Worcester Magazine May 6 - May 12, 2021 by Worcester Magazine

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | CULTURE § ARTS § DINING § VOICES

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INDIAN RANCH ANNOUNCES CONCERT LINE UP. PAGE 13

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IN THIS ISSUE

Worcester Magazine 100 Front St., Fifth Floor Worcester, MA 01608 worcestermag.com Editorial (508) 767.9535 WMeditor@gatehousemedia.com Sales (508) 767.9530 WMSales@gatehousemedia.com VP, Sales & Strategy Andrew Chernoff Executive Editor David Nordman Editor Nancy Campbell Content Editor Victor D. Infante Reporters Richard Duckett, Veer Mudambi Contributing Writers Stephanie Campbell, Sarah Connell Sanders, Gari De Ramos, Robert Duguay, Liz Fay, Jason Greenough, Janice Harvey, Barbara Houle, Jim Keogh, Jim Perry, Craig S. Semon, Matthew Tota Multi Media Sales Executives Deirdre Baldwin, Debbie Bilodeau, Kate Carr, Diane Galipeau, Sammi Iacovone, Kathy Puffer, Jody Ryan, Regina Stillings Sales Support Jackie Buck, Yanet Ramirez Senior Operations Manager Gary Barth Operations Manager John Cofske Worcester Magazine is a news weekly covering Central Massachusetts. We accept no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. The Publisher has the right to refuse any advertisement. Legals/Public Notices please call 888-254-3466, email classifieds@gatehousemedia.com, or mail to Central Mass Classifieds, 100 Front St., 5th Floor, Worcester, MA 01608 Distribution Worcester Magazine is inserted into the Telegram & Gazette on Thursdays and is also available for free at more than 400 locations in the Worcester area. Unauthorized bulk removal of Worcester Magazine from any public location, or any other tampering with Worcester Magazine’s distribution including unauthorized inserts, is a criminal offense and may be prosecuted under the law. Subscriptions First class mail, $156 for one year. Send orders and subscription correspondence to GateHouse Media, 100 Front St., Worcester, MA 01608. Advertising To place an order for display advertising or to inquire, please call (508) 767.9530. Worcester Magazine (ISSN 0191-4960) is a weekly publication of Gannett. All contents copyright 2021 by Gannett. All rights reserved. Worcester Magazine is not liable for typographical errors in advertisements.

Featured ..............................................................................4 City Voices ........................................................................10 Cover Story.......................................................................13 Artist Spotlight................................................................18 Next Draft .........................................................................21 Screen Time .....................................................................24 Adoption Option.............................................................28 Classiﬁ eds ........................................................................29 Games................................................................................30 Last Call .............................................................................31

On the cover Indian Ranch has announced its upcoming schedule. Page 13 PROMOTIONAL IMAGES. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DANI CHERCHIO / USA TODAY NETWORK, GETTY IMAGES.

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FEATURED

Dancehall artist Graﬀ y covers Justin Bieber’s ‘Anyone’ in video Liz Fay Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Haitian musician Grafael Bruny, currently of Douglas, has come a long way in his music career since moving to the Northborough in 2015 from his hometown of Port au Prince. Best known as Graﬀ y, this multifaceted dancehall artist speaks three languages — French, Creole and English — in which he writes and sings lyrics. He owns his own independent label, Brothers B Music, and is also a vocal coach for local artists who are passionate and committed to their craft. “Since I was 7 years old I’ve been involved in music, ﬁ rst by singing in churches. A couple years ago I transitioned and started making Caribbean and dancehall music, which is something I really like doing. I also play a couple instruments, I play bass and I play guitar but I mostly identify as a singer which is what I do full-time.” The now 27-year-old musician says he’s seen a lot of success and growth since stepping out of his comfort zone as a gospel singer and going on tour in Haiti in 2019. “Something inside of me was burning and I had to bring that music into the world so I could reach out to more people. I make a lot of music that talks about what we’re dealing with in society, make some adult music with sexual lyrics, and cover. I have a song called ‘Jackie Chan,’ which I wrote the lyrics for in French and Creole but the hook is in English, and it’s one of my

Graffy’s most recent music video is a cover of Justin Bieber’s “Anyone.” PHOTO COURTESY CAMY BRUNY

more sexual songs.” Another of Graﬀ y’s successes is his song “Ou Vo Plis,” which translates to “You Deserve Better.” The song was created with popular Haitian singer Olivier Duret. “We actually did a tour in Haiti where we went to all the radio stations and television

stations, and it was amazing to see all the people recognizing us and being able to play music for them,” Graff y says. In April, Graff y discovered the song “Anyone” by Justin Bieber at 4 a.m. The lyrics in Bieber’s love song put Graff y under such a spell, he decided to

make his own cover of the song, which will be released on May 17. “I liked the hook in the song which says ‘you are the only one I will ever love … if it’s not you it’s not anyone … looking back on my life you’re the only good I’ve ever done,’ and the second

verse is also my favorite, ‘forever’s not enough time to love you the way that I want.’ I thought it was a beautiful piece and I wanted to put my own fl avor into the song.” Graff y’s brother Camy Bruny is credited as videographer and writer for the music video. Graffy plays the main character in the music video, which showcases a chilling story about how far someone will go in order to keep someone they love. “The storyline of the video is about how a guy is in love with his girlfriend, and suddenly his girlfriend is taken away by a car accident and dies. After this happened, the memory of her keeps getting in the way of the man living his life as he normally would. So he is faced with a life-altering choice that could bring him and his girlfriend back together.” Camy Bruny says, “The idea came about based on our background in Haiti, where supernatural forces and superstitions are part of our culture.” Graff y’s cover and music video for “Anyone” will be released on May 17 and can be found on all streaming platforms as Graff y Acoustics or on his YouTube channel, “Brothers B Music.” Graff y says, “I was inspired by love, by how things should feel when you’re in a relationship with somebody you love so much. The titles and anything else that comes along with a relationship doesn’t matter. It’s about honesty, it’s about love, it’s about commitments … these forces are what inspired me to create this project.”

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‘The best joke about Worcester I’ve ever heard’ Comedians share their favorite jabs at the city most of them love Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Co-host Bryan O’Donnell laughs on stage as he mans the sound board at a comedy show at Nick’s Bar and Restaurant. PHOTO BY DYLAN AZARI

“Welcome to Worcester,” said poet Bill MacMillan, hosting the Worcester Poetry Slam from the stage of the now-defunct Java Hut, “the city that means well.” To be fair, MacMillan used the joke for other cities, too – mostly Providence – but for poet, humorist and generally funny guy David Macpherson, that’s still the joke that best sums up the city. “It’s a classic,” says Macpherson. And it’s true: For all that Worcester is said to have something of a self-image problem,

the fact is the city has a great sense of humor, and takes itself far less seriously than, ahem, the larger city to its east. Perhaps then that’s why that, as the pandemic begins to abate, the comedy scene has been one of the ﬁ rst ones to come out swinging with some really big shows, including Orlando Baxter Friday and Saturday at the WooHaHa and Bob Marley (the other one) at Rascals May 12 and 13. With all this funny business abounding, and a lot of new faces learning their way around a city that’s been quieter than usual for the past year, we ﬁ gured it was a good time to See JOKE, Page 6D

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From left, Jeremy Shulkin, Sam Bonacci, Travis Duda and Mairéad Connolly enjoy the impromptu comedy stand-up routines at “Hot Dog! A Comedy Sideshow,” Aug. 8, 2019, at George’s Coney Island Hot Dogs. STEVE LANAVA/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

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Joke Continued from Page 5D

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ask local comedians, humorists and generally funny people, “What’s your favorite joke about Worcester?” For example, both local comedians Bryan O’Donnell and Mairéad Connolly remember a joke Brandon Vallee made one night at Coney Island Hot Dogs. “Worcester is a city full of angry sailors without an ocean,” recalls O’Donnell. “It doesn’t literally make sense,” says Connolly,” but really captures a certain essence.” Indeed. A lot of people’s favorite jokes dealt with the city’s self image. Mairéad Connolly’s husband, Shaun Connolly, remembers a joke “Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver made a few years back at Clark Univer-

sity: “Clark University looks like Hogwarts if it was in the set of ‘The Wire,’” quipped Oliver, much to Shaun Connolly’s delight. “I mean, in less than 15 words he perfectly encapsulates Clark and its relationship to Main South even more than he probably initially knew.” Comedian Maurice Smith says, “Worcester is Massachusetts’ witness program. Cat do something in Boston, where they go? Worcester.” Drag Queen Victoria Obvious’ favorite joke about Worcester comes from local chanteuse and comedian Nikki Luparelli: “What’s something you never hear from people in Worcester?” recounts Obvious. “We’re just here on vacation.” Obvious says that, “I ﬁ nd it funny because when you ask people what brings them to the See JOKE, Page 7D

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Joke Continued from Page 6D

area, you never get that answer.” For her part, Luparelli says she sees herself as an ambassador for Worcester. “I go to places like Brockton and Sutton and bring, like, Table Talk Pies and Polar Soda,” she says. “The gifts of our people.” Not everyone was able to completely remember the joke they wanted to share, and others gave us jokes that would be perfectly fi ne on a stage but might result in a libel suit if printed in a newspaper. Comedian Lou Ramos said he couldn’t remember any of them, but he says, “it was probably something Jimmy Cash said.” Baxter, likewise, said he couldn’t remember any off the top of his head, but if you saw him at his fi rst show at WooHaHa a couple years back, you might recall some of his thoughts on Worcester’s downtown redevelopment: “What do you think of downtown Worcester?” he asked a soldout house. “They spent a lot of money,” he said, talking about the numerous renovations in the area around the Common, which include the comedy club itself. “They should have worked on the parking,” he quipped. “I had to park in Shrewsbury.” Judging by recent stories in the Telegram & Gazette, history is evidently repeating itself with Polar Park. But perhaps the city and its relationship to humor can best be summed up by comedian Kevin H. Brady, who currently lives in New Jersey: “The only time Sigmund Freud came to the U.S. was to speak in Worcester. That’s all you need to know about us.” Do you have a favorite joke about Worcester? Email us at wmeditor@gatehousemedia.com, and maybe we’ll print some of our favorites if it’s a slow news week!

