Worcester Magazine August 1 - 7, 2019

AUGUST 1 - 7, 2019 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

CULTURE • ARTS • DINING • VOICES

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e v o l e h t For s c i m o c of

THE APPEAL OF SUPERHEROES AND OTHER FOUR-COLOR FAVORITES

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‘The beautiful game’ Worcester World Cup brings people together BILL SHANER

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he Worcester World Cup, an annual celebration of soccer, civic pride and the city’s diversity, is fast approaching.

Next weekend, 500 players on teams representing almost 20 nationalities will descend on Commerce Bank Field at Foley Stadium for three days of competitive soccer and cultural celebration. Organizers are expecting a 2,500 person turnout for the event, which runs from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening, Aug. 9-11.

At its core, the event is a celebration of a sport which, around the world and in Worcester, unites people.

“The sport itself has the power to transcend different languages, cultures, groups, social classes, religions,” said Manny Reyes, an event organizer with Cultural Exchange for Soccer. “It just brings people together through the beautiful game. It doesn’t matter where you come from or who you are, everyone is welcome here, everyone is enjoying themselves and having fun.”

The tournament this year will feature 16 men’s teams and four women’s teams. On the men’s side, the nationalities represented are Jamaica, Brazil, Ghana, El Salvador, Iraq, Ecuador, Nigeria, Honduras, Liberia, the United States, Kenya, Somalia, Togo, Albania, Camaroon and Guatemala. On the women’s side, the United States, Italy, Colombia and Guatemala will be represented.

All of the teams are made up of Worcester residents.

The amount of teams, and the

A Worcester World Cup 2018 match-up between Liberia, in red, and Guatemala.

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amount of expected attendees, demonstrate a clear interest in soccer in Worcester. For those interested, it’s one of the best events in the city.

“It’s one of the highlights of the

city and of the summer,” Reyes said.

“It obviously shows Worcester as a city is growing and I think this is another thing that adds to the city as it grows.”

The tournament opens with a

ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 9 and games will run until 9 p.m. The tournament starts back up at 9:30 a.m Aug. 10 until 7:15 p.m., with a break around noon for a youth exhibition. The youth game will be

between the Cultural Exchange for Soccer and African Community Education Program. On Aug. 11, soccer runs from 9 a.m. until a concluding ceremony at 7:30 p.m., at which Mayor Joe Petty is expected

Claypool Lennon Delirium gets psychedelic at Palladium Duo to take show ‘South Of Reality’ ROBERT DUGUAY

Claypool Lennon Delirium COURTESY OF JAY BLAKESBERG

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ome musical collaborations come together seamlessly. Two musicians can play off each other so well that it becomes a delicious sandwich of songs. This is very apparent with The Claypool Lennon Delirium, consisting of Sean

Lennon, who is the second son of The Beatles’ John Lennon, and Les Claypool from Primus and numerous other bands. They’ve combined their psychedelic tendencies to create very interesting music that expands boundaries. It’s evident in their two albums, “Monolith Of Phobos” that came out in June of 2016 and “South

Of Reality” that was released this past February. On Aug. 3 at The Palladium, Claypool and Lennon will be on a bill with The Flaming Lips and Particle Kid for what should be a wild experience.

Q: How did you and Sean Lennon go about starting a band together? Is C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 6

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to award the winning teams their trophies.

The Worcester World Cup started small in 2006 at the Elm Park Community School, but it quickly outgrew the space. By 2009, the tournament was moved to Foley Stadium. Every year, Reyes said, the cup grows by word of mouth. Now, more than a decade since it started, the event has the feel of a family reunion.

“People come out and they see the same people every year. It’s a lot of ‘Hey, how are you? How are you doing? What are you up to now?’”

Reyes said. “This is just one of those events that brings people together.

It’s a good environment.”

Though soccer is a popular sport in Worcester, as evidenced by the success of the tournament, it’s not the easiest place in the world to play the game. What fields that are available and appropriately sized for soccer are oftentimes poorly maintained, and there aren’t many of them to begin with.

“I know that for myself, and for other people in the city, it is very hard to have access to a good-condition field,” Reyes said.

The best fields are often owned by colleges and are not open to the public. Fields that are, like the Elm

Park Community School field and the field at Chandler Magnet, are sometimes in poor condition, and they’re not lit, which bars playing at night.

“For people who want to play soccer in the city, even if it’s not anything organized, that becomes difficult,” Reyes said.

Reyes and others are involved with lobbying city government to increase access to soccer fields. One solution, he said, would be to open the field at Beaver Brook Park for soccer, but any field will do, he said.

This year, as in years past, the Worcester World Cup will feature more than soccer. Alongside the soccer, the event will feature vendors selling food from cultures around the world. In past years, there have been Thai vendors, as well as Mexican, Liberian, Ghanaian and others. The event also features a kids zone, face painting of flags, and a New England Revolution ticket raffle. Vendors will also sell vuvuzelas, the popular noisemaker for soccer fans, and flags of the nationalities in the tournament.

Tickets for the event come in the form of an $8 wristband for access all weekend. Those under the age of 18 get in free.

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FEATURED

Surrender!

Cheap Trick wants you to want them at Indian Ranch RICHARD DUCKET T

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aving played more than 5,000 shows, the veteran rock/ pop band Cheap Trick surely knows they must be doing something right.

Co-founder and lead guitarist Rick Nielsen, known for having a dry sense of humor, put it matter of factly: “We get hired. We go. If we’re no good, we don’t go back.”

The band is going to Indian Ranch for the first time for a show on Aug. 3, and it’s likely Cheap Trick will be welcome back any time if they choose to return. Besides the live performances, the group has sold 20 million albums.

There was a time, however, when booking a return engagement might not have been such a matter of routine for the band that formed in Rockford, Illinois, in 1973.

Except when it came to Japan.

Cheap Trick’s first three albums did not sell particularly well in the United States, but were Gold records in Japan. A 1978 tour of Japan was a frenzied affair for the band and its many fans there, and Cheap Trick recorded two concerts at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. The live album produced from the concerts, “Cheap Trick At Budokan,” put the band on the map 40 years ago, including back home stateside where the

C LA Y P O O L

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it something the both of you wanted to do for a while and you both finally had time to do it back in 2015?

Les Claypool: Sean’s band The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger was on tour with Primus a few summers ago. We just hit it off, one day we were jamming around backstage on a couple acoustic instruments and some interesting things were coming out. I invited Sean to come out to my studio, Rancho Relaxo, to see what we could do and he came through.

We made that first record, “Monolith Of Phobos,” and away we went.

Q: The second record, “South Of Reality,” that came out in February has a combination of psychedelic pop music and ’70s-era prog rock going on with it. What was the main thing that you and Sean wanted to accomplish with the sophomore release?

record went triple platinum. The single “I Want You to Want Me” from the album, which had previously been released to little avail from the group’s second album, was suddenly wanted and climbed the pop charts to No. 7 (No. 1 in Japan).

“It still surprises me, but we’ll take it,” Nielsen said during a recent telephone interview about the band’s springboard success in Japan. “They understood us. They liked these songs. We got nationwide airplay, not pockets here and there.”

Was he shocked when he visited Japan to find Cheap Trick adored on a par with The Beatles? “I don’t know about shocked. I enjoyed the fans. It was a great sensation.”

The band had caught on.

“We’re still catching on,” Nielsen said.

Other hits have included “Southern Girls,” “California Man” and “Dream Police.” Cheap Trick was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. “It was really quite an honor. It still is,” Nielsen said.

Cheap Trick’s line-up has been remarkably stable and long-lived save for a couple of shake-ups at the beginning. Robin Zander (vocals, rhythm guitar), Tom Petersson (bass guitar) and Nielsen have fronted the band since 1974. Nielsen’s son, Daxx Nielsen, has been the touring drummer since 2010. Nielsen has

written most of the band’s songs, and Cheap Trick has also done a number of covers, most notably of the Beatles including “Sgt. Pepper Live” with a full orchestra (a full version of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”).

For Cheap Trick’s 1980 album “All Shook Up,” the band worked with the “Fifth Beatle,” legendary producer George Martin.

“He was the ultimate musical director and producer that I ever worked with since or before. It was great,” Nielsen said.

