Worcester Magazine April 29 - May 5, 2022

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Featured ..............................................................................4 City Voices ..........................................................................9 Cover Story.......................................................................14 Next Draft .........................................................................18 Artist Spotlight................................................................19 Listen Up...........................................................................20 Adoption Option.............................................................24 Games................................................................................26 Last Call.............................................................................27

On the cover From left, Andy Osorno, 3D modeler and artist; Ethan Nappi, animator; and Jack Freni, producer, are three members of the team behind “Higgins Armory,” a hack 'n’ slash game depicting actual items from the Higgins collection at Worcester Art Museum.

CLARK UNIVERSITY; PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DANI CHERCHIO/USA TODAY NEETWORK, GETTY IMAGES

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FEATURED

Three Alisons share WCLOC’s production of the poignant and dynamic ‘Fun Home’ Richard Duckett Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

In the Tony Award-winning musical “Fun Home,” an adult Alison Bechdel takes the stage to recall and refl ect on two time periods in her life that are played out by Medium Alison and Small Alison.

The musical is based on the actual Alison Bechdel’s 2006 graphic memoir of the same name. In this coming of age story, Bechdel’s coming out as a lesbian is complicated by the revelation that her father, Bruce Bechdel, was a closeted homosexual whose extra-marital aff airs included underage males. Complex and confl icted, Bruce, who ran the Bechdel Funeral Home, was both charming and erratic. The adult Alison has just turned 43, the same age of her father when he died.

Worcester County Light Opera Company was going to stage “Fun Home” in 2020, but the show was postponed because of the pandemic.

Now WCLOC’s production of “Fun Home” is scheduled for a four-performance run April 29 to May 1 at the BrickBox Theater at the Jean McDonough Arts Center in Worcester. There will be a Talkback with the audience following the 7:30 pm April 30 performance in collaboration with Worcester Historical Museum’s “LGBTQ+ FOR THE RECORD” multi-year historical documentation project.

Although the story in “Fun Home” can be heartbreaking, especially when it pertains to Bruce, the musical has also been been described as shifting “remarkably between light and shade, sweet and aching moments, haunting dissonance and perfect harmony,” according to a review in the Guardian Adapted by Lisa Kron (book and lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori (music), “Fun Home” won fi ve Tony Awards in 2015, including Best Musical.

“The numbers are fresh, energetic

From left, Jess Guertin, Liz Couture and Grace Olahwill play the role of Allison during various times through her life in the WCLOC production of “Fun Home.” DYLAN AZARI

but it’s also such a poignant show about LBGTQ and coming of age issues,” said Liz Couture, who plays the adult Alison in the WCLOC production.

Another good way of describing the show is Bechdel’s own descriptor of her graphic novel as “a family tragicomic,” Couture said.

“It’s both a family show (about a family) and a coming of age show. That really makes it a dynamic piece and the music really adds to it,” said Jess Guertin, who is playing Middle Alison.

Small Alison is portrayed by Grace Olah, 14, and the three Alisons have bonded.

“I love working with them,” said Grace. “They’re really nice and they’re so much fun.”

The cast also includes Chuck Grigaitis as Bruce Bechdel, Linnea Lyerly as wife and mother Helen Bechdel, Henry See FUN HOME, Page 5

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | 5

Fun Home

‘Fun Home’ When: 7:30 p.m. April 29; 2 and 7:30 p.m. April 30; 2 p.m. May 1. Talkback after 7:30 p.m. April 30 performance.

Continued from Page 4

Cron and Lucas Clatton as Small Alison’s brothers Christian and John, and Michel Skrzek is several roles. Eric Butler directs, with musical direction by Lenny McGuire and choreography by Denise Day. Moving between past and present, the adult Alison relives her unique childhood playing at the family’s Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality, and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father.

“Fun Home” does not have traditional scenes but rather “memories that fl ow into each other. It’s an interesting structure,” Couture said.

Small Alison, who is around the age of 10, interacts with her father sometimes playfully but also struggles against his domineering and obsessive demands. Medium Alison, 19, is in her fi rst year in college when she begins her fi rst relationship and comes out of the closet as a lesbian. But she also learns things about her parents’ relationship.

Bruce is verbally abusive to Helen. However, Medium Alison enjoys an unexpectedly pleasant evening with him not long before his death.

For Couture and Guertin the roles speak very personally.

Couture has originally been cast as the adult Alison for WCLO’s 2020 production. “I had to take a long big break in between these,” she said.

“I hadn’t done musical theater in a really long time. It’s a huge opportunity to play a character who’s like myself. I love it. I’ve never been a protagonist.

There are not a lot of roles for butch women in theater. It’s kind of a challenging role to just be myself on stage,” she said.

Couture identifi es as bisexual.

“I think the impetus for her (Alison) telling her story is she’s 43, the same age her father was ... She’s looking back at her life and those moments she wasn’t prepared to deal with, trying to understand who he is and what made him that way.”

Meanwhile, Alison was “struggling with her gender” when she was younger, “as an adult she’s fi nally at peace with who she is. But she’s thinking about what her struggle for identity might have done to her father.”

Couture said that between the 2020

Where: BrickBox Theater at the Jean McDonough Arts Center, 20B Franklin St., Worcester How much: $22.50 - $27.50. www.jmacworcester.org

Three actresses will play the role of Allison during various times through her life in the WCLOC production of “Fun Home.” From left are Jess Guertin, Liz Couture, and Grace Olah. DYLAN AZARI

show that was postponed and the upcoming production, “I had lot of time to read everything Alison Bechdel has ever done. I really love how the play is both deeply personal and speaks to a lot of things that everyone has in their families ...

“Who has a gay dad who runs a funeral home? But coming to terms with who they (parents) are and who you are is a really interesting topic. I think everyone in the cast has cried at least once.”

Bechdel’s graphic novels have drawn the ire of some conservative communities where there have been attempts to have “Fun Home” removed from school reading lists and libraries.

“Seeing yourself refl ected is so important to kids and seeing this banned from bookshelves is so discouraging,” Couture said. “It’s such an important thing. We shouldn’t be taking that from anybody.”

Butler, a board member and past president of WCLOC as well as director of “Fun Home,” has said the community theater company (Worcester’s oldest) is “always looking at themes relevant to society today ... making sure the plays we do and musicals refl ect the community we live in.”

Recent WCLOC productions have included the play “The Niceties,” about a clash between an ambitious Black political science major and her esteemed “liberal” white history professor.

Couture said Butler has been open to collaboration for “Fun Home.” “There’s a

few LGBTQ in the cast. He’s been sensitive to making sure the portrayal is authentic,” she said.

Guertin said that she has also found Butler to be a sensitive director. “It feels very collaborative. It’s just been a really good experience working with him,” she said.

As for Couture and Grace, “I really love working with them. Grace is young and such a professional for her age.

She’s immensely talented. Liz (Couture) is wonderful and also incredibly talented. It’s been such a wonderful experience. They are wonderful and it’s just been such a positive time.”

The three Alisons sing in the show’s fi nale together, and when they performed at the fi rst rehearsal, “We just looked at each other and said this is really good,” Guertin said.

Guertin was not a member of the planned 2020 cast and auditioned for the role of Medium Alison in January.

“I absolutely love playing Medium Alison. It’s probably may favorite role I’ve ever played,” she said.

“We see this evolution in the Middle Alison. She’s really awkward (at fi rst), and she builds identity and understands herself as a queer person.”

But it’s an emotionally fraught journey. “Having a crush on a woman, coming out to her parents, there’s defi nitely levels of emotion.”

Not too far removed from college herself, Guertin said, “It feels like close to home, being in college and fi guring out who I was.”

Guertin also identifi es as bisexual.

“I love working on the character. Figuring out what she’s thinking. I’ve grown to really appreciate Medium Alison.”

She also sees universality in “Fun Home” despite its specifi c storyline, although “It’s so hard because everyone’s experience is diff erent. I feel there would be something for everyone even if you don’t identify as queer.”

Guertin said she’s looking forward to the Talkback after the 7:30 p.m. April 30 performance.

For Grace Olah, the message of “Fun Home” is very clear. “The message of the play is to be true to yourself,” she said.

Grace, who is from Franklin, was also in the 2020 cast for WCLOC’s planned production of “Fun Home,” with the role of Small Alison, which she now gets to play.

“I’ve always wanted to do ‘Fun Home,’” she said.

Small Alison is “A young girl that’s very true to herself. She’s honest to herself,” Grace said. At the same time, “She’s trying to fi gure out who she is.

She’s very diff erent from the stereotypical girl, and that comes out in the scenes she’s in.”

The cast and crew of “Fun Home” are “like a family,” Grace said. “And the director Eric, he’s the best. I love Eric so much.”

Besides playing Alison, Couture, Guertin and Grace share a love of theater that has been bolstered and even renewed by being in “Fun Home.”

Grace said she’s been acting since she was 6 (in a production of “My Fair Lady”). She’s a student at Annie Sullivan Middle School in Franklin, and sees plenty more acting in her future.

“I love theater so much. That’s like my dream,” she said.

Guertin, who lives in Grafton, started acting at the age of 9 and performed with Apple Tree Arts and at Grafton See FUN HOME, Page 8

6 | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Worcester poet Tony Brown to receive Stanley Kunitz Medal ter company in 1976. The second was an unscheduled performance a few years later at the fabled Worcester punk club, Xit 13.

“Somebody was (expletive) up,” says Brown, “and they needed someone to jump on stage. That's the one where the idea that a rowdy bar full of people could be entertained by poetry really took root.”

The next big step in his wider public career took place at the old Worcester Artist Group's open stage, when was located on Harlow Street, the fi rst time he signed up for its open mic.

“I wrote on the open mic list, 'Tony. I prefer not to go fi rst,'” he recalls. “Someone was going to meet me. Another poet got up on stage and said, 'that is so lame,' that I needed to have more courage … I read something angry and ranty … After that, I signed up fi rst every single time I was there.”

Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Worcester poet Tony Brown didn't expect to be named this year's winner of the Stanley Kunitz Medal. Indeed, when he received the phone call from the Worcester County Poetry Association, he thought they were going to ask him to be on the selection panel. He was, after all, already helping judge the WCPA's college contest, as well as a poetry contest in Arizona. It didn't occur to him that he'd already won.

“I assumed it was for judging,” says Brown, in a phone conversation shortly after the announcement. “So when she told me, I was like, 'Really?' I was blown away. It was a total surprise. I was pleasantly fl abbergasted.”

On the surface, it doesn't seem like it should be such a shock. Brown has been one of the most constant and recogWorcester nizable names in Poet Tony Worcester poetry for Brown will be more than two decthe recipient ades, with a reputaof the 2022 Stanley Kunitz tion that far exceeds the local community.

Medal.

According to the JESSICA LOVINA WCPA, “The Stanley Kunitz Medal originated with a bequest to the Worcester County Poetry Association from former Poet Laureate of the United States and Worcester native Stanley Kunitz (1905-2006). Brown’s award will be the eighth annual medal bestowed on a poet with a strong Worcester County connection who best exemplifi es Kunitz’s lifelong commitment to poetry. The award recognizes a poet’s commitment to poetry as Kunitz lived it: teaching poetry, mentoring poets, speaking poetry, publishing poetry, and supporting organizations which nurture poetry.”

But despite the widespread respect that Brown's garnered, he's also walked an unconventional path, particularly in

Slam and beyond

Brown performs at the Megaslam poetry event at the Worcester Public Library in 2017. CHRISTINE HOCHKEPPEL/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

regard to publishing: He's written just shy of 4,000 poems since 2010, publishing all of them on his blog, “Dark Matter .” That doesn't include poems written before he launched the blog, beginning when he had a poem published in a children's journal. “Everyone congratulated me on it,” says Brown. He says he doesn't have a copy of the magazine anymore, but “I know it was about the seasons. And it rhymed.”

A prolifi c career grew from that small seed, but Brown isn't sentimental about either his process or its public nature.

“It's just the work ethic,” says Brown.

“Other people can write a poem, and then write another poem. I tend to put out an an awful lot of writing, and then work on that some more. I don't remember half of them. It's just writing exercises. I just need to put them all out. For me, it's always been about the body of work, as opposed to individual pieces.”

An unconventional path Brown, who grew up in Uxbridge, continued writing into his teens, but found a deeper inspiration around 1976 when his English teacher, local poet Jack Halacy, took him and other students to see iconic poet Robert Bly at Worcester State College “That was the fi rst published poet I saw perform,” says Brown, “and he was performing with music and masks and puppets. It didn't have to be someone droning on at a podium. I saw him so many times over the year, got to the point that he knew who I was when I saw him at readings and stuff .”

Inspired by Bly, Brown honed his craft at open mics around the Worcester area, resulting in his fi rst two “featured” performances, which between them sum up the dichotomy in his career. The fi rst was a benefi t for an Uxbridge thea-

That was also the night he met Bill MacMillan, who would go on to cofound the Worcester Poetry Slam, a performance poetry competition linked to a national competition, at which Worcester poets, including Brown, competed for years. Brown says his involvement with slam defi nitely had an eff ect on his writing and career.

“Slam taught me to edit,” says Brown.

“It taught me the importance of sound, not that it wasn't there before that, but I learned how to compress what I was doing and make it sound better for better impact. It also introduced me to a lot of people who were diff erent than I was …

My fi rst slam team, I was 39. I was older and had a much longer history in poetry than almost everyone around me. I was bringing something diff erent to the stage, and had a need to absorb what was going around me. I was never super fond of the competitive aspect, but that didn't change the fact that what was going on in the slam world was critical to poetry.”

For a time, Brown even hosted the See BROWN, Page 8

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | 7

Simple Plan and Sum 41 bring nostalgia and energy to Palladium Jason Greenough Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

With the amount of shared fandom and the level of nostalgia that their music has injected into the inner emo kid in all of us for over 20 years, it’s fairly absurd that Simple Plan and Sum 41 have never embarked on a proper tour together. Funny enough, they’d be the fi rst ones to agree.

But come this spring, that all changes as the pair of legendary Canadian pop punk outfi ts bring the connection they forged in the great white north all over North America, including a stop at Worcester Palladium on May 6 as part of

their joint “Blame Canada” tour with Florida’s Set It Off . Beyond the fact that it is their fi rst time on the road together and the show stops in Worcester on the very day that Simple Plan’s new album, “Harder Than It Looks,” drops, there’s plenty to celebrate on this trek. It’s been a hot minute since either band has had the opportunity to hit the road in full, given the hardships presented by the pandemic, and the way Simple Plan drummer Chuck Comeau sees it, there was no better way to come back than this.

Not to mention, both Simple Plan and Sum 41 hold the city of Worcester, and its Main Street pop-punk cathedral, in high regards, so to be able to make it

back to the city on this go around is truly something special for both camps.

“We love Massachusetts, and we love Worcester. It’s just a classic city for rock shows, and having played the Palladium many times, we’ve had some of the most memorable nights there where the crowds have always shown up for our band, so it’s a pleasure to be back,” says Comeau. “There’s something quintessentially pop-punk about playing such an iconic venue like the Palladium, and we’re just so psyched to be bringing such a fun and awesome lineup alongside a band that we love and respect. For us to get back on the road again, and to be able to do it in such a big way, it feels like the perfect way to come back.”

While there’s plenty to raise a glass to upfront, both bands are also celebrating anniversaries of cornerstone albums in their respective catalogs. This year

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marks the 20th anniversary of Simple Plan’s debut studio eff ort, “No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls,” which included sustaining hits like “I’d Do Anything,” “I’m Just a Kid,” “Addicted” and “Perfect,” whereas Sum 41’s 2002 hit record “Does This Look Infected?” harbored “Still Waiting,” “Over My Head (Better Off Dead)” and “The Hell Song.”

Now, as far as celebrating goes, Sum 41 guitarist Dave Baksh is quick to acknowledge that since the band missed the opportunity to give their debut album, “All Killer No Filler,” the same milestone anniversary treatment in 2021, they’ll actually be retroactively throwing down with that album in mind as they plan to dust off some older tracks.

But while the nostalgia train is charging full steam ahead for Worcester with See NOSTALGIA, Page 8

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Brown Continued from Page 6

Worcester Poetry Slam, when it was based at the now-defunct Java Hut in Webster Square, but eventually moved on from slam to explore other projects, most notably his music-poetry collaboration, the Duende Project. The Duende Project began in 2006, when he was introduced to multi-instrumentalist Steven Lanning-Cafaro. The two collaborated on an album-length project, the “Jim's Fall” suite.

“It was supposed to be a one-time deal,” says Brown, “but we liked it, so we did I again, made more stuff . Made it a regular practice.”

But when the duo performed at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, it became clear to Brown that the project could grow into a full band when Jerome Deupree, the original drummer for the legendary Boston rock band Morphine, asked if he could sit in with them, eventually playing the entire set.

“Gee,” thought Brown. “We can make this happen all the time.” Soon after, the pair was joined by percussionist Chris

Nostalgia Continued from Page 7

those anniversaries in tow, and they know that fans will absolutely eat up the songs that helped shape a very solid early-2000s display of angst and emotion in the scene (a notion that Baksh is quick to tout, and not just because he was partly responsible for it), both Comeau and Baksh are just as excited to bring together a force of Canadian fury, regardless of how many old South Park jokes you might have in your pocket, and unleash new music into the world and show that both bands have plenty left in the tank, and that they’ve not so much grown away from their earlier years, but matured and have maintained the fi re inside to continue evolving.

“If you give up the fi ght for what you love or what you want to do, you’re just going to become a parody or a novelty, or just another piece of nostalgia up on the shelf,” says Baksh. “Both of our bands very much so still have a lot of

O'Donnell and guitarist Chris Lawton, the quartet honing their sound with residencies at both Nick's Bar and Restaurant in Worcester and starlite gallery in Southbridge.

“That's where we turned into a good band,” says Brown, noting that both venues have since closed. Currently, the band is in the studio recording a new album, and looking for new venues to play.

As for winning the Kunitz Medal, Brown says, “This whole thing has been a little bit of a stunner, and the response to it today on Facebook was really dramatic.” Brown says he was especially gratifi ed when he learned that the other nominees considered were poets Curt Curtin, David Macpherson and Laura Jehn Menides, all artists he respects, especially Menides, whom he says he would have chosen over himself.

Still, modesty aside, Brown has already begun thinking about what poems he wants to read at the ceremony, which will be presented by the WCPA at the Worcester Historical Museum at 6:30 p.m. July 28.

“I have to think about it,” he says, acknowledging that it's still a few months away. “It's an important reading.”

fi ght, and you can hear it in that new track [“Ruin My Life”], as well as the new music that [Sum 41] will be previewing on this tour. If you lose that fi ght, you lose your edge, and you lose a huge part of your purpose.”

The longevity that both Simple Plan and Sum 41 have sustained is something of legend in the genre, for sure, but by no means has it been easy. Comeau stresses that the struggle to stay afl oat has always sort of been there, and they’ve had to put in the work year after year to keep the drive alive.

But that very fi ght has not only helped them keep their eyes on the prize, so to speak, but it’s also allowed them to gleefully prove the naysayers wrong over the years with a willful chip on their shoulder as they not only embrace the stardust that catapulted them to notoriety in the punk game all those years ago, but also the excitement and enthusiasm they have for the three minutes that separate them from their next great song.

Both bands are grateful for the support and love they’ve gotten since the early days, but they’re even more grate-

The 2001 Worcester National Poetry Slam team, from left, Sou MacMillan, Seren Divine, Tony Brown, Gary Hoare and Alex J. Charalambides. BETTY JENEWIN/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

ful for the fact that their fan bases have embraced every new chapter and direction in sound, and have stayed in their seats as they come along for the ride together.