Comedian Orlando Baxter performs at the WooHaHa! Comedy Club in 2019. STEVE LANAVA/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Standup comedienne and singer Niki Luparelli performs at J Anthony’s in Auburn. STEVE LANAVA/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Shaun Connolly hosts “The Sort of Late Show” Feb. 29, 2020, at Nick’s bar and Restaurant. PHOTO BY DYLAN AZARI

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Past sounds echo anew Presto Records returns virtually Ed Symkus Special to Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

Boston-area rock fans in the late-1980s and early-1990s who had a taste for a mix of punk and pop in their music will fondly recall the bands Classic Ruins, Miranda Warning, Miles Dethmuff en, The Trojan Ponies and Evol Twin. For those who also liked a bit of metal, there was The Visigoths. All of these bands, along with the Cleveland-based The Terrible Parade had a home on Presto Records, the indie label that put out seven albums and four singles between 1989 and 1993. Presto was the brainchild of Lowell native and music business maven Chris Porter, who moved to Seattle in 1997 but still has a home in Lowell, and keeps a hand in music on both coasts. Though Presto has been defunct for close to three decades, Porter has been working on a sort of reintroduction to it, which kicked off May 5, the fi rst of seven consecutive Wednesdays featuring Spotify and YouTube releases of the entire label output, one band per week, starting with Classic Ruins. Porter’s journey through his longtime career of managing bands, booking bands, putting together festivals, and playing in a band – that was the shortlived Barb-a-loot Suits, in which he played guitar and sang at a handful of gigs at the Middle East Upstairs – was forged by taking on the management of Classic Ruins when he was still a student at Brandeis University in Waltham. “I was an American Studies major,” he said. “There was a documentary class called ‘Recording America,’ and I was fascinated by rockumentaries. I thought it would be cool to have a band that I really liked, that I would follow around to

their day jobs and their rehearsals and all that. I had met Classic Ruins because of WJUL” – the radio station at UMass Lowell, where he studied before transferring to Brandeis. “I became friendly with them and asked if they would be willing to be documentary subjects. We did that project, and shortly before I turned 20, I started managing Classic Ruins.” The band already had their album “Lassie Eats Chickens” out on Chuck Warner’s Throbbing Lobster label, with lots more material already recorded for a second album. But Warner closed up shop, and Porter began looking for their next label. “Some were receptive, but nobody picked them up,” he recalled. “I thought it might be really cool to start a label. I had saved a bit of money, my mom contributed some to get me started, the band had some momentum from the ﬁ rst album, and we decided to do it. I learned all I could about starting a label from a book and some other pre-Internet research, and I just dove in. I never made a dime, but I learned a lot from it, and it directly and indirectly opened up other doors. “I started getting some opportunities in talent buying and booking and promoting,” he added. “In 1990 I started booking a couple nights a week at Bunratty’s, and that turned into me eventually booking and co-managing the whole room. In 1993, I got the gig to book the Middle East Downstairs. So, there was even more responsibility and it was time-consuming. Between that and it being tough to even break even on the label, I just stopped the label. I wanted to work with bands

Chris Porter has his hands in all sorts of musical situations. COURTESY OF HAYLEY YOUNG

live. That was my favorite thing to do.” A period of change followed, which was convenient for Por-

ter, as he had been booking various venues in Boston for seven years, and had been thinking that it was time to move on. He

got an out-of-the-blue phone call from Reenie Duﬀ , a busiSee PRESTO, Page 9D

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The Presto Records catalog release schedule on Spotify and YouTube is as follows: h May 5, Classic Ruins h May 12, Miranda Warning h May 19, The Terrible Parade h May 26, Miles Dethmuffen h June 2, The Visigoths h June 9, Evol Twin h June 16, The Trojan Ponies Porter is also having a Presto Records Re-Launch Show on May 8 at 8 p.m. on the ONCE Virtual Venue and on YouTube. For information, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXIKoGHputE

Presto Continued from Page 8D

ness contact who worked with Bumbershoot, a Seattle-based arts festival. It turned out that her family was from Lowell, and her parents knew Porter’s parents. And there was a job off er, which led to his relocation to Seattle, and an 18-year run with Bumbershoot’s parent company, One Reel, fi rst as programming manager, then as programming director. In the midst of that, he had set up Porter Productions as a side company, and was deejaying and putting on a number of one-off musical events. When he decided to leave One Reel, Porter Productions became his main job. Not long after that, he got another one of those phone calls, this time from the East Coast. “It was from my friend JJ Gonson, who had a business called Cuisine en Locale, in Somerville. It was a catering company that also had an events space. She started doing some public shows, then later decided to rebrand the place and make it a public venue, and rechristened it ONCE – which is an acronym for One Night Creative Events. I hadn’t seen her in years, but she said, ‘If you ever have any thoughts about doing a show in Boston, please keep my venue in mind.’

We ended up cutting a deal for me to book the venue, starting in 2016.” Two other opportunities came about for Porter in 2018. He landed contracts with the long-established Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, a San Francisco festival, and with brandnew The Town and the City Festival in Lowell. But Porter had never forgotten his time at Presto Records, and a lot of memories came rushing forward when, in 2016, he attended a memorial for Margaret Weigel, the bass player for The Trojan Ponies. “We had a lot of mutual friends and we were talking about The Trojan Ponies music,” he said. “It occurred to me that none of it was on YouTube, and that bugged me. I wanted to get some stuff out there for people to hear. I wasn’t thinking of anything like formally reissuing it, just maybe posting it on YouTube somewhere down the line. I knew I would have to get it all digitized, but it became one of those backburner little projects of mine. Last year, thanks to the pandemic, I had some extra time on my hands and fi gured I could get it done. The seed of all of it was Margaret’s memorial. So, I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but it fi nally happened this year.” Ed Symkus can be reached at esymkus@rcn.com.

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CITY VOICES WORCESTERIA

HARVEY

‘Your call is important to us’ Janice Harvey Guest columnist

Shoppers head into the newly opened TJ Maxx location at Lincoln Plaza in Worcester on Saturday. DAVE NORDMAN/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Spring, pandemic have made driving worse and TJ Maxx exciting Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

The other day, I was waiting at the light to turn left from Church Street onto Franklin Street. I was three cars back, and the car in front seemed to have a space out moment – don’t judge, we’ve all done it – and didn’t realize the light had

changed until the car behind them honked. Now, that’s a light that changes way too quickly, so with the delay, it was red by the time I made it to the light, so I stopped. I could see, in my rear-view mirror, the woman in an SUV behind me maneuvering her gas guzzler toward my right. I ﬁ gured at ﬁ rst that she was just preparing to turn right when

the light changed, but nope! She was going to pass me. Indeed, as I watched in disbelief, she went around me (I’m not entirely sure if she had to be partially on the sidewalk to do this) and then went around me. Then, I assumed she would at least turn right, but no! She barreled straight See SPRING, Page 12D

“Hello?” “Hello, yes I am wishing to speak with Donald Trump.” “Who is this?” “This is Brian calling on behalf of the Acme Collection Agency of Albuquerque, New Mexico. I wish to speak with Mr. Trump regarding a debt. Am I speaking with Mr. Trump?” “ Uh, no. This is his ... assistant.” “Could I have your name, sir?” “John. John... Barron.” “I see. Well, Mr. Barron, it appears that your employer amassed a large debt while holding a campaign rally in the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico.” “What rally? I haven’t, I mean he, hasn’t left the grounds since January 20. Sounds like you have a bigly mistake in your records. Or it’s a scam of some kind. Is this the IRS? ” “No sir, this is not the IRS. Sir, this rally took place in 2019. The city is demanding payment of $200,000 to cover the cost of security for your, I mean his, stay at a hotel, blocking oﬀ parts of downtown, paying police oﬃ cers overtime, and more … hello?” “More?” “Yes. You, I mean he, must

cover the paid off expenses of city workers who had to stay home.” “Is this a hoax?” “I assure you, Mr … Barron, this is no hoax.” “ Well, I, I mean he, is currently unemployed and has no income. He left his low IQ kids in charge of the family business and Beavis and Butthead ran it into the ground. In fact, I can give you their names and phone numbers and you can try to collect from them.” “I’m afraid I can’t do that, sir. Mr. Trump alone is responsible for this debt, despite having lost the election. We sympathize, but a debt is a debt.” “Paying off debts is for losers.” “Yes sir, that would seem to be the case.” “I, I mean he, didn’t lose the election! It was stolen! Did you vote for Sleepy Joe?” “Sir, that was not possible. I am located in New Delhi.” “Is that in Jersey?” “No sir.” “Well, this is gettin’ us nowhere. I tell you what, ‘Brian,’ call my, I mean his, lawyer. The name is Rudy Guiliani. He should be easy to fi nd. Just turn on FOX news. And don’t bother me, I mean Mr. Trump, again, you hear me?” “I’m afraid Mr. Guiliani has his hands full, sir, since the predawn raid on his home and offi ce.” “Did I say Guiliani? Never met him.”