Did he learn anything from the experience? “I don’t know if I learned a lot. I observed a lot more than learned a lot.”

Still, Cheap Trick’s single “The Summer Looks Good On You,” released last summer, shows once again that Nielsen and Cheap Trick know how to put a catchy and wellproduced number together. All the elements are working well — driving guitar and bass, the right percussion, and Zander’s vocals winningly selling sentiments such as “I want you to shine again … I want to see you smile again.” Listening to it, you wouldn’t really know that Zander is 66, while Nielsen is 70.

“It was a hit,” Nielsen said of “The Summer Good Looks On You.” Last year it was said that the number would be part of a new Cheap Trick album, but the release has not

LC: I don’t know if we had a target as much as we wanted to reflect our interaction and our tastes. The first record was mostly us feeling each other out, how we would work together and who was going to do what. This record, and we did an EP in between the releases, we had our work ethic and parameters set.

To prep for this one, we actually got together beforehand in Manhattan and in upstate New York at his mom Yoko Ono’s place. We again jammed around with some acoustics and recording things that were interesting, then we went off in our separate directions while touching base with different ideas we had.

We came together at Rancho Relaxo again and put it all together.

We started massaging it into what became “South Of Reality.”

consider to be the main influences on your style?

LC: That was many moons ago, but in the early days it was guys like Geddy Lee, Chris Squire and John Paul Jones.

Then I discovered Larry Graham, Louis Johnson, Stanley Clarke, Tony Levin and not so much bass players but instrumentalists. At some point, the instrument went from just being a bass to being a crayon for drawing the pictures in my head.

Q: You’ve been renowned for your unique skills on bass with the way you tap, slap and strum. Who do you

Q: You’re very inventive with the way you play. When it comes to tuning your basses up, how do you go about getting that jangly sound you always have?

LC: As Robin Trower from Procol Harum would say, it’s in me fingers!

Q: Everyone knows you from Primus obviously and Primus is one of those bands that is loved by various types of music fans. Whether it’s hippies, punks or metalheads, the band has always had a mixed

fan base. Was that an initial goal when you started the band to have an eclectic following or did it just happen on it’s own?

LC: I’ve always had very diverse tastes so you’re going to reflect that in your music. If all you did was listen to AC/DC then you’re probably going to sound like them. We’ve always had a diverse group of fans, we were that band that didn’t really fit in anywhere but we played everywhere.

In the early days, club owners didn’t know who the hell to put us with.

Then bands like Fishbone, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Faith No More started showing up on the scene and they would stick us with them.

It’s been an amazing thing, having this diverse audience. I’m on tour with the Flaming Lips right now with the Delirium and in a few months, Primus is gonna be on tour with Slayer and Ministry. That’s pretty (expletive) incredible (laughs).

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Q: After this tour with The Flaming Lips and the one you’ve got with Slayer, for their last tour ever, and Ministry, what do you have planned next?

LC: There’s always something going on. The Delirium has a show on New Year’s Eve and I’m actually going to be dusting off the music from Sausage, which Primus hasn’t done in many, many years. That’s pretty exciting and there’s some stuff happening next year that I can’t talk about yet so there’s always something happening.

The Flaming Lips and the Claypool Lennon Delirium, with special guests Particle Kid When: 5 p.m. Aug. 3 Where: The Palladium Indoors, 261 Main St., Worcester How much: $45-$50; thepalladium.net

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been set yet. “We have a record that’s about finished. I don’t know. We’ll figure that out,” Nielsen said.

It’s not as if the band had previously been idle — there were three record releases in 2016 and ’17.

Meanwhile, the summer of 2019 looks good for Cheap Trick fans who want to see the band live, as the group has an extensive itinerary of touring dates.

With that, Nielsen could be forgiven for sounding a bit tired during the interview. “The travel gets to be a pain in the butt. As much as we travel it’s frustrating how difficult this can be,” he said.

On the other hand, “We love to play … We all look forward to playing. This is what I know how to do till I can’t do it.”

As for still catching on, Nielsen noted that audiences at shows are “all ages. It’s pretty wonderful that we have that kind of pulling power.”

Cheap Trick has quite a repertoire to draw from and changes its set list for each show, Nielsen said.

Longstanding can fans can likely look forward to some “deep cuts.”

Besides the music, the band has some well-established motifs (or, dare one say, tricks of the trade) that help to keep the audience engaged.

Petersson has previously packed

his own “wall of sound” 12-string instrument, and Zander is known for his hats.

With Nielsen, it’s his guitars — a succession of different ones, usually culminating with a five-necked guitar for the final number.

“Oh, I’d say if we do 20 songs, 20 guitars,” Nielsen said. “I have two sets of guitars in two different semis.

Probably all told a total of 50 or more. Twenty-five for each truck.

That’s a lot.”

That’s a lot of tuning, too.

“I don’t have to tune them. I’ve got a guy that does it for me,” Nielsen said.

Contact Richard Duckett at richard. duckett@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @TGRDuckett.

What: Cheap Trick with Pieces of Eight When: When: 1 p.m. Aug. 3 (doors 11:30 a.m.)

Where: Indian Ranch, 200 Gore Road, Webster How much: $44 to $69 (“VIP” tickets available); $22 child general admission. indianranch.com

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CITY VOICES

WORCESTERIA

More trash talk than a Yankees-Red Sox game BILL SHANER

WALK BACK THE TRASH: Might as well rename Worcesteria the trash

column, if you haven’t already, because I’ve got another update for you on the state of the proposed and unpopular move from open recycling bins to plastic bags at an increased cost. Mayor Joe Petty has instructed City Manager Ed Augustus Jr. to put the proposal on hold for purposes of “re-examination,” per a recent statement. This after the City Council already put the proposal on hold until the next meeting in mid-August.

In the statement, Petty reaffirmed his support for the move to bags in a somewhat passive aggressive way with this line: “The recommendation of clear recycling bags, which have been proven to mitigate these issues, has led to a healthy public debate.” But to me, plastic bags present two clear issues: One, the use of single-use plastics when single-use plastics are rightly being thrown in the dustbin of history elsewhere in the state; two, the can collectors who now go through recycle bins are going to cut open recycling bags. If you thought a windy day with open bins was bad, imagine a whole street with sliced-open plastic bags. Also, the windy bins thing is kind of a myth, can we just admit that? It was an idea propagated in the 2017 City Council campaign when everyone decided, lazily, to make trash the marquee issue. If that’s your neighborhood’s biggest trash problem, your neighborhood doesn’t have a trash problem. But I am happy to see the mayor has instructed the manager to look at the difference in carbon footprint between bins and bags. I think that data will prove illuminating.

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PLANNED PARENTHOOD PICKS: The Planned Parenthood League

of Massachusetts has come out with their Worcester municipal election picks for 2019. While most make sense, some will surprise you! That’s my clickbait headline, which I’m working on in order to continue my career in this horrible industry as it slowly gets worse.

Yeah, anyway, here they are. On the council side: Etel Haxhiaj, Joe Petty, Moe Bergman and Khrystian King. On the School Committee side, Chantel Bethea, Tracy Novick, Cara Berg Powers, Molly McCullough and John Trobaugh. While most make sense, I struggle to come up with a good reason why Planned Parenthood would endorse Joe Petty and Molly McCullough after their handling of the whole sex education debacle of last year. Both of them actively lobbied against a curriculum that was vetted by public health professionals and supported

by Planned Parenthood. Both held a sort of middle-ground position in the debate, and their stance was crucial in swinging the committee. They ultimately bent to the pressure of the right wing and its cheap moralizing about “age appropriateness” or whatever. In doing so, they gave a victory to the block of the School Committee which was opposed to the curriculum pretty much solely because Planned Parenthood supported it, and Planned Parenthood also supports abortion (O’Connell and Monfredo). Don’t bother arguing with me on this analysis. I have the receipts. So on the issue of sex ed, both McCullough and Petty gave the anti-abortion crowd a win, while Worcester kids continue to go into the world without any sort of decent sex ed. Maybe they promised Planned Parenthood to do better next time?

