notes, almost any, everything but love.” it’s different than chords. It (the But it’s all imparted musically

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M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

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FEATURED

ukulele) suddenly made sense to me, just thinking about there’s a melody and chord progression.”

She honed her craft at the former Jimmy D’s in Somerville and in 2012 Amy Kucharik and Friends With Benefits went out on tour for the first time, opening some shows. “I had a couple of original songs. I learned a lot of swing tunes,” she said. “Between then and 2013 I wrote a bunch of songs.”

Her full-length debut album, “Cunning Folk,” was released in 2014 featuring a diversely instrumented band including long-time Friends With Benefits member Tim Lewandowski (trombone). “Cunning Folk” was nominated for Red Line Roots Album of the Year.

In 2015 Kucharick was a winner of the Grassy Kerrville New Folk competition in Texas. She and the other five winners — selected out of 800 hopefuls — got to tour central Texas and she has since collaborated with New Folk finalists on musical endeavors.

“On the one hand it’s validation.

On the one hand this isn’t a crazy hobby. On the other I had a lot of imposter syndrome,” Kucharik said of being a winner. “In the long run I don’t really like competitions. It’s really a collaborative spirit that keeps me going.”

Kucharik is a member of a songwriting group that meets at her house once a month. “That’s been a help,” she said.

“Until the Words are Gone,” her second full-length album, came out

in 2018.

At this point she said she’s written about 30 songs, “maybe a few more.

There’s a lot that hit the cutting room floor, and some we play for a while and say ‘no.’ “ Kucharik is a full-time freelancer as a musician, artist and graphic designer, DJ (swing and blues), ukulele teacher, and has also worked as a stage and audio hand. Promoting albums and touring far and wide can be difficult, given demands on income and time.

“We’ve gone as far as Canada as a band, and I’ve gone to Texas and Minnesota. It’s been sort of backburnered because there’s been a been a lot of other things locally.”

A bucket list would include performing in the San Francisco and Portland areas. “Also, I really want to to make it to Europe,” she said.

“I’d love to reach a wider audience if I could … I’d love it if we can reach Worcester. Worcester’s got a great music scene.”

Amy Kucharick and Friends With Benefits; Jan Luby opening When: 7 p.m. March 14 Where: John Henry’s Hammer Coffeehouse, First Unitarian Church, 90 Main St., Worcester How much: $15. Tickets at the door or at www.brownpapertickets.com

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M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

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FEATURED

With ‘Hold Your Applause,’ Waiver Wire’s history starts now JASON GREENOUGH

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M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

t’s been a long two-year grind thus far for Waiver Wire, but as far as frontman Josh McKelvie is concerned, with the release of their debut EP only a month in the rearview, they’re just getting started.

Comprising songs both two years in the making and tracks that were laid down while in the studio, McKelvie sees “Hold Your Applause” as not only a solid representation of the Worcester-based pop punk quartet’s foundation in the genre, but also just a short introduction to who and what the band — currently composed of McKelvie on guitar and vocals, Guilio Lavini on lead guitar, Jeremy Champlin on bass and Dan Bauer on drums — is influenced by, and he’s happy to report that the reception has been nothing but supportive so far.

“Everyone we’ve talked to about

it has liked it,” says McKelvie, “and it seems like it’s still got some legs to it, and people are still listening to it, so we’re very happy with how it’s been received.”

Recorded in just nine days, with Four Year Strong’s Alan Day lending his talents as producer, the songs are still uniquely Waiver Wire, but McKelvie is quick to credit Day’s expertise and hands-on approach as catalysts in helping the band deliver not a only a batch of songs they were happy with, but a true realization of what they had envisioned the songs to sound like since their inception. “(Alan) said to us at one point that it was his job to make the songs as close to what we imagined them as he could, and that’s really what happened,” says McKelvie. “What I heard in my head since I first started crafting these songs in the beginning, that’s what came out in the studio.

He was kind of like that missing

ingredient, and his expertise helped us pull that last little bit out to make the fully realized songs I had always heard in my head.”

Having played in a number of bands based in and around Worcester over the years, McKelvie admits that given his geographic location, it’s pretty much inevitable that the city is a big part of his career as a musician, as he has had the pleasure of playing virtually every public stage the city has to offer with different bands, and he’s excited that he’s able to continue to scratch venues from the list later this month when Waiver Wire joins Scare City, The Planes and The True Jacqueline at Hotel Vernon on March 26.

While they’re happy with the pieces they have in place now, McKelvie is quick to admit that the band went through a period of turnover since starting out in early 2018, and it’s taken a long time to get to the

point where the band feels revitalized in many ways, and confident in how its lineup will continue to help them grow as a whole.

Part of that revitalization is obviously the release of the EP and its reception, as it represents the first tangible thing the band has done since starting out, but while they’re still basking in the excitement of the release, the creative momentum has McKelvie already starting to look to the future to find Waiver Wire’s next best thing.

“We’re hoping this EP has some more life in it before it truly becomes yesterday’s news, but the way things work these days, you have to constantly be releasing new content, so we’re hoping to do another video for the EP, and we’re already talking about when we’re going back into the studio for the next few songs,” says McKelvie.

“We’ve also got a bunch of live stuff planned for the next few months, so

we’re always planning and looking forward to the next thing.”

Whatever may be in store for the band this year is yet to be seen, but at the end of the day, it’s all about growing and evolving, and that’s truly what has McKelvie and his bandmates stoked for the future.

“We’re looking forward to growing our sound and our fanbase, and we’re kind of just throwing everything we have at the wall right now and seeing what sticks,” McKelvie says. “There’s really no endgame for us. We’ll just take it as far as we can.”

M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

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CITY VOICES

HARVEY

More postcards from the sofa never diagnosed with anything. I JANICE HARVEY assure you that unlike Ali, I did not become more beautiful with each eems I picked an excellent passing hour. To the contrary I am time to be laid up after still hideous, even after a couple surgery, since being selfweeks of recovery. quarantined is trending. If I Ryan O’Neal did not slide into have to be out of commission I can’t bed beside me. However, the think of a better time to not mingle; woman with the paperwork stating I used to dread crowds because, you what was not covered by insurance know, people. Now I can tell myself did slide my credit card through I’m conscientious by following the her machine after wheeling her CDC guidelines, and not following cart gurneyside. I was initialing Donald Trump’s hunches. agreements while a shower cap was Turner Classic Movies showed slipped over my head in prepara“Love Story” this week. In 1970 tion for surgery. For all I know I just when the film version of one of the signed over my Hyundai to Reliant. I worst novels ever written was rehope they take off the snow tires. leased, I was 13, going on 14 — the I got a good look at the healthperfect age for a tearjerker. I saw care industry when I entered the it at least a half-dozen times with hospital for same-day surgery that Donna Hackett. We wept harder in any normal person’s opinion with every viewing. should have merited a hospital stay.

For those of you unfamiliar with It’s been a long time — 35 years, this three-hanky hit, the story is to be exact — since my last taste one you will recognize as a Holof hospitalization. (The ER doesn’t lywood staple: poor girl steals the count.) When my son was born preheart of rich boy, comes up against mature and required treatment for rich guy’s dad, marries anyway, girl jaundice, we were both kept for five contracts mystery ailment, dies. days. Fat chance of that happening!

In between, she nicknames him I noticed the sorrowful look in “Preppie” (they meet at Harvard, of the eyes of the nurse preparing me course, where she has a scholarfor surgery. Her reaction when I ship and he has Dad’s dough), they asked: “Can I stay overnight? I live have one squabble and she utters alone,” was “Is someone picking the immortal line, “Love means you up?” What if the answer was never having to say you’re sorry.” no? Would I get a bus pass? After Anyone who has ever been in a 3½ hours on the table, I was sent relationship knows what a crock home two hours later. that is. Love means saying you’re Ali McGraw got a hospital bed sorry a minimum of twice a day. At that Ryan O’Neal could fit in with 13 going on 14, I was unaware. her. All I got was a gurney. Ryan Watching “Love Story” through O’Neal’s dad finally came to his the eyes of a wizened adult was senses and offered to pay the media very different experience from cal bills. Where was he when the hunching down in the front seats chick with the rolling credit card maof the Webster Square Showcase chine was breathing down my neck?

Cinema, crying into my Milk Duds. Maybe love means never having to Where once I drooled over Ali’s say you’re sorry, but sorry is what I cool wardrobe and her enviable said when she asked if I wanted to opportunity to make out with Ryan pay the full amount owed. I think I O’Neal, now I’m paying closer atsaid I would gladly pay her Tuesday tention to the doctor treating her for a hamburger today, or something for the unnamed terminal illness to that effect, just as the drugs kicked that seems to make her prettier, in. Anyway, I’ll be paying the balance until she withers away to gorgeous. in tiny installments till I die of an I couldn’t help but compare Ali unnamed disease.

McGraw’s medical treatment to my I just hope I gradually become own recent experiences as a paprettier with each payment. tient. Forget the fact that she was

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M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

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FIRST PERSON

Journey to a new life AZAL GHADEER

A

nxiety and fear rushed through my body. The thought of moving into a new environment made me feel unsettled, but it’s not just the new house, new clothes or new people that I’ll have to meet, it’s the feeling of knowing I won’t be living in danger every day. The plane ride from Syria to America was overwhelming. I can still smell the nauseating food and feel the uncomfortable seat. My mother’s lengthy numeration of all the luggage seemed a bit hostile since she began it with a deep sigh. We were all exasperated. Neither of my siblings knew the real reason why we were leaving at the time.

I didn’t want to start over. My feelings overthrew me. The hours of waiting made it more difficult.

There was nothing but time, which caused a lot of overthinking which certainly didn’t help the hours pass by. My brother tried to entertain me or I might as well say distract me since all I did was complain and weep. He wasn’t helping as much as he thought he was. Nothing was able to get my mind off of

my last week in Syria. I remember everything to the last detail. It was the middle of the night, a week before the flight, where I heard a clamorous sound. I instantly woke up and went to the living room. All my family members were gathered, even my cousins that lived in the apartment below. I didn’t think much of it since we usually do this but never at this time of night. The noise of the TV filled the whole room and stopped me from hearing what my parents were talking about. My attention went to the TV and goosebumps suddenly went through my whole body. The news mentioned an explosion that killed three people on a bus which left the Syrian police in shock. Then I understood what all the fuss was about. All parents want to do is protect their kids and the only way for mine to protect us was to move.

Syria was officially unsafe.

Watching the news causes my heart to ache. It aches for the destruction that has been caused, the people that have died, and the families that were ruined. Sometimes I think about what could have happened to me, to my family, if I still lived there. I have had the

same recurring nightmare for the past 10 years I’ve been here. It’s all a blur honestly. All I can remember is hearing an explosion and everything collapsing, then I suddenly wake up with my heart racing.

Flash forward to age 17. Moving here has helped me tremendously.

My language improved, my life got easier, and I adapted to the American lifestyle. Getting used to the environment was easy for me, since I came at a young age it wasn’t hard to get adjusted. One thing I will never forget is winning my fifth-grade spelling bee, which was also my greatest accomplishment. I know it may not seem as significant to others but it was to me. For someone who wasn’t from this country and had to learn a new language, winning a contest that involved spelling out words made me feel proud.

My family was financially unstable. It was difficult for my parents to find a good paying job to help support us, especially since their language wasn’t fluent. But within time everything worked out.

My mom and dad found a job, even though it was minimum wage, it C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 9

CITY VOICES

WORCESTERIA

Worcester wins on weed BILL SHANER

PRIMARY BREAKDOWN: Woohoo! Worcester went for Bernie Sand-

ng, ia.com . Fair warni itor@gatehousemed digital copies artist, email WMed bio and high resolution will e a small or know of a local tion and what need to provid based on resolu If you are an artist, e what will run, h your work, you’ll in order to publis We reserve the right to choos art. of some of your newsprint. on reproduce best

TLI GHT ART IST SPO

of an actor and

ging Aimee ghout her upbrin a ballerina. Throu New York. Musicians, acKent,

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well as schoo and aristo had all kinds and events as going on to art poets, painters found herself the country in gallery shows of creative tors, dancers, over the same types she is today. Aimee now shows all nd herself with the artist that BFA in 2006. She ls. She continues to surrou surrealistic world. that receiving her and arts festiva the luminous colors of her the Harlequin, a magical being l and of at various music paint , playfu g with the idea inspire her to uins are sexual their own to people which has been workin it. These esoteric Harleq and she world now our For several years the world that surrounds beyond the boundaries of and ng : can change itself s in their thoughts of traveli following events Greenfield. sometimes deviou ly elastic points of views. om/coletteaimee or at the in 13-15 Sept. al: reach tremendous of her work at rawartists.c Aug. 24, Wormtown Festiv own Spencer: Check out more Party in downt Spencer Street

AZINE.CO

Let us feature your artwork in Worcester Magazine’s Artist spotlight! Email WMeditor@gatehousemedia.com high res samples of your work and a brief bio!

wanted

M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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last week released another thought-provoking (for nerds) report, this time taking on the seemingly intractable problem of people not voting in local elections. Those who pay attention already know, but the report makes clear that elections are decided by a relatively small and overwhelmingly landowning class of people who live in the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods. For those who see the project of neoliberal city government as inherently malicious, this comes as no surprise. They are the class that benefits from a city hall oriented as a business which treats property value as a profit margin, so it would stand to reason that they participate at a higher rate. The WRRB does not take that tack, but comes to the same conclusion. “One of the most obvious differences is the chasm between owners and renters, who may have different opinions on property taxes, zoning rules, or proposals like rent control,” the report reads. I’ll say! Where the report falls flat, in my opinion, is the recommendations: lower voting age, redrawn precincts, sync municipal elections up with bigger ones. Those are all well and good, but don’t address the root problem: that City Hall is a business, and landowners are the shareholders. If you don’t own land, what’s the point?