“Looking back at 2002 and 2003, I’m sure there were a lot of people who said we’d be gone in three years, but there’s something that feels incredibly great when you keep showing up to put out new music, and people keep showing up when you go out on tour, because it’s a really rewarding way to keep proving people wrong and to show that both of these bands have more longevity than people have given us credit for, and these songs still mean a lot to people,” says Comeau.

“For a long time, we were afraid to do the anniversary tours and celebrate the past, because we didn’t want people to assume that all there was to it was that we only had one or two great records.

But both bands embrace our past and we’re proud of it. We love that people still listen to those early songs and still enjoy them, but at the same time, we still have all of this enthusiasm and energy for what’s to come of the future.”

Fun Home Continued from Page 5

High School. She said she basically put theater on hold while a student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst studying psychology. She now works as a care coordinator for Advocates but has felt the pull of the stage again.

Last December she appeared in “Spamalot” with Calliope Productions of Boylston, an experience she also enjoyed.

“That was my fi rst show back. I went from ‘Spamalot’ and quickly auditioned for this (’Fun Home’). I caught the bug again,” Guertin said.

Couture is a graduate of Clark University and a software engineer living in Worcester. She has a theater background but hadn’t done a lot of it recently. She has been a member of the Federation of Belligerent Writers performing at Ralph’s Rock Diner.

“I’m really excited to get back into theater,” she said.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | 9

CITY VOICES WORCESTERIA

LANDGREN WORCESTER SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT FINALISTS UNVEILED

Joslyn Fox talks ‘Julia’ cameo, DJing WooSox games Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

What do the HBO Max original series “Julia,” the Worcester Red Sox and the iconic TV show “RuPaul’s Drag Race” all have in common? Worcester native Patrick Joslyn – better known to most as drag performer Joslyn Fox – has a presence in all three, and talking to him Tuesday afternoon, it’s quite clear he’s having a blast, both performing and being Polar Park’s in-house DJ for Woo-

Sox home games.

Joslyn appears in the April 14 episode of “Julia,” titled “Crêpes Suzette,” where he plays a waitress in a San Francisco drag bar in the early ‘60s. Julia, played by Sarah Lancashire, is dragged unwittingly to the bar by her friend, iconic chef James Beard, played

by Christian Clemenson. Julia bumps into Joslyn’s waitress character as she enters the crowded bar, giving her a See FOX, Page 10

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10 | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

CONNELL SANDERS

Sage & Grace off ers safe hair care options for expecting moms Sarah Connell Sanders Special to Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

One thing about being a pregnant lady is that people have lots of opinions on my body. I’ve noticed that if I wait in the Honey Farms checkout line long enough, strangers will take it upon themselves to tell me what I should be putting in my body and on my body.

Here’s where I stand. Unless your name is Justin Randall Timberlake, I don’t need you to tell me how to rock my body and I especially don’t need you to touch my body without permission. Please let me buy my cheddar cheese Combos and eat them in peace.

I’ve taken certain prenatal restrictions more seriously than others. For example, occasional morsels of unpasteurized cheese have passed through my lips over the last eight months. “Just pretend I’m a French woman,” I instruct any concerned parties in my presence. Nevertheless, I abstain from raw fi sh, alcohol, cold cuts, and balance beams. I have even put off going to the salon since I found out I was pregnant.

With a handful of formal events approaching and the equivalent of a three-pound cabbage swimming just below the surface of my naval, I am in dire need of some glam. One of my friends recommended I try an organic salon called Sage & Grace to keep my baby and me healthy and free from chemicals.

Sage & Grace opened at 218 Shrewsbury St. about six weeks ago, but owner Brittany Danna McGlone has been in business for nearly a decade. The new space embodies her vegan values, fl ush with botanical murals on the walls and plenty of nourishing sunlight. Sage & Grace only works with products free from sulfates, parabens, synthetic fragrance and sodium chloride.

On my fi rst visit, stylist Kelsey Bailey applied a partial foil to brighten up my highlights while McGlone worked with a 5-year-old client across the way, dying her little locks vibrant shades of green — fi tting, given her environmentally-conscious business model.

“We have a lot of adorable kids come in here,” Bailey told me. “Parents appreciate our high standards when it comes to avoiding toxic chemicals and carcinogens.”

Bailey explained that my color might take a bit longer to process than I was used to. She brought me a steaming cup of peach tea while I waited with a good book. I was in and out of her chair for wash, cut, and color in under three hours — quick, by my standards. I loved the depth of her workmanship and the bright natural tones she had summoned on my scalp. “Our organic products off er me more control,” she said, adding, “I’ve become a real student of the color wheel.”

Organic salon Sage & Grace opened at 218 Shrewsbury Street six weeks ago. SARAH CONNELL SANDERS/SPECIAL TO WORCESTER MAGAZINE

When I got the bill, I was surprised by Bailey’s very reasonable “junior stylist” rates, given the high-quality services I had just received. I decided to treat myself to bottles of the plant-based Neuma shampoo and conditioner she had recommended. It felt wonderful to do something nice for myself, free of judgment.

Despite Sage & Grace's strong ethos, no one tried to push a vegan lifestyle on me or tell me what was best for my pregnancy. They simply made me feel well cared for. Nothing rocks my body like that kind of respect.

Sage & Grace is open Tuesday through Saturday for hair, nails, and makeup. Call to make an appointment at (508) 752-1727.

Fox Continued from Page 9

confused up-and-down look, to which Joslyn replies with a wink and a conspiratorial smile.

Joslyn says he remembers thinking, “’I hope that’s the scene they go with.’ I thought it was cute. It was pure magic, it just happened, we never had any verbal interaction with each other, so to me that nonverbal communication was important.”

The scene – which also features Boston rocker Gene Dante as a singer in drag – is crowded and busy, but, the brief interaction is actually kind of important: It symbolizes Julia’s entrance into a world in which she’s well outside her comfort zone, a theme of the episode as she wrestles with sudden celebrity.

For Joslyn, the experience was something also a little outside his normal experience.

“I had my experience doing ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’” he says, “so there was kind of an air of being familiar to production side, but it’s interesting: I still felt like the new kid … It was very humbling, of course. It was kind of a neat experience to feel like this is diff erent than what I’ve done before ... I remember I was shaking, I was sweating I was so nervous. I sweat all my makeup off . They had to bring me to the makeup artist to redo my makeup.”

Although the part was small, that doesn’t mean it was quick: Joslyn had to drive to Boston for a COVID-19 test before every step, including for costume fi ttings and rehearsal. Still, he found even the seemingly routine parts of the job were interesting.

“I did my fi tting,” he recounts. “I tried on a lot of dresses, and eventually found the one I was going to wear for the shooting. It was a really cool experience, sitting in front of the mirror, trying on this dress, pinching sides so a tailor can make it fi t me. It was the kind of experience that a typical actor would have for a movie or a TV show.”

Does this mean there’s more TV or live drag performances in his future? Possibly, but they’ll have to happen when the WooSox are away, because his job DJing music at WooSox games has become not just a priority, but a passion.

“The fun is,” says Joslyn, “I have to play certain songs when something happens. If they score a double, I play the song ‘It Takes Two’ (by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock). There are a lot of puns … I love to play those kind of ‘gear up’ songs, when a batter is walking up to the plate. I want to get them amped up, but I know it gets the whole crowd amped up, too.”

For Joslyn, the Polar Park gig is about more than just the game.

“When I was a kid,” says Joslyn, “I used to go to the Ice Cats game every (week). I remember whenever the music was playing and thinking, ‘My goodness, wouldn’t it be so fun to play songs that make this place sing along or dance along,’ so essentially, it’s always been my dream job … I really do love it. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a job that I loved that much.”

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | 11

FIRST PERSON

BAD ADVICE

These are times that merit a spiritual pilgrimage Richard Klayman Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

A scene from “Dead Poets Society.” BUENA VISTA PICTURES DISTRIBUTION

Considering teaching as a career change Shaun Connolly Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

DEAR SHAUN: I have worked in market research for the last 15 years.

Between the pandemic and having to work from home, already having the sensation of selling out my soul, and feeling stuck in the middle of a corporate ladder, I have been seriously considering a career change. I have been considering getting into teaching. I actually studied education as a minor in college and think this could be a great way to give back to my community, get a new job, and work on a new future for myself.

DEAR JOHN KEATING (THE TEACHER FROM DEAD POETS’ SOCIETY): O, captain, my captain our fearful trip is done. The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won. I know when people think of teaching they think of how much they loved their favorite teacher. They think of scenes like the students reciting Walt Whitman to Robin Williams. Or you may

think of Edward James Olmos getting a bunch of Mexican-American teens to love math. Or maybe even Tina Fey rolling her eyes at a bunch of very mean girls. However you remember it when you are trying to convince yourself that you may like teaching, you must also remind yourself that for every good memory you have about education and teaching there are also 1,000 that your mind chose to forget. You most likely had a teacher shame you in front of the class, or not give a point or two extra to help you pass a test or pile homework on you and not give you the extension because you have a lot on your plate.

Know that the teacher never did any of that out of spite or to hurt you. They most likely were just burnt out and had a moment of human weakness. Teachers are always working when they are not working. Especially with how easy it is to contact anyone all the time, teachers are constantly being asked questions or grading or calling someone because they are concerned about See BAD ADVICE, Page 13

Sometimes we need a spiritual pilgrimage, when we are lost or almost lost, out there in space, away from Trump, crypto, COVID-19 and especially Putin. We need to restore ourselves, and a pilgrimage for ourselves and to ourselves, however long it may be is exactly what we need. But what does a pilgrimage actually mean? It may mean getting us back to whom we are, truly, undetermined by all that just happens to us. It is to restore us from that little bit of a world, forever, at war. That is as much of a pilgrimage as anything we can construe. It returns us, to home or far from home, maybe in a straight or easily discernable line, or some long way, unmistakably, from all we knew.

How did we ever get so lost to begin with?

Ah, that is for us, and the world to decide; but we endure, entrapped.

Sometimes we cannot help it.