TABLE TALKIN’: Table Talk Pies may be out of their longtime Canal District spot sooner rather than later, given the ballpark construction and the inevitable spike in property costs. Per the Worcester Business Journal, the company has begun to inquire about other sites for its headquarters. This begs the natural question: if Table Talk is leaving, is anyone else going to follow? You can build a new factory space but you can’t build a new Hotel Vernon.

HARVEY

Tarantino film begs some wishful thinking JANICE HARVEY

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roubled times often lead to a longing for what we remember through a rosier lens; even stronger is our wish to rewrite history, whether it be personal or political. Who among us wouldn’t like the chance to rewind and erase a hurtful moment or a poor decision? How different would our worlds be?

Such is the case with Quentin Tarantino’s latest film “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” and it couldn’t have been a more relevant release, for these are certainly troubled times. Indeed, there’s a growing nostalgia for any other time but this.

Anyone old enough to remember 1969 will revel in spotting familiar fashion and advertisements. Good lord, people chain-smoked back then. There was a garish charm to every aspect of life in ’69: from the eye makeup to the jewelry to the home decor, everything was over the top with a need to be modern, hip and loud

about it. During a scene where characters watched television, it occurred to me that all they had to do was plug the damn things in and turn them on, not call the cable company to install equipment first. In one scene Brad Pitt climbs on a roof to repair a TV antenna. That and a roll of aluminum foil were all we required for viewing.

I can’t candy-coat the ’60s, however. It was a scary time of upheaval and uncertainty, and dressing actors in bell bottoms doesn’t mask the realities of that decade. Thankfully, Tarantino appreciates that. I was 13 in 1969, and “Once Upon a Time” stirred in me the anxiety I felt as a kid, as the Vietnam War tore up lives and the assassinations of 1968 made me think that no one was safe. I would be falsely buoyed by the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974, thinking that good things came to those who wait. Fat chance. That anxiety has returned in spades since 2016.

Tarantino’s three-hour epic is

marvelous stuff on many levels, but what I found myself mulling later was the desire to change events, to set a course so entirely different from the one fate laid out.

I began to think not only about my own life but about world events in this regard. Small details could have altered history, and I suspect wishful thinking is becoming a pastime and a comfort for many Americans. I began to consider “What ifs…”

If the oft-depressed Abraham Lincoln was in no mood for the theater, John Wilkes Booth might well have missed his opportunity to leap onto the stage shouting: “Sic semper tyrannis!” in 1865. What if Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t step out on the balcony for fresh air?

Perhaps a different route through the kitchen in 1968 would’ve led to the presidency for Bobby Kennedy instead of his death.

If James Comey had waited two weeks before reopening an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, we might not be suffering C O N T I N U E D O N N E XT PA G E

CITY VOICES

FIRST PERSON

Facing swimming pool sabotage on a hot day JOE FUSCO JR.

asked our new young neighbors to lower their backyard-party music and please keep their mutt from t was a lovely Sunday morning in late May. I sauntered into the pooping in our yard.

“This is a nice quiet, (expletive)backyard to turn on our abovefree neighborhood,” I advised them. ground pool. On the blacktop Aha! Those sniveling bastards by the bulkhead lay a mouse. It was must have deposited the rodent intact but inert. When I scooped it on my blacktop (probably couldn’t up, a small stain, perhaps mousefind a horse’s head) then tossed blood, lingered on the pavement. I a cinnamon-tasting contraband turned on the pool.

An hour later, I happened to look in my pool. I plotted my revenge.

It involved giant speakers, Barry out our bedroom window in the Manilow and cow chips. direction of the backyard. Foam Anthony arrived. He asked if covered the top of the pool like a I poured a generous amount of giant beer stein.

Algaecide into the water Saturday “Something’s amiss with our night after my third Tanqueray & swimming hole,” I shouted to the Tonic.

Mrs. then scurried to the affected “Guilty,” I sheepishly replied. area.

Just then, a stray cat ambled Bubbles … Bubbles … Bubbles! through the flower-bed with tiny With more foam pouring out blood stains on his whiskers. of the pool-jet by the second. I “Mysteries solved,” my son-in-law grabbed the skimmer and skimmed smirked then went back to his job a portion of the sea crests for at Homeland Security. examination. They were not soapy I skimmed the pool religiously and tasted like cinnamon. I texted a photo to my son-in-law Anthony, until the Algaecide-induced tsunami subsided then baked a our family pool-expert, with the Lemon Bundt cake. caption “Help!” He promised to be “Welcome to the neighborhood,” right over.

I shouted over Brooks & Dunn.

Waiting for Anthony, a grassy“What a nice Rottweiler. Enjoy the knoll conspiracy theory engulfed my thoughts. Saturday night, I had cake.”

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through a Trump presidency. Even though there is ample evidence that Russia meddled in our elections, Comey’s decision played into the hands of Republicans hellbent on her defeat.

What if what if what if ... we stand so precariously on the edge of democracy’s doom at this moment. Would we be three years into a Biden presidency if his son hadn’t fallen terminally ill? What if Hillary Clinton turned around to the predatory Trump who lurked behind her menacingly during the presidential debate and said: “Back

off, Creep!” instead of ignoring him? Would she be president today? What if Hitler had been a successful painter? What if Mary Jo Kopechne had her own car?

Tarantino’s talents as a filmmaker are wonderfully utilized to make us think past the candy counter, and that’s all I’ve been doing since.

It’s hard not to become wistful and glum when considering what might have been but for the devil hiding in the details. I know that dwelling on what might have been won’t help me cope with what is, but one more question plagues me: What if it rained in Dallas on November 22, 1963?

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ...

Drag Bingo at Bull Mansion Bingo and drag queens for brunch? If that sounds like your idea of a good time, then you’ll probably want to check out Drag Bingo ... which is exactly what it sounds like. Players pay $5 for a bingo card, with winners getting a mystery prize. The proceedings are led by sone of the city’s favorite drag performers, who may be coaxed into a performance or two, while they’re there. A July 21 installment was led by Poise’N Envy. Upcoming presenters include Bootz (Aug. 4), Victoria Obvious (Aug. 11), Kandi Dishe (Aug. 18) and Poise’N Envy again Aug. 25.

Photos by Christine Peterson

COVER STORY

THE APPEAL OF SUPERHEROES AND OTHER FOUR-COLOR FAVORITES

e v o l e h t r Fo s c i m o c of VICTOR D. INFANTE

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here has always been a special place in my heart for superhero comics,” says rapper Sean-Michael Leon Brooks, who performs under the name Leon Legacy. “There is something irrefutably compelling about watching a hero in action, putting everything on the line to save others and stand up for what’s explicitly, someone will come and Man: Far From Home.” Both right, even if it costs them their say, ‘I just saw the Wonder Woman lives.” movies are blockbusters, with the movie’ … They’ll recognize that it’s former having just become the Rapper Angel Geronimo, who the source material.” highest-grossing box office of all performs under the name Death Certainly, superheroes seem time, passing “Avatar.”

Over Simplicity, concurs, saying, “I You would think it’s a good time more popular than ever: You find some superheroes appealing can’t turn around without seeing to be a comic book fan, but is it? because of their use of their gifts them on television or in movies.

— super strength, speed, flight, Numerous critics keep predicting etc. — to help others, rather than his usiness the end of the bubble, but they live as a mythological god to the to miss the point: That there’s people below them, which in my of uper eroes seem a reason for the popularity of these opinion goes against the ‘think of sorts of stories. only yourself ’ mentality that is very efinitely,” says Ken “I guess one of the elements common today.”

Carson, the general is wish fulfillment,” says Carson.

Looking back from adulthood, manager of the comic “You can put yourself in the heroes’ it seems obvious that part of the book store That’s place, and think of what it would appeal of superheroes to me was a Entertainment in Worcester. The be like to have superpowers.” deep-seated, inarticulable desire to answer is a little surprising …

Carson recounts the apocryphal be rescued. I wanted a Spider-Man conventional wisdom says that the tale of Jerry Siegal, creator of or Superman or whomever to save comic book industry is in decline, Superman, thinking to himself on me from that void in my own chest. with Forbes magazine saying that a hot Cleveland night, “If only I It’s a common enough desire, I sales for 2018 were down 1% in could fly.” suppose. We look for that sort of dollars from 2017, and nearly 6% by Carson says there’s also another volume, a trend that has continued side to the appeal: that superheroes security in religion, politicians and family, and sometimes those things for quite some time. But evidently, can “often right wrongs that have fail us. We need only look to the things are looking a little rosier on no practical solution. People think, newspapers to realize how often the corner of Park Avenue and Lois ‘if only someone had the power those things can fail us, and how Lane, as is observable on a recent to do something about this … ’ horribly.