We’re seeking essays from our readers about whatever facet of Worcester life they want to share.

And not just politics: We want to hear about things in this city we might not otherwise ever know: Things that make the city uniquely yours. Tell us your story, and the story of the people around you. To submit for consideration, please send a 750 word essay to WMeditor@gatehousemedia.com with the words “First Person” in the subject line. Let us know what’s on your mind.

CITY LIF E

TERMAG

TAKING ON TURNOUT: The Worcester Regional Research Bureau

Want to Write For First Person?

artists WORCES

POT CAPITAL OF MASS: While we’re on the subject of the Worcester area, let’s take a minute to reflect on just how much of the state’s adult-use cannabis industry is being concentrated here. We here at Worcester Mag have written about this at length before, but not in a while, and the point deserves underscoring. In Worcester County, there are 54 approved pot shop licenses, per latest data from the Cannabis Control Commission.

The next closest counties are Berkshire and Middlesex, which each have 26. Suffolk County, home to our capital city until it’s underwater, has only seven. Worcester wins on weed. That should be our motto.

was enough to support us. We moved out of my cousins house a couple months later and got an apartment. The apartment wasn’t as nice as you’d assume but as long as we were all safe and under the same roof, life felt OK. I guess that’s the story of how I became who I really am. Being put through such a traumatic experience at a young age changes who you are as a person, especially me as a Middle Eastern woman.

I’ve learned to appreciate my surroundings and everything I have been given.

19 5 - 21, 20 AUGUST 1

ers in the state Democratic Primary election last week. The rest of what we might consider the Worcester area, save for Northbridge (arguably Worcester area), did not. No, every town surrounding Worcester went for Joe Biden, despite his complete lack of ground game here and, seemingly, everywhere else. The suburbs came out for the centrist, and that certainly went a long way in his surprise win of the state. Worcester was among a gang of similarly composed cities around the state — Lowell, Lawrence, Lynn, New Bedford, Fitchburg, Everett, etc. — that went for the grumpy old warrior for the working class from Vermont. But Biden overwhelmingly won the suburbs and exurbs surrounding them, save for a few Elizabeth Warren holdouts. What happened here feels like a microcosm for what happened throughout the Super Tuesday states. We saw working class urban centers, where supporters and organizers for Bernie are overwhelmingly concentrated, go that way. Everywhere else, it appears people took cues from the party elite consolidating around Biden and did the same.

But, if you compare the town-by-town election results around here with the 2016 presidential election, a case for why Bernie is more electable becomes clear. In 2016, towns in the Worcester area to the north and east went for Clinton, but towns to the west and south went for Trump. Leicester, Spencer, Millbury, Sutton, Oxford, Charlton, Dudley, Webster, Douglas, the Brookfields — all Trump. Shrewsbury, Holden, the Boylstons, Auburn, Grafton, they went for Hillary Clinton. All of these towns in the primary last week went for Biden, but Biden wouldn’t win half those towns in the general, and he would certainly see a more depressed turnout in the urban core here than Sanders would. Worcester being the historically downtrodden rust belt city of the kind seen in many of the states — *cough* Michigan and Wisconsin *cough* — that decide presidential elections, we should not take this analysis lightly. Bernie wins in the kind of places where there are large concentrations of already blue voters. Biden wins in the kind of places that go either way. Much to think about.

FIRST PERSON

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 8

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ...

The Worcester Irish Festival

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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

The Worcester Irish Festival, held March 7 at Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Worcester, drew crowds for a full day of family-friendly fun, including Irish dancing from students of the Murphy and McInerney Schools of Irish Dance, and music by acts including the Joshua Tree and Belfast Cowboys. There was also food, beverages and presentations by the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

Photos by Ashley Green

COVER STORY

Ahead Full Tilt!

BILL SHANER

What’s with all the video game bars coming to Worcester?

sports, and online communities growing on forums like Reddit and Discord, gaming culture is perhaps n just a few months’ time, more popular and more mainWorcester will be home to not streamed than it has ever been. one, not two, not even three, but four video game bars. Four Look to the 2018 League of Legends final tournament, which drew more businesses, spread throughout viewers than the Super Bowl that the city, are making the same bet, albeit with different business mod- year — 100 million unique viewers to the Super Bowl’s 98 million. els, that the good people of this But, Loew said, games culture city want somewhere to drink and is not monolithic. There’s a broad game at the same time. range of different interests and exA trend that has in recent years spread rapidly along the East Coast pectations within the culture, and each of the four bars planned for is descending on Worcester all at Worcester targets a different slice once. Between Savepoint Tavern, of the market. which has been open for months, To the untrained eye, they may and the soon-to-open Free Play, appear the same, but to the initiatPixel & Pint, and All Systems Go, ed, they are very different. Free Play, Worcester gamers will not be which is taking over the Maxwell wanting for a watering hole.

Silverman’s space on Union Street, So what gives? Why are we seeing so many entrepreneurs stake a will offer hundreds of cabinet and arcade games, from crowd favorites claim at the nexus of booze, gamsuch as skee-ball and air hockey ing and the Paris of the ’80s? to obscure old-school arcade The owners of each establishgames such as “Dragon’s Lair.” The ment in some way cited WorcesHighland Street-based Savepoint ter’s recent spike in development Tavern, on the other hand, focuses activity and the subsequent narrative of a city on the rise. They on console games. The space is stuffed with TVs hooked up to Xbox also cited the relatively cheap real Ones, Nintendo Switches and Playestate compared to Boston, the stations. Pixel & Pint, on Grafton large population of young people, Street, is attacking the arcade game and the central location. side of things, but with an intentionBut a more objective observer al ‘80s theme and games tailored to sees more at play. Tim Loew, match. All Systems Go, on Shrewsexecutive director of Mass Digital Games Institute and general man- bury Street, directly targets esports. ager of the varsity esports program That business hopes to be a hub for competitive tournaments — one at Becker College, said that the of the first of its kind anywhere — convergence on Worcester is in and as such the space is built out part an acknowledgement of the growing influence of gamer culture. around a massive LED screen set on a stage designed for two teams “They see an opportunity, in of players. games and games culture, which “I think what we’ll end up with is huge, to connect with younger is a good set of options for people generations and older generawho love games to get out of their tions, to bring them back out to home, get out of their dorm room, neighborhood restaurants and bars,” said Loew. “You’re competing and get out in the community,” said Loew. with Netflix and video games and other in-home entertainment, and the idea is to bring that in-home entertainment out.”

With the huge and growing popularity of video game streaming met Savepoint Tavern owner on platforms such as Twitch, the Brian Huff on a recent afteremergence of esports as a legitimate noon a few hours before the bar market competitor to traditional was set to open. The Highland

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something of a test case in whether Worcester will be receptive to video game bars. As with any new business, Huff and the crew have shifted and adapted over the months to the clientele. They’ve added trivia, and they’re building out a more robust board-game menu. Theme nights, like Marvel and Harry Potter, have been a big hit, as have weekly competitive tournaments in games such as Mario Kart, Teken and Ascension Towerfall.

On most nights, the business runs lean — a cook, a bartender and a games guy — and the space can handle about 75 people at one time.

While Huff was expecting, given the location, a good chunk of its business coming from WPI students, it hasn’t quite worked out that way, he said. More so, it’s Worcester locals mixed with people traveling into the city from places like Marlboro, Hudson and Fitchburg for a gaming bar experience. When the business first

opened, it was mostly solo players, but recently Savepoint has been more parties of two or three.

With a full kitchen and a full bar, Savepoint is reminiscent of a down-home and cozy neighborhood bar, except for the infusing of games and gaming culture.

For Huff, a self-described lifelong gamer, that’s part of what makes Savepoint stand out. Savepoint’s unrepentant embrace of nerd culture will endear it to the right customer base.

“Everybody here is a part of that culture. We’re all gamers, we’re all nerds, we’re all foodies,” he said.

“That gives us a lot of flexibility to be versatile and to keep it new every time.”

All Systems Go hile Savepoint has the vibe of a cozy local bar, All Systems Go, on Shrewsbury Street, has a flashiness to it, and a bit of a wild

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Street location, previously occupied by a restaurant, 57 Grill, and a nightclub before that, is small and slightly idiosyncratic. The walls aren’t perfect 90-degree angles and the interior is filled with wavy glass brick fixtures that vaguely allude to a different time. One such fixture, originally designed as a DJ booth, now serves as a two-person arcade game simulator station.

A few small tables near the entrance are just about the only seating in the entire bar that doesn’t face a screen, though there’s a projector feet away. Otherwise, TVs hooked to gaming consoles line the main bar, a rail for solo players, and what would traditionally be the dining room, except this dining room is full of couches facing TV screens. The bar has every console you could dream up, from classic Nintendo to Nintendo Switch, Sega to Playstation 4. A virtual reality system along the back wall has proven a big hit, Huff said.

Savepoint has been open for about six months, making it

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STEVE LANAVA

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Savepoint Tavern

Brian Huff, owner of Savepoint Tavern, a new video game bar at 57 Highland St.

COVER STORY

Owners Amber Beck and Devin Laplume outside All Systems Go, a new esports bar at 225 Shrewsbury St. ASHLEY GREEN

really,” said LaPlume. “This brand is hopefully the emerging brand in that space, and we’re looking to go to market right after and open more locations. So this is the first one.”

They hope to host tournaments both local and national, and will make streaming on platforms like Twitch a part of the business model. The venture is based heavily on the bet that esports, among younger generations, will grow increasingly popular.

“That’s because everyone can relate, though,” said Beck. “I don’t play football, I don’t care. But I care

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ambition. With a sleek interior, a large seating space, and a massive, 46-foot LED screen, All Systems Go hopes to position itself as a premier hub on the East Coast for esports — a market that might seem niche, but has an audience large as some professional sports.

I met with co-owners Devin LaPlume and Amber Beck inside the large, unfinished space at 225 Shrewsbury St. When it is finished — they’re hoping for a spring open — the space will feature a stage and viewing area, a full bar, a coffee bar, a kitchen and a space for friendly cooperative play. What

Jason Eastty of Pixels & Pints.

CHRISTINE PETERSON

they’re shooting for is something truly novel on the East Coast.

“There’s no day-to-day operation right now that handles esports that’s open to the public, that’s a bar. There’s no esports bar,

about something I can go on and play.”

The Shrewsbury Street location nestles the business squarely within a neighborhood already teeming with dozens of options for food

COVER STORY

and drink. What the All Systems Go team hopes to add to the neighborhood is a solid after-dinner entertainment option, while also catering to the wider world of esports as a destination for tournaments.

“We’re not here to compete.

We’re here to bring entertainment to an area where a lot of people go out to. I feel like a lot of people come out to Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, and they want to get a bite to eat, and they want to have a drink, but they don’t know what to do after. There’s no entertainment after that, there’s nothing to do late night. So I think that’s what we offer to people,” said Devin.

Esports, though wildly and increasingly popular, is about as decentralized as a sport can be.

Most, if not all, of the action occurs online and via streaming. Last year, Worcester was host to a wellattended Super Smash Brothers tournament at the DCU Center Conference Center, but outside that, the area has seen little activity by way of esports. Naturally, it begs the question of “why Worcester?”

“This city is undergoing one of the biggest revitalization processes on the East Coast,” said Devin.

“So that, when we were looking at different markets — all the colleges here, too, and the introduction of the stadium — it was an easy answer to come here and set up shop.”