Look at Franklin Roosevelt, locked in combat with Hitler in World War II. During World War II, Franklin Roo-

sevelt used the presidential yacht, the USS Potomac, to contemplate the war and relax, as well as he might. But now U-boats haunted the Atlantic and Roosevelt required his own spiritual pilgrimage. He visited a place 100 miles from Washington, located in the Catoctin Mountains of western Maryland, and this became his respite, a place with streams in which he could casually cast a line. In a photo, Winston Churchill visited him and there was Roosevelt, in thought, and a spinning rod, but engaged in struggle for the world.

Before it later became known as Camp David, named by President Eisenhower after his grandson, but not before Roosevelt called it by another name, after reading the best selling book and named it Shangri-La. Using James Hilton’s novel, “Lost Horizon,” published in 1933, maybe Franklin Roosevelt had an alternate name for the Presidential retreat, and all the magical thinking the book proposed, located not in the Alps, but outside Washington, to off er a dream, just a bit.

Maybe that is what a pilgrimage is all See FIRST PERSON, Page 13

Maybe that is what a pilgrimage is all about: we lost and regained a piece of ourselves. Just another sketch of who we are or thought of ourselves, just a speck of someone like us: again, essentially cajoled from the soul but timidly unsure as to how to proceed. JILL WELLINGTON

12 | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

POETRY TOWN

‘Name Those Worcester Hills’ John Gaumond Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Folks who live in Worcester know hills, and they tell me there are seven.

When I ask seven different people to name those seven hills, I get seven different answers.

So, I do a little scholarly research.

Seems that two hundred years ago, only three of those hills had names: Boggachoag, Millstone, and Tatnuck.

Ah, Tatnuck, there’s one we all recognize.

Let’s not get too excited because, twenty-five years later, Tatnuck does not appear on a list of eight.

A view down Greenhill Parkway and the hill beyond. CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Yup, eight hills.

Boggachoag is renamed Pakachoag and we get Newton, Chandler, Fairmount, Kendall, Sunnyside, and SAGATABSCOT. Now, there’s a name to remember.

What’s the big deal if it’s eight, instead of seven?

Let’s not make a mountain out of a mere hill.

But that’s what Donald Tullock did in 1914 In his History of Worcester, where he named fifteen hills. Can you believe … fifteen?

He includes Bancroft Heights and Mount Ararat.

Topographic technicalities – to be sure.

Fairmount becomes Messenger, And Tatnuck is back as Parker.

Newcomers are Bigelow, Hancock, Wigwam, Winter, Green and Oak. Pakachoag, Chandler, Millstone, Newton stay, and so does SAGATABSCOT. Then, in 1932, Mr. U. Waldo Cutler of the Chamber of Commerce rolls the first seven in this Name-a-Worcester Hill game.

He decides Bancroft is a hill … not a height.

What a relief!

He holds onto Pakachoag, Chandler, Hancock, and Newton, changes Millstone to Green,

and says that good old SAGATABSCOT should really be called Union.

Voilà! Finally, we have the SEVEN! In alphabetical order they are: Bancroft, Chandler, Green, Hancock, Newton, Pakachoag, and Union.

But wait! This game ain’t over.

Five years later, William Lincoln agrees with the number, but not the names.

He keeps Chandler and Pakachoag, resurrects Oak, Winter, and Wigwam and turns Green back to Millstone and whatdya think happens to Union?

You guessed it … back to SAGATABSCOT. Sid McKeen, a Worcester Telegram and Gazette columnist, decides in 1977 that U. Waldo Cutler had six of the seven right, but Pakachoag should be called Mount Saint James or College Hill.

So, again we got seven. Only problem is, there’s one hill with two names.

Wait a minute! Here’s an idea!

How about we give seven names to one hill?

That would end the confusion, except we probably could not agree on which hill, or what’s worse, which seven names.

If, after this, any of you might wanna play “Name Those Worcester Hills,” here are some I ain’t even mentioned: Airport, Bell, Belmont, Boynton, Burncoat, Crown, Dead Horse, Dungarvin, Grafton, Hermitage, Indian, Laurel, Lincoln, Moreland, Rattlesnake, St. Anne’s, Vernon, and Poet.

So, I wonda if on Poet Hill they say stuff like: “A hill is a hill is a hill or a hill by any other name is still a hill.”

John Gaumond is a poet and photographer living in Worcester.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | 13

First person Continued from Page 11

about: we lost and regained a piece of ourselves. Just another sketch of who we are or thought of ourselves, just a speck of someone like us: again, essentially cajoled from the soul but timidly unsure as to how to proceed.

Maybe we are can take the pilgrimage plunge without going anywhere?

Why not? We may do this anytime, anywhere. We are essentially there, one might refl ect. There is no mysterious valley to be unearthed. No sea to chart a diff erent course. No magical city up there, in the midst. There is nothing, however, lofty or grand to be observed. Can we just plod along? Is that not a pilgrimage, too? We use the world but do not consecrate it, or alter what our humble day and every other moment is about; this is a pilgrimage, too.

Surely, wherever you think you may have been, every pilgrimage takes you back home, or around a would-be home where every spirit or inclination is rooted. So true, home is where it all began.

It is your “core,” an assessment of our mentality, stretched out in our minds and eyes. Yes, back to the roots.

Did not Henry David Thoreau see ourselves transcending all of this in an earlier age; again, searching for who we are by reclaiming our position in the world?

A spiritual pilgrimage is not something that occurs in and out of our poli-

tics. Sure, at Camps David, President Eisenhower meet Nikita Khrushchev, and President Jimmy Carter courted Sadat and Begin, and even President George W. Bush saw something in the eyes of Putin, too. Maybe that happened, too. Episodes involving President Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs, President Ronald Reagan hosting Margaret Thatcher, these too, captured what Franklin Roosevelt unearthed in his search of a fragmented spirit.

We need journeys to restore us, keep us young, make us see what we ignore, make us see what is truly and immediately there, and-maybe return us to our place.

Maybe we need a pilgrimage right now, when our balance in the world is anything but sane; right now, in the absence distance places from which we have gotten lost.

Maybe it is about it is about you and me.

Shangri-la was associated with a lost pilgrimage, clearly a spiritual pilgrimage, and a fantastic story, something that we in America need right now. Biden and all the other players in Ukraine and Russia, and our allies in Europe, might fi nd it useful to draw on an endless conversation to resume and, somehow, recover.

Unlike Shangri-La, we do not need to live forever in some extended time.

But a touch of Shangri-la might work, too.

Richard Klayman, PhD., Emeritus, taught at Bunker Hill Community College and the author of “The First Jew: Prejudice and Politics in an American Community, 1900-1932.”

You’re kind of a

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Bad advice Continued from Page 11

their well-being or progress. Sure summers are free, but when I used to teach I coached three sports, ran the drama club and taught over the summer, just to make ends meet. I’m no longer teaching and I am happy about that. I miss the fun stuff , I defi nitely look back at my time teaching and think of it fondly and miss it from time to time. But then I remember getting roasted by teens on a regular basis, getting disciplined by a principal who hasn’t taught in 10 years and doesn’t remember how hard it can

be, or just crying in the bathroom because a kid said I looked like Jimmy Neutron if he was sad. I get being in a dead end job and wanting to do more.

But some teachers feel like they are doing that right now. Maybe you do go and teach kids, but inspire them diff erently.

Maybe they all stand on their desk chairs in solidarity and recite the specifi cs of your teaching contract about time off and the necessity of mental health. That would bring a tear to my eye.

Worcester comedian Shaun Connolly provides readers bad advice in his weekly column. Send your questions to woocomedyweek@gmail.com.

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14 | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

COVER STORY

GAME

ON

Clark students unveil game inspired by WAM’s armory collection at PAX East Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

Fans of action-adventure games may have a new release to look forward to this summer: Priceless artifacts have been stolen from a museum collection and it’s up to a security guard to travel across time and space to get them back. Players will take part in the epic historical battles from which the items originate in a history-spanning hack ’n’ slash. A playable demo was unveiled last weekend at PAX East in Boston — the biggest video game convention on the East Coast. h The developer? Greenlight Studios at Clark Uni-

Dillon Remuck, left, and Arielle Johnson are two members of the student team behind the game “Caligo,” which debuted the Clark booth at PAX East.

CLARK UNIVERSITY

versity’s Becker School of Design and Technology. Moreover, the historical pieces in question are part of the Higgins Armory collection at Worcester Art Museum. h The Becker School of Design and Technology was established at Clark University as a place for Becker College students to call home, after the college closed due to budgetary constraints impacted by COVID-19.

Becker College students were welcomed at Clark and the signature programs of video game design and development became part of the new school, including one where student teams design and develop games that are then shown at PAX East.

See GAME, Page 15

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | 15

Game Continued from Page 14

A mecca for gaming culture, the Penny Arcade Expo is the largest community experience for gamers in the Northeast and was held in person from April 21-24, at its usual Boston location, after a digital event in 2021.

“This was a watershed year for Becker participants, in terms of the fact that we’re now situated at Clark and expanding our program in new directions to show people that we’re still here,” said Paul D. Cotnoir, School of Design and Technology Dean, about their representation at PAX East before last weekend’s expo.

He said that Becker College had a presence at PAX East for the last 12 years. “When we started our program, it was the year after Penny Arcade decided to launch the show on the East Coast in 2010 and we thought it was a great way to raise awareness for our program — we’ve had a booth there ever since.”

They initially undertook the PAX East See GAME, Page 16

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16 | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Game Continued from Page 15

experience not only to raise awareness but because it is important to the curriculum and a way for students to show off their work. “Becker probably has the record as the longest continuing booth there and this year about 40 students will participate.”

Jack Freni, fi fth-year senior from Becker, is a Game Production and Management major, and produced the action game, “Higgins Armory.” He visited PAX East in 2011 and 2013 as a kid and to be there with a game of his own “feels surreal — like things have come full circle.”

Freni hopes that the “Higgins Armory” game can be a portfolio piece when pursuing a career at an AAA studio.

The “Higgins Armory” game has technically been in development for two years since the Worcester Art Museum approached Becker about showcasing pieces from the Higgins Armory collection.