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | 11

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The House of Pain (A Prison Prose Poem) Jack McClintock Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

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Spring Continued from Page 10D

across Franklin Street, running the red light and continuing on down Salem Street, passing the library as she went. What’s better, is she gave me a dirty look as she passed, as if I were the jerk in this story! Worcester is always prone to bouts of spring fever when the winter passes, but the pandemic has only made it more ridiculous. I can’t EXACTLY correlate this to a dramatic example of bad driving – it’s entirely possible she had a library book that was about to be overdue and was in a REAL rush to not pay a late fee – but, well … driving seems to be worse than usual all around lately, as has traﬃ c, and parking. It’s kind of like we all desperately want to be SOME-

WHERE, anywhere but home, but have also kind of forgotten how to actually coexist with one another. Social skills? That’s SO 2019! Is there any other time in history when the opening of a TJ Maxx and Home Goods would be greeted with such slavering delight? My wife went to the new one in Lincoln Plaza on Friday afternoon, while I was still working at home. After a while I began to idly wonder what was taking so long. Eventually, I received a text from her that the checkout line was to the back of the store. She got some nice bath salts and a few other odds and ends, so that’s all well and good, but I ﬁ nd it kind of remarkable that people are THAT excited. It’s new to the neighborhood, sure, but we had one in the Greendale Mall not THAT long ago. I mean, most people stopped going to the Greendale Mall years before it closed, but still. The

stores aren’t exactly rare. But here we are. When we’re stuck indoors for months on end, even relatively mundane things seem exciting, and our patience for small inconveniences is worn to absolutely zero. This is, of course, a really bad combination for co-existing in a civil society. It sort of turns everything into the real-life version of the comments section on a Facebook post: Boring and yet extremely aggressive about it. The weather’s getting better, and people are getting vaccinated at a pretty good clip, so pretty soon we’ll be able to preoccupy ourselves with music, sports and the upcoming municipal election. You know, fun stuﬀ ! Until then, enjoy whatever it is you want to enjoy but please, can we be a little more patient with each other in the meantime? Waiting a little at the red light won’t kill you, but running the light very much might.

Poem Continued from Page 11D

siasm for that search fades in the wake of fear and disillusionment. Character is forged in the humdrum of everyday, though it’s typically measured in the heat of great passion and adversity. We gain perspective into the misfortunes of our lives only in contrast with the tragedies of others. Many years have passed since I worked in The House of Pain. Sometimes it seems like a dream; the cursing and threats, the screaming and sobs all still echo in my memory. I was therapist to monsters and madmen, predators and their prey, all living side by side in a place only men could build, and only fools would suppose might help them be-

come better human beings. I listened to their stories of blood and lust, vengeance and betrayal, of poverty and perversion, sadism and repentance, and did it all in hope of bringing peace or repose to lives racked by their own implacable nature. I do not know if it was folly or grace that guided me… But I do know this –– all of their stories live inside me, and I am changed by them, changed utterly; a terrible beauty is born. Jack McClintock worked as a psychologist in the Maximum Security Prison at Walpole. An account of his experiences will soon be available on Amazon.com. It, along with other works by the author can also be found online at https:// a-turn-of-phrase.com –– click on prose and select, “Sin Eater, Memoirs of a Prison Psychologist.” The ﬁ rst week of May is National Correctional Oﬃ cers Week.

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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | 13

COVER STORY Suzette Coppola, president of Indian Ranch, is shown Tuesday, April 27. CHRISTINE PETERSON/ TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Indian Ranch launches

75th anniversary season Richard Duckett Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

Suzette Coppola, president of Indian Ranch in Webster, had a day planned recently that included renumbering some of the seats in the amphitheater. h As it turned out that same day, Gov. Charlie Baker announced some new numbers of his own concerning the state’s reopening and easing of restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. h The numbers all look like they are adding up in Indian Ranch’s favor as it launches its 75th anniversary concert season on the shores of Webster Lake, a location famous for hosting legendary country acts over the years and more recently adding other genres including pop, rock, metal and reggae. h “Right now we’ve scheduled about 25 shows this season,” Coppola said. “Usually it’s around 18 to 20.” See RANCH, Page 14D

14 | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

“The one thing about Indian Ranch, we’re multiple businesses in one. Between the campground and restaurant we were able to stay afloat.” Suzette Coppola

on how Indian Ranch fared during the pandemic when live shows weren’t an option

Ranch Continued from Page 13D

With a new sponsor, what is now the Mike’s Hard Lemonade Summer Concert Series is already underway with local artists Jediah with Brevity having performed May 1 and an upcoming show featuring Mychael David May 8, both with limited capacity and social distancing. There will likely be other shows in May and June that will have reduced capacity, and then the schedule kicks in with national names, starting with country singer-songwriter Chris Janson on July 10. Among the acts scheduled to follow are the crowd-pleaser Led Zeppelin tribute band Get the Led Out (July 24), Ziggy Marley, a son of reggae icon Bob Marley (July 25), Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives (July 31), Jamey Johnson (Aug. 1), Justin Moore (Aug. 7), classic heavy rock band Grand Funk Railroad (Aug. 8), the tribute ABBA The Concert (Aug. 13), Tower of Power (Aug. 15), Yacht Rock Revue (Aug. 21), the legendary Foreigner (Aug. 26), Josh Turner (Aug. 28), Marc Martel (Sept. 4), Melissa Etheridge (Sept. 6), The Mavericks (Sept. 12), Los Lobos (Sept. 18), George Thorogood & The Destroyers (Sept. 19), Kip Moore (Sept. 26), and 38 Special (Oct. 9). Popular locally produced Local Countryfest returns Sept. 11 and the Pike Hair Fest is back Sept. 25. More shows are to be announced. “The 75th anniversary season will be very special. We’re excited to get back to presenting live music and welcome Mike’s Hard Lemonade to the Indian Ranch family for the upcoming concert seasons,” Coppola said. See RANCH, Page 15D

WEBSTER - Suzette Coppola, president of Indian Ranch On Tuesday, April 27, 2021. CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | 15

Ranch Continued from Page 14D

“Indian Ranch has been a family business since it opened over seven decades ago. We have hosted country legends like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Charlie Daniels, who played here 27 times. Indian Ranch has also been the launching pad for emerging country artists working their way to stardom including Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, LeAnn Rimes, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and Blake Shelton. In recent years, we’ve added rock and pop artists to the lineups including acts like Barenaked Ladies, Huey Lewis, Pat Benatar and fan favorites such as The Mavericks and Get The Led Out. It’s only ﬁ tting that we will be reopening with one of our biggest schedules ever,” Coppola said. This year, “We have, of course, our favorite — country music,” she said. “And country rock, a lot of pop — Yacht Rock Review and ABBA The Concert, a great tribute group. Our favorites, The Mavericks. Country Fest and Pike Hair Fest — both are great. The Country Fest is great because it’s local artists from the area.” All being well it will be quite a contrast to last summer when the number of shows in the amphitheater and even inside in the Indian Ranch banquet facilities added up to exactly nothing. “We were completely shut down last year for concerts,” Coppola said. A particularly sad note last year was that the Fire on the Mountain Tour with The Charlie Daniels Band and Marshall Tucker Band was postponed to July 11, 2021, but Daniels passed away last July. “Charlie was truly part of the Indian Ranch family. His shows were pretty much an annual tradition for us and always highly anticipated by our patrons and our staﬀ ,” Coppola noted at the time. It wasn’t a completely silent

summer. Several local musicians — including Jediah — performed outside in a small beach setting as patrons of Samuel Slater’s Restaurant dined outside on the beach. Music on the beach “worked out pretty well,” Coppola said. “There was musical presence that way.” There is more to Indian Ranch than its concert series, including a campground, Samuel Slater’s Restaurant, and the Indian Princess riverboat. The campground was getting ready to open as Coppola spoke. “We are extremely busy here. Everything happens the ﬁ rst week of May.” In 1946 a Native American promoter opened Indian Ranch opened as a resort and concert venue at Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg (the name comes from Loup, an Algonquian language). The concert venue also became known as “Nashville of the North.” Coppola’s family has owned Indian Ranch since 2004, and has been credited with increasing attendance, diversifying the musical acts, adding attractions such as Indian Princess, and opening Samuel Slater’s Restaurant in 2018. But in 2020, Indian Ranch had announced by June that because of the pandemic its summer series of touring shows would have to be postponed or canceled. There were hopes for happenings toward the end of last summer, but they were not to be. “Everything moved into 2021, and we added shows over and above that,” Coppola said. The amphitheater has a capacity of 3,000 people for shows. As matters currently stand at the time of writing, because of state social distancing and capacity restrictions Indian Ranch could seat a maximum of 500 people for the May 1 and 8 shows. Last week, Gov. Baker announced that beginning on May 10, the state will move for-

Musician Melissa Etheridge smiles while performing her show at Indian Ranch in Webster in 2019. She will return to the venue Sept. 6. MATTHEW HEALEY/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE FILE

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Jamey Johnson is scheduled to perform Aug. 1 at Indian Ranch. PROMOTIONAL IMAGE