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avepoint and All Systems Go take unique approaches, but they are what a gamer might call console-based bars.

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Pixels & Pints

Their draw is in the world of newer, digital video games. Pixels & Pints, on Grafton Street, offers something decidedly different. Heavy on retro feel, the relatively small space will offer a catered ’80s-style arcade experience, with wall art, a drink and food menu and a bar to match. The centerpiece of the establishment, the bar is carved out of an oldschool metal shipping container.

Owner Jason Eastty is no stranger to Worcester. His first venture was Escape Games Worcester, which he sold several years ago to pursue either an axe throwing bar or an arcade bar. Worcester is his home turf, the place where he says he feels most comfortable opening businesses. Pixels & Pints, which is set to open within the next several months, is something he feels Worcester folk — gamer or not — will find an attractive place to spend a night.

“I always want to bring something new and exciting to Worcester that hasn’t been there before.

And I did that for a couple years and I kind of got bored and realized I wanted to do something else,” Eastty said. “That next thing was going to be axe throwing or arcade bar, and I settled on arcade bar. I just, I always want to bring something cool and new to Worcester for entertainment. There’s definitely a need for entertainment venues in Worcester.”

Worcester folk, he said, will be blown away by the space, with its tight ’80s concept, selection of arcade games, and ambitious food and drink menu. Experimental cocktails and craft beer will be a focus, he said, as will a small but ambitious food menu, which he

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COVER STORY

was reticent to disclose publicly.

Unlike the other three, it’s possible the games may not end up being the main feature of the establishment, but rather an add-on to what would otherwise be a fun, cool bar.

“The main pitch for us and the

casual bar-goers hoping for a bit of arcade activity to accompany their night on the town.

The Providence location of Free Play has operated for about two and a half years now with success.

The Worcester location, which is already visible on the street with a

Erik Tidd and Jay Leone, co-owners of Free Play Bar and Arcade.

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ASHLEY GREEN

way we design this is even if you don’t want to come and play arcade games, if that’s not your jam, you’ll still want to come to us because of how we’re built out, because of our general feel, and our food and drink menu,” he said. “It is going to be very unique. If you don’t care about video games, you’ll want to come hang out here.”

Free Play 9 HARRISON ST. WORCESTER, MA 01604 ADULT USE: MON - SAT 9AM - 10PM • SUN 10AM - 10PM MEDICAL: MON - SAT 9AM - 6:45PM • SUN 10AM - 6:45PM 774.243.1760 MA.GOODCHEM.ORG

Please Consume Responsibly. This product may cause impairment and may be habit forming. For use only by adults 21 years of age or older. Keep out of the reach of children. This product has not been analyzed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There is limited information on the side effects of using this product, and there may be associated health risks. Marijuana use during pregnancy and breast-feeding may pose potential harms. It is against the law to drive or operate machinery when under the influence of this product. KEEP THIS PRODUCT AWAY FROM CHILDREN. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. The impairment effects of edible marijuana may be delayed by two hours or more. In case of accidental ingestion, contact poison control hotline 1-800-222-1222 or 9-1-1. This product may be illegal outside of MA.

or lack of a better phrase, Free Play aims to be a free-for-all.

Tucked inside the old Maxwell Silverman’s space at 25 Union St., roughly 8,500 square feet, Free Play is an arcade bar that will feature more than 100 cabinet-style arcade games as well as old-school favorites like air hockey, pinball and skee-ball. The business is very much a replication of the company’s first location in Providence, where folks pay a flat cover fee for unlimited access to every game in the establishment. With a full bar and a light food menu, Free Play aims to be a destination for both hardcore gamers seeking rare and out of the way retro games, and

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large stand-alone sign and embroidered window awnings, is less than a month away from opening, barring any setbacks. The owners hope to have Free Play open to the public by the end of March.

I met with two of the three partners inside the space on a recent afternoon. The space bore only a cursory resemblance to the old Maxwell Silverman’s space — the brick walls, an old steel boiler cover and beaten-down wood support beams. Otherwise, the space was packed with cabinet console games as a crew of about a dozen hurried around the space, installing and positioning games. As we spoke, in the middle of what would become the main game floor, a crew of three worked to install and balance the panels on which people will one day play Dance Dance Revolution.

“I think it’s going to take off a lot faster than it did in Providence,” said Jay Leone, one of the three owners and a game collector responsible for most, if not all, of the games inside the space.

“There’s a lot of talk around it already, a lot of hype around it,” said Leone. “We haven’t really advertised at all, but people are asking

COVER STORY

From left, Andrew Euredjian, Sierra Leza and Revant Mahajan play a game of “Mario Kart” at the Savepoint Tavern, a new video game bar at 57 Highland St. STEVE LANAVA

Who will last? hough different in a multitude of ways, all four video game bars open or set to open are attempting to cash in on the same general trend. It begs the natural question of winners and losers, which only time will truly answer.

Looking a bit deeper, All Systems Go and Savepoint have more in common with each other, with their focus on modern console games. And both Pixel & Pint and Free Play are offering a more oldschool arcade experience.

But the natural question of whether there will be one victor in the race to capture the video game bar market is something at which Tim Loew, of MassDIGI, balks.

“I think they can all benefit from each other’s marketing schemes.

Rather than just one lone operator, we have four operators broadcasting and marketing.”

Each business offers something a touch different, and it remains to be seen what model will prove successful in Worcester, he said.

But Worcester, he pointed out, is a market for a public video game experience that has been untested since the last of the arcades shuttered several decades ago.

“I think it’s pretty cool that Worcester is becoming a center for this,” said Loew. “Tip of the hat to all these entrepreneurs who are taking the risk, coming here and building their business around games.”

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us daily, you know, ‘Are you guys open? When are you opening?’”

At Free Play, everything takes second-place to the games. A fullservice bar and a light food menu will keep people in the space, but the draw is unabashedly the full access to a wide array of arcade games. But that draw, from Leone’s estimation, is split between what you might call hardcore gamers and the casual fan looking for a somewhat different night out.

“I would say it’s probably 5 to 10 percent hardcore gamers who went to arcades and really want to relive this,” said Leone, speaking of his experience with the Providence location. “And then the other 80 to 90 percent are folks who have never experienced an arcade before. Who come and say ‘Wow this is so cool. This is what it was like 30 or 40 years ago.’”

As such, the business is geared heavily toward nostalgia, while not sacrificing it for more modern games — like “Dance Dance Revolution” — which have proven popular mainstays. Interspersed with the big hits are more niche ‘80s arcade games like “Dragon Slayer,” “PacMan,” “DigDug” and others. Part of it, Leone said, is an appeal to the hardcore gamer, but perhaps more so, it’s a recognition that nostalgia for the ’80s pervades the culture.

“In music, in television, in media, everything about it is retro,” he said. “This is hitting at the right time.”

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CITY LIFE If you are an artist, or know of a local artist, email WMeditor@gatehousemedia.com. Fair warning, in order to publish your work, you’ll need to provide a small bio and high resolution digital copies of some of your art. We reserve the right to choose what will run, based on resolution and what will reproduce best on newsprint.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

“Like many I grew up without a support system. I lived in urban and rural settings alternating every six months moving from one family to another. I have always managed to find solitude in the environment around me. Drawing and later on in life painting gave me an escape. My images are places I have been. I create my composition with quick chaotic sketches using lines and random marks on the page to begin my process. I examine representational objects natural and manmade applying paint with brushes and palette knives to canvas attempting to capture an ordinary street scene and turn it into an emotional evoking vision to the viewer. Presently I work a nine-to-five job and keep my desire to paint on hold because the desire to provide for my family is what drives my passion.”

See more of Lynch’s work on Instagram @kpl4950

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Kevin Lynch

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CITY LIFE

LIFESTYLE

Top restaurants shun Instagram-driven dining SARAH CONNELL SANDERS

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y the grace of a few generous friends, last month I had the opportunity to dine at two of the country’s top restaurants: Eleven Madison Park and Craigie on Main. Not bad for a Worcester girl.

While both establishments offer reputations for intense precision, the experiences provided great contrast.

Eleven Madison Park exuded poise and elegance, whereas Craigie on Main embraced the radical and unexpected. Hospitality philosophies aside, I was able to identify one commonality right away — neither gave a damn about my Instagram feed.

I have grown accustomed to photo-friendly meals characterized by bright bulbs, eye popping hues and astounding construction. The fine dining world, on the other hand, has had enough. Ambience can’t flourish with the flash on. Dreamweavers can’t thrill through a screen.

Chefs want our attention, not our content. If you have to take a photo to remember an experience, they feel they’ve already let you down.

Restaurants are dealing with this disconnect in different ways.

At Eleven Madison Park in Man-

hattan, our party was encouraged to place our phones inside a handpainted box for the duration of the evening. Dining at Eleven Madison Park, voted The World’s Best Restaurant in 2017, was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. Without notes or photos, I was worried I’d forget all of the delicious details.

Everyone complied, obediently stashing their phones in the box. I, on the other hand, slipped my phone under a napkin with the promise to my table-mates that I’d be discrete.

There are a number of reasons why I probably shouldn’t have bothered to cling to my device. For one thing, each dish possessed the memorable mark of an elaborate science experiment. I couldn’t forget them if I tried. Even our bottle of wine generated a spectacle — clamped with fiery tongs and sabered open by our sommelier’s icy touch. At one point, a server approached with a teapot full of soy milk which she poured into a steamer atop our table. There wasn’t a time lapse or boomerang that could do our eureka-moment justice when she returned 15 minutes later to reveal that the liquid had transformed into tofu right under our noses.

Ten dishes later, the hand-painted box reappeared. Alongside their cellphones, my companions found sleek blocks of chocolate to reward their undivided attention. My only sweetener was an Instagram flex that, frankly, rendered fewer likes than I expected. In retrospect, I might have preferred the candy bar.

A few weeks later, I traveled to Craigie on Main in Boston for “The Punk Pig Dinner,” which brought together resident chef Tony Maws with Jamie Bissonnette of Little Donkey and Toro, David Bazirgan of Bambara, and guest bartender Sean Woods of Worcester’s deadhorse hill.

Gorilla Biscuits spun on a shadowy turntable. My blood and sand cocktail contained actual pig’s blood, which made for one hell of a story but photographed like a goblet of murky pond water. I ate crispy-fried pig tails that tasted like chicken wings alongside a pile of pork and snail stir fry served with (more) tofu and kimchi. Nothing about the evening felt subtle. It was dark, loud and pungent — traits of a counterculture that Instagram couldn’t capture if it tried.

“All the best chefs I know are punks,” mused Woods, who played every legendary venue in North

Sean Woods of deadhorse hill, Jamie Bissonnette of Little Donkey, David Bazirgan of Bambara and Tony Maws of Craigie on Main at The Punk Pig Dinner.

SARAH CONNELL SANDERS

America and Europe as a guitarist before making a home for himself in Worcester.

“The four of us were all involved in the punk/hardcore scene at one point or another,” he said of his Punk Pig Dinner collaborators. Woods believes strongly that the antiestablishment and DIY mentality is what drives restaurants like Craigie on Main as industry leaders, not likes or follows.

If Craigie’s embrace of the underground and Eleven Madison Park’s banishment of camera phones isn’t enough to prove the decline of Instagram-driven dishes, consider the #sadfood hashtag cited by Eater as a top “Ridiculous Food Trend

Predicted for 2020.” Users post shots of haphazard food, as scrumptious as it is unsightly. Or, take into account the return of David Chang’s hit show “Ugly Delicious” in which the world’s most popular celebrity chef tests our preconceived notions about culinary superiority. Photogenic food is overrated.

I won’t stop taking pictures of my food. Particularly for small local businesses, crowd-sourced content is still especially important. Still, I like being reminded to eat with all of my senses and to prioritize the memory over the photo. Restaurants of a certain echelon are making this ethos easier to embrace.

Don’t let your dinner get cold.

NorthEast Comic Con & Collectibles Extravaganza returns CRAIG S. SEMON

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espite the coronavirus scare, the NorthEast Comic Con & Collectible Extravaganza slated this weekend at the Boxboro Regency will go on, although some of the scheduled guests have bailed.

NorthEast Comic Con organizer Gary Sohmers has posted on his website and emailed to his followers reassurances that the event will happen without a hitch or health crisis.

“Hotel management says “We have increased our housekeeping staff to ensure the lobby, bathrooms, and other public areas are routinely disinfected and cleaned. We Organizer Gary Sohmers are placing additional hand SUBMITTED PHOTO

sanitizing stations and hand sanitizer bottles around the hotel in high traffic areas. Any and all staff that are feeling under the weather have been instructed to stay home, no matter how small the symptom seems. As always, our food servers and kitchen staff wear proper gloves and use proper equipment when preparing food.