Saturday afternoon visit, which whatever injustice they’re thinking Fictions are different. The saw the store bustling with life. of at that moment. ‘Why are these right story can speak directly to “There isn’t the same things happening in the world,’ and a person’s particular demons, blockbuster growth that there from that, we imagine a superhero and begin to transform them. is in the movies,” says Carson, who actually can do something.

Somewhere along the way, I “but comic sales for us have been It’s a way to alleviate all that stopped overtly looking for holding steady for the past couple frustration.” superheroes to save me, and years. Sometimes it translates very

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have good reason to take superheroes seriously.

Most of my memories of childhood are twodimensional. I was a haunted child, my father having died in an incident of street violence in Pittsburgh when I was 2 years old. That sort of early loss and awareness of death affects you, and by grade school I was often withdrawn or angry, but there was one place I found refuge: comic books.

My favorite character, as my mother likes to remind me, was Spider-Man. I couldn’t tell you exactly what it was in SpiderMan that appealed to me before kindergarten, but it was powerful enough that I taught myself to read on his comics when my mother tired of reading them to me. Or so she tells it. I don’t really remember.

Childhood memories are unreliable, and to tell the truth, I really don’t have any solid memories of anything until pretty much high school. I remember the feeling of childhood, more than events: Memory comes in flashes and emotional aggregates.

I remember feeling safe, or not safe. I remember feeling scared, or

sometimes happy.

And I remember Spider-Man in a series of iconic images: SpiderMan battling The Vulture high in the New York skyline, the Green Goblin tossing Gwen Stacy off a bridge to her doom, Peter Parker – Spider-Man’s alter ego – leaving his costume in an alley trashcan and walking away. And in the end, I remember Spider-Man reclaiming his mask, standing up to villains because someone has to.

“With great power there must also come – great responsibility,” wrote Spider-Man creator Stan Lee, in the character’s first appearance, in “Amazing Fantasy” No. 15. Spider-Man had to fight because he was able to, because he could do things other people couldn’t. It’s the kind of thing that makes an impression on a kid.

Fast-forward to today, and Spider-Man is everywhere: Stan Lee’s face is painted on a mural outside the Hangover Pub on Shrewsbury Street, and next door, in the restaurant Broth, the walls are adorned with iconic comic book images of both Spider-Man and the X-Men, along with the scrawled lyrics from Biggie Smalls songs. Spidey’s in the movies, too, with a small-but-important role in the “Avengers: Endgame” in addition to his own tale, “Spider-

Holding Out for a Hero

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instead, I wanted to be one. I wanted to stand up to bullies and help people. In retrospect, that was probably a bit of naivety and vanity, but it’s still probably healthier than where I started.

In a lot of ways, what draws people to particular comic books is a highly personal and individual experience. Fitchburg teacher Alison Miles says she loves them because they’re “quick reading, engaging stories and visually pleasing.” Worcester pharmacy technician Eric Fair says he likes, “The fantasy aspect, escapism and storytelling.”

Worcester artist Scott Boilard says he loves the art. “I’ve always primarily bought comics if it had unique and or very high quality artwork and design,” he says, adding, “my collection is very varied.”

Worcester-area artist Veronica Fish, who has recently finished a run on the all-ages comic “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” for Archie Comics, working with her husband,

artist Andy Fish, says she’s rereading the original “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind,” a Japanese manga comic by Hayao Miyazaki, and “Winterworld” by Chuck Dixon and Jorge Zaffino. Miles, too, noted that while she reads comics, most of them don’t feature superheroes.

“I don’t know if they’re more popular,” says Andy Fish, “The movies certainly are, but superhero comic book sales are not all that strong. There are so many nonsuperhero books that outsell them, like the recently ended ‘The Walking Dead.’ When you travel to different countries you find comic books are a popular medium but there are very little superheroes — so they remain an American thing.”

Perhaps, but they’re certainly culturally persistent, and for many readers, a goodly part of that is nostalgia. Local singer Dale LePage said, “I read them because it brings back such incredibly fond memories of my childhood.”

Lancaster-native musician Reggie

Above, That’s Entertainment’s Sorana Gatej, left, and store manager Ken Carson.

Left, Alex Tremblay and Olivia Voueht, both of Oxford, browse through boxes of old comic books at That’s Entertainment.

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Bates, currently of New Hampshire, says, “I still collect, but only specifically from the era I grew up on (’80s-’90s X-Men and their relative titles). I’ve been meaning to check out a more recent title but just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

I still pick up standalone graphic novels as well.”

It seems, for many readers, the love of comics becomes frozen in a particular time, or evolves.

Some, such as Geronimo, have maintained a love of superheroes with comics in other genres.

“Currently, I’m reading ‘Saga,’ which is a fantastic story of various species in conflict in space. I’m really excited to pick up ‘House of X’ (an X-Men story) written by Jonathan Hickman when that is released this month. And every few months I catch up on ‘Walking Dead’ comics.”

Brooks echos Andy Fish’s sentiment, saying, “It’s been a while since I have picked up an American comic book, to be honest. There’s just so much going on with every single hero all the time, so many different comic books and timelines. Once you kind of fall away for a little while it can be kind of intimidating to come back and

try to play catch-up when all of your favorite heroes have done so much.”

Never-Ending Story

T

hat torrent of story and continuity has proven to be both a feature and a bug for both comic creators and fans. Recent efforts by DC Comics to “reboot” their characters’ continuities in an effort to attract a new audience, jettisoning decades of stories, left readers befuddled and angry, forcing the company to “reintroduce” old story elements.

For some of these readers, the complexity is part of the appeal.

Chris Denmead, host of WCUW’s “Radio of Horrors” program, says he likes “the plot left hanging on some issues, wondering what is going to happen next.” He’s not alone.

“You’re talking about long form stories that have developed since as far back as the ‘60s,” says music promoter Barry Dennis, “with complex characters and intertwined stories and relationships. Marvel Comics has a story arc with Tony Stark

(Iron Man) that dealt with his alcoholism; Hank Pym (the original Ant Man) abused his wife; Sue Storm (The Invisible Woman from ‘The Fantastic Four’) was in a love triangle with her husband and the Sub-Mariner.”

Dennis feels that the length of time relationships are given to develop in comics gives them more emotional impact than they may have in a movie or a handful of episodes of television.

“I don’t think people realize that all the time,” says Carson, pointing out that some of the plots in superhero movies or TV shows “boil down decades of complex, sprawling comic book continuity to a couple of hours, and I think people sometimes don’t realize that what they’re watching has usually played out in comics.”

Carson admits that’s a doubleedged sword, pointing toward the recent film “Dark Phoenix,” which he admits he hadn’t seen, but was aware that it was poorly regarded by critics and fans. He says the story, which played out in the pages of “The Uncanny X-Men” from 1976 to 1980, is generally considered one of the greatest superhero comic stories ever,

COVER STORY

which made its box office flop a surprise to many.

“You try to adapt a story that took decades to build up the emotional punch,” says Carson, noting that audiences had spent very little time with actor Sophie Turner in the role of Jean Grey.

“Without that attachment to Jean Grey, how can it be devastating?”

The flipside of that disconnect is the death of Tony Stark in the movie “Avengers: Endgame.”

Audiences had watched actor Robert Downey Jr. shine in that role through the bulk of 22 movies over the course of 10 years, and had become emotionally invested in his story.

“Watching a movie or TV show is very different,” says Geronimo.

“Music for one. If I do listen to music while reading a comic it’s usually not orchestral scores accentuating every big battle.

Action sequences are awesome, seeing Dr Strange use his magic, Hulk smashing things, and hearing what Spider-Man’s web ‘thwip’ might actually sound like. But the mediums are so economically

different. For example, comics can create story arcs that last years and draw from decades of lore and storytelling, killing off any character the story requires.