Ranch Continued from Page 15D

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ward to the second step of Phase 4 of its reopening plan. As part of the step, capacity limits for large venues and stadiums, which were allowed to reopen at 12% capacity on March 22, will be lifted to 25% on May 10. Gov. Baker also announced that August is the target date to remove all restrictions on capacity at large venues. Indian Ranch will be continuing to monitor the changing guidelines. Coppola said that the May 1 and 8 concerts, with pod seating, is a way to “start out small” and provides “the opportunity to explore ways to get people in the gate and ordering.” People would be ordering food and beverages from their seats and picking up items so they would not be standing in long lines. People must wear face masks at all times except when seated and eating or drinking. “Moving forward we deﬁ nitely need to open up to get our full capacity in, but right now with our 75th anniversary we want to get people back on the stage,” she said of the May 1 and 8 concerts. But when July 10 comes

around, “For for the bigger shows, we really have to be at full capacity,” Coppola said. The main portion of the season has been backloaded this year as in starting later, and there is also room in September and October for July shows to be rescheduled if restrictions still limit full capacity. “If we need to move our early dates back a bit then we will do so. So we’re going to be extremely busy come August, September, October. We’re working closely with the artists’ management to see if their schedules change,” Coppola said. “We’re waiting for the vaccine (numbers to take eﬀ ect) and see what the situation will be with the state so that by mid-season we’re really back up and running at full capacity,” Coppola said. Simply put, “If you can’t have that higher capacity, you can’t have the show. It’s expensive for them (artists) to go out. We have our ﬁ ngers crossed.” Coppola made those remarks in an interview April 26. A day later came Gov. Baker’s announcement and the outlook for what Indian Ranch is hoping for seemed brighter as See RANCH, Page 17D

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Ranch Continued from Page 16D

a result. “We are waiting on the details behind what the governor announced but it sounds like we are in good shape for the season as follows: The two shows in May are 500 capacity and will play as scheduled. We hope to have other shows in May/June and July that will meet the state capacity guidelines for the given time period,” Coppola said. “We anticipate that all of our July shows will play although it is possible that a show or two might necessitate a change in date to later in the season. We have ongoing conversations with artists and their managers and agents about what might and might not work based on state guidelines and for some of these shows, we have back-up dates already. As of now, we anticipate that anything from Aug. 1 on should play but with this entire pandemic, we’ve had to be fl uid and fl exible. The governor has indicated that he hopes that all continues to go well and this timeline could move up a bit. That is certainly our hope too,” Coppola said. Indian Ranch draws from a “core base” within about a 30mile radius — including Worcester — for its shows, Coppola said. The venue also sees concert-goers from Boston, Springfi eld and Hartford make the trip, especially for hit attractions. Last year was a hit of a different sort fi nancially. Indian Ranch took a hit. “Oh defi nitely,” Coppola said of the negative fi nancial impact. “But the one thing about Indian Ranch, we’re multiple businesses in one. Between the campground and restaurant we were able to stay afl oat.” The campground was open last summer, and with Samuel Slater’s, “we found a way to make it work,” Coppola said. After being closed for the winter, the restaurant re-

Los Lobos is scheduled to perform Sept. 18 at Indian Ranch. PROMOTIONAL IMAGE

opened in early April for pickup and delivery and has also just now reopened for dine-in service. A lot of people kept their concert tickets for rescheduled shows from last year into this year rather than asking for a refund, which was also a help, Coppola said. “People were understanding.” However, the Indian Princess riverboat went into dry dock for maintenance and repairs at the beginning of 2020 and “we just never put it back in the water because of the pandemic,” Coppola said. “I am excited to get the boat out on the lake for sure.” The riverboat is used for tours of the lake and private parties. Social distancing and safety regulations must be followed. The banquet facilities at Indian Ranch will also be up and running again after being closed last year. That includes hosting performers such as comedians as well as wedding receptions, another popular feature. “It’s nice to be able to do that,” Coppola said. Indian Ranch has struck up

a multi-year partnership with Mike’s Hard Lemonade to sponsor the Mike’s Hard Lemonade Summer Concert Series. Previously the summer concert season was the Yuengling Summer Concert Series. “Mike’s Hard Lemonade is excited to be the presenting sponsor of Indian Ranch live music venue. In their rich 75 year history, they have brought music, good times, and a friendly atmosphere to Massachusetts. We are optimistic that our partnership will only elevate the happiness this venue brings to our consumers, and we can’t wait to see you at a show in the near future,” said Doug Bailey, Mike’s Hard Lemonade regional marketing manager — Northeast, in an announcement. Coppola has several reasons to be happy in her work, last year notwithstanding. “I do enjoy it. Every season’s diff erent. There’s so much going on here. I’m never bored for sure. I get to come out and see the lake from my offi ce,” she said. “It’s a lot of work but it’s very fulfi lling.” Something else that’s new

Suzette Coppola, outside Samuel Slater’s Restaurant, on the grounds of Indian Ranch. CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

this year is her name. Previously Suzette Raun, she married Pete Coppola last August. “One good thing that happened in 2020,” she said. Pete Coppola is not involved in running the Indian Ranch operation, but “he’s learned how to work around my schedule. He’s jumped in where need be,” Suzette Coppola said.

“He’s been brought into the business, whether he likes it or not. He’s married into it.” Tickets for the Mike’s Hard Lemonade Summer Concert Series at Indian Ranch are available online at www.indianranch.com, by calling (800) 514-ETIX (3849) or at the Indian Ranch Box Oﬃ ce at 200 Gore Road, Webster.

18 | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

LISTEN UP

Devil Love SUBMITTED

Devil Love oﬀ ers rich, haunting ‘Broken Things’ Victor Infante Columnist Worcester Telegram & Gazette USA TODAY NETWORK

“Self,” digital painting KIRA HOUSTON/ARTSWORCESTER

Kira Houston Kira Houston Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Kira Houston is a student at Clark University double majoring in Art History and Spanish while minoring in Creative Writing. He works for the Safe Schools Program for LGBTQ+ Students as a transgender advocate. In his free time (in addition to writing and acting) he creates digital and traditional character illustrations. Kira creates artwork with LGBTQ+ themes, highlighting the

relationship between whimsical fantasies and Queer realities. To see more of Kira’s work, visit his website, https:// kiyye.com/. 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.

One of the fi rst things that leaps out at the listener about Devil Love's recent album, “Broken Things,” is how – aside from the fi rst thrash of rock in the opening number, “Everywhere Leads the Sound” – everything feels so impermanent and fl eeting. Love and joy are not boundless things here, but rather things to treasure because they could dissipate at any moment. Sometimes they already have by the time a song ends. The band – which comprises Peter Buzzelle on vocals and guitar, Ken Rothman on guitar, Jason Raffi on bass, Chuck Ferreira on percussion, and Josh Cohen on keyboards and guitar – creates a rock sound that feels immediate and vibrant, and that's important, because there's no denying that, for all its indie rock fl air, this feels like an immensely personal project. The aforementioned “Everywhere Leads the Sound” is a fl at-out rocker,

and between the thunder of Ferreira's drums, Buzzelle delivers what seems to be the album's thesis: “In giving we get/ Be thankful/For what you have/It won’t last/It won’t last.” The song blisters with heat, especially at the guitar solo bridge, and somehow the contrast with the subsequent song – the lower-key “We Can Leave Tonight” – makes the latter feel more intimate. There's a sort of deliberate deceleration happening from the album's outset: “Everywhere” has a frenetic feel, while “Leave Tonight” has a sense of desperation. It's a call to action: “Doesn’t matter where we go, as long as you’re with me/Anywhere is better than here.” When that leads into the lushly textured “Gold Currency,” about a more enduring relationship – one that's survived the test of time – the fi re that the fi rst two songs had stoked seems to be replaced by a sort of enveloping warmth. It feels more permanent than the wildfi re passion before it, but even here, there's something ineff ably delicate, something perishable. “Gold Currency” gives way to the low bass thump of the title song, where Buzzelle sings, “We’re broken things/ See DEVIL LOVE, Page 28D

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | 19

TABLE HOPPIN’

Home & Garden Over $650 in prizes! �� Hardwick Vineyard and Winery owner John Samek. ASHLEY GREEN/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Pour the wine – Local wineries are reopening Barbara M. Houle Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Good news! Local wineries reopen for the season, welcoming visitors to sip wine, grab a bite and enjoy the view. It’s not business as usual quite yet as Massachusetts wineries continue to follow the state’s COVID-19 guidelines, but owners look forward to May 29 when the Baker-Polito Administration is expected to increase indoor and outdoor gathering limits for bars, beer

gardens, breweries, wineries and distilleries, subject to health and vaccination data. The dish on what’s happening at several local wineries: Hardwick Vineyard and Winery, 3305 Greenwich Road, Hardwick (www.hardwickwinery.com) is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. John Samek of Hardwick has owned the 125-acre property for 24 years, operating the winery for 19 years as winemakSee HOPPIN’, Page 20D

Enter at: telegram.com/contests

ENTER NOW!