“The game incorporates weapons and armor and you can use items from the actual collection along with descriptions of when they were used, and levels in the game are based on historical battles,” explained Freni.

The game started off with components of two genres — strategy and action — but he recounted how they combined those into one game and decided this past year after working in person at the studio that they wanted to change the direction on how it should be played.

COVID-19 had also deeply impacted game design work, he said. “Going digital at the start of the pandemic and then fi nding out that Becker was closing affected the quality of our whole project.” He explained that the team had considered the game to be nearly complete, but because they were working together virtually, only a certain number of people could actually play the prototype. With only a limited number of testers, “we didn’t really understand how good or bad some of the stuff was coming out.”

Returning in-person, they realized how much work there was to be done “As a consumer of games, I now understand the pros of actually being in person at the studio.” Now it’s an action adventure hack n slash which was redesigned in the past two semesters.

“It was stressful but ended up being worth it — the game is fun and still represents the Higgins Armory, which really likes the game despite the change in direction.” The game is slated for a late spring/early summer release date.

Terrasa Ulm, Professor of Practice, described the partner project with Worcester Art Museum and its Higgins collection as “a really interesting piece that, we thought, would benefi t from some wider attention.”

Ulm explained the process of how students submit multiple versions of their entry and she works with them through it.

Freni acknowledged the importance of being open to adapting a project.

“Last semester, we literally sat down and said to ourselves that our game doesn’t feel as fun as we

Remuck and Johnson pose for a photo with fellow Clark students, some of whom are cosplaying as video games characters, at the PAX East event last weekend. CLARK UNIVERSITY

thought it was, so we redesigned it in 15 minutes and then we pitched the changes the next semester and it ended up being great,” he said.

That’s how he learned how to work with a big team and discovered that he was more organized and was able to break down a complex problem. “Follow your heart — cliché as that sounds — be open to new ideas and opportunities,” he said. “I’ve tried art, I’ve tried programming and design. I like all of them and all are needed to make a game, but I’ve found my best role as a producer. That was me listening to my gut.”

The convention itself changes a little each year, according to Amanda Theinert, director of the MFA Program and Assistant Professor. “Obviously, it’s bigger — the year before COVID was the biggest on record.

Thursday and Fridays are usually great networking days whereas Saturday and Sunday are hectic with shopping and gaming.”

She said that despite all the changes the students have gone through in the last couple of years with the

virtual work during the pandemic and the closing of Becker, “it’s the best our program has been and I’m excited to talk with potential students.”

Having the best game design program on campus has a way of attracting students. Dillon Remuck, a freshman at Clark, had no aspirations to do game design and started solely as a comp-sci major, but when he heard about the new Becker classes last semester, he tried them out. Now, he is planning to double major in comp-sci and game design.

“Game Design almost doesn’t feel like a class, it’s almost a hobby. We have a three-hour class once a week but it honestly goes by quicker than my one-hour comp-sci class,” he said.

He remembered how daunting it was to be the only freshman and how it took a few weeks to get comfortable asking questions, but he is probably taking the class again in the Spring.

See GAME, Page 17

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | 17

Game Continued from Page 16

“I look forward to going all four years to PAX East with our games and taking every opportunity to get the ones we’ve produced out there. Very, very excited, but a little nervous.”

The game Remuck’s team worked on, “Caligo,” can be described as video games charades — a two-player game where they communicate an image to one another using non-verbal communication, like symbols sent from one player to another. “The goal is to see how far we could go and how creative we could be in a game where players just interact with symbols and don’t see each other.”

Arielle Johnson, sophomore from Becker, works in User Experience and Interface Design. Along with Remuck, she was on the team that took “Caligo” to PAX East. “’Caligo,’ in particular, has been a great team work based game. You can only rely on the symbols that you and your partner are sending to each other,” she said.

Johnson completed one semester at Becker before it was closed and is now at Clark. Game design classes were part of her major and she signed up for game studios each year. “The studio class has defi nitely piqued my interest with game development, though I love all sorts of design — apps, websites and games — and it’s been a really fun experience and introduced me to amazing people. This is my fi rst PAX and I am super excited.”

The “Caligo” team was not too sure how the audience would react.

“We’re really trying to get more testing and broader feedback at PAX,” said Johnson, “to fi nd out what an audience likes and doesn’t like and make the design even better.” The challenge of trying to get everything ready for PAX has been enormous and “unfortunately, we weren’t able to do everything we wanted to do before the PAX deadline, so polish isn’t up to the standard we would want.”

Cotnoir emphasized that this time last year, no one knew what was going to happen. “We brought 200 students from Becker to Clark and to keep these students together with faculty and be at PAX East without missing a beat, it took about three months.”

He chuckled to say that If someone had told him this time last year that they would be back this year with the pro-

Dillon Remuck tests out his team’s game, “Caligo,” at PAX East. CLARK UNIVERSITY

gram this strong, he would have said, “How?” Second-year graduate student in the Masters of Fine Arts Program at the Becker School, Sebastian Schindler has been to PAX East with a number of different projects in the past, but this was the fi rst time that he went under the aegis of an institution.

“Simply by being an institution, Clark gives a lot of advantages to students to develop and share their game projects.” He is the lead programmer for a physics based multiplayer party game called “Upheaval,” with full controller support across all platforms, which will be available on Steam by the end of the month.

This project is tied to his thesis paper in which he shows that using social gaming can improve communication and help communities overall. The goal is to show the impact of how people who may not have much in common can be unifi ed through the power of gaming, as they establish common ground quickly.

“Imagine you’re playing a game of dodgeball but instead of throwing a ball on a fi eld, you’re in a lumber mill, a bowling alley, restaurant — and can throw any time you like at other players, throw objects at as many people as possible to be the last one standing,” Schindler said, describing the project he is working on. The idea is that people will see that, laugh at it and share memories of the time someone threw a car at them.

He has been completely focused on quality assessment and a fi nal polish to get a stable version of the game ready for the end of the academic year. “We have features that we wanted to put in but because we don’t have all the time in the world, we ended up having to not include them — example being AI allowing for single player experience.”

Theinert said that a number of schools treat PAX East as a recruitment fair. “However, lots of students aren’t there to be recruited, they’re there to play games.”

Cotnoir agreed. “We often have students get job off ers and it is a great networking experience but it’s also a great place where we meet our alumni.”

Ulm explained that alumni stop by and “it’s like a bit of a reunion, we try to coordinate and leave messages at the sign-in,” especially since Clark has been reaching out to Becker alumni.

Remuck viewed it as a good experience to navigate and network. “The game is something I put time into and enjoyed creating so I enjoy pitching it to people. It’s not like a topic that I can’t talk about.”

Freni was also planning the same.

“During those times that we’re not presenting, I want to meet with industry professionals.” Networking and jobs are important to all the students, most of whom would love to work in the gaming industry, which in 2020, generated $155 billion in revenue and by 2025, is predicted to reach more than $260 billion.

Ulm said going to PAX East serves as not only a learning opportunity for the students but a source of inspiration.

“It’s nice for students to be there and think, this could be my game, how do I get my game there?”

18 | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

CITY LIVING CANNABIS CONFIDENTIAL

THE NEXT DRAFT

We don’t talk about Timberyard the ‘B’ word ...

Brewing celebrates the fi rst birthday of its furry staff er Eric Casey

Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

I spent the week of 4/20 in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I noticed a head shop on the side of the main drag through town when we drove in, so when the big day arrived later in the week, I decided to check it out. When I stepped through the door, it was a bit like stepping back in time.

The set-up was similar to many head shops you’d see in Massachusetts.

There were the cases fi lled with various glassware, the tabletop display of lighters, the tie-dye apparel. There was also a sight I had not seen in a long time: signs warning customers not to use marijuana-related language. The most prominent sign on the wall warned customers not to mention a particular word, saying “Don’t say the B word. You will be asked to leave.”

I had a feeling they were not talking about Bruno, but rather bongs.

I want to put on my journalism hat and ask the guys behind the counter what it was like operating a head shop in an illegal state, but in an area frequented by tourists from legal states.

However, the numerous signs in the store telling me not to talk about weed persuaded me that it might not be a fruitful conversation.

It’s not really a surprise that head shops in states where cannabis is still fully illegal have to operate a bit diff erently to stay out of trouble, but safely back in Massachusetts, legal cannabis has been a boom for local head shops like Green Zone Smoke & Gift Shop.

“Legal cannabis has opened a lot of eyes,” said Ethan, an employee at Green Zone who declined to give his last name. “People are no longer getting stigmatized.”

Ethan explained that with this re-

Matthew Tota Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

A sign on a North Carolina shop warns customers, “Don’t say the B Word.”

ERIC CASEY

duction in stigma has come an increase in customers, particularly elderly folks who were previously cautious to enter a head shop. The rise of CBD has also been a boon for these types of businesses, as they are able to legally sell CBD as long as it does not contain anything above minute trace amounts of THC. See CANNABIS, Page 25

Timberyard Brewing Co. wants everything perfect this weekend when it celebrates the birthday of a valued employee, right down to the cake made with two of his favorite toppings, cod skins and salmon sprinkles.

Not exactly on the payroll, he has worked at the brewery for a year. I cannot say tirelessly because he sleeps most of the day. The job requires he use his keen sense of smell and powerful hearing. He spends work days padding in and out of the brewhouse and requires very little oversight and absolutely no pay, just a couple of meals every day.

Podunk, the friendly brewery cat who protects Timberyard’s grain stores from hungry mice, turns 1 on Saturday – Caturday – April 30. Po’s birthday, which starts at 11 a.m., also happens to fall on National Adopt A Shelter Pet Day. And the black American Shorthair is himself a rescue.

Timberyard adopted Podunk last summer from Second Chance Animal Services, following a long history of breweries and distilleries using cats as a safe and eff ective means to protect their grain. “We wanted a cat at the brewery, not just to have a cat, but also cats keep mice away. That’s part of the folklore of why witches had black cats,” said Kate Ohanesian, Timberyard’s general manager.