Movies on the other hand have to make extreme amounts of money to cover production costs, keep their contingent of stars in their roles, and will only greenlight a sequel when it makes sense financially. It’s been amazing to see the (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movies and TV shows, and the (DC Comics Extended Universe) using what comic readers have been enjoying for years, which is continuity and a shared universe for their various super-powered beings. The ‘Walking Dead’ show has lost its star actor, while the comic Rick Grimes can continue forever with support of the fans. I enjoy it all, but the experiences are different.”

(Note: “The Walking Dead” comic will be ending in October, for what appears to be creative reasons.)

Carson says comic books are often an “idea factory” for

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Barry Dennis and Dale LePage chat while browsing through comic books at That’s Entertainment.

STEVE LANAVA

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Hollywood, but that “you definitely have to put more time into comic reading than movie-watching in order to participate in the comic book hobby, but I think that’s more rewarding.”

‘You’ll Believe A Man Can Fly’

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ertainly, I thrilled to superheroes on TV in my youth. The Adam West “Batman” was in reruns,

COVER STORY

in all its campy glory, and I loved the Saturday morning cartoon exploits of Captain America, Iron Man and especially “Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends,” which paired Spidey inexplicably with a minor X-Men character, Ice-Man, and a new character, Firestar (who has since been introduced into the comics). But they were always an addenda to my comics addiction, never the main attraction. They were fun, but even as a child, it was clear that they lacked the depth. Even the Christopher Reeve “Superman” movie, as spellbinding as it was, wasn’t a substitute.

Memory, as mentioned earlier, isn’t a reliable tool, particularly childhood memories, but I distinctly remember the thrill of that film, of seeing Superman come

their dramatized counterparts, it’s Andy and Veronica Fish. The character they’ve been working on lately, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, is also featured on a more adult-oriented Netflix series, “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.”

“The Netflix series is based on the comic book ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,’ which for one reason or another has been stalled out. The relaunch we did was more in line with ‘classic’ Sabrina, which has been a character in the Archie-verse since the early ’60s — but there are certainly some darker elements to this series and I’m sure Archie did the relaunch to capitalize on the TV show. Overall it stands on its own as a more ‘all ages’ version of the TV show,” said Andy Fish.

COURTESY SORANA GATEJ

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Of course, the other Archie characters are also getting darker televised makeovers in the CW TV show, “Riverdale,” but the point being: Consumers are becoming accustomed to there being multiple versions of the same characters in different mediums. For example: How many versions of Batman and the Joker are currently being featured in film, TV and comics?

Once, comic book companies and studios would never have allowed that duplication, but now the audience takes it in stride.

“It’s very interesting,” says Carson.

“Superhero movies are maybe the biggest movies in Hollywood, but comics haven’t had that same exponential growth in readership.

Part of it is in that word, ‘readership.’

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to life. I, as the advertising slogan went, believed a man could fly. But that moment of cinematic magic never replaced my love of comics, it simply added to it. For others, the route was reversed.

“Reruns of the 1966 ‘Batman’ TV show with Adam West got me to seek out Batman comics,” says Andy Fish. “Even as a kid, I thought the more mysterious ‘dark knight’ type of Batman in the comics was more interesting than the dogooder of the TV show. I loved the combination of action, mystery and sometimes horror. My other passion at the time was Universal Monsters, so Batman in the comics sort of touched both bases.”

If anyone knows about the dichotomy between comics and

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Rapper Angel Geronimo, who performs as Death Over Simplicity, and teacher Alison Miles, discuss a graphic novel at That’s Entertainment in Worcester.

COVER STORY

sort of question all the time.

I would see that with people who “I ask a lot of questions,” she says, say they loved ‘Lord of the Rings.’

They’d say, ‘I haven’t read it yet, but I of how she helps a new or returning comic reader begin. “Start with loved the movies.” genre first: horror, mystery … find out what they like to read, or what ust ike movies they like to watch.”

She says if they’ve never read a tarting ver comic before, she’ll walk around the store with them, and focus on ’ll confess, I’ve quit buying current titles and first issues. comics on numerous During the short visit, Gatej occasions, although I’ve never manages to convince several stopped reading them. The customers to buy the first graphic first was when I was attending novel collection of “Locke & Key,” a college in England, and the cost comic written by novelist Joe Hill, became too burdensome. More son of novelist Stephen King. The recently, I quit because of the comic is being developed as a Netflix expense, and because I had trouble show. It seems the cycle continues. keeping up with fractaling stories Still, it’s hard to deny that that spread over numerous titles. I so much of what dominates don’t even mind that sort of story,

J S

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but it gets expensive.

Looking through the new comics racks at That’s Entertainment, I find I’m not even sure where I would begin if I were to start again.

Sorana Gatej, the store’s marketing manager, says that she fields that

popular culture starts with the humble comic book. “Hundreds of thousands of people read comics,” says Carson, “Whereas tens of millions go to the movies.

It’s interesting what an effect that small audience has had on the larger audience.”

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

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

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Tim Johnson was born in Worcester, raised in New Jersey and back living in the Worcester area since 2003. He has been making kitchen cutlery for the past several years based out of Oxford and Worcester. Johnson draws inspiration from many of the local artists and craftspeople in the area, especially those who prepare and serve food. He enjoys combining different materials and skill sets together into functional art and enjoys being able to provide high quality tools to the folks who work in food service industry. You can see more of his work at blackstoneknife.com.

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CITY LIFE

Strip strip hooray

Worcester burlesque dancer gives lesson on how to shimmy MARK SULLIVAN

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he spirit of Gypsy Rose Lee took center stage at the Worcester PopUp Saturday as a burlesque dancer offered a primer on the shimmy and the bump and grind.

“Burlesque is for every body — every shape, size, tall, short, fat, thin, for everyone,” said instructor Anna MacInnis of Worcester, whose presentation “Too Darn Hot!” included a history of 150 years of the entertainment form in America as well as a class in the basics of striptease.

MacInnis, 25, who works in ticket sales at The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts and as a ballroom dance instructor at Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Worcester, has performed in burlesque shows at Ralph’s Rock Diner and the Bull Mansion.

A Rubenesque redhead, she dances as Lady LaRouge, a character she describes as a “vivacious scarlet” woman. “You want to feel hot and

fiery, go see Lady LaRouge,” she said.

Sipping an old-fashioned at Nick’s Bar and Restaurant this past week, MacInnis described the appeal of burlesque, an American art form closely tied to vaudeville that has a long and rich tradition she said is only now being widely rediscovered.

“We tell a story by taking off clothes,” said MacInnis. Burlesque is “absolutely naughty” but not X-rated, she said. The required G-string and pasties preserve a semblance of modesty that draws a line between burlesque and today’s stripping, which leaves nothing to the imagination.

“I love that you’re showing off, but you’re not showing everything,” she said. “It always leaves your audience wanting more, and the more they want, the louder they are. I live for applause. If I can get the loudest, hardest applause, I’m a happy woman.”

MacInnis spoke about the history of burlesque in America, which she traced to the arrival of British music

Lady LaRouge teaches students the art of burlesque, during a Daring Dancing Burlesque 101 class, as part of her “Too Darn Hot! A Celebration of 150 Years of Burlesque” workshop at Worcester PopUp. STEVE LANAVA

C O N T I N U E D O N N E XT PA G E

Student Art Criticism: The Abstraction of Water

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EMMA CARLETON

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ater is essential, but can it be a muse? For Kat O’Connor, this element is more than just a part of paint: water is a central component of her striking compositions.

Her inspiration began at a pool while traveling in Marfa, Texas. Centered in the desert, this pool was an oasis, in the darkness, the only source of light for miles.

This illuminated community of water in the midst of the desert inspired O’Connor to focus on the relationship between water and the female body.

She began her swimming series painting the women in her family. As she created connections with other women, she branched out to photographing them, and painting their portraits.

O’Connor touches on her relationships with these

women, explaining that, “my models are in their late 70s often times or they’re poets or they’re moms. They’re all of these amazing, strong women and I think they like that this is a form of expression that’s completely unusual to them. It’s not about how beautiful or how thin they are, it’s about how they are as a person and their body, their scars, their hands, their feet.”