We are being as vigilant as possible and have cleaning supplies on hand,” Sohmers said in a statement.In addition, Sohmers has asked those who feel under the weather, stay home. And, if they are sick, stay home and get well.“Please do not attend if you are not healthy,’ Sohmers said. “We don’t need your money as much as we need everyone living a good life.” Furthermore,

Sohmers said if you are not feeling well, they will give them a refund or exchange your tickets for either their July or November show. John Davidson and Francois “Officer” Clemons (“Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood”) just cancelled days before the comic con. “We expect our event will be safe and comfortable, as we are not as crowded as many local concert venues or theaters, and we don’t have guests or exhibitors coming from outbreak zones,” Sohmers said.

Celebrity stars still expected include Gigi Edgley (“Farscape”), The Amazing Kreskin, Vincent Martella (“Phineas and Ferb”), and Marvel Comics legend Jim Steranko.” Scheduled musicians include The Fools and Mick Lawless & The Reckless Hearts on Fridayt, with Lovewhip, Lame Genie on Saturday.

Hours are 4 to 8 p.m. Friday; 10 to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Boxboro Regency Hotel, 242 Adams Place, Boxboro.

Northeast Comic Con and Collectible Extravaganza tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at door Friday (which includes Friday’s afterparty); $20 in advance, $30 at door Saturday (which includes Saturday’s after-party); $15 in advance, $20 at door Sunday; $10 at the door after 1 p.m. Sunday; and weekend pass, $30 in advance, $40 at door (which includes Friday and Saturday’s after-party); children 10 and under free with a paid adult. Plenty of free parking. VIP packages and Advance Early Entry passes are also available. For more information, go to https://necomiccons.com.

CITY LIFE

THE NEXT DRAFT

Hoppy Birthday Wormtown Brewery looks back on 10 years in Worcester

Wormtown Brewery managing partner David Fields, left, and co-founder Ben Roesch are celebrating the brewery’s 10th anniversary this weekend in Worcester.

MATTHEW TOTA

MATTHEW TOTA

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hen Wormtown Brewery opened in 2010, people were still calling craft breweries “microbreweries.” Taprooms — the cornerstones of most breweries today — were illegal in Massachusetts.

There were fewer than 50 breweries in the state, none within 20 miles of Worcester. By the end of this year, Massachusetts will have 250 breweries. The city’s sixth opened last month.

Over the last decade, Wormtown has changed, too.

The brewery that started in a tiny backroom at Peppercorn’s now takes up 24,000 square feet on Shrewsbury Street, with a new taproom and seven-barrel brewhouse at Patriot Place in Foxboro. It brewed 700 barrels in 2010 — about what it brews in a week now — and expects to produce more than 36,000 this year. It had four employees in 2010; it has more than 50 today.

This Saturday, to celebrate its 10th anniversary, Wormtown is throwing parties at both taprooms.

In Worcester, the dance party runs from noon to 11 p.m., with music from the Blue Light Bandits, DJ Cristo Disco and Flock of A** Holes.

The Burgundian, Volturno Pizza, Mama Roux and Say Cheese will provide the grub.

And it wouldn’t be a Wormtown bash without new beer, including “Decade Dance,” a robust imperial pastry stout brewed with 55 gallons of maple syrup. And Wormtown collaborated with Table Talk Pies again; this time, instead of a pumpkin pie ale, the brewery used blueberry and lemon pies for a light kettle sour.

Last week, I met with co-founder and brewmaster Ben Roesch and managing partner David Fields in a newly constructed employee loft at the 72 Shrewsbury St. brewery. We talked for nearly two hours about the previous 10 years at Wormtown and how their industry has changed in that time. Below is a snippet of our conversation, edited for clarity and space.

What was one of the biggest factors in Wormtown’s growth?

Roesch: In 2012 we started

CITY LIFE

DINING

Buck’s Whiskey & Burger Bar has 'The Cure' 62 Green St., Worcester • www.bucksworcester.com • (508) 304-9170 SANDRA RAIN

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was curious to check in with Buck’s Whiskey & Burger Bar amidst the commotion of ballpark construction and the excitement of the new Worcester Public Market in the Canal District. On Saturday afternoon, I found nearly every seat at the bar occupied and only a few open tables remained. It’s true what they say about the rising tide.

Business is good at Buck’s.

The space is very clean. A shiny black bar top runs the length of the dining room beneath a black popcorn ceiling. A couple of small tables at the far end of the pine-paneled restaurant overlook two restroom doors labeled “Bucks” and “Does.” The decor is country primitive with signs that say things like “Farmhouse” and “Keep your soul clean and your boots dirty.” A large American flag

and an assembly of embroidered firefighter patches pay tribute to our local heroes. Horns, horseshoes and deer heads abound.

Everything is organized on clipboards. The bourbon selection is vast. Tom Petty’s “American Girl” plays over the sound system like clockwork. There are icicle lights in the windows year round.

Everyone wears hoodies, guests and staff alike. Buck’s feels as if it has intentionally been plucked from a small country town where there are more milking cows than people.

In my opinion, the most beautiful feature of the restaurant is the beer cooler. A glass door creates striking visibility of the can selection, making for a functional art piece featuring local brews from the likes of Redemption Rock and Stone Cow. An iridescent teal Pirates helmet rests on top of the cooler for added effect.

The most popular burgers are “The Cure,” topped with eggs and bacon, and the “Hot Mess,” which combines Velveeta-style mac and cheese, more bacon, fried jalapeños and crispy onion strings.

One whiff of the latter brought me right back to the years I spent living downwind from a White Castle. Burgers are served with a side. The salad is sad. It’s a big sad salad. Just order the tater kegs; they’re fried and stuffed with cheddar and even more bacon to help you reach your maximum caloric capacity.

The best-selling entree is the Southwest steak tips, marinated in white wine whiskey and topped with sautéed bell peppers and onions. It smells like Fenway Park and warms you from the inside despite a strong draft that creeps in whenever a new customer walks through the door, which, lucky for Buck’s, happens quite

frequently.

Buck’s is good old-fashioned greasy fun. If I could make one recommendation to ownership, it would be to invest in heftier silverware. No one wants to eat with the cutlery from a school cafeteria when they’re out on the town.

Our total for lunch and a couple of beers came to $62.10. Keep an eye out for deals — Buck’s regularly offers $1 pizza and 2 for 1 burger nights.

Explanation of Stars: Ratings are from zero to five. Zero is not recommended. One is poor. Two is fair.

Three is satisfactory. Four is good.

Five is excellent.

Food: HHH Ambience: HHH Service: HHH Value: HHH

Mike Ladd plays Irish Evening at BirchTree

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VICTOR D. INFANTE

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usician Mike Ladd and company will provide the tunes at an Irish Evening at 6:30 p.m. March 16 at

BirchTree Bread Company, 138 Green St. #5, Worcester. The event costs $65, and includes unlimited food, three drink tickets, tax and gratuity.

The menu for the evening includes smoked salmon boxty (potato pancakes); green salad, asparagus, spring peas, avocado, herbs, creamy lemon poppy seed dressing; Irish cheddar and stout fondue with bangers and roasted apple; corned beef hash, smoked oyster aioli; venison shepherd’s pie, colcannon; Gougeres, mushroom stout gravy. The evening will also feature beers from Fore River Brewing, Redemption Rock, Stone Cow and Baystate Brewing Ladd has long been a fixture of the local music scene, performing contemporary Celtic folk with Blackstone Cúil and Banda Gan Ainm (A Band Without A Name). At Birchtree, he’s scheduled to be accompanied by Myra MacLeod on fiddle and John Guertin on percussion.

CITY LIFE

TABLE HOPPIN’

Horshoe Pub marks 40 years with special menu BARBARA M. HOULE

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Maker to Main grand opening March 17 Paula and Nick Pizzimento, owners of Horseshoe Pub & Restaurant in Hudson.

ASHLEY GREEN

MakertoMain.com.

Check it out!

St. Patrick’s Day menu at MGM Springfield MGM Springfield will host a day of St. Patrick’s Day festivities with dining specials and entertainment from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. March 14.

Diners can enjoy “Kegs and Eggs” Buffet and Menu Specials at TAP Sports Bar for $15 per person.

Indulge in breakfast items and a $2 green draft beer add-on. Lunch and dinner at the sports bar will include Guinness Beef Pot Pie for $20 and Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner for $24.

Food Trucks featuring Wahlburgers, Macken Sliders, Murphy’s Mobile, Hot Oven Cookies, Blaze and Johnny’s Dog House will be at Armory Square and TAP Patio from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Food and live music by local Irish folk-punk bands.

The MGM Springfield St. Patrick’s Day Bar Crawl will begin at 2 p.m. with stops at bars throughout the property. Tickets, $49 per person, include giveaways and more.

For all event information, visit

https://mgmspringfield.com.

Deadline for Big E exhibitors The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources invites state businesses and organizations to apply as exhibitors in the Massachusetts State Exposition Building at The Big E, Sept. 18-Oct. 4.

Interested applicants are encouraged to review the exhibitor guidelines and application and submit a completed application by 4 p.m.

March 13. Applications are available on the MDAR website: www.mass. gov/massachusetts-state-expositionbuilding-O. The mission of the Massachusetts State Exposition Building is to showcase state agriculture, educational, promotional and retail exhibits. It’s an opportunity to showcase and sell to more than a million attendees that to through the building during The Big E. If you have a tidbit for the column, call (508) 868-5282. Send email to bhoulefood@gmail.com.

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Maker to Main, the downtown grocery store at 328 Main St., Worcester, opened its doors on Feb. 21 and will officially “cut the ribbon” at 5 p.m. March 17.

Lynn Cheney, the market’s Chief Local Officer, founded Central Mass Local Food Hub, Lettuce Be Local in 2012. The food hub’s mission was to “Educate, Aggregate and Transport local food from farms to area chefs and brewers and expanded by offering the customizable Local Box for home kitchens.”

Maker to Main will continue to strengthen the regional food system by increasing consumer access to the local network comprised of more than 150 farms, producers and makers in New England, primarily in Massachusetts,” said Cheney.

The Market is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily; Sunday until 5 p.m. with chef hours beginning at 9 a.m. It offers a Chef ’s Table with rotating demonstrations from area chefs, “designed to teach basic cooking skills, offer recipes and give tips for local ingredients.”

Cheney said delivery of local food to wholesale customers continues weekly. She plans to launch a new, same day pick up of the Local Box for Worcester County residents.

For more information about Main to Market and the network of farms and chefs who buy locally, visit www.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

The Horseshoe Pub building was

Horseshoe Pub & Restaurant is open from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Monday through Wednesday; 11:30 a.m. to midnight Thursday through Saturday; noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Visit www.horseshoepub.com for more information about kitchen hours, menus, special events, etc.

Telephone (978) 568-1265. Note: The restaurant will offer St. Patrick’s Day “specials.”

Guests also should know that included in the ‘Shoe’s “Menu for the Ages” is a boneless fried chicken dish, “Chicken Delight,” that features a white supreme sauce. A classic!

Congrats to Nick and Paula Pizzimento and the staff at the ‘Shoe.

M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

orseshoe Pub & Restaurant, 29 South St., Hudson, is celebrating its 40th year in business at the same location.

Join the celebration!

Here’s the deal: The Horseshoe Pub & Restaurant, or the ‘Shoe, as its known by its regulars, has created an innovative program called “A Menu for the Ages.”

Every Monday in March, the ‘Shoe offers a special menu with a variety of appetizers and entrees at the prices the restaurant charged for those same items in 1980, according to Nick Pizzimento, co-owner. All the items are priced between $3.95 and $7.95, he said. The special menu continues in April with prices from 1990; May, prices from 2000; June, a menu from 2010.

But that’s not all.

The ‘Shoe will also sponsor a “unique cruise giveaway” on May 2, the actual date the restaurant originally opened. “Select customers will receive a piece from a standard, 1000-piece puzzle, based on various criteria,” said Pizzimento. “A fully completed puzzle — a duplicate of the same puzzle from which the pieces will be distributed — will have one piece taken out,” he said. On May 2, customers will have the opportunity to see if their piece matches the one removed from the completed puzzle. The winner will receive $1,000 toward a luxury trip on the Royal Caribbean cruise line.

“We’re doing all this partly as a celebration of our 40 years in business, and partly as a thank you to all our customers who have made the ‘Shoe a fixture on the Hudson dining scene,” said Pizzimento. “It’s pretty rare for a restaurant to last 40 years, and it couldn’t have happened without the people who have come through our doors on a regular basis.

We owe it all to them.