The brewhouse and grounds are Podunk’s domain. He hunts and sleeps —

Podunk, Timberyard Brewing Co.’s friendly brewery cat, turns 1 this Saturday, April 30. The brewery will be celebrating his birthday and National Adopt A Shelter Pet Day, raising funds for a local shelter.

COURTESY TIMBERYARD BREWING CO.

but mostly sleeps — atop offi ce chairs, unattended sweatshirts or piles of sawdust. He’s not allowed in the taproom until after it’s closed, Ohanesian said.

Not because he’s ornery: He’s too cuddly.

See PODUNK, Page 25D

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | 19

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

Joseph Sikes Joe Sikes Special to Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

My name is Joseph Sikes. I was born on Jan. 24, 1976, and I am the son of JoAnn Giancaterino and Jack Sikes. I am from Millbury, and have resided in Worcester off and on since 1994. My paintings are basically just abstract refl ections of everyday life. The core of my style consists of primitive shapes containing designs or symbols that, along with color, give each shape their own personality. Collectively, the shapes and their personalities work together to convey the concept or theme of each painting.

To view more of Sikes’ work, visit jsikesart.net or @plaidplanet76 on Instagram.

This Artist Spotlight is presented by Worcester Magazine in partnership with ArtsWorcester. Since 1979, ArtsWorcester has exhibited and advanced the work of this region’s contemporary artists. Its exhibitions and educational events are open and free to all. Learn more at www.artsworcester.org.

“Bright Spots and Gray Areas,” acrylic on canvas, 36” x 48” JOE SIKES/ARTSWORCESTER

774-272-4292

774-272-4292

20 | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

SONG TO GET YOU THROUGH THE WEEK

LISTEN UP

Anaria singer Jessica Mercy shines on ‘Listen’ Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

Sometimes, I'm reminded that the whole concept of musical genres is a bunch of nonsense. I was reminded of this again when I was alerted to “Listen,” the most recent music video from New England vocalist Jessica Mercy.

Among her many roles, Mercy is the lead singer of the symphonic metal band Anaria, and she'll also be performing as a solo artist at 10 a.m. May 7 (yes, you read that time right) on the Waltham Common. The performance is part of the opening ceremonies for the Watch City Steampunk Festival, on the Gazebo Stage.

Now, symphonic metal is the genre which tends to soak up most of the classically trained vocalists in any given region. It's not surprising to fi nd opera singers who have it as their side gig, or vice versa. Mercy defi nitely fi ts this pattern, but “Listen” was a complete surprise: Stark and emotionally evocative, the song seems – structure and

tone wise – more a contemporary country ballad than it does either metal or classical. And you know what?

That's just fi ne, because the song is absolutely gorgeous.

“Heart in my throat, words in my head,” sings Mercy, “A sentence undone on a page left unread./Pain in my chest, a numbness inside/Holding every feeling in 'til there's nowhere to hide.” It's spare and lovely, with just a touch of warble in the vocals that lets the song's emotional content shine. When the tone changes on the chorus and she belts out, “If you'd only listen to me,/I think you would fi nd that there's more to see,” the eff ect is palpable.

In case you're wondering, while Anaria defi nitely takes on a familiar more rock feel, Mercy's vocals on songs such as “Golden Crowd” are just as beautiful and evocative as they are on “Listen.” Indeed, Mercy seems to be one of those rare vocalists who can sing just about anything, and getting tied up in genre just means you're missing something amazing.

Carlos Odria’s most recent album is “Montuno Negro.” SUBMITTED

Carlos Odria’s latest instrumental album Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

Carlos Odria’s music is both meticulously elegant and overfl owing with emotion. It’s a marriage of technique and feeling which is daunting for a humble music critic to approach. It’s easy to feel like one doesn’t have the diction to properly capture the beauty of his Spanish/classical guitar. But endeavor we must, because Odria’s latest eff ort, “Montuno Negro,” is jaw-droppingly beautiful, so much so that it can move a listener to tears.

Writes Odria, on the CD cover, “’Montuno Negro (And Other Stories of

Yesterday)’ is a collection of songs that I started to write some 10 years ago. The songs narrate the life and deeds of Montuno Negro, a fi ctional, all-too-real character who never stopped searching for a warm land where he could settle down. He was, by defi nition, a pariah, an untamed force, a montuno who knew only how to dance. This album is an attempt to bring him to life.”

Simply put, Odria succeeds at the task, and then some. The album is purely instrumental – just Odria and his guitar, at that – but there is a sense of movement throughout the album See ODRIA, Page 22

Jessica Mercy‘s recent single is “Listen.” PROMOTIONAL PHOTO

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | 21

BOX OFFICE

“The Bad Guys,” released by Universal Pictures, debuted with $24 million in U.S. and Canada ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

DREAMWORKS ANIMATION

‘Bad Guys’ bests ‘The Northman,’ Cage at box offi ce Jake Coyle ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK – On an unusually crowded weekend at movie theaters that featured a pricey Viking epic and Nicolas Cage playing himself, DreamWorks Animation’s “The Bad Guys” bested the fi eld, signaling a continued resurgence for family moviegoing after a downturn during the pandemic.

“The Bad Guys,” released by Universal Pictures, debuted with $24 million in U.S. and Canada ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. That came despite steep competition for families from Paramount Pictures’ “Sonic The Hedgehog 2,” which stayed in second place with $15.2 million its third week of release. It has grossed $145.8 million domestically thus far.

The apparent health of family moviegoing is especially good news for Hollywood as it heads into its lucrative summer season when fi lms like Universal’s

own “Minions: Rise of Gru” and Walt Disney Co.’s “Lightyear” – the fi rst Pixar fi lm opening in theaters in two years – hope to approach pre-pandemic levels.

“There’s reason for being more than cautiously optimistic,” said Jim Orr, head of distribution for Universal. “I think audiences this summer are going to be fl ooding into theaters.”

While studios have been hesitant to program many fi lms against each other during the pandemic, the weekend saw a rarity: three new wide releases, all of them well-received, none of them sequels or remakes.

“The Bad Guys,” based on Aaron Blabey’s children’s graphic novel series about a gang of crooked animals with a Quentin Tarantino-for-kids tone, fared well with critics (85% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (an “A” CinemaScore). With little family competition until the release of “Lightyear” in mid-June, “The Bad Guys” should play

well for weeks. Having fi rst debuted overseas, the animated fi lm has already grossed $63.1 million internationally.

The weekend’s other new releases – Robert Eggers’ “The Northman” and the Cage-starring “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” – didn’t do as well but still fared reasonably solidly in their fi rst weekend.

“Every weekend is a building block in the recovery, but I don’t even want to call it a recovery. I think movie theaters are recovered. We’re pretty much there,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for ComScore. “Three newcomers were all well-received, and all of them found an audience.”

The risks were greatest for Focus Features’ “The Northman,” which saw its budget balloon beyond $70 million, a major increase in scale for Eggers, the director of previous indie historical horSee BOX OFFICE, Page 25

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic fi gures will be released Monday.

1. “The Bad Guys,” $24 million.

2. “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” $15.2 million.

3. “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” $14 million.

4. “The Northman,” $12 million.

5. “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” $7.2 million.

6. “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” $5.4 million.

7. “The Lost City,” $4.4 million.

8. “Father Stu,” $3.4 million.

9. “Morbius,” $2.3 million.

10. “Ambulance,” $1.8 million.

22 | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Odria Continued from Page 20

that gives shape to an emotional narrative that is often exhilarating and sometimes bracing. The album begins with the gentle and idyllic “Fisherman,” a placidly beautiful song which has an odd tinge of joy burbling around its edges, as though something is beckoning the listener to follow. That sense of restlessness carries into the next song, “Avenida Grau.” “Avenida Grau” is a much more tentative piece – still lovely, yes, but Odria has a way of pulling back at the end of each bar which lends the song a sense of hesitancy, maybe even fear, even as the sheer beauty of the instrumentation continues to lure the listener forward. If Montuno Negro is a persona, then he’s wrestling with both fear and wanderlust, a confl ict resolves with “Susurros en la Glorieta,” a haunting song with syncopated guitar runs which create a sensation which is both a

bit like rain on the window, and yet also like discovery.

You can, throughout this album, feel the persona’s heartbeat in the music, the way he steps deeper into the unknown with each song. One does not need to be an expert in the “son montuno” subgenre of Cuban music to grasp the sense of unfolding wildness and discovery, the syncopated musical patterns which feel like your heart racing beneath your chest. The album’s title track, “Montuno Negro,” has a cinematic quality to it, a sense of emerging wholly into that aforementioned unknown … the tentative opening notes giving way to a sense of freedom and discovery by song’s end. “Montuno” might mean, in English, “of the mountains,” but by this point in the album, the persona has left the place he knows behind, and found himself in “Veranos en el Malecon,” which roughly translates to “Summers on the waterfront.” Think a boardwalk or a promenade, rather than a rocky coastline. There’s something slow and indelibly sad about this song. It’s halt-

ing, almost regretful, and the moment of silence between it and the next song, “Solar Body, Pt. 1,” feels a lot like something ending.

“Solar Body, Pt. 1” is a much more jaunty and joyful number, one fi lled with bright chords and a vibrant cadence. Conversely, the subsequent song, “Solar Body, Pt. 3” – there is no “Solar Body, Pt. 2” – has a heavier feel, playing more in the lower ranges, and yet there’s still something bright in the song which cuts through the gloom.

Odria has a way of moving subtly from tone to tone between songs, with the next song, “Picazón” (which translates to “Twinkling” or “Tingling”), feeling like a bridge from the preceding heaviness. The song sheds weight as it goes, and by the time it transitions into “Songs for Alma” (or “Soul”), there’s something transcendent with each note.

Indeed, if this album appeared, on its surface, to be a journey outward into the wild, it’s also a spiritual journey inward, and the touch of turbulence at the end of

“Songs for Alma” refl ects a sense of change. No part of this journey is easy for its persona, and even the subsequent song, the jubilant “Mr. Glasses,” has a touch of darkness at the end, one which sets the stage for the sheer meditative beauty of “Walking on Clouds.”