These portraits manage to convey a powerful story about the women through their individual, unidealized bodies.

O’Connor believes that much of someone’s physical journey can be learned just by observing a person’s hands. Hands are often a focus in her compositions, highlighting the stories these appendages hold. The purposeful abstraction of faces in her portraits

emphasizes the aging, “imperfection” of the limbs, moving real-world experience to the forefront of O’Connor’s reflective paintings.

One work on view in her exhibition “This Fluid Report of Motion” at ArtsWorcester, titled “Eclipse,” is a cohesive addition to the swimming series with a colorful dynamic twist. Creating an ominous tension, O’Connor shows her skill of depicting the body in an underwater environment. A light from above illuminates a middle-aged woman’s body floating in a nighttime pool, her hands reaching gently forward.

Through her hands, the model conveys a feeling of uncertainty while pushing the boundaries of her comfort zone. Her body, submerged to the neck, is reflected in the pool’s surface above, abstracting her face and allowing her body to tell its own story. A dark palette dominates but no color is purely black. Hints of teals, greens and violets show us the colors often hiding in water, even at night.

O’Connor knew that she was meant to be a painter rather than a more arguably practical

profession. Beginning her artistic career studying film at Montana State University, O’Connor quickly changed course. Despite this switch, the arts were still centered in her practice and film remained an important facet of her work. The vivid oil portraits that O’Connor delicately creates are reminiscent of luminescent movie stills.

Other painters, of course, influence her work. The interrelationship between the real and the abstract seen in “Eclipse” draws from the influence of the German artist Gerhard Richter (1932-present). Richter blurs the boundaries between representation and distortion of the figure, an intersection that is fundamental to his and O’Connor’s work. Another parallel between their processes is the use of photography as a starting point. For both, photo is the catalyst, after which their artistic choices take over. When creating her portraits, the photos give her the source with which to realistically depict the women’s bodies, but the fluidity of water lets O’Connor play C O N T I N U E D O N N E XT PA G E

CITY LIFE

BURLESQUE

C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 18

hall actress Lydia Thompson and her “British Blondes” on the New York stage in 1869. She said the golden age of striptease in America accompanied the rise of vaudeville and flourished in Boston in old Scollay Square in the mid-20th century, when Ann Corio at the Old Howard and Sally Keith at the Crawford House entertained sailors and Harvard undergraduates alike.

Famous comedians of the 1930s and ’40s honed their acts on the burlesque stage, she said. “Abbott and Costello were big burlesque guys,” she said. “‘Who’s on First?’ started on a burlesque stage.” With the advent of television, Playboy and porn, the burlesque tradition died, she said, but a new generation has embraced a “neo-burlesque” that celebrates showmanship, risque humor and body positivity.

MacInnis studied musical theater at Salem State University, where she performed as a showgirl in the musical “Cabaret.” “That was my first foray into being naked on stage,” she said. “I was in the audition and I knew if I didn’t take my shirt off

I wasn’t getting cast, so I took my shirt off. ‘Cabaret’ is a show with cabaret girls. If I wasn’t comfortable in my curvy body being in front of 1,200 people a night, I wasn’t going to get cast. I showed I was confident enough to do that. Was it scary?

Absolutely. Have I gained miles of body confidence since then?

Absolutely.

“I realized how electric an audience clapping for me dancing in my skivvies made me feel,” she said.

“I never lost that.”

MacInnis offered a beginner’s guide to burlesque terminology. “A ‘bump and grind’ is from the waist down,” she said. “Typically there were very strict rules, depending on what city you were in, on how many bumps and how many grinds you could do in a row. In Detroit, which they called ‘the Vatican’ during the golden era, you could only do one bump to a drum hit. If you did two you’d get reprimanded by the stage manager or you’d have to pay a fine. “‘Shimmy’ was very specific to the top,” she said. “A shimmy would also be accompanied by tassels most usually. There were a lot of stars well-known for their tassel twirling.

That became an art form. Sally Keith

was big in Boston. She could turn them in different directions.”

MacInnis’ signature move is the “one-sided tassel twirl,” she said. “I usually alternate — go one side, then the other.” Doing that requires “a lot of obliques and abs,” she said.

She said she didn’t expect to get into anything that complicated at Saturday’s class. She planned to teach basic moves anyone could take back and try at home, without throwing out one’s sacroiliac.

“It’s all about the tease,” she said.

“Gypsy Rose Lee didn’t dance. She simply talked to her audience and knew when to take off her clothes.

Her acts would be up to 20 minutes long because she would just tease the hell out of them.

“She would hide behind curtains and stick her leg out,” she said. “She would throw her negligee off but you would never actually see her body.

It’s what made her one of the most popular performers.

“She wasn’t a particularly great dancer. She wasn’t a great singer. She knew how to talk to the audience and tease them. She had a great gimmick at the end of her act, when she said, ‘I can’t take that off ! I’d catch a cold!’ Just a little tease.”

When MacInnis took a job in the box office at the historic Hanover Theatre last year, she said, she set out to discover whether Mae West, an idol of hers with whom she shares an Aug. 17 birthday, had ever performed there.

She learned the actress famed for her hourglass figure and bawdy double entendres had not performed in Worcester at what in the early years of the 20th century was called Poli’s Palace. That is because West had been banned by vaudeville magnate Sylvester Z. Poli after the shimmy number she’d done in his New Haven theater in 1912.

“She came out singing and dancing and started to shimmy,” MacInnis said. “This New Haven theater was filled with Yale boys and they were absolutely rowdy over her doing this scintillating shimmy. She didn’t reveal anything but she sent the boys wild and they trashed the theater.

“Sylvester Poli said Mae West was now banned from his theaters due to her ‘sin-promising wriggle,’” she said. “It’s one of my favorite stories in burlesque-vaudeville history.

What better way to get banned from somewhere than to be too hot to trot?”

ABSTRACTION

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with abstraction within the realm of realism.

In this series of nontraditional portraits of female swimmers, water serves as an organic means of abstraction, enabling her to hold realism and distortion closely in a single portrait. O’Connor manipulates her oil paint to represent water’s ability to warp our perception, and uses her agency as an artist to highlight the physicality of living women, creating portraits of natural and maturing bodies floating and moving in the embrace of water.

This student art criticism is published by Worcester Magazine in partnership with ArtsWorcester and Clark University and is made possible by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.

Kat O’Connor: This Fluid Report of Motion Where: In exhibit at ArtsWorcester, 44 Portland Street, The Printers Building Closing: Aug. 3

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CITY LIFE

DINING

Pick Puffins

95 N. Main St., Millbury • (508) 865-2252 • puffinsrestaurant.rocks SANDRA RAIN

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P

uffins enacts a simple ripple in the swell of eateries that occupy Millbury. The small town’s density of options comes on account of an open-air shopping mall, which comprises more than 50 businesses and 10 chain restaurants including Applebee’s, TGI Friday’s and LongHorn Steakhouse. When the shopping center was erected in 2004, it prompted the first new exit built off the Mass Pike in 20 years, along with a rush of corporate attention.

Today, malls tremble in the shadow of Amazon and Americans are making a concerted effort to eat local. The public picks Puffins.

Puffins came under fire last year during a routine cleaning of their exhaust system when one of the kitchen walls literally burst into flames. The Millbury eatery reopened without fanfare one year later for a crowd of loyal customers.

Puffins’ renovated dining room is bright and polished, approximating an airy beach house more than a New England diner.

Subtle quirks in the updated design are bound to welcome a new era of pufflings undoubtedly immune to the allure of sit-down chains. Each table is pre-set with blue enamel camping mugs that pop against the pale interior. White plated mirrors, faux marble table tops, and bleached floor panels instill a sense of calm among the mauve booths. The farmhouse light fixtures seem expertly pieced together from oak barrel cross sections. Red umbrellas bask guests in a crimson light begging for a lazy afternoon on the deck outside.

Service is as fresh as the new coat of paint. Puffins’ staff appears earnest and always smiling, albeit green. When asked for suggestions, one server told me cheerfully that she had none. According to her, “It’s all good.” This is fine, except that the menu includes more than 90 items.

I would have ordered anything she recommended.