20 | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Hoppin’ er. The business offi cially opened the season on May 1. Despite the pandemic, the winery is in “good shape,” according to Samek, who said his wines are sold at the winery and in 200 stores across the state from Cape Cod to the Berkshires. “We’re very grateful for a loyal customer base,” said Samek. “It helped to keep us in business during COVID.” The introduction of a new wine, Hardwick Honey, brings excitement to the winery’s reopening, according to Samek, who described it as “not a mead wine but a grape wine made with a touch of local honey.” Another addition to the winery’s brand will occur during strawberry season beginning in June, said Samek. And, wine slushies are back! Valley Asparagus, a blended-semidry white wine with locally grown asparagus is one of its kind, said Janice Dunham, Hardwick winery coordinator. Check the website for a list of awardwinning wines, in addition to info about a Mother’s Day Gift Bag. The winery currently off ers a limited menu that includes sandwich options. Note: Wineries are included in businesses that currently are required to serve food with alcohol. Friday through Sunday, local food trucks, such as Tony’s Happy Valley Pizza of Palmer are at the winery. Rooster’s Roaming Cantina of Three Rivers will participate on Mother’s Day. The winery is interested in adding more food trucks this season. Call (413) 967-7763 for more info. Limited seating on two fl oors of the winery. The fi rst fl oor opens to the deck and front porch. Picnic tables, some of which have built-in troughs for ice, are available throughout the property. Note: Food and wine (wine fl ights available) are brought to outside tables by servers. Curbside service is available. Check website for live music scheduled on weekends. There’s lots of history at Nashoba Valley Winery, 100 Wattaquadock Hill Road, Bolton (www.nashobawinery.com), which operates a retail shop, Vintner’s Knoll Restaurant (an outside food and beverage service area) and J’s Restaurant. Mother’s Day, May 9, J’s Restaurant is sold out, and the Vintner’s Tasting Knoll also was expected to sell out earlier this week. Justin Pelletier, Nashoba’s Chief Op-

Hardwick Vineyard and Winery is introducing a new wine at its reopening. ASHLEY GREEN/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

erating Oﬃ cer and Quality Control Manager, said “things are still being worked out” at the family-owned business as state mandates change. Currently, reservations are required at J’s Restaurant and highly recommended for the Vintner’s Tasting Knoll. The winery is working with limited staﬀ , he said, and is in the process of hiring part- and full-time employees. “Like other businesses, we’re adapting,” said Pelletier. “Things continue to change sometimes on a daily basis.” The award-winning winery is the state’s leading fruit wine producer. Nashoba also operates Bolton Beer Works and Nashoba Valley Spirits, LTD, both located on the Wattaquadock Hill Road property. Visit Nashoba Winery website for more details about Pelletier family ownership, plus more. This season, Nashoba Valley Winery/ Bolton Beer Works introduced Opening Day Rose IPA, an American beer, and the winery looks forward to the return of special events, according to Pelletier. The outside food and beverage service area (The Vintner’s Tasting Knoll)

is a popular spot for food, wine, beer and other items that are delivered directly to your table, said Pelletier. Orders are placed by scanning a QR code on your phone. QR technology, or on-premise mobile ordering, improves the guest experience because there’s no wait line, he said. Reservations are not required at Vintner’s Tasting Knoll during the week, but strongly recommended on weekends, said Pelletier. Note: Visitors currently can enjoy a glass or bottle of wine, wine fl ights and beer with the purchase of food. The winery’s retail shop is open daily to customers who want to buy wines to take home. Also, wines can be delivered to home or offi ce in three days or more. Free shipping and 10% off on 12 bottles or more. Retail shop hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Call (978) 779-5521. J’s Restaurant off ers curbside pickup for evening meals and wine, up to three days in advance. The service is available

Greater Good and 90 + Cellars have created a new Frozé (frozen rosé), which will be available at a Mother’s Day event that will also include the Queen’s Cups. SUBMITTED PHOTO

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | 21

THE NEXT DRAFT

Tree House in Sandwich faces stormy seas, brewery in Deerﬁ eld smoother sailing Taproom’s new location faces challenge over ‘zoning and wetlands bylaws’ Matthew Tota Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Daniel J. Bailey III and the Sandwich residents he represents do not care we think they rank among the biggest buzzkills in the state. In trying to stymie one of the most popular breweries in the world’s bid to open a beachside oasis, they expected to face an angry sea of detractors. But Bailey said his clients have no gripes with Tree House Brewing Co. the business, only the way in which Sandwich offi cials have handled the Charlton brewery’s proposed taproom, beer garden and retail outlet on Town Neck Beach. “I expected it,” the Boston attorney said of the backlash. “I talked to my clients about it. We understand it’s a very popular brand and locale. This isn’t about Tree House: This is about a business owner and a town complying with the zoning and wetlands bylaws.” Bailey, representing four families who live near Tree House’s new Cape house, has fi red a salvo of legal challenges to stop construction at the site and force the town to take another look at the project. Tree House has not faced the same scrutiny from Sandwich boards and offi cials as other businesses, he has argued, raising issues with the project that he said the town should have addressed during its initial review. Bailey has appealed the town’s decision to award Tree House a building permit for the taproom. His contentions include that zoning for the site does not allow for a taproom, only a restaurant, nor does it permit drive-thru services similar to Tree House’s model for selling beer to-go. Scarcity of parking is the most glaring problem, he said. The town’s Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a

Tree House Brewery is in the process of opening a Sandwich site. STEVE HEASLIP/CAPE COD TIMES FILE

public hearing on his appeal later this month. Last week, Bailey also sent a letter to the Sandwich Conservation Commission, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and MassWildlife alerting them that renovations to the building close to sand dunes, among other things, may violate the town’s wetland bylaws and state’s wetlands and endangered species laws. The Conservation Commission was scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss the letter. As a last resort to stop the project, Bailey said he will go to Land Court in Boston.

Protected dunes and questions about food service aside, the real reason Bailey’s clients want Tree House’s project halted is congestion. They feel they learned too late of the brewery’s plans to move in next door, realizing they may have missed their opportunity to share their concerns about the traﬃ c that will descend upon their quiet Cape street. Where Tree House goes, crowds follow. The brewery racked up nearly 900,000 check-ins last year on Untappd, second only to the multinational brewery and pub chain BrewDog in Scotland. “Their concern is with a business

that has an occupancy of 500 people and woefully inadequate onsite parking,” Bailey said of his clients. “The trafﬁ c congestion and parking in the neighborhood will overwhelm them.” While myself and the few others who read this column would likely have a different reaction to having Tree House as a neighbor, I can see how some people may object. To date, there has been only one public hearing for Tree House’s taproom – on April 15, during a Zoom meeting, the Board of Selectmen awarded Tree See DRAFT, Page 22D

22 | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Hoppin’ Continued from Page 20D

from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Lunch, wine and more for pickup at the winery is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Matt Sciabarasi is executive chef at the restaurant. Visitors should continue to check Nashoba’s website for updates. Broken Creek Vineyard and Winery, 614 South St., Shrewsbury (www.brokencreekvineyard.com) posts hours of operation on the business website. Saturday and Sunday, the winery is open noon to 6 p.m. Beginning Friday, May 14, hours will be 5 to 8 p.m. Check website for updates. Reservations, not required but highly recommenced, can be made up to 14 days in advance. Currently, all guests must order food, with onsite catering provided by Struck Catering in Worcester. No wine tastings are scheduled yet, according to owner and winemaker Eric Preusse. However, the winery oﬀ ers personalized wine tasting ﬂ ights. A Spring Wine Dinner by Struck Catering will take place at 6 p.m. May 21 at the winery. Visit resy.com for tickets,

Draft Continued from Page 21D

House a farmer series pouring permit and an entertainment license – and I understand these residents may perceive that as a lack of transparency. Separately, according to the Cape Cod Times, another Sandwich resident has fi led an open meeting law complaint, saying a connection issue with Zoom during the selectmen’s meeting caused him to miss parts of Tree House’s presentation and prevented him from lodging his comments about the taproom. Tree House’s response so far has been that it will control the traffi c to the taproom, both by working closely with the Sandwich Police Department and by managing the fl ow of cars through its online ordering system, which has customers picking time slots to collect their

$130 each, plus tax and fees. Gratuity is included in the ticket price. The dinner, paired with Broken Creek wines, includes Local Cheese “Boats;” Sundried Tomato Infused Polenta; Fresh Tagliatelle Pasta (roasted tomato sauce garnished with fresh fennel and shaved pepper infused Parmesan cheese); Flank Steak Roulade. Special surprise will be the wine makers choice paired with dessert, Strawberry Rhubarb Tart. Struck Catering founders Derek Grillo and his mother, Barbara Cotter, plan more seasonal wine dinners at the winery. Stay tuned for more announcements. Pruesse and his wife, Peggy Preusse, put the 40-acre vineyard, the winery and their adjacent home up for sale in 2020, taking it oﬀ the market last December. This month, the property went up for sale again. Preusse said he and his wife remain committed to retiring and living their dream of traveling the world. Until the ﬁ nal sale, the couple continue to welcome visitors to the vineyard. Agronomy Farm Vineyard, 338 Ware Corner Road, Oakham (www.agronomyfarmvineyard.com) opened May 1. Hours are noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Connect on Facebook.

Other state wineries to check out: Taylor Brooke Winery (www.taylorbrookewinery.com) in Woodstock, Conn: Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery (www.westportrivers.com) in Westport; Vandervalk Farm and Winery (www.vandervalkfarm.com) in Mendon. The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources oﬀ ers a list of state wineries on the mass.gov website. Happy sipping season!

beer and, later, draft tickets for the taproom and beer garden. As for parking, the brewery will have an oﬀ site parking lot and shuttle service. None of those assurances has assuaged its neighbors, though, and it doesn’t help that Tree House has yet to directly address their concerns, save for a few brief responses to questions over a Zoom call. The brewery never says more than it needs to and mostly controls its image with carefully crafted statements. You just have to trust that Tree House knows what it’s doing, that its leaders have a proven record as some of the most conscientious brewery owners in the state. But in this case, maybe they should invite the families to the brewery and reassure them of their plans over beers instead of leaving everything to town ofﬁ cials and their attorneys.

Deerﬁ eld brewery speeding to June opening

Greater Good teams with Queen’s Cups Greater Good Imperial Brewing Company in Worcester and 90 + Cellars, with Queen’s Cups in Worcester, plan a special Mother’s Day event from noon to 7 p.m. May 9 at Greater Good, 55 Millbrook St., Worcester. Greater Good and 90 + recently partnered to create a new Frozé (frozen rosé) made in the brewery’s new frozen drink machine. Mother’s Day guests also can expect a frozen beer featuring the brewery’s Funk Daddy. Both drinks will cost $9 each. Queen’s Cups will oﬀ er several of its from-scratch sweet treats, both “boozy and non-boozy” cupcakes. Greater Good’s full kitchen menu, including signature favorites such as fried chicken sandwich and burger of the

In Deerfi eld, Tree House has faced a slightly diff erent reaction to its planned brewery in the former home of Channing Bete Co., a beloved publishing company that closed in 2019. The proposed brewery — on a 45-acre site off routes 5 and 10 – has been cheered by practically everyone in the Pioneer Valley. Tree House has pitched the project in three phases, starting with a brewery and retail outlet where customers can pick up beer, then later a distillery, restaurant and concert venue in phases two and three. As a stipulation of its permits, the brewery will have to return to town offi cials before it begins work on the latter phases. The brewery has endeared itself to the town by opening up the building for a COVID-19 vaccination clinic and allowing the school system to store some of its extra furniture that had

week, will be available. Expect more fun, exciting surprises throughout the summer from Greater Good and 90 + collaboration, according to Kelsey Lemmon, Marketing Manager at Latitude Beverages, and Abby Ethier, Taproom Event Coordinator at Greater Good. Cheers!