The album begins to wind down with “”Senderos de Churin,” a song which starts with halting and delicate chords, with moments of silence between guitar lines which have a way of catching the listener’s breath, before giving way to a sound that’s more festive. The song centers on an unexpected discovery of joy, and it’s positively arresting. Then the album moves on to the penultimate song, “The Monk,” which acts as a sort of caesura before the album’s conclusion, a moment of meditation before the joyous, “La Nana,” a song which ebbs and fl ows in tone, but ultimately concludes the album on a sense of lightness and contentment. It’s a beautiful ending to a beautiful album, and the journey that it takes you on is nothing short of breathtaking.

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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | 23

5 THINGS TO DO

DINOSAURS, JAZZ, BENEFIT FOR UKRAINE AND MORE ...

Richard Duckett Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

‘The Guide’ screening to benefit Ukraine

Alex Minasian

The 2014 Ukrainian film “The Guide” will be screened May 6 in The Park View Room by cinema-worcester, with all proceeds going to the Ukrainian Relief Fund.

Directed by Oles Sanin, “The Guide” was the Ukrainian entry in the foreign-language category at the Academy Awards in 2015. The story revolves around the friendship between an American boy and a blind minstrel in 1930s Ukraine, when millions in the region were being starved to death by Stalin’s Soviet Union. Sanin, now under lockdown somewhere in Kyiv, has added an introduction to the film.

The film was not released theatrically in the U.S. or Western European countries until now, and Sanin and the producers have agreed that “The Guide” may be screened without payment to them as long as ticket proceeds or other donations go to Ukraine relief. Proceeds will go directly to the Human & Civil Rights Organizations of America, Inc. Ukraine Relief Fund (www.hcr.org).

A scene from the Ukrainian fi lm “The Guide.”

What: “The Guide,” presented by cinema-worcester When: 7 p.m. May 6 Where: The Park View Room, 230 Park Ave., Worcester How much: $15 (all seats). www.cinema-worcester.com

Alex Minasian Quartet launches Brown Bag season The Alex Minasian Quartet will be featured in a Brown Bag Concert May 4 in Mechanics Hall. Minasian has quickly established himself as a versatile pianist, educator and impresario in many different musical genres. He has performed in most of the country’s most famous jazz rooms, such as Birdland, the Blue Note, Cafe Carlyle, Yoshi’s, Bohemian Caverns, Herb Alpert’s Vibrato, Iridium, Jazz @ Lincoln Center, and the Apollo Theater. The Brown Bag concerts are presented by Mechanics Hall and radio station WICN-FM (90.5).

What: Brown Bag Concert — The Alex Minasian Quartet When: Noon, May 4 Where: Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester How much: Free

Dinosaurs invade DCU “Jurassic Quest” will be at the DCU Convention Center April 29 - May 1 for some old-fashioned pre-historic fun. The educational entertainment experience for the whole family includes life-like dinosaurs, some of the largest rideable dinosaurs in North America, live shows, interactive science and art activities including a fossil dig and real fossils like T-Rex teeth, a triceratops horn and life-size dino skull, a “Triceratots” soft play area for the littlest explorers, bounce houses and inflatable attractions, photo opportunities, and more. Self-guided; timed entry.

An Albertosauras is among the dinosaurs featured in “Jurassic Quest.” PROMOTIONAL PHOTOS

What: “Jurassic Quest” When: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 29 and 30; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

May 1 Where: DCU Convention Center, 50 Foster St., Worcester How much: $24; seniors $21; kids unlimited ride $38.

Ticketmaster.com Continued on next page

24 | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

ADOPTION OPTION

The Pottery Invitational returns to the Worcester Center for Crafts. PROMOTIONAL PHOTO

Pottery Invitational at Craft Center The Worcester Center for Crafts presents its annual Pottery Invitational, providing an opportunity for everyone from pottery aficionados to the casually interested to discover an accomplished group of American ceramic artists and to shop their beautiful wares. Juried this year by returning guest curator, Lindsay Oesterritter, the Invitational will feature a limited selection of works from nationally recognized artists from across the country, demonstrating the breadth of the ceramic field. Pottery will be for sale both in-person and online through the Gallery Store.

What: Pottery Invitational — Worcester Center for Crafts When: Now through May 7 Where: Online and in store. Worcester Center for Crafts, 25 Sagamore Road, Worcester. Gallery Store hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday; closed Sunday and Monday. www.worcestercraftcenter.org

Medium Tyler Henry brings ‘Hope and Healing’ to Hanover

Jitterbug is available for adoption through WARL. SUBMITTED

Tyler Henry is known as the “Hollywood Medium” and he may have some messages when he comes to The Hanover Theatre & Conservatory for the Performing Arts with his show “An Evening of Hope and Healing.” Henry is the star of the NETFLIX series “Life After Death with Tyler Henry,” and E! Entertainment’s “Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry.” He has given private readings to A-list celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres, Sophia Vergara, Howie Mendel, Jim Parsons, RuPaul, Allison Janney, Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian, among others. During “An Evening of Hope and Healing,” Henry shares stories about his journey, and audience members get the chance of their own live reading and having their questions answered.

Meet Jitterbug

What: Tyler Henry — “An Evening of Hope and Healing” When: 7 p.m. May 6 Where: The Hanover & Conservatory

Tyler Henry JOANNA DEGENERES PHOTOGRAPHY

for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester How much: $85, $60, $48 and $38.

(877) 571-7469; www.TheHanoverTheatre.org

Meet Jitterbug! This fun loving young gal is ready to leap into your hearts and receive some love! Jitterbug is outgoing, playful and loves a good game of fetch.

Jitterbug has become a favorite among our dedicated volunteers who walk her, play fetch with her and often simply enjoy relaxing outdoors with her. The one thing Jitterbug does not enjoy is being around other dogs. She is doing very well on walks with seeing dogs at a distance and receiving treats from our training team.

However, physical interaction with other dogs is not something Jitterbug is comfortable with. So, if your house doesn’t feel like a home without a dog, Jitterbug may be the girl for you. To learn more about this beauty or to schedule an appointment to meet with her, please email dogs@worcesterarl.org Adoption Option is 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.

COVID-19 Protocols: The Worcester Animal Rescue League remains closed to walk-in visits with the animals and appointments must be made, in advance, to meet with any of the animals. Masks are required. Visit https://worcesterarl.org/ for more information.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | 25

Cannabis Continued from Page 18

While cannabis retailers in Massachusetts are allowed to sell accessories such as bongs, vaporizers and the like, their selection is generally much smaller than what’s available at Green Zone. This results in nearby dispensaries often referring their customers over to the shop to purchase various devices to consume their cannabis.

But perhaps the most important impact of legalization for employees of head shops like Ethan is the fact that they can now freely discuss the products they are selling to customers, allowing them to use precise language to make sure they are getting exactly what they are looking for.

“You can say bong now. You can say weed. You don’t have to say water pipes, or tobacco use only.”

The concept of a head shop dates back to the mid 1960s, when they fi rst stopped popping up in places like New York’s West Village and San Francisco. Like modern head shops, these businesses were not strictly selling marijuana-related items; they were also social hubs and places for purchasing underground publications, comic books and records.

As the general crackdown on hippie culture began in the Nixon era, head shops frequently became the target of police raids, whether it be for selling drug paraphernalia, or materials deemed to violate local obscenity laws.

Box offi ce Continued from Page 21

rors “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse.” The fi lm’s path to profi tability was unlikely even before launching in theaters, but it opened on the higher side of expectations with $12 million in ticket sales. It added $6.3 million internationally in 26 territories.

“The Northman” stars Alexander Skarsgard, Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicole Kidman star in a brutal and bloody revenge saga.

“First and foremost, we wanted to work with Robert Eggers,” said Lisa Bunnell, head of distribution for Focus, which had handled international distribution for Eggers’ fi rst two fi lms. “The key here is that we got to make a fi lm that we wanted to make with a fi lmmaker we feel is part of the future of American cinema. He’s got a very distinctive voice. He’s making fi lm with original IP, not just going in: ‘Let’s make a sequel!’”

Meanwhile, a new installment in a once all-powerful brand, the Harry Potter spinoff “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” fell off a cliff in its second weekend in theaters. The Warner Bros. release, the third “Fantastic Beasts” movie, dropped 67% in it second week with $14 million. That’s a bad sign for the

The crackdown on head shops really ramped up in the early 2000s, when George W. Bush’s killjoys over at the Drug Enforcement Administration got involved.

Two nationwide stings — dubbed Operation Headhunter and Operation Pipe Dreams by the guy in charge of silly operation names over at the Department of Justice — resulted in the arrest of 53 people at various shops and paraphernalia companies across the country. The most famous victim of these raids was comedian and actor Tommy Chong, who received nine months in federal penitentiary for selling bongs on the internet.

Head shops remain a frequent target for law enforcement even today in states that lack legal cannabis, which explains why shops in places like North Carolina continue to police their customers' language while in the store. Many of these establishments sell products containing delta-8-THC, a cannabis-derived compound that gives users a somewhat similar experience to delta-9-THC, the most famous member of the cannabinoid family. The legality of delta-8 is a gray area in many jurisdictions.

So remember this if you hit the roads this summer and decide to check out a head shop to purchase some local glass: Check the state’s laws before saying the B word. Until other states decide to join Massachusetts and leave their prohibitionists past behind, head shops in other states will have to keep policing language and keep a wary eye out for police raids. They also have to keep waiting for the many benefi ts that ancillary cannabis businesses such as head shops see from legalization.

future of the franchise, should it be continued by Warner Bros. (The studio has thus far held off on greenlighting a fourth fi lm.) Still, “Secrets of Dumbledore,” last week’s top fi lm, is doing better overseas. International sales of $213.2 million account for the lion share of the fi lm’s $280.3 million global haul.

Lionsgate’s “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” a gonzo meta comedy starring Cage as an exaggerated version of himself, opened with an estimated $7.2 million. The fi lm, which fi rst launched to warm reviews out of South by Southwest, will depend on good word of mouth to approach netting its $30 million budget.