The sandwiches are a strength, paying careful heed to proportions. I enjoy the Reuben served with layers of lean corned beef, gooey Swiss cheese, warm sauerkraut, and thousand island dressing on grilled marble rye.

Each slice of bread is toasted and buttered on both sides with care. You

can add hand cut fries for $1.95, but I prefer the Mediterranean salad for the same price. The salad combines leafy greens, kalamata olives, tomatoes, green peppers, feta and thin slices

of red onion. Dressing arrives on the side for a crucial dose of extra virgin olive oil, lemon, mint and vinegar to balance the dish.

Specialty brick oven pizzas make up a large portion of Puffins’ menu, but they are the first item I would put on the chopping block. The personal sized pies arrive doughy and undercooked on the bottom with blackened crusts on top that are scorched, not leopard spotted.

Nonetheless, the fresh mozzarella and housemade marinara are a nice touch, garnished with basil and parsley from the garden.

All week long, you’ll find guests indulging in boozy brunch cocktails priced at only $7. Bloody Marys and morning mimosas will abound until you’ve read the entire paper cover to cover. When you’re through, checks arrive electronically on a convenient hand held terminal.

On your next trip to the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley, skip the giant chains in favor of an artisan sandwich or a hearty breakfast at Puffins; your meal will feel more elegant and it will cost you less.

On my last lunch for two at Puffins, our bill came to $17.54.

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

Three is satisfactory. Four is good. Five is excellent.

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

TABLE HOPPIN’ BARBARA M. HOULE

Four-day festival celebrates Italian culture

The Italian Festival sponsored

by Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Our Lady of Loreto Parish in Worcester is a four-day celebration that features delicious food, live entertainment and festival favorites.

The annual celebration of Italian and Italian American culture is scheduled Aug. 8-11 on the grounds of Our Lady of Loreto Church, 37 Massasoit Road, Worcester.

Admission is $2 per person.

Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Aug. 8; 5 to 11 p.m. Aug. 9; noon to 11 p.m. Aug. 10; noon to 6 p.m. Aug. 11.

to wow the crowd with the classic Italian calamari, and for adults a frozen rose wine.

Look for parish booths, with church volunteers dishing out sausage, pepper and onions subs; hot dogs; hamburgers and a festival favorite, fried dough. Italian cookies also will be available. They’re so good!

It’s officially ice cream season, and visitors will be able to cool off with a scoop of their favorite frozen treat from Madulka’s Ice Cream, one of Worcester’s most popular ice cream shops; Simply Cannoli, a mobile catering station, will make the Italian pastries on site; Pop on the Block, serving 40 varieties of popcorn, will have bags ready to go. Note: The Rhode Island company, Pop on the

From left, Theresa Travaglio of Pepe’s Italian Food, Cynthia Marine of Pop on the Block, festival chairperson Elaine Beaudry, Michael Madulka of Madulka’s Ice Cream, and Gabriella George of the Boulevard Diner are pictured at Our Lady of Loreto Church, where the fourday Italian Festival will be held beginning Aug. 8.

CHRISTINE PETERSON

Parking will be available on the side streets and across the street from the festival at Rice Square School, according to Elaine Beaudry, festival chairperson. Handicap spaces are next to the church, she said. Visit mtcarmelfestival.org for more info.

Here’s what’s cooking Italian style: For their booth at the festival, the Boulevard Diner in Worcester will serve traditional pasta, meatballs and sausage, inspired from the diner’s recipes; Pepe’s Italian Food In Worcester will satisfy festivalgoers’ cravings for pizza by offering a variety of slices, the most popular on Pepe’s menu; the new Russo Italian Restaurant in Worcester plans

Block, was profiled in the Sunday Telegram July 21.

The entertainment schedule: Aug. 8; Windfall, 6 to 10 p.m.; Aug. 9: Boombox, 7 to 11 p.m.; Aug. 10: Johnny Vincent, noon to 2 p.m.; New England Karate Academy, 3 to 4 p.m.; Ambrosiani ItalianAmerican Band, 4 to 7 p.m.; Drive South, 8 to 11 p.m.; Aug. 11: Joe Cariglia, noon to 2 p.m.; Ambrosiani Italian-American Band, 3 to 6 p.m.

Fiesta Shows will provide carnival rides all four days of the festival. There also will be craft vendors.

A festival jam-packed with family fun!

Farm Adventure weekends on tap

Central Mass Grown will host a Farm Adventure Weekend Series on Aug. 3-4 and Oct. 12-13.

The Farm Adventure Weekend is a self-guided adventure to explore Central Massachusetts family farms, with 30 local farms participating in the two weekend event, according to Mackenzie May, executive director Central Mass Grown.

Farm Passports for the weekends are available at participating farms stands, farmers markets and online at centralmassgrown.org.

May said participants who get passports stamped at five participating locations will earn a Central Mass Grown swag bag and a chance to win a Summer CSA from a local farm valued at $300.

These events are funded through the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture and in partnership with Worcester County Farm Bureau.

Farm destinations in August: Red Apple Farm in Phillipston; Pineo Family Farm in Sterling; Indian Head Farm in Berlin; Harvard Alpaca Ranch in Harvard; Westward Orchards in Harvard; Broken Creek Vineyard in Shrewsbury; Douglas Orchard & Farm in Douglas; J&K’s Good Thyme Farm in Ashburnham; Red Eft Farm in Ashby; Crowover Farm in Ashburnham; Diemand Farm in Wendell; Clover Hill Farm in Hardwick; Autumn Hills Orchard in Groton; Wind Eagle Farm in Westminster; Lanni Orchards Inc. in Lunenburg; Hillside Herbals in Holden; Davidian Farm in Northboro.

In October, participating farms include: Whittier Farms in Sutton; Walker Farm at Whortleberry Hill in New Braintree; The Little White Goat Dairy in Orange; Sholan Farms in Leominster; Ragged Hill Orchard in West Brookfield; Clearview Farm in Sterling; Couet Farm and Fromagerie in Dudley; Ragged Hill Cider Company in West Brookfield; Sweet Pumpkins Farm in Hubbardston; The Farm at Summit Wynds Inc. in Holden; Plain View Farm Alpacas in Hubbardston; Turn Back Time in Paxton; Lilac Hedge Creamery in Northboro.

Central Mass Grown’s mission is to promote the purchase of local agricultural products and to foster the education about its C O N T I N U E D O N N E XT PA G E

CITY LIFE

NEXT DRAFT

Architect helps craft ideal home for brewers Tree House, Alchemist and Lawson’s have all called on Austin Design MATTHEW TOTA

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benefits to health, communities, the economy and the environment. The organization supports and promotes 180 farm members in Central Massachusetts.

Good stuff !

Executive chef Steve Champagne’s five-course dinner menu: first course: tomatoes and burrata; second course: Atlantic cod cake, grilled corn salsa, chorizo crema; third course: grilled lamb chops, farro, feta and mint salad, piquillo chermoula; fourth course: cumin caraway crusted pork tenderloin, creamy cheddar Anson Mills grits, blood orange vanilla

A Signature Wine Dinner is scheduled at Niche Hospitality Group’s Bocado Tapas Wine Bar, 82 Winter St., Worcester on Aug. 12.

The event at 7 p.m. is $85 per person, including tax and gratuity.

Visit www.nichehospitalithy.com for ticket information.

reduction, pickled peaches; dessert: strawberry semifreddo, black pepper popcorn, basil, graham flour shortbread cookie.

Worcester Restaurant Week coming up

Worcester Restaurant Week, summer series, is Aug. 4-17.

Participating restaurants will feature three-course meals for $25.19.

Visit worcesterrestaurantweek. com for more information. Lots of restaurants on board.

If you have a tidbit for the column, call (508) 868-5282. Send email to bhoulefood@gmail.com.

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Wine dinner slated at Bocado

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TA B L E H O P P I N’

C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 20

to stop drawing the warehouse. They had gotten to capacity. They said, ‘We are tired of building, we just want to make beer.’”

The design for Tree House’s 55,000-squarefoot Charlton brewery focused on making room for a giant production operation without losing the farm-feel that the brewery relished.