“The Hudson dining scene has had a resurgence in the last few years,” added Pizzimento. “And while many of the new establishments deserve credit, we like to think we laid the foundation for this revival a long time ago — 40 years ago, to be exact.”

built by F.D. Brigham in 1832 and first located in the lot next to Town Hall on Main Street. The building was moved before 1880 to its present location on South Street. It became part of the property of H.H. Mawhinney and Company, later Logan Shoe Company.

Nick Pizzimento’s father, Al Pizzimento, bought the building with a partner when it was called The South Street Tavern. The men changed the name to The Horseshoe Pub because Pizzimento’s partner was in the harness horse racing business. Al Pizzimento became sole owner of the business in 1984. Now retired, he and his wife, Laureen, live on Cape Cod. Nick Pizzimento runs the Horseshoe Pub & Restaurant with his wife, Paula. The couple have two sons.

“I started working in the restaurant as a dishwasher,” said Pizzimento. “Later on, I was a bartender a couple nights a week. We only had a few beers on tap at that time. Today, we have 80.”

Pizzimento said the restaurant prides itself on serving the finest craft beers, in addition to a gastrostyle menu, or “pub food with a twist.” The restaurant attracts both local and out-of-state guests who want to experience the newest brews, he said, adding that while the beer brings people in, it’s the food that keeps them coming back.

There have been several major renovations to the building through the years to bring the business to where it is today, according to Pizzimento.

The restaurant seats 225 indoors; 100 on an outdoor seasonal patio.

The business employs more than 60.

“I truly love the restaurant business, and I really have never thought about doing anything else. It’s in my DNA, I guess,” said Pizzimento. “We have a great team and our customers are the best. We’re all about family.

“Anyone in this business knows there are challenges,” added Pizzimento. “My father’s advice to me from the very beginning was, ‘Don’t be afraid to change. Spend money to make money.’ Forty years, and we’re still going strong. We revise menus and change beers, but the important thing is we listen to our customers.”

CITY LIFE

FILM

The thrill of going to the movies is back JIM KEOGH

ment that doesn’t meet expectations immediately.

But streaming is not special in hen my son asked me if I the way movie theaters are. The very was interested in seeing “The Invisible Man” on Sat- inconvenience of seeing a movie in a theater sets apart the experience. urday, to quote the dearly You’ve got to be inspired to get in departed (from MSNBC anyway) your car and make the trip; to gather Chris Matthews, “A thrill went up with a community of like-minded my leg.”

It wasn’t the prospect of seeing this people, and to risk being disappointed. There are stakes to moviegoing. particular film that got me excited, I love movie theaters, from it was where we’d be viewing it: in a neighborhood moviehouses to movie theater. An actual big-screen, sprawling cineplexes. My hometown popcorn-serving, Muzak-playing-inof Cranston, R.I., boasted the secondthe-lobby movie theater. Someone in run Park Cinema, about a mile walk a uniform would rip our tickets, and from my house. As free-range kids, we’d enter the cavernous room anticipating images, sounds and a story my buddies, my sisters and I were allowed to make the hike countless writ large. Whether or not we’d enjoy times at a pretty young age so long as the movie was almost immaterial: we obeyed our parents’ mandate to This was an event we’d sought out. “stick together.” We first saw Disney Here we are now, entertain us. movies there, and then as we got We live in a streaming world, older we flocked to horror and action content flowing into our brains via stuff — every third movie shown our TVs, computers and phones. seemed to star Charles Bronson, It’s an efficient transaction, made and gaining access to the notorious to order for our enhanced desire for more of everything and our declining “Mark of the Devil” required delicate negotiations with my mother. I also tolerance for any piece of entertain-

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saw memorable films at the Park like “All the President’s Men,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “The Killing Fields.”

In college I graduated to the funky Cable Car Cinema in Providence, with its weathered couches and off-brand film selections (looking at you “Liquid Sky”). The theater is still around, though judging by the online photos it’s chicer.

When I was newly married, the Dedham Community Theatre around the corner from our first apartment was a refuge from our cozy/shabby living space. Here, we saw an underrated John Boorman movie, “The Emerald Forest” (RIP Powers Booth), and the controversial “Agnes of God,” which debated the possibility of a modern-day immaculate conception.

I’m at least glad the movies were solid, because in those early years of marriage we could scarcely afford the popcorn.

For many years, my neighborhood theater has been Showcase Cinemas Worcester North. It’s an aging multiplex that doesn’t draw the crowds it

once did, but the people who work there are friendly and it’s where my kids learned the language of movies.

They witnessed onscreen greatness, endured mediocrity and suffered through shlock.

I am friends with a woman who recently saw “1917.” Not only did she enjoy the film, but the experience was a milestone of sorts. The last movie she’d seen in a theater was

“E.T.” That was 1982.

There’s no single reason for her gap in attendance. Movies in general — and, specifically, viewing them in a theater — were never a priority.

She has since seen “Sonic Hedgehog” with her grandkids and she’s loving the experience of being in a theater. She tells me she wants to see another movie there. The thrill is back.

Doubleday, Michael Pena, Michael Rooker, Kim Coates. (1:50) PG-13 “Ford v Ferrari” — Matt Damon is American car designer Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale is British racer Ken Miles in this fact-based drama. (2:32) PG-13.

“Frozen II” — Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven join Elsa as she searches for the truth behind her powers in this sequel to the blockbuster 2013 animated musical. With the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel. (1:43) PG. “The Gentlemen” — An American drug kingpin in London faces threats to his empire. With Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Marsan, Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant. (1:53) R. “Impractical Jokers: The Movie” — The pranksters from the basic cable TV show bring their hidden-camera hi-jinks to the big screen. With Brian Quinn, Joe Gatto, James Murray, Sal Vulcano. Written by Quinn, Gatto, Murray, Vulcano, Chris Henchy.

Directed by Henchy. (1:33) PG-13.

“The Invisible Man” — A woman whose abusive ex purportedly committed suicide is tormented by an unseen entity in this update of H.G. Wells’ classic thriller. With Elisabeth

Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Storm Reid, Aldis Hodge. (2:02) R “Jumanji: The Next Level” — Danny Glover and Danny DeVito join Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan in this sequel to the 2017 action adventure hit about young people trapped in a video game. (1:54) PG-13.

“Just Mercy” — Michael B. Jordan portrays Bryan Stevenson, the reallife civil rights activist and criminal defense attorney famed for fighting for justice for the wrongly convicted.

(2:16) PG-13.

“Knives Out” — Writer-director Rian Johnson rounds up a stellar group of suspects for this whodunit about the murder of a famous crime novelist.

With Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette. (2:10) PG-13.

“Little Women” — Writer-director Greta Gerwig adapts Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel about the four determined March sisters coming of age in Massachusetts during the Civil War. With Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Timothée Chalamet, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep. (2:14) PG. “Onward” — Two suburban teenage elves undertake a magical quest in this animated Disney-Pixar tale.

With the voices of Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Octavia Spencer, John Ratzenberger, Lena Waithe, Mel Rodriguez. Written by Dan Scanlon, Jason Headley, Keith Bunin. Directed by Scanlon. (1:54) PG. “Sonic the Hedgehog” — The speedy blue critter battles an evil genius in this video game adaptation.

With Jim Carrey, James Marsden, Neal McDonough and the voice of Ben Schwartz. (1:40) PG “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” — Forty-two years after “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” first appeared on movie screens, the ninth episode brings the space saga to its conclusion as the Resistance struggles to defeat the First Order. (2:35) PG-13.

“Uncut Gems” — Adam Sandler stars as a desperate New York City jeweler juggling numerous deals in this crime thriller. (2:15) R. “The Way Back” — An alcoholic former high-school basketball star gets a job coaching his old team. With Ben Affleck, Al Madrigal, Michaela Watkins, Janina Gavankar, Glynn Turman. (1:48) R.

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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

FILM CAPSULES “1917” — Two young British privates during WWI must cross through enemy territory to warn their fellow soldiers of an impending ambush in director Sam Mendes’ real-time thriller. (1:50) R. “Bad Boys for Life” — Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reunite for one last go-round as Miami narcotics detectives. With Vanessa Hudgens, Kate Del Castillo, Nicky Jam, Joe Pantoliano. (2:03) R. “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” — Tom Hanks slips on the friendly cardigan of children’s TV show host Fred Rogers to dispense lessons in kindness to Matthew Rhys’ jaded journalist. (1:48) PG. “Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” — The Joker’s now ex-girlfriend teams with a crew of female superheroes to save a young girl from a twisted villain.

With Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ewan McGregor, Rosie Perez, Ella Jay Basco, Chris Messina, Ali Wong. (1:49) R. “Bombshell” — Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie play Fox News employees whose allegations of sexual harassment help topple network founder Roger Ailes.

(1:48) R. “Brahms: The Boy II” — A family moves into an English country mansion where their young son becomes friends with a creepy lifesize doll in this sequel to the 2016 horror tale. With Katie Holmes, Christopher Convery, Owain Yeoman, Ralph Ineson. (1:26) PG-13.

“The Call of the Wild” — A sled dog has a series of adventures in the 19th century Yukon in this update of the Jack London novel. With Harrison Ford, Dan Stevens, Karen Gillan, Bradley Whitford. (1:45) PG. “Dolittle” — Robert Downey Jr. headlines as the veterinarian who can talk to the animals in this effectsladen adventure tale. With Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Tom Holland. (1:46) PG. “Emma” — A young woman makes a mess of playing matchmaker in her small English village in this new adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel. With Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn, Bill Nighy, Mia Goth, Miranda Hart. (2:04) PG. “Fantasy Island” — Visitors to a magical island see their fantasies turn into nightmares in this horror flick based on the classic TV series.

With Maggie Q, Lucy Hale, Portia

CITY LIFE

THE NEXT DRAFT

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 19

canning “Be Hoppy” with IronHeart Canning and that really propelled the brewery and that beer to the next level. So that was the workhorse that came about at the end of 2012 with canning and Be Hoppy becoming the big beer for us, especially in Boston.

That market kind of established Be Hoppy as the beer from Wormtown Brewery that people wanted to see.

How does Patriot Place figure into those plans?

Roesch: It allows us to go back to the situation we had back in 2010, which was a smaller brewhouse, and gives us the ability to make some more unique things. We’re able to get a little funkier.

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Has the taproom been busy even with no football?

Fields: The No. 1 question I’m asked is, “It’s the beginning of March now, are you guys still open

What are you most proud of when you look back at the last 10 years?

Roesch: For me it’s our employees: The fact we could grow this business to have employees who are with us, who have all the things I wanted when we opened this brewery — a consistent paycheck, health insurance, 401k.

The reason I opened up a brewery was because I wasn’t feeling secure as a brewer out there in the world, when there were only 35 to 40 breweries and a lot of them were pretty marginal. I wanted to open up something so I could feel secure in my occupation, and my greatest achievement here was we have all these other people who are able to share in this. Now it’s just up to David and I and the other partners to be stewards of that and make sure we grow in a sustainable way and continue adding quality to their lives.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Have you brewed there yet?

Roesch: Three batches so far.

We probably will have five or six in the tanks by the time we get to the birthday party. The first batch was the first batch we brewed in Worcester, as well: Seven Hills pale ale. That will be on tap at the parties.

There is no better way to calibrate a brew system than the beer we first brewed.

What do you find most fascinating about how the industry has evolved in the last decade?

Fields: We came in and there were no taprooms, then it became legal, but the idea of it as your volume driver, even when it became legal, didn’t exist. Fast forward today, and everybody is opening up saying, “Well maybe I’ll have a few places sell my beer, but I want everything else to be sold on premise.” The shift to taprooms changed, and the shift to focus on taprooms was a complete change.

I remember we were looking at one of our final drawings when we were months into construction here, and they handed us a design, and the taproom was two-and-a-half times the size it is now. We both looked at each other and said, “What is that?

We don’t need that much space for our taproom. We need production space.” And we had them shrink our taproom by at least 50 percent, maybe more. If we knew what we knew today, we would have made it two-and-a-half or three times the size it is now.

M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

Did that put a lot of pressure on you?

Roesch: There are periods of time over the last 10 years where certain things have happened and certain styles have become popular.

For instance, Brut IPA. For a while, everyone was brewing a Brut IPA or a Champagne-style IPA. We would have done one. It would have been fun. We just didn’t have the ability to do it, because of our batch size requirements, and the fact that we were cranking out barrels. From when we opened in 2010 until probably a year or two ago, we didn’t have the capacity. We were brewing to try to give all of our sales and distribution forces enough beer to go out there and do what they needed to do. When we were able to get the whole second half of this building, we could put in enough capacity with fermenters and bright tanks and operate the brewhouse on multiple shifts. So we’re now able to go out and plan stuff. Before the plans were all about making more beer. Now the plans are about creating brands and building out a portfolio that isn’t just Be Hoppy.

this time of year with no Patriots games?” Every single Friday and every single Saturday and Sunday in January through March have been significantly busier than here in Worcester. It is a destination location.