That’s the kind success that “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has had. The A24 release, a madcap metaverse fantasy starring Michelle Yeoh, has been one of the brightest signs for the specialty fi lm business, another sector of the industry that struggled theatrically during the pandemic. In its fi fth week, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” grossed $5.4 million, a drop of just 12% from the week prior.

But the biggest breakthrough in theaters this April has been for family moviegoing. It’s good timing for the fi lm industry, which will this week convene in Las Vegas for CinemaCon, the annual convention and trade show for trumpeting theatrical exhibition. Expect plenty of proclamations that movie theaters are back.

Podunk Continued from Page 18

“If we let him out in the taproom, he would be on everyone’s table,” she said. “We don’t let him in when we’re open. We had a couple of times we thought people would think he were a stray and take him home. He’ll jump right in your car. He’s really sweet; he’s more like a dog.”

Celebrating all pets rescued and soon-to-be rescued, Timberyard hopes to use Podunk’s birthday to shine a light on Second Chance’s mission and raise money for the shelter. Second Chance, 111 Young Road East, needs a new roof, as well as a van to transport animals. And the shelter will be at Timberyard all day with pets available for adoption. Party-goers can donate to Second Chance directly or by purchasing raffl e tickets. Timberyard has put together three prize packages worth a combined $625 and buying fi ve tickets gets you a Podunk T-shirt.

At noon, the brewery will cut Podunk’s cake. Grafton’s Quite Fetching Barkery and Pet Boutique baked the special dessert for Podunk using rice fl ower, beet juice and beet powder, with dollops of yogurt, cod skins and salmon sprinkles as toppings. Don’t worry, there will be human cake, too.

“I think we might actually even bring a little ice cream for Podunk, as well, so he can have an a la mode cake. That is a goat’s milk ice cream with Screaming Bonito fi sh fl akes in it. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it?” said Quite Fetching co-founder Emily Ascolillo-Downey.

I will be celebrating National Adopt A Shelter Pet Day with my own two black cats, Vivian and Victoria.

My fi ancé adopted them in 2017 from the MetroWest Humane Society in Ashland. Sisters, they both have their own multifaced personalities: Vivi loves aff ection at every turn and, like Podunk, is sometimes more dog than cat; Victoria is skittish, sweet and comes around every so often demanding your attention and pets.

My cats won’t be attending Podunk’s birthday, but at least one other rescue cat may. Timberyard sent an invite to another well-known brewery cat, Jimmy, of Redemption Rock Brewing Co. in Worcester.

This Week’s Answer

0429

26 | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

J O N E S I N’

Enjoy Fun By The Numbers 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!

If you would like to place your ad in our classifieds please call

800-695-1924 or email classifieds@telegram.com

Across 1. British comedian who plays Ivan on “Our Flag Means Death” 8. Lake rental 15. Post-1968 tennis period 16. City with a SUNY school 17. Wool extract 18. Mark of shame that can be “hit” or “reached” 19. “Piece of cake” 21. Pre-packaged meals and desserts for a speedy checkout 22. Pogues bassist (and former spouse of Elvis Costello) O’Riordan 24. Nearly 20-year-old OutKast hit 25. NASCAR Cup Series champ of 2015 and 2019 29. 4:00 function 30. Respectful act 31. Symbols of September 35. Frisbee sport 38. Brisbane bouncer 41. Prepared in advance 43. Frere’s sibling 45. Bachelor chaser?

46. City dweller 48. Up and running, like a credit card reader 52. Original and influential 53. Tries to whack 54. Like some hobbitses 55. Auricular 56. Lyricist who wrote “Ain’t We Got Fun?” and “Makin’ Whoopee” 57. Basketball players Broyles and Benjamin (but not Wade)

Down 1. Use sparingly, with “on” 2. In a tough jam 3. Emmy-winning “Euphoria” star 4. Bumpy, like tires 5. Capital near Yellowstone 6. “Single Ladies (Put ___ On It)”

“Lex and Balances”--another themeless puzzle!

by Matt Jones

7. Title hunter of a 1922 film (whose real name was Allakariallak) 8. 2013 hit that mentions a tiger 9. “Step ___ pets” (palindrome that’s good advice) 10. Hall of Fame NFL coach Ewbank 11. “Dumb & Dumber” hairstyles 12. Rented out 13. Science that deals with nuclear energy 14. Spotted, Tweety-style 20. Pumped 23. Iron Maiden’s “Hallowed Be ___ Name” 26. Law, in Lyon 27. Slov.’s setting 28. ___-Z (rapper who played Freda Gatz on “Empire”) 31. Certain ally 32. Schumer of “Life & Beth” 33. Jim’s love on “The Office” 34. Local fundraising gp.

35. Ultravox leader Midge 36. It got its current half-oval shape in 1629 37. Japanese floor mats 38. Gets control of, as spending 39. Slip-up left off

40. Euripides protagonist 42. Set the DVR back to 0%, say 43. Weaving of “Bill & Ted Face the Music” 44. Characteristic of low-quality TP 47. Club regulation 49. ___ Paqcha (Peruvian mountain) 50. Rhymester Ogden 51. Novelist Elinor who coined the “It girl” nickname for Clara Bow 52. Brit. money abbr., once

Last week's solution

©2022 Matt Jones (jonesincrosswords@gmail.com) Reference puzzle #1090

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | 27

LAST CALL

Jo and Huck Truesdell, owners of TidePool Bookshop Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

Natives of Worcester, Jo and Huck Truesdell had fulfi lling careers but when they retired, they embarked on a new adventure and opened an independent bookstore, TidePool Bookshop on Chandler Street. Disheartened by the downturn in the bookstore business, they learned how to do it by attending workshops and programs. And they did it all during a worldwide pandemic.

They emphasize community, convening events for book lovers and enjoy curating a collection that will help visitors look below the surface and discover treasures, as in a tidepool. Truesdell sat down with Last Call to discuss what went into their herculean endeavor and their “grand opening” on April 30.

How was it getting into this new business?

Jo: It was a big learning curve for us — I was a kindergarten teacher and Huck worked in land protection, so it was a brand-new fi eld. When we retired and thought about doing this, we got some people together and brainstormed and then we got in touch with the American Booksellers Association — ABA — and took workshops with their education arm and went to what was basically a bookstore boot camp. There were people from all across the country like us.

We must have visited like 65 bookstores in two years and that was hugely valuable. We learned something new from every single bookstore we visited. Mostly in the Northeast but every time we went on a trip, we sought out the local bookstores.

How was it opening in 2020, of all years?

Jo: What we saw was that there are so many people around who want to help small businesses and Worcester is great that way. The community has been incredibly supportive. We’ve lived here forever and I think people in Worcester understand that supporting local businesses is what makes Worcester unique and the exciting, livable place that it is. All the people in the community, they make it happen. They make independent businesses work and we’re just so grateful to them, especially during the pandemic. It’s no question that

Huck and Jo Truesdell opened TidePool Bookshop in 2020 on Chandler Street.

CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

the community got us through and gave us the courage to carry on — we relied on word of mouth.

We did some live events last fall during the lull in COVID but stopped when Omicron started. We did a number of very successful Zoom events, but now people are kind of Zoomed out.

Doing anything for Independent Bookstore Month?

Jo: Saturday, 4/30 is actually Independent Bookstore Day and this weekend is actually our grand opening. We didn’t have any events during the winter but we’re back in swing with in-person events. We’ve had a pretty full calendar this month. For IBD, we’re hoping to connect with other bookstores. Root and Press and Bedlam (Book Café) and put together a sort of passport so people can go to each store and get a stamp, with a discount on their next purchase if they’ve visited all three.

What are the events coming up that are you most excited for?

Jo: That would be so hard to say because we’re so excited for all of them.

We have poetry readings, author events — lots of things. One of the things we love is being connected to the broader community. Last year we had a collection of books that connected to exhibits at the Worcester Historical Museum and Worcester Art Museum, but also having authors come and talk about their books and what went into it is great as well. People support all parts of the community so anytime we can make connections with other organizations, it is really exciting and valuable.

Would you say there’s a sort of community feeling with bookstores?

Jo: Absolutely. We share many of the same customers, which is great. The good thing is that people are venturing to all three — that’s kind of the unique thing about bookstores. Each one has its own character and people go to all of them for that diff erent experience. People who love books love to go to book-

stores. It’s defi nitely true that independent bookstores are a community in themselves but we also feel like we’re part of a larger community here in Worcester. Usually customers who go to one store, go to all independent bookstores. There’s sort of a resurgence in Worcester now.

A resurgence?

Jo: Yes, there were a couple that fell victim to the rise of Amazon. After 2005, until two years ago, there were no independent bookstores selling new books in the city of Worcester, which is kind of crazy. That’s part of the reason we decided to open TidePool to fi ll that vacuum. When we opened, there weren’t any aside from Annie’s Bookstop, which sells used. It took us a while, but we fi nally opened. We were supposed to open in March of 2020 which didn’t happen, but we did manage to in September 2020. But it was interesting that between the time we started looking into this (2017) and when we opened in 2020, both Bedlam Books and Root and Press opened. So there is a resurgence now, when there was a dearth for a while.

How did you decide on the name TidePool?

Jo:My maiden name is Herron so that’s where the logo comes from. My dad designed that heron symbol when he was a kid, so that’s been part of our lives forever and even though my name is spelled diff erently and my brothers have a small publishing company called Tidepool Press so we adopted the name.

Two diff erent businesses but we defi nitely support one another.

The great blue heron is such a great feature of our area and we didn’t really have them when I was growing up when they, like so many other species, moved in. They came back just like independent bookstores. Like a real tidepool, you fi nd the best things when you dig down and that’s what a bookstore is all about. When you order a book online, you know what you want, but in a bookshop, you see books that you didn’t know existed and it opens your eyes to new and diff erent things. The idea of seeing below the surface.

For more information, visit www.tidepoolbookshop.com.

28 | APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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