Show love for mom with cupcakes Just in time for Mother’s Day are ﬂ oral cupcakes from On the Rise Baking, 1120 Pleasant St., Worcester. The frosting design on these cute little cupcakes make for a sweet surprise for any age. The cupcakes were ﬁ rst introduced last Mother’s Day and are back by popular demand, according to bakery owner/ pastry chef Elizabeth Casey. A six-pack of the cupcakes (3 vanilla and 3 chocolate) cost $25. Deadline for ordering is May 6. Floral cakes also are available. All Mother’s Day orders will be available for pickup from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 9. Visit www.ontherisebaking.com; Telephone: (508) 752-3809. If you have a tidbit for the column, call (508) 868-5282. Send email to bhoulefood@gmail.com.

to be removed from classrooms to allow for social distancing. Instead of legal challenges and perturbed neighbors, there has been eff usive praise. “It’s been amazing already, and Tree House hasn’t even opened up yet,” said selectmen chair Carolyn Shores Ness. “We are very happy to welcome them. They have been truly wonderful.” Tree House’s drive-thru to-go operation in Western Massachusetts will be both massive and effi cient. For example, the only major renovation to the outside of the building is a portico under which six cars can comfortably fi t while waiting for their beer. And the site has already shown it can handle large numbers of people driving in and out: 700 people went through during the vaccination clinic. Shores Ness expects Tree House to open next month. “They are moving ahead quite fast,” she said.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | 23

CONNELL SANDERS

Choosing the right Tequila on Cinco De Mayo (or whenever) Considering celebrity tequila brands

Sarah Connell Sanders Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

One of the beneﬁ ts of maintaining this dishy little column is that sometimes people send me things in the mail. On Thanksgiving, I received a child’s recipe book and a set of miniature whisks and mixing spoons. At Christmas, I got two loaves of cinnamon brioche. And for Cinco de Mayo, a bottle of Tequila and a four pack of Tequila seltzers appeared on my front stoop. Before penning a piece about freebies, I always ask myself a few things. Am I being transparent? Am I conveying my honest and independent opinion about a product? If the answer is “yes” to all of the above, then I don’t see any harm in tearing into some samples. To ensure my due diligence for this assignment, I brought in Worcester’s resident spirits expert, Joy Flanagan. I met Flanagan in 2013 during Armsby Abbey’s rigorous on-boarding process for which she taught a class called “Liquor 101” in her role as the bar manager. Today, Flanagan is among my closest personal friends in addition to working as a Regional Sales Manager for MS Walker Brands. On Friday evening, I gathered a focus group in my kitchen for a special Tequila crash course and takeout from Pepe’s Taqueria. In keeping with full transparency, Flanagan brought along Grand Mayan Tequila and El Cobre Tequila from her own portfolio along with a personal favorite, Tequila Ocho, and my samples: Volley Tequila Seltzer and YaVe Tequila.

Picking the right tequila at the package store “The most important thing to look for on the label is 100% blue agave,” Flanagan said, “because Tequila legally needs to be made from a type of agave called Tequilana Weber Azul and good Tequila is 100%.” She warns that Tequila can still be classiﬁ ed as such with as little as

I couldn’t make it through our tasting without asking about Turtle from “Entourage,” the fi ctional HBO character credited with the rise of Avión Tequila. “Obviously it has become more problematic lately because celebrities are trying to get in on the booming spirit category, but premium tequila fi rst gained traction in America with support by the celebrity set,” Flanagan said. “The person who successfully introduced premium tequila was John Paul Jones DeJoria, owner of Paul Mitchell and Patrón Tequila.” DeJoria’s A-list connections made space for exposure and introduced Patrón as something of a lifestyle signifi er. Flanagan fi nds credibility in celebrities who aim to support the communities who produce these spirits, not exploit the category for their own gain.

From blanco to añejo

I gathered a focus group in my kitchen for a special Tequila crash course in preparation for Cinco de Mayo, a day credited with more Tequila consumption in America than any other. PHOTO COURTESY SARAH CONNELL SANDERS

51% blue agave distillate and cut with spirit made from cane or other base ingredients along with ﬂ avorings and colorings to save money — these are known as “mixtos.” “If you’ve ever met someone who said, ‘I can’t drink Tequila because I had one really bad night,’ you can pretty much guarantee they weren’t drinking 100% blue agave Tequila; they had something like Cuervo Gold, which is a ‘mixto.’” As for one of the “geekiest” brands, Flanagan notes Tequila Ocho based on its single estate agave bottlings showcasing terroir. “The premium Tequila market skyrocketed during the pandemic in an unpredictable way,” Flanagan noted, “and fans of premium Tequila know to look for the NOM.’”

Know your ‘NOM’ “Every bottle of Tequila has a number assigned by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila, a governing body who gives a classifying number to each distillery,” said Flanagan. “Type it into your phone right now,” she instructed me. I googled the NOM from my free bottle of YaVe and was immediately directed to a comprehensive site called Tequila Matchmaker. I found that YaVe shared a distillery with 135 other brands, including celebrity line E. Cuarenta founded by ‘90s rapper E-40, who collaborated on an album this year with Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube.

“There are diﬀ erent expressions based on how long they have aged,” explained Flanagan. Blanco is typically unaged but can be rest up to two months, reposado is aged between two months and a year, añejo is at least a year, and extra añejo is at least three years. Beware of brands sporting a “gold” label, which may be designed to appear as if aged in a barrel, but actually contain artiﬁ cial coloring. From bright, fresh notes to woody, spiced, almost whiskey like bottlings, there’s something for everyone in the category.

The perfect marg “Did you know the word ‘margarita’ means ‘daisy’ in Spanish?” Flanagan asked us. We did not. For reference, a daisy is a classic cocktail made up of citrus, spirit and liqueur. “During Prohibition, Americans crossed the border to enjoy a drink at the popular Agua CaliSee TEQUILA, Page 24D

24 | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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Every day I read one obituary of someone I never knew. I learn where they worked, what gave them joy, whom they loved. In a recent meme asking people to name their greatest fears, this one was especially poignant, and I paraphrase: That when I die, my life will have gone unnoticed. Don’t we all share this uneasiness, just a bit? Don’t we hope our funeral will be attended; our obituary read? If you watched the In Memoriam segment at last week’s Academy Awards ceremony, you’ll understand a thing or two about lives escaping notice. Set to the upbeat Stevie Wonder song “As,” the segment featuring images of deceased movie industry folks whipped across the screen so quickly it’s as though it were being propelled

Tequila Continued from Page 23D

ente racetrack in Tijuana,” she explained. “They became known for their Tequila daisies, and that’s one of the origin stories for the Margarita cocktail.” A lot of our local Mexican establishments experience such high volume that they can’t always utilize fresh ingredients. Flanagan’s ideal margarita in Worcester is the deadhorse hill recipe devised by Bar Manager Sean Woods. The Sean Woods Margarita: 1.5 oz Tequila.75 oz lime.75 oz triple-sec.5 oz orange juice.5 oz simple syrup In the end, my favorite tequi-

by the Large Hadron Collider. The names and titles were barely readable. The camera lingered slightly longer on some well-knowns: Sean Connery, Carl Reiner, and Cicely Tyson and Chadwick Boseman, who bookended the segment. Others, such as poor Kelly Preston, Brian Dennehy and Diana Rigg, were stuﬀ ed into the dense and blinding middle, mired in blink-andyou’ll-miss-them territory. I’ve always enjoyed reading Oscar post-mortems, especially the gripes about In Memoriam. While this year’s complaints about the sped-up nature of the segment were a new phenomenon, as in past years there was plenty of outrage about who was omitted from the honor roll. I can remember a bitter response from the families and fans of the late Jack Klugman and Andy Griﬃ th, See OSCARS, Page 25D

la was the Grand Mayan Single Barrel which ages for seven years in bourbon and cognac casks and retails for around $180. It emits aromas of vanilla and candied citrus. It reminded me more of whiskey than Tequila, so spicy and round to the taste. I don’t imagine it’s the sort of thing that will show up on my doorstep as a free sample anytime soon, but maybe I’ll get my hands on a bottle someday for a very special occasion. Until then, the Volley Tequila Seltzers will make a nice beach companion this summer. El Patron, Pepe’s Taqueria, Sol of Mexico and Dos Tacos are some of my favorite places to order Mexican cuisine in Worcester. Please ﬁ nd me on social media to share yours.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | 25

Oscars Continued from Page 24D

who were kept out of In Memoriam because they were primarily known as television actors though they had memorable movie roles (“A Face in the Crowd” alone should have earned Griﬃ th inclusion). This year’s most notable omission was Jessica Walter. She made a good living on TV, especially in recent years playing comically awful mothers in “Archer” and “Arrested Development.” But she also has a deep movie history, and set the gold standard for the role of the woman scorned. Nearly two decades before Glenn Close was making life miserable for her adulterous lover, Michael Douglas, in “Fatal Attraction,” Walter was terrorizing Clint Eastwood’s jazz DJ in “Play Misty For Me.” If I had a vote, I would have included her. The Oscars’ Carousel of Death has never been democratic. In years past, the microphones in the Dolby Theatre would be kept on as the images cycled through. The photos, and sometimes brief ﬁ lm clips, of familiar actors inevitably drew vigorous applause and whistles, while the parade of anonymous makeup artists, publicists, and set designers

drew a smattering of polite claps. And that’s OK. The Hollywood hierarchy is acknowledged, even by people who are no closer to it than their Netfl ix subscription. The reaction of the audience at those ceremonies refl ected our own at home. The actors were the only people on the screen who were “known” to us, if only as the characters they portrayed for our entertainment. So we applauded for the late Paul Newman when his image appeared, though not for, say, the lighting director on Newman’s movies. No one would have understood and accepted this reality more than the lighting director, who probably did great work, but who wasn’t Paul Newman. A few years ago, the Academy determined the imbalanced responses were unkind, and the mic was turned off . Now, In Memoriam unfolds in stony silence except for the musical accompaniment. I say bring back the claps and extend the segment rather than accelerate it. The Academy knows their low-rated program is already going unnoticed by too many, and they may be running out of time to fi x it. The least they can do in the meantime is pay proper tribute to those for whom time is no longer an issue.