CITY LIFE

THINGS TO DO COMPILED BY RICHARD DUCKETT, VICTOR D. INFANTE AND CHARLENE ARSENAULT

‘Real Love’ Christian singer Blanca has a soulfulness and blues burn in her voice that brings a personal smolder to religiously themed songs such as “Real Love.” Lyrics such as “I don’t need no stained glass/ To be washed in His blood/I don’t need no perfect, put together pretty words/To be enough” resonate with emotion. Other times, such as on “Not Backing Down,” where pop production smothers the vocal smoke a bit in favor of a more mechanized feel, there’s still an inexplicable humanity that seeps forward.

What: Q90.1 Presents Blanca in Concert When: 7 p.m. March 13 Where: Faith Church, 22 Faith Ave., Auburn How much: Free, $30 VIP

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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

Thursday, March 12 Fork It Over: Girl Scout Cookie culinary competition and fundraiser, 5-7 p.m. March 12, Washburn Hall — Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester. Cost: $40$50.

Cara Brindisi: with Jesse Ljunggren and others, 6-9 p.m.

March 12, Apple Tree Arts, 1 Grafton Common, Grafton. $20.

Writing Mechanics: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Mar. 12, King’s Berry Farm, 123 North Brookfield Road, East Brookfield. Cost: $42.

Worcester Chamber Music Society – Of Birds and Flowers: 6:30-9 p.m. March 12, Nuovo, 92 Shrewsbury St., Worcester.

Cost: $30-$67. For information: (508) 217-4450, tracy@ worcesterchambermusic.org.

Big Daddy Weave — When the Light Comes Tour: 7-10 p.m. Mar. 12, Valley Chapel, 14 Hunter Road, Uxbridge. Cost: $14.95-$80.

WGBH presents A St. Patrick’s Day Celtic Sojourn with Brian O’Donovan: 7:30-9:30 p.m. March 12, The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester.

Cost: $45. For information: (877) 471-1689, info@ thehanovertheatre.org.

Eric Gales: 7:30-9:30 p.m. Mar. 12, 215 Great Rd, 215 Great Road, Shirley. Cost: $28-$32. For information: (978) 425-4311, bryansawyer@bullrunrestaurant. com.

Will Martin: 8-9 p.m. March 12, WooHaHa! Comedy Club, 50 Franklin St., Worcester. Cost: $10.

WOOtenanny Presents: Hot Dog! A Comedy Sideshow: 8-9:30 p.m. March 12, Coney Island, 158 Southbridge St., Worcester.

Featuring: Jeremiah Broderick (Clean Dog) Marie Connor (Blonde Dog) Logan O’Brien (Shore Dog) Lou Ramos (Dizzy Dog) Dave Robinson (RESIDENT HOT DOG) Angela Sawyer (the best Dog) Karl Xie (just another dog, dog)

Friday, March 13 Worcester Cultural Coalition Legislative Breakfast 2020: 8-9:30 a.m. March 13, Worcester PopUp

at the JMAC, 20 Franklin St., Worcester. Cost: Free. Discussion with local legislators on promoting the arts.

Movie Matinee: 3-4:30 p.m. March 13, Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Square, Worcester. For information: (508) 799-1655, lsheldon@mywpl.org. Screening of “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story.”

Comedy at the Barn featuring Jessica Kirson: 6:30-10:30 p.m.

March 13, The Barn at Wight Farm, 420 Main St., Sturbridge. $45-$55.

Habitat for Humanity North Central Massachusetts: 6:30-9:30 p.m. March 13, The 1761 Old Mill, 69 State Road East, Westminster.

For information: (978) 3482749, carolyn@ncmhabitat.org.

Fundraising event by Brickroad Productions Mystery Theater.

Tickets are $60 each or $450 for a table of 8.

Q90.1 Presents Blanca in Concert: 7-9 p.m. March 13, Faith Church, 22 Faith Ave., Auburn. Cost: Free$30.

Drag Queen Naughty Bingo: 7-11 p.m. March 13, Gardner Elks #1426, 31 Park St., Gardner. Cost: $20.

We Came As Romans with The Devil Wears Prada, Gideon and Dayseeker: 7-11 p.m. March 13, Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester.

Cost: $25.

The Grants: 7-10 p.m. Mar. 13, Specialty Sandwich Co, 624 Main St., Holden.

Through The Doors: 8-9 p.m. Mar. 13, Chan’s Fine Oriental Dining, 267 Main St., Woonsocket. Cost: $17-$22.

Josh Briggs: 8-10 p.m. March 13, Chuck’s Steak House/ Margaritagrill, 10 Prospect St., Auburn.

Russian National Ballet performs

Haunting, Romantic Ballet The haunting romantic ballet ballet “Giselle” with music by French composer Adolphe Adam and original choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot was first performed at the Paris Opera in France in 1841. However, “Giselle” has long been sort of unofficially a Russian classic. In 1843, the ballet was performed in Moscow and a year later in St. Petersburg. By 1868 “Giselle” had been dropped from the Paris Opera’s repertory, but Russian dancers, ballet masters and choreographers kept it alive. Adam’s music for “Giselle” has a folkloric and dramatic Russian feel to it, as does the wonderful choreography staged by Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet in 1884 and used to this day. The Russian National Ballet returns to The Hanover Theatre Friday with its production of “Giselle” presented by Music Worcester.

What: Russian National Ballet performs “Giselle,” presented by Music Worcester When: 8 p.m. March 13 Where: The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester How much: $29 to $59. (877) 571-7469; www.thehanovertheatre.org

Bridges to Hope The theme of the Assabet Valley Mastersingers’ 2019-20 season is “Building Bridges.” The concert to be presented March 15, “Bridges to Unity – We Are Not Alone,” features works by contemporary composers as a bridge to hope. “We are not alone but are many diverse beings who need each other for fulfillment,” AVM states. Commissioned by AVM in honor of its 40th anniversary, “Unity in Diversity” by Cynthia Wong is a song-cycle with texts by Wordsworth, Teasdale and Tagore, touching on themes which resonate today — nature and destruction, love and unity. The lyrics of Oliver Caplan’s “We Exist” respond to the 2017 violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, honoring all races, all faiths and all genders. “LUX: The Dawn From On High” by Dan Forrest uses ancient liturgical chant, scripture and modern secular love poetry to portray the hope of dawn. With orchestra, soloists and the Algonquin Regional High School Chamber Choir. Wong will talk about her music, compositional process and take questions from the audience at 2:30 p.m.

What: Assabet Valley Master Singers — “Bridges To Unity: We Are Not Alone” When: 3:30 p.m. March 15; 2:30 p.m. composer’s talk Where: R.R. Jay Performing Arts Center, St. John’s High School, 378 Main St., Shrewsbury How much: $25; $20 students and seniors. www.avmsingers.org

“Giselle” presented by Music Worcester: 8-10 p.m. March 13, The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester.

Cost: $59. For information: (877) 471-1689, info@ thehanovertheatre.org.

Mike Bocchetti: 8-9 p.m. March 13, The Comedy Attic At Park Grill, 257 Park Ave., Worcester. Cost: $15.

For information: (508) 756-7995, info@telegram.com.

“Big Irish” Jay Hollingsworth: 8-9 p.m. March 13, WooHaHa! Comedy

Club, 50 Franklin St., Worcester.

Cost: $20.

St. Patrick’s Day with The Kelly Girls: 8-9 p.m. Mar. 13, 215 Great Rd, 215 Great Road, Shirley.

Cost: $18-$22. For information: (978) 425-4311, bryansawyer@ bullrunrestaurant.com.

Matt Brodeur: 8:30 p.m. March 13, Barbers Crossing, 861 Main St., Leicester.

Fennario: 9 p.m.-12 a.m. March 13, Electric Haze, 26 Millbury St., Worcester.

Eclipse: 9 p.m.-12 a.m. Mar. 13,

CITY LIFE

Return Engagements Pianist, composer, conductor, poet, singer, painter, calligrapher and Afghanistan refugee Milad Yousufi is returning to Worcester for several events including a concert, art exhibition and visits to Burncoat High School. Yousufi, who now lives in New York City, accompanied pianist Simone Dinnerstein, Music Worcester’s first educational artist-in-residence, on several of her visits to schools here during the 2018-19 season including writing and coaching a work commissioned by Music Worcester for the South High Community School Band program. At 2 p.m. March 15, Yousufi will perform his auto-biographical “Suite for Piano & Narrator,” also commissioned last year by Music Worcester, at Temple Emanuel Sinai. An opening reception for a week-long exhibition of his artwork at the Worcester JCC will be held Sunday. Both events are free. Yousufi will visit Burncoat High School all week to coach the orchestra program there on his newest piece, “Kabul Nights,” a new commission by Music Worcester.

Sunday, March 15

What: Milad Yousufi — “Suite for Piano & Narrator” When: 2 p.m. March 15 Where: Temple Emanuel Sinai, 661 Salisbury St., Worcester What: Milad Yousufi, opening reception When: 3 p.m. March 15 Where: Worcester JCC, 633 Salisbury St., Worcester How much: Free. www.musicworcester.org

Firefly’s BBQ, 350 East Main St., Marlborough.

The Rowdy Show: 10-11 p.m.

March 13, WooHaHa! Comedy Club, 50 Franklin St., Worcester. Cost: $10.

Saturday, March 14

Swept Up in the Spirit Christian rockers Big Daddy Weave aren’t exactly subtle in their message, but songs such as “Joy! He Shall Reign,” “The Lion and the Lamb” and “Redeemed” are soulful and highly evocative pieces of music. The band has all the fire and polish of contemporary alt-rock, but with a religious bent that makes them a highly particular taste. Still, the execution’s so good it’s hard not to get swept up in the spirit.

Palladium Downstairs, 261 Main St., Worcester. Cost: $45-$95.

Insomnium with Seven Spires: 7-11:30 p.m. March 14, Palladium Upstairs, 261 Main St., Worcester.

Cost: $24-$60.

Cashel Rock: 7:30-9:30 p.m. March 14, The Vanilla Bean Café, 450 Deerfield Road, Pomfret. Cost: $15.

Johnny Hoy & The Bluefish: 8-9 p.m. March 14, Chan’s Fine Oriental Dining, 267 Main St., Woonsocket. Cost: $15-$20.

Liam Coleman: 8-10 p.m.

March 14, Chuck’s Steak House/ Margaritagrill, 10 Prospect St., Auburn.

Carbon Leaf: 8-9 p.m. Mar. 14, 215 Great Rd, 215 Great Road, Shirley.

Cost: $36-$40. For information: (978) 425-4311, bryansawyer@ bullrunrestaurant.com.

St. Patty’s Day Party with The Verge: 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. March 14, Halligan’s Bar And Function Hall, 889 Southbridge St., Auburn.

On The Rocks: 9 p.m.-12 a.m.

March 14, Marine Corps League Inc, 181 Lake Ave., Worcester.

Dock 10: 9 p.m.-12 a.m. Mar. 14, Rascals, 70 James St., Worcester. $10.

Songwriter Circle Songwriter circles are common in other parts of the country, but they’re relatively rare here in Worcester, so it’s nice to see music scene stalwart Brett Brumby bringing some of the region’s best artists together to give it a go. The roster for this one includes Gracie Day, Keri Anderson, Kala Farnham and Sean Ryder, any one of whom is worth your time.

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What: Write On — A Working Musician’s Forum When: 8 p.m. March 18 Where: Nick’s Bar and Restaurant, 124 Millbury St., Worcester How much: Free

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

What: Big Daddy Weave — When the Light Comes Tour When: 7 p.m. March 12 Where: Valley Chapel, 14 Hunter Road, Uxbridge How much: $14.95-$80

Beginners and Beyond: 12:30 p.m.4:30 a.m. March 14, Northboro Library, 34 Main St., Northboro.

Cost: Free. For information: (508) 393-5025, bkrantz@cwmars.org.

Registration required.

We Did It For You! Women’s Journey Through History: 2-3:30 p.m. March 14, Wallace Theater, Fitchburg State University McKay Complex, 67 Rindge Road, Fitchburg. For information: (978) 829-1780, fplref@cwmars.org.

Rockabye Beats: 3-4 p.m. March 14, Worcester Public Library Roosevelt Branch, 1006 Grafton St., Worcester. For information: (508) 799-8327, lsheldon@mywpl. org.

Drama on the Dance Floor: Drag show, 6 p.m. March 14, Worcester PoipUp at JMAC, 20 Franklin St., Worcester.

Welcome to Bourbon Street Gala: featuring Bourbon Street Brass, 7-10 p.m. March 14, Great Hall, 1 Grafton Common, Grafton. $50.

Root Shock and Humandala: 7 p.m.-12 a.m. March 14, Electric Haze, 26 Millbury St., Worcester.

Cody Jinks: 7-11 p.m. March 14,

Worcester County St. Patrick’s Parade: noon to 3 p.m. March 15, beginning at the corner of Park Avenue and Mill St., down Park Avenue and ending at Highland Street.

String Theory Music Series: with featured artist Big Jon Short, 1011 a.m. Mar. 15, First Congregation Church-Leicester, 1 Washburn St., Leicester. For information: themuthadeb@gmail.com.

Country & Western Dance: 1-5 p.m. Mar. 15, Uxbridge Progressive Club Inc, 18 Whitin St., Uxbridge.

For information: (508) 278-2166, lburnat@verizon.net. Admission is $12 for non-members and $10 for members & Veterans.

Kate Chadbourne — Irish Music & Stories: 1:30-3 p.m. Mar. 15, Fitchburg Senior Center, 14 Wallace Ave, Fitchburg. For information: (978) 829-1780, fplref@cwmars.org. Free.

Mechanics Hall Founders’ Day Celebration: 2-4:30 p.m. Mar. 15, Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester. Cost: Free.

Author Ariel Burger to Discuss Lessons from Elie Wiesel’s Classroom: 2-3:30 p.m. Mar. 15, Congregation Beth Israel, 15 Jamesbury Drive, Worcester. For information: (508) 756-7109, ngreenberg@worcesterjcc.org. Free.

Cirque D’Or: 3-5 p.m. Mar. 15, The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing

M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

Spring Community Day — Festa Roma: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. March 14, Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury St., Worcester. For information: information@ worcesterart.org.

Thimble Pleasures Quilt Guild Quilt Show: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. March 14, Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School, 65 Pleasant St., Upton. Cost: Free$10.

A Journey Writing from the Ground Up with Jason Parent: 11 a.m.-12

p.m. March 14, Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Square, Worcester.

For information: (508) 799-1655, lsheldon@mywpl.org. Jason Parent will share his journey from story conception to publication and beyond, with emphasis on short-story writing and publishing with small presses in the speculative fiction genres.

Barking at the St. Patricks Day Weekend Celebration: 11 a.m.3 p.m. Mar. 14, Quite Fetching Barkery and Pet Boutique, 1 Grafton Common, Grafton. For information: quitefetchingllc@ gmail.com. A weekend of celebrations with the traditional BARkery St Patrick’s fun, doggie bar, some Irish pup nachos and a visit from a leprechaun, who slings “O’Drools.”

Dungeons & Dragons for

Bone City: 9 p.m.-12 a.m. Mar. 14, Firefly’s BBQ, 350 East Main St., Marlborough.

St. Paddy’s Day Party with Vinyl Junkies: 9 p.m. March 14, Galway Bay Irish Pub, 186 Stafford St., Worcester.

CITY LIFE

THINGS TO DO Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester.

For information: (877) 571-7469, marketing@thehanovertheatre. org. Tickets are $33, $43 and $53.

Poetry Reading — A Celebration of the Arts and Irish Roots: reading

by Curt Curtin and friends, 3-5 p.m.

Mar. 15, Nineteen Carter, 19 Carter St., Berlin.

Sunday Open Mic: 3-6 p.m. Mar. 15, Rascals, 70 James St., Worcester.

Trivia For A Cause: 6-10 p.m. Mar. 15, Redemption Rock Brewing Company, 333 Shrewsbury St., Worcester. Cost: $25.

Listen! A Poetry Series: hosted

by Dave Macpherson, 7-8:30 p.m. March 15, Nick’s Bar and Restaurant, 124 Millbury St., Worcester. Cost: Free.

St. Patrick’s Parade After-Party At Rascals: 10 p.m.-12 a.m. Mar. 15, Rascals, 70 James St., Worcester.

Monday, March 16 Exhibition — Bodies: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mar. 16, Schiltkamp Gallery, Triana Center for the Arts , Worcester.

For information: (508) 793-7356, clarkarts@clarku.edu. A An Irish Evening: 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Mar. 16, BirchTree Bread Company, 138 Green St., #5, Worcester. $65.

Open Mic: hosted by Rick Hamel, 6:30 p.m. March 16, Funky Murphys, 305 Shrewsbury St., Worcester. Free.

National Geographic Live with paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim: 7:30-9 p.m. Mar. 16, The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester. Cost: $35.

The Dirty Gerund Poetry Series: 9 p.m. March 16, Ralph’s Rock Diner, 148 Grove St., Worcester. Free, donations requested to help pay the performers.

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Tuesday, March 17

Lunchtime Gallery Talk by Artist Susan Schmidt: 12-1 p.m. Mar. 17, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, College of the Holy

Celebrating History The Worcester County Mechanics Association opened the doors to Mechanics Hall on March 19, 1857, as a shining example of state-of-the-art technology and engineering and of the skills of Worcester laborers. It soon became the prime location for cultural, social, political and educational activities drawing visitors from across New England and national and international speakers and performers. A Founders’ Day Celebration Sunday to mark the 163rd anniversary of Mechanics Hall will feature tours (including a look at the E. & G.G. Hook Organ dedicated in 1864), the unveiling of new renovations, and a chance to meet and chat with some of Worcester’s characters from the 19th century and find out what their lives were like back in the day.

What: Mechanics Hall Founders’ Day Celebration When: 2 to 4:15 p.m. March 15 Where: Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester How much: Free. Reservations requested: www. mechancishall.org

Cross, 1 College St., Worcester.

For information: (508) 793-3356, prosenbl@holycross.edu.

Writer’s Group: Led by poet Susan Roney O’Brien6:30-7:45 p.m. Mar. 17, Boylston Public Library, 695 Main St., Boylston.

For information: (508) 869-2371, efurse@cwmars.org.

Legend of Lucy Keyes: presentation, 7-9 p.m. Mar. 17, Westminster Historical Society, 110 Main St, 110 Main St., Westminster. Cost: Free. For information: (978) 874-5569, westminsterhistoricalsociety@ gmail.com.

Poetry Open Mic: 7 p.m. March 17, Strong Style Coffee, 13 Cushing St., Fitchburg. Free.

The Cobra Kings: 7:30-10:30 p.m.

March 17, Greendale’s Pub, 404 West Boylston St., Worcester.

Southside Talent Showcase: open

Honky-Tonk Feel In the song “Hippies and Cowboys,” country singer-songwriter Cody Jinks sings, “I like two dollar beers, I like three dollar wells/At some old honky-tonk bar that I know by the smell/Some old drunk on/a bar stool on a Merle Haggard tune/That’s my kind of room.” Those are some immensely relatable lyrics, and they really get to the core of Jinks’ old-school sound, as do great song such as “Whiskey” and “Loud and Heavy.”

He’s the kind of country we don’t see enough of these days, the kind that’s at the soul of the genre.

What: Cody Jinks When: 7 p.m. March 14 Where: The Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester How much: $45-$95

mic, 8:15 p.m. March 17, The Southside Grille and Margarita Factory, 242 West Broadway, Gardner.

Tone-Deaf Tuesdays: hosted by Poise’N Envy and Harley Queen, 9 p.m. March 17, Electric Haze, 26 Millbury St., Worcester.

Wednesday, March 18 Worcester Business Journal 2020 Business Leaders of the Year & Hall of Fame Awards: 4:307:30 p.m. Mar. 18, Cyprian Keyes Golf Club, 284 East Temple St., Boylston. Cost: $55-$55.

Opening Reception — Gloria Goguen: “Botanical Dreams”: 6-8 p.m. Mar. 18, The Franklin Square Salon Gallery, the Hanover Theatre, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester. Cost: Free.

Princeton Women’s Reading 2020:

showcasing the work of women in poetry, 6-8 p.m. Mar. 18, Princeton Public Library, 2 Town Hall Drive, Princeton. For information: (508) 251-9262, rwgill@hotmail.com.

Monthly Open Mic With Nat Needle: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Mar. 18, Take Down the Wall Cafe, 454 Grove St., Worcester.

Joe List: 7-10:30 p.m. Mar. 18, The WooHaHa Comedy Club, 50 Franklin St., Worcester. Cost: $20.

Matt Brodeur: 7 p.m. March 11, Art’s Food & Spirits, 541 West Boylston St., Worcester.

Write On — A Working Musician’s Forum: featuring Gracie Day, Keri Anderson, Kala Farnham and Sean Ryder, hosted by Brett Brumby, 8 p.m. March 18, Nick’s Bar and Restaurant, 124 Millbury St., Worcester.

Wacky Wednesday Jam: 8:30 p.m.

March 11, Greendale’s Pub, 404 West Boylston St., Worcester.

Duncan Arsenault and friends: 9 p.m. March 11, Vincent’s, 49 Suffolk St., Worcester.

Thursday, March 19 Dr. Ruth Potee on the Physiology of Addiction: 4:30-6:30 p.m. Mar. 19, Zecco Auditorium at Anna Maria College, 50 Sunset Lane, Paxton. Cost: Free. For information: msullivan@oneillandassoc.com.

Pre-registration required.

Against The Green and The Promise is Hope: 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Mar. 19, Millbury Public Library, Cost: Free.

Master Series Third Thursdays:

CITY LIFE

Spirit of New Orleans

Stage

by Pilgrim Soul Productions, 7:30 p.m. March 6, 7, 13 and 14, and at 2 p.m. March 15, GB & Lexi Singh Performance Center, 60 Douglas Road, Northbridge. Cost: $20.

PilgrimSoulProductions.com.

“Doubt: A Parable”: March 12-15; 20-22, Studio Theatre Worcester, Greendale People’s Church, 25 Francis St., Worcester; studiotheatreworcester.org.

“Evita”: 7-9:30 p.m. March 13 & 14, 2-4:30 p.m. March 14, Westboro High School, 90 West Main St., Westboro. Cost: $12-$15.

“Photograph 51”: March 19-22, 26-29, 4th Wall Stage Company, 4thwallstagecompany.org.

“Run for Your Wife”: March 20-22, 27-29, New Players Theatre Guild, 15 Rollstone St., Fitchburg. nptg. org

The cultural and musical spirit of New Orleans comes to the Great Hall on Grafton Common in Grafton Saturday as Apple Tree Arts presents a Welcome to Bourbon Street Gala. The event features a performance by Bourbon Street Brass led by trombonist Russell Jewell, dancing, New Orleans-style hors d’oeuvres and desserts, cocktails and an array of silent auction items. Vocalist and pianist Stephanie Sarkisian will also perform jazz and popular music, and Christina Pierro wlll sing Broadway show tunes and duets with Sarkisian. A “VIP” reception includes appetizers, a complimentary Bourbon Street Spritz, and music by classical violinist Kathryn Haddad. Catering is by Peppers Artful Events. The gala is the biggest fundraiser of the year for Apple Tree Arts, a nonprofit community arts school with over 1,500 children and adult students.

What: Welcome to Bourbon Street Gala When: 7 to 10 p.m. March 14; “VIP” reception 6 p.m.

Where: Apple Tree Arts, Great Hall, One Grafton Common, Grafton How much: $60; “VIP” admission $80. For more information, call Apple Tree Arts (508) 839-4286 or visit www.appletreearts.org

Auditions “Of Mice and Men” Auditions: March 29 and 31 (Show dates: June 5, 6, 12, 13, 14). Gateway Players Theatre. Elm Street Congregational Church, 61 Elm St., Southbridge. gatewayplayers.org “God of Carnage” Auditions: Aug. 2, 3 (Show dates: Oct. 2, 3, 9, 10, 11). Gateway Players Theatre.

Elm Street Congregational Church, 61 Elm St., Southbridge. gatewayplayers.org “Happy Hollandaise!” Auditions: Oct. 5 and 7 (Show dates: Dec. 11, 12, 13). Gateway Players Theatre.

Elm Street Congregational Church, 61 Elm St., Southbridge. gatewayplayers.org

“The Lady Vanishes”: March 8-15, Calliope Theatre, 150 Main St., Boylston; CalliopeProductions.org.