Jessica Walter was one of the many great actors left off the Oscars' "In Memoriam" segment. RICHARD SHOTWELL, RICHARD SHOTWELL/INVISION/AP

NEW ON DVD

Daniel Kaluuya shines as he portrays Fred Hampton in ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ A leading awards-season contender that just nabbed two Oscars headlines the new releases for the week of May 4. “Judas and the Black Messiah”: Daniel Kaluuya recently won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his portrayal of Illinois Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton, killed in his sleep by Chicago law enforcement in 1969, with LaKeith Stanfi eld nominated in the same category for playing the “Judas” in question, a man who infi ltrates the Black Panthers at the behest of the FBI. Writing for Tribune News Service, critic Katie Walsh lauded director Shaka King for his focus on Hampton’s words and revolutionary beliefs, saying the movie is “an inspiring portrait of the young activist, paired with an examination of the FBI’s insidious cultivation of informant William O’Neal [Stanfi eld], who was integral to their surveillance and murder of Hampton. King’s dual focus and stylish cinematic approach makes for a biopic that is at once rousing, maddening and desperately tragic.” Walsh also praised the performance of the fi lm’s future Oscar winner, saying “Kaluuya, one of the best working actors today, is transformed, and riveting, as Hampton; it’s hard to imagine a better performance by an actor this year.” In addition to Kaluuya’s Oscar win, the fi lm also claimed best original song, for “Fight For You” by H.E.R., Dernst Emile II and Tiara Thomas. “The story of Fred Hampton has always been one of frustration, sorrow and anger at [FBI Director Jay Edgar] Hoover’s sick obsession with destroying

Daniel Kaluuya won the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for “Judas and the Black Messiah.” COURTESY OF HBO MAX

civil rights leaders who dared to imagine racial justice and equality,” Walsh concludes in her review. “While ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ allows space for that rage, it also reminds us of the power of Hampton’s words, oﬀ ering a powerful tribute to the activist whose legacy looms large.” ALSO NEW ON DVD MAY 4 “The Little Things”: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto star in this pulpy thriller from director John Lee Hancock. Washington is Joe Deacon, a sheriﬀ ’s deputy who becomes embroiled in the search for a serial killer, led by Malek’s young detective character. The investigation comes to focus on a creepy loner (Jared Leto), but is he really the killer?

“The Virtuoso”: Anson Mount plays an assassin sent to a small town on a job by his mentor, Anthony Hopkins, who recently won his second best actor Oscar for “The Father.” Left minimal instruction, the methodical assassin must decipher a cryptic clue to identify his target, with an added complication presented by an alluring woman (Abbie Cornish). OUT ON DEMAND MAY 4 “Dark State”: A small-town reporter’s investigation of a mysterious car crash leads her to uncover far more than she expected. In the end, she must decide — expose the truth or accept that a global cabal known as the Dark State may actually be ruling the world.

26 | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

FIVE THINGS TO DO

ORLANDO BAXTER, CARA BRINDISI AND MORE! Victor D. Infante, Veer Mudambi, Richard Duckett and Craig S. Semon Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

Standup comedian coming in from Istanbul, not Constantinople

Former Worcester high school teacher-turned-nationally known standup comedian, Orlando Baxter is celebrating “Teacher Appreciation Week” the best way he knows how. And that’s performing two nights of smart and funny, upper-classman comedy at the WooHaHa! On this homecoming weekend of sorts, Baxter — who’s coming to Central Mass. from Constantinople — (No kidding! He’s been doing some Indiana Jones/James Bond stuff in Istanbul, Turkey, lately) — will show off his fine-tuned comedic skills to a socially distant but appreciative audience. Baxter, who killed on “Conan” and conquered numerous comedy festivals and Native American gaming casinos, hasn’t performed in Worcester in front of a live, flesh-and-blood audience in over two years. And the last time he played his old stomping grounds, Baxter sold out five consecutive performances spread out over three nights. In what is a long time coming, Worcester’s consummate funnyman — who was planning a big comedy showcase in honor of “Teachers’ Appreciation Week” last May (but then, the coronavirus pandemic derailed those plans) — can’t wait to bring home the laughs and the guffaws. (CS) What: Comedian Orlando Baxter When: 7 p.m. May 7 and 8 Where: The WooHaHa! Comedy Club at the Beer Garden, 64 Franklin St., Worcester How much: tickets can only be sold by tables of two (at $50 for two seats) and four (at $100 for four seats).

Orlando Baxter CHRISTINE PETERSON/T&G

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | 27

At City Hall, photographer Matt Wright captures the image of North High School Spanish teacher Teranie Tirado as part of the “I Am Worcester” project. GEORGE BARNES/T&G

Can You Picture That? Cara Brindisi CHRISTINE PETERSON/T&G

Songbird In Flight Cara Brindisi, one of the Worcester area’s most enduring and endearing singer-songwriters, will be showcasing her lovely vocals every other Thursday at Reunion Tap & Table in Grafton. Usually, these sorts of shindigs are largely cover songs, and she has an immense repertoire to choose from, but if you’re lucky, she’ll play some of her original songs, such as the absolutely gorgeous “Sunflowers in September,” a song which carries a sharp bite underneath its loveliness. Brindisi will also be performing May 8 at the Wachusett Brewery in Westminster. (VDI) What: Cara Brindisi When: 5 to 8 p.m. May 13, and every other Thursday Where: Reunion Tap & Table, 198 Worcester St., Grafton How much: Free What: Cara Brindisi When: 6 p.m. May 8 Where: Wachusett Brewery,175 State Road E., Westminster How much: Free

Get hooked on fishing this season! The city of Worcester, MassWildlife and other organizations have teamed up to bring a series of virtual fishing events this spring and summer for both newcomer and veteran fishermen. Receive expert tips on how to get started and land the big one, or share your catches and stories of the one that got away with fellow fly fishing enthusiasts. What: 2021 Blue Space Angler Event Series When: May through August Where: Virtual — register at wooanglerseries.com How much: Free

The City of Worcester’s Cultural Development Division and the Worcester Cultural Coalition will publicly unveil the “I Am Worcester” photo project on May 8, and people can still get in the picture during an outdoor photo shoot. “I Am Worcester” began collecting portraits and stories of Worcester locals in early 2020 with the goal of hosting public displays later that year. The pandemic altered those plans, but starting May 8 “I Am Worcester” will be on public display at the Worcester PopUp at the Jean McDonough Arts Center, 20 Franklin St. There will also be be an installation on the I-290 Exit 15 off ramp on Shrewsbury Street starting May 5. The photo shoot will be outdoors next to the JMAC from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 8. Portraits and stories will be added to the “I Am Worcester” gallery and publicly exhibited on social media and in public locations. Advance registration is required. (RD)

What: “I Am Worcester” photo shoot When: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 8 Where: Outside the Worcester PopUp at the JMAC, 20 Franklin St., Worcester. Register on Eventbrite at www.eventbrite.com/ e/i-am-worcesterphotoshoot-registration-149940300475 (RD)

Country Cool Straight from the heart, hard rockin’ country music, is what Mychael David is all about. David, who grew up in Northboro and now lives in Dudley, also infuses his original songs and covers with great emotional warmth. He’s at Indian Ranch May 8 as it reopens with local artists. (RD) What: Mike’s Hard Lemonade Summer Concert Series — Mychael David When: 1 p.m. May 8 Where: Indian Ranch, 200 Gore Road, Webster How much: $15 (does not include convenience or handling fees). Please note: This show will be sold at a limited capacity with distanced seating. www.indianranch.com (RD)

Mychael David is set to perform at Indian Ranch. PROMOTIONAL IMAGE

28 | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Devil Love

ADOPTION OPTION

Meet Bernice Welcome to Adoption Option, a partnership with the Worcester Animal Rescue League highlighting their adoptable pets. Check this space often to meet all of the great pets at WARL in need of homes. WARL is open seven days a week, noon-4 p.m., 139 Holden St. Check them out online at Worcesterarl.org, or call at (508) 853-0030. Bernice has an extraordinary will to live. She is a wonderful cat who accepts whatever life throws at her. She is always happy and gets along with animals and kids — except when the cats in the adjoining room meow too loud, then she yells at them to shut up. Animal Control brought Bernice to WARL back in December. She was ill and on antibiotics for weeks. She ended up with an overgrowth of bacteria, which was treated. She, also, has skin allergies. After trial-and-error, we found that Bernice does well eating Royal Canin GI Fiber Response dry food and Friskies canned food. Bernice qualiﬁ es for our Senior-for-Senior Program. However, she is a cat who will need to see a veterinarian when her symptoms ﬂ air. WARL COVID-19 Procedures As of Nov. 9, 2020 As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, we want to share with you some changes we have implemented so that we can continue to serve the pets and people of our community while keeping our team protected. • ADOPTIONS: At this time, adoptions are being held BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. If you are interested in adoption, please visit our website worcesterarl.org/ adopt/ to learn more about our available animals then call us at (508) 853-0030 ext.0 or email us at info@worcesterarl. org to

Bernice is available through WARL’s animal adoption program. PHOTO COURTESY EAST DOUGLAS PHOTO

schedule an appointment. • CASUAL VISITS TO THE SHELTER are prohibited. We will strictly enforce this in order to keep our animal care team protected while still maintaining the most essential function of our operation ... ﬁ nding homes for animals in need. • ANIMAL SURRENDERS: Our business practice for surrendering a pet remains the same. All pet owners must contact WARL in advance of surrendering a pet. Please call (508) 853-0030. • SPAY/NEUTER CLINICS: All scheduled appointments will be honored. If you have a scheduled appointment, we will be contacting you to discuss changes to our drop oﬀ / pick up procedures. • DONATIONS ACCEPTED except for open bags of food. • Pet food, cat litter, and other shelter supplies will be essential in continuing to provide for our animals and to as-

sist community members in need. To avoid unnecessary travel and exposure, items can be purchased online from our Amazon Wishlist - https:// www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/3AX342JIL73M0 • Weekly training classes are going on for adopters. • The WARL Volunteer Program is temporarily suspended. All regular volunteer shifts are on hold. We look forward to welcoming you back as soon as we can. We have many animals in our care who depend on us to stay healthy and well. The above measures help to protect our staﬀ and community from the spread of COVID - 19 by minimizing face-toface interactions while continuing to operate only core essential services. Please continue to follow our Facebook page for additional updates. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact the shelter at (508) 853-0030 or info@ worcesterarl.org.

For no change/For no pleasure,” sings Buzzelle, then shifting tone and singing, Continued from Page 18D “Where we were before/Was so much better/I can’t give you That lost our way/Treat us more.” The sentiment continues kindly/I can’t explain, but/No one owes you anything/and into the garage band-infl uYou’re not to blame.” The al- enced “I Won't Go Down Withbum's gaze here has shifted out A Fight,” which fi nds a couhere. He could be singing ple at the center of the narraabout a relationship, or he tive on a California vacation, could be singing about a coun- but nothing is resolved. The try. In the end, it's all the same, looser rock style here aids the and the compassion he brings sense of dissolution, and when to the song is deeply resonant. Buzzelle sings, “We won’t begin if we die/I’m It's certainly clear not telling you that the listener is goodbye/I still bebeing asked to lieve/All we got to view the characdo is try,” it's hard ters in the album's not to wonder if narrative gently. the battle's already In “The Owl,” lost. for instance, BuzThe penultizelle sets up a mate song, “Blue counterpart to the Devils,” fi nds the earlier “We Can “Broken Things,” by album's persona Leave,” singing, “I Devil Love burning with fever don’t want to go/If PROMOTIONAL IMAGE and hallucinating, you don’t want to stay/Please show me how/To being chased by his own dekeep the words we say.” There mons. It's hard to tell if this is is love here, certainly, and des- an illness or a bad drug trip, peration, but this time the but the metaphor is crystal confl ict is wanting diff erent clear: No matter how much you things. The song has an an- run, your demons will fi nd you. themic feel, a sense of rising in Which puts the discussion of the music, even as the persona staying or leaving in earlier seems to be sinking: “I don’t songs into a sort of relief. How want to be packed in/Ice and much were the couple in questhe snow/I’m gonna live this tion ever REALLY able to escape where they were. Clearly, life/Until I’m sold.” The persona chooses to be the whole album is haunted by fully alive, but With “Soul Clin- something. The album ends with “Careic Bible School (Redux),” it becomes clear that there's a price lessly Comfort,” which fi nds for that choice: “Find some- the couple in a sort of stasis. thing better/Than we had be- “You’re built to depart … You’re fore/Find something better/ careless in your comfort/ReckSomething more/I’m sending lessly taking what you need.” a message to you/Return to It's actually the fi rst note of me.” There's something about real bitterness in the album, the way the drums punctuate and it comes right at the end. each segment of the song that “You were never free,” sings creates a feeling of riptide, of Buzzelle, “a ghost in time.” It's the listener being pulled into an ashen sort of realization, the ocean. The feeling of dis- but the struggle that's come solution and friction con- beforehand transforms it into tinues into the next song, “Bet- a gut punch. When the music ter Better,” a fl at-out rocker fades, the listener is left wonwhere the persona tries to ad- dering if there was ever anydress the confl ict in the rela- thing there at all. Indeed, the tionship: “We fi ght and/Bang question lingers longer than our heads/Against the wall/ one would think.

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Last week's solution

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | 31

LAST CALL

Eleanor Gilmore and Joyce Mandell, Jane Week Organizers Sarah Connell Sanders Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Jane Jacobs was an urban design pioneer, widely celebrated for her 1961 landmark text, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities.” In Worcester, we honor Jacobs each year with Jane Week, an opportunity to examine the design and function of our city. Eleanor Gilmore and Joyce Mandell are Jane Week's organizers. Joyce, can you tell us how Jane Week got started in Worcester? JM: Our ﬁ rst Jane Week was in 2017 and it was the culmination of a year of celebrating Jane Jacobs’ hundredth birthday. There are actually Jane Celebrations all over the world, which is very exciting. There were about 200 Jane Walks that year in New York alone. We didn't have Jane Week last year because of the pandemic and I actually held on to the Jane Award; it's been on my shelf for a year. Every year, we give out a Jane Award to a project that emulates the best design or revitalization of the city. The ﬁ rst year, it was Crompton Place. The second year, it was The Printer's Building. And the year after that, it was the Kelley Square redesign. Last year, it was supposed to go to Stearns Tavern. The award actually seems even more important this year for so many reasons, but the main reason is we've all been isolated and quarantining, and we're going to have to resocialize ourselves to start thinking about going back to public spaces and being in community with one another. We can start creating that community again, even online.

Eleanor Gilmore of Worcester Common Ground located at 5 Piedmont St. in Worcester. DYLAN AZARI

There's so much fear out there and we've had so much divisiveness, hate, and anger on the national level. Even on the local level, a lot of us have different ideas about what makes a livable Worcester. Jane Week is a positive way to bring people into dialogue. We can listen to people who have diﬀ erent levels of power and inﬂ uence. We are approaching the master planning process and I think Jean Week really just gives us a chance to start raising consciousness about the elements that we want to see in our city and how we are going to plan for them. Ellie, lately I feel like you have a way of making urban

design critiques online that a wide audience can be receptive to. How do you go about facilitating constructive criticism? EG: It's tough because I think that the world of planning is incredibly inaccessible and requires a lot of processes at the government level. It's jargon-y. It's bureaucratic. It's very much rooted in racist structures. So, trying to have these conversations with folks who are not used to engaging on the topic of planning or folks who might be distrustful of the existing processes because they've been systematically excluded can be challenging. How do you turn it around and say, "I

hear you." And also acknowledge that planning can actually be really fun for everyone. We don't generally value the expertise of individual community members. In planning, you focus on the legal requirements, the engineering requirements, the architectural requirements, but there is so much lived experience that people have and can share. We all live somewhere. We all have a relationship to what our neighborhood looks like and how we defi ne our neighborhood — who we see and who we don't see — how we travel to the grocery store or to our jobs. The factors that infl uence whether these things are easy or not to achieve, or how that makes us feel, are really key pieces of these conversations. Making planning more palatable and more personal is one of the reasons I love Jane Week so much. It takes all of the elements of city planning and really dials them back to the local level in order to give folks an opportunity to explore their own neighborhoods free of technical language. I think that's incredible. I teach a STEM class focused on urban planning. What sort of activities could I use with young people during Jane Week? EG: My personal journey to city planning was brought on by curiosity. I read a lot in my role as a community organizer and I found this program called Streetmix. It's a street design program where you can drag and drop diff erent elements of what makes up a street from building to building. At the most basic level, you can add sidewalks and then widen or narrow the road. It's evolved over the years to include transportation planning. When elec-

tric scooters became popular, they added a little icon for electric scooters. I'd encourage folks to spark their own curiosity by picking a street they are familiar with. They can do one of two things. They can redesign this street with the dimensions of the actual street. There's an opportunity for them to research right-of-way and public access points between buildings. Or, they can just design a street however they'd like and get creative. If you want your street to be completely void of cars, you can do that. I like that it challenges people to think about their environment, because oftentimes as users of the public rights-ofway, some of us are walking, some of us are driving, and some of us are biking. I don't know that people often stop and think about the design of these spaces and who they beneﬁ t and who they don't. Streetmix is free and you can access it in multiple languages with your students. What are some of the other Jane Week programs we should be on the lookout for? JM: Tom Quinn from the Worcester Research Bureau designed a game called “Escape from City Hall.” I piloted it and it was so cool. You can also take a 15-minute walk to determine if Worcester is a “15-minute city.” Ask yourself, “Can you walk within 15 minutes to a grocery store, a community garden, a church, and a variety of other places?” People can check out our brochure for the full list of programming. Jane Jacobs never had a formal degree in planning, she simply used her powers of observation and we want our community to do the same.

32 | MAY 6 - 12, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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