“Outside Mullingar”: presented

Forget about the Ides of March as “Festa Roma” will be the theme of the Worcester Art Museum’s annual Spring Community Day on Saturday. WAM in collaboration with Latin Club students from Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School and Doherty Memorial High School have planned a day to do as the ancient Romans did. Activities include Project Roman Runway (all are invited to participate in toga attire); demonstrations by Roman Legion III Cyrenaica including Roman military drill and maneuvers; quiz games; Roman-style art making; tours of the museum’s galleries in search of Roman or Roman-influenced art; and story telling. Grub Guru food truck will have Mediterranean inspired treats.

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What: Annual Spring Community Day — “Festa Roma” When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 14 Where: Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury St., Worcester How much: Free with museum admission. www.worcesterart.org

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

When in Rome ...

M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

“The Boy on a Ram” in Context: 6-8 p.m. Mar. 19, Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury St., Worcester. For information: information@worcesterart.org.

Included with museum admission.

Fox and the Dragon: 6 p.m. March 19, Greater Good Imperial Brewing Company, 55 Millbrook St., Worcester.

Bedlam Book Club with Charcuterie Board by Shivani: 6-7 p.m. Mar. 19, Bedlam Book Cafe, 138 Green St., Worcester. $20.

Journaling: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Mar. 19, King’s Berry Farm, 123 North Brookfield Road, East Brookfield.

Cost: $42.

Sanction: 7 p.m. Mar. 19, Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester. $15.

Kerrville North March: with Nancy Beaudette, Rob Lytle and Cosy Sheridan, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Mar. 19, Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, 215 Great Road, Shirley.

Cost: $18-$22. For information: (978) 425-4311, bryansawyer@ bullrunrestaurant.com.

Kathy Mattea’s “Acoustic Living Room” with Bill Cooley: 7:30-9:30 p.m. Mar. 19, Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley. Cost: $45-$50. For information: (978) 425-4311, bryansawyer@ bullrunrestaurant.com.

Wootown Throwdown: 8-9:30 p.m.

Mar. 19, The WooHaHa Comedy Club, 50 Franklin St., Worcester. $10.

Higher Education Fest Presents — Roots of Creation With Lee Ross: 9-12 p.m. Mar. 19, Electric Haze, 26 Millbury St., Worcester.

CITY LIFE

ADOPTION OPTION Welcome to Adoption Option, a partnership with the Worcester Animal Rescue League highlighting their adoptable pets.

Check this space often to meet all of the great pets at WARL in need of homes.WARL is open seven days a week, noon-4 p.m., 139 Holden St. Check them out online at Worcesterarl.org, or call at (508) 853-0030.

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EAST DOUGLAS PHOTOGRAPHY

Meet Kat! Kat was surrendered to WARL a couple of years ago when

her owner’s living circumstances changed, and she felt it was no longer a good place for her senior cat. Kat is a good companion for one or two people. She’s not fond of other pets and hasn’t lived with kids. She wants a quiet life like the one she had with her owner. We adopted her to a woman who didn’t have pets, but then she gave Kat to her mother who does have pets. That did not go well. Kat has Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which flares when she’s stressed. We put her on a prescription food Z/D, which eases her IBS. It will be best to keep her on Z/D. Kat enjoys you petting her and watching what you’re doing. Kat qualifies for our Senior for Senior Program.

GAMES

“Dangerous Curves”--every capital letter in the theme has curves.

by Matt Jones

J O N E S I N’ Across

Call 888-254-3466 or email classifieds@gatehousemedia.com today to place your ad here!

12 13 18 22 24 25 26 28 31 32 35 37 38 41 42 43 44 47

48 Oxygen, for one 50 One fooled by a wooden horse 52 Ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny 55 Pig blamed for causing American kids to affect British accents 56 Alfred P. ___ Foundation (NPR benefactor) 58 Result in flowers 61 Unpleasant, as a situation 63 Laptops or desktops, e.g.

65 Alley figure 66 Home of Rome and Moscow 67 What the P in TP doesn’t stand for 68 Oceanic distress signal

Last week's solution

©2020 Matt Jones (jonesincrosswords@gmail.com) Reference puzzle #979

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1 “What can Brown do for you?” company 2 ___-Magnon man 3 Actor Diamond Phillips

8 9 10 11

iPad Pro maker Ticket souvenir Blues guitarist ___ Mahal From the beginning, in Latin Rakish sorts Most in need of a massage Terrier treater 1991 U2 album featuring the song “One” Fez’s country Demoted (like a former planet) Nightfall Kevin who played Hercules on TV Driving visibility problem “___ believe ...”

Wave rider’s accessory ___ Pigs Invasion (1961 event) Quail ___ omelet Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand B vitamin acid TTYL part “Slumdog Millionaire” city Kaitlin of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” Hot tub nozzle Capital of Newfoundland and Labrador “Walden” writer “Duck Hunt” platform

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Down

4 5 6 7

M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

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!

1 School that won 10 NCAA basketball championships in 12 years 5 Planetarium projections 10 Section of music that’s repeated 14 Thing on stage 15 Banned practice?

16 Earth Day subj.

17 *Bowlful on the specials list 19 “Trapped in the Drive-___” (Weird Al song) 20 Beaker’s spot 21 Goose formations 23 Nursery schooler 24 “Grown-up” cereal ingredient 27 *Italian veal dish 29 “Deep Space Nine” constable 30 Tap takeover unit 33 Hypnotic state 34 Mess up 36 Aragon-born artist 39 “So help me!”

40 *”I Am the Walrus” refrain 43 Even so 45 24-karat, gold-wise 46 Tabby tooth 49 Believer of sorts 51 It takes night deposits 53 Arthur of “Maude” and “The Golden Girls” 54 *Department of Labor training program 57 Seemingly bottomless pit 59 Gold, to Cortez 60 Christmastime 61 Addr. on a business card 62 Accumulation 64 *Bands like AKB48 and Babymetal (but not BTS-that’s a different letter) 69 Cop on a bust 70 “... to fetch ___ of water” 71 1952 Winter Olympics city 72 Laundromat lather 73 Mary Poppins, for example 74 Late infomercial pitchman Billy

CLASSIFIEDS

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M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

LEGALS Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Docket No. WO20P0572GD Worcester Probate and Family Court 225 Main St. Worcester, MA 01608 CITATION GIVING NOTICE OF PETITION FOR APPOINTMENT OF GUARDIAN FOR INCAPACITATED PERSON PURSUANT TO G.L. c. 190B, §5-304 In the matter of: Diana Santoro Of: New Braintree, MA RESPONDENT Alleged Incapacitated Person To the named Respondent and all other interested persons, a petition has been filed by Department of Developmental of Worcester, MA in the above captioned matter alleging that Diana Santoro is in need of a Guardian and requesting that Sebastian Santoro of North Fort Myers, FL, Diane Santoro of Concord, MA (or some other suitable person) be 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 03/24/2020. 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. Leilah A Keamy, First Justice of this Court. Date: February 24, 2020 Stephanie K. Fattman, Register of Probate 03/12/20 WM

HELP WANTED SR. SOFTWARE ENGINEER (Shrewsbury, MA) sought by University of Massachusetts Medical School for the analysis of user needs, software and database design, programming and life cycle development of business and clinical applications.

Must have Bach.’s Info. Systems, Comp. Sci. or closely rel. field, and 5 yrs. rel. exp. To apply,email resume to jobsUMMS@umassmed.edu. No calls please.

DATA ANALYST: LendingClub is seeking the following position for their Westborough, MA office: Data Analyst (#A310): Building/maintaining new reporting based on functional requirements provided by Sales, Marketing, Credit, and Operation Associates. Master’s.

Please submit resumes to LendingClub, ATTN: HR, 595 Market Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94105, referencing job title and code.

LendingClub is an EOE.

SERVICE DIRECTORY

Where do I find such cool stuff and helpful services?

My secret is CLASSIFIEDS!

Over 90,000 Readers!

Call 888-254-3466 or email classifieds@gatehousemedia.com Sudoku Answers

LAST CALL

Grace Mahoney and Laurenn Carelli of Blushing Brides

B

lushing Brides celebrated a decade in business this week. We caught up with CEO Grace Mahoney and Director of Creative Operations & Communication Lauren Carelli to find out what sets them apart from the competition.

Tell me about how you started on the Blushing Brides journey.

GM: When I was in high school, a friend of a friend asked me to do her hair after seeing a girl I had done for a prom. It turned out she was getting married, which was terrifying because I was only 16.

I wound up doing her hair for her wedding and then she asked me to do her makeup at the last second, which I knew nothing about and I was shaking the whole time.

You knew you could do it better?

GM: That was the hope. I didn’t actually know it yet. I came up with the name “Blushing Brides” and I sat on it for eight months while I was too scared to do anything. And then finally, I decided the worst thing that could happen would be if nobody booked an appointment. When I opened my doors I didn’t even have a website; I had a fan page on Facebook. I had my first bride book within 24 hours. That was 10 years ago, this week.

Why were you so cryptic on the phone?

GM: In the interview, she said, “This is where I want to be and this is where I want my career to go.” But, I couldn’t tell if she was sincere. I contacted her right away and said, “Hey, can we meet for dinner? I would like to talk with you.” At dinner I asked her, “Were you serious at your interview?

Do you want to be a part of this company? Is this where you want your career to be?” And she said, “Yes, absolutely.” I told her, “Great, because I’m looking for a director of operations.” We began that journey at the very beginning of 2015.

Blushing Brides founder/owner, CEO and head artist Grace Mahoney and director of creative operations & communication Lauren Carelli celebrate 10 years in business with cupcakes from The Queen’s Cups.

PHOTO COURTESY ALLIE REVELEY/ALLIE

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ed perfectly with a smiley, bubbly not do hair and makeup whatsoattitude. ever. Someone who is completely dedicated to the art of scheduling – Sarah Connell Sanders and booking and making sure that you’re getting from point A to your wedding with all the details that you need. Everything is coordinat-

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

What makes you different from other bridal companies?

GM: We have 21 artists. So even if your artist gets in a car accident and has the flu and has a death in the family all on the same day and therefore cannot be at your wedding, we’ve still got you covered.

All of our artists are in-house trained and even though they have their own individual styles, they are able to duplicate each other’s looks in case something happens.

In 10 years of business, we have never let a bride down. Crazy circumstances have happened and we’ve never had to leave a bride hanging. The other thing that makes us very different than other bridal companies is we have an entirely 100% dedicated bridal coordinator. Not a bridal coordinator who’s also a hair and makeup artist on call at a wedding, but a bridal coordinator who does

M A R C H 12 - 18, 2020

When did you start to expand?

GM: I built a team my first year in business; I always knew that I didn’t want it to just be me. I had seen the burden of a business just being a single person and witBack then, I’ll bet you couldn’t nessed too many tough situations. even YouTube it.

I knew that there were so many GM: Right. I always had really long brides out there who needed our hair. My mom never let me go to services that I couldn’t possibly the salon, so I figured out how to work with all of them or help all of do my own hair and I thought it them on my own. I hired my first looked terrible, but everybody else artists within a month and I hired complimented it. At that first wed- my first bridal coordinator within ding, when the bride looked in the four months. I knew right away mirror, she teared up and said it that I wanted to build a team. was the most beautiful she’d ever felt. I wanted to chase that feeling Which services do you offer? for the rest of my life because it GM: Hair, makeup, nails, and right was just so amazing. After high now we’re adding lash extensions school, I enrolled in beauty school and airbrush tanning. because I was interested in the wellness field and I really liked the Lauren, when did you come beauty aspect of it. I went with a aboard? purpose — hair and makeup. It LC: I came aboard in 2014 as turned out, I learned absolutely an artist. I was a kindergarten nothing about makeup in beauty teacher and had always just been school. But, I certainly learned interested in hair and makeup. It how to do hair and taught myself came time to decide, “Am I going makeup thereafter. While I was to keep going with education and in college, I freelanced for other get my master’s degree or quit my companies doing hair and makeup job and go to beauty school on for various events, including wed- a whim?” Which is exactly what dings. Family and friends kept I did. I worked in salons for two saying, “You’re really good at this. years and I met Grace through a You have a business mind. Do you mutual friend. We started comwant to go out on your own?” I municating. She said, “If you ever was constantly dissatisfied workwant to freelance, I would love to ing for other people because there talk to you.” I kept going back and was always something they were forth, and finally one day, I mesdoing that I didn’t feel good about. saged her on Facebook and said, “Hey, so I hate cutting and color-

ing. Are you hiring?” I interviewed and she left me the most cryptic voicemail. It was my birthday. She said, “Hi, this is Grace from Blushing Brides. I’d really love to meet up and chat.” I was nervous to call her back because I knew it would either be the best gift or ruin my birthday. She hired me. I came on as an artist and then started helping out a little bit more behind the scenes. Now, I’m like kind of her right hand gal. I do whatever she needs me to do.

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