“There is this dichotomy with Tree House: They want to balance out the modern brewery — large-scale, steel, concrete, and glass — with the craft of brewing, and the touch A rendering by Austin Design Inc. of Tree House Brewing Co.’s and the feel of local, new expansion in Charlton. The addition includes, among other natural materials, and things, a larger bar. the humanness of the COURTESY OF AUSTIN DESIGN INC. folks that are coming in and buying more beer,” When he first sits down with a Austin Design is now working on Webster said. “It’s the classic struggle the Tree House expansion. brewery, Webster asks questions we’ve seen with craft beer: How do about their brand, their hopes for the The company’s impressive you maintain your craft and grow?” present and their plans for the future. brewery portfolio ranges from The final design perfectly That information ultimately shapes large destination sites to smaller incorporates both sides of Tree his design. downtown hangouts. Since the House, its grand ambitions and its “With the Alchemist and Tree Alchemist, the firm has designed humble roots.

House, they’re very retail-orientated, or consulted on nearly 20 different With their Tree House plan, compared to Lost Shoe and Lawson’s, projects across New England, Austin Design drew in elements which are more pub-orientated,” he including Fox Farm Brewery, Lord that would emphasize the feeling of said.

Hobo Brewing Company, Lost Shoe arriving somewhere special after a While building other people’s Brewing and Roasting Company, long journey, with certain features breweries, he has never felt any Medusa Brewing Company and of the brewery making you feel like regret over his own unsuccessful White Lion Brewing Company. you’ve made a new pilgrimage every “All of the breweries look different, attempt at opening a brewery. In fact, time you visit. For example, Webster they all have different atmospheres, his brewing background has made said, they set the brewery on a hill, his job easier and more enjoyable. and we strive to make them as above a winding road.

“When I was looking to build my unique as their own crafted beer,” “You have that meandering hill brewery, the climate was contracting, Webster said. with the stream crossing, which all and now years later, I’m not sure Still, he acknowledged there became part of this sequence to what my fate would have been,” are some similar threads that run arrive,” he said. “There’s a natural Webster said. “When I went back to through each project, such as the hillside and an elongated building, idea of the brewery experience. More school to study architecture, I never and you drive past the brewery and and more breweries want to immerse thought I’d get to build breweries, actually park up above it and walk their guests in the sights, sounds and so it’s been a serendipitous thing, down to it.” everything coming full circle.” smells of a brewhouse, he said.

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s a brewer, Peter Webster never managed to open his own brewery. Rotten luck and timing squashed that dream, so he switched careers.

Now as an architect, Webster has had a hand in building some of the most popular breweries in the world; you could even argue that he hasn’t designed mere breweries, but rather idyllic, Instagram-worthy craft beer paradises.

Brewery project manager for Austin Design Inc., Webster and his firm have built new homes for the biggest names in New England craft beer. Tree House Brewing Co., the Alchemist Brewery and Lawson’s Finest Liquids have all called on Austin Design, which has offices in Greenfield, Mass., and Brattleboro, Vermont.

Thanks to those clients, and more than a dozen more, the firm has built a reputation in the region’s craft beer community for drawing up beautiful destination breweries.

“With this wave of things happening in craft beer — tasting laws changing, breweries seen as destinations, taprooms — our work in craft beer sort of blossomed,” Webster said.

Austin Design’s focus in the craft beer industry started with the renovation of Northampton Brewery in 1988, a project that founder Bill Austin oversaw.

Nearly 30 years later, the firm landed a high-profile project that would make its name in the craft beer world: the construction of the Alchemist’s new brewery in Stowe, Vermont. For his first job with the firm, Webster would be designing a brewery for the makers of Heady Topper, the country’s most soughtafter double IPA. Every brewer has a vision for how their brewery will look, and

as the architect, Webster must translate that dream into reality, with a feasible design that stays within budget and finishes on time.

“Dreams are awesome,” he said.

“My job is I’m trying to make their dreams come true.”

The Alchemist envisioned a bright, open brewery, where people bought their beer feet away from where it was brewed.

“They ( founders Jen and John Kimmich) showed us a picture of themselves walking through an airport in the Caribbean, and they said they want light streaming in like that,” Webster explained. “They really liked the arching canopies up on the deck at the Northampton Brewery, so they wanted to combine that with the openness of an airport concourse.”

Mix in a bit of pastoral Vermont with industrial touches like glass and steel, and you have the Alchemist’s Stowe brewery, which opened in 2016. From there, word spread of Austin Design’s work with the Alchemist, eventually getting to four guys who owned a small, but fastgrowing brewery in Monson, Mass.

Webster initially met the owners of Tree House while on a beer run.

And they had a conversation around March of 2015 that led to Tree House hiring Austin Design to plan a warehouse for more storage space.

Eight months after opening a new brewery in Monson, Tree House was already struggling to meet the demand on its retail operation from the hordes of people queing up every day for beer. And in September, Webster said, the brewery told Austin Design to scrap the plans for a warehouse.

Instead, Tree House needed the firm to design it a new, larger brewery.

“Tree House’s new brewery was about being bigger,” Webster said.

“They opened Monson in February, and by September they told us

CITY LIFE

FILM

Tarantino’s scorching love of Hollywood JIM KEOGH

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ome notes scribbled on a yellow pad (in italics) at a showing of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” — and a bit of followup: Tarantino hates Nazis. Even more than Indiana Jones. And he particularly enjoys fiery endings for them. In “Inglourious Basterds” Tarantino blew up an entire movie theater to dispatch Hitler and his lieutenants. Here, in a flashback to star Rick Dalton’s early career, the actor incinerates a roomful of Nazis with a flamethrower.

Alternative history. Tarantino’s revisionist take on the Manson murders may even be more audacious than his Hitler sequence.

But this is a Hollywood-set fairy tale, where fantasy subsumes fact. What he does exceedingly well is keep us intrigued by Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), who glows with a naïve

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FILM CAPSULES “Aladdin” — Live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1992 animated musical based on the timeless fantasy tale about a charming thief, a beautiful princess and a big blue genie.

(2:08) PG. “Annabelle Comes Home” — The deadly doll wreaks horror on the family of demonologists in this franchise entry. (1:46) R. “Avengers: Endgame” — Captain America and the other surviving team members attempt to set the universe to rights in the aftermath of Thanos’ victory in this Marvel franchise entry. (3:01) PG-13.

“Booksmart”: Two studious high school seniors try to pack four years of partying into one night.

(1:45) R. “Crawl” — Trapped in a flooding house during a hurricane, a young Florida woman and her father are menaced by alligators. (1:27) R. “The Dead Don’t Die” — A small town is overrun by zombies in writer-director Jim Jarmusch’s star-studded horror comedy.

(1:45) R. “A Dog’s Journey” — The pooch with a purpose forms a new

optimism, though who isn’t above deploying her celebrity status to save 75 cents on a ticket to one of her own movies.

He nails 1969. Yep, I was there.

The details are just right, as best as I can recall (I was a kid). A flash of Jack Davis art. Anne Francis’ mole.

An ad hyping a James Farentino TV appearance. The face of Andrew Duggan on the cover of TV Guide.

Two years later Duggan would be the first Pa Walton in “The Homecoming: A Christmas Story,” another sign the times were a-changin’.

RIP Luke Perry. Perry died of a stroke 10 days after shooting wrapped, a sad coda. I’ve always loved how Quentin Tarantino juices certain actors’ careers well after the performances that made them famous. (See: John Travolta) Clu Galager lives! The consummate tough guy in countless TV Westerns and cop shows is listed in the credits, though I can’t pinpoint

Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt star in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.”

SONY PICTURES/ANDREW COOPER

where he appeared. Galager is 90 now, and according to his IMDB page he’s still acting. (Albeit most recently as “Crusty” in a straight-toDVD release of “Children of the Corn: Runaway.” But still.) Stay strong and kick ass, Clu. Seinfeld? The film contains a couple of subtle Seinfeldian notes, unintentional I presume. Roman Polanski wears a ruffled shirt that’s a dead ringer for Jerry’s infamous “puffy shirt.” And a scene where Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his body double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) watch an episode of “Mannix” shot me right back to the “Seinfeld” episode when George suggests he and Jerry jump out of a speeding limousine to escape a couple of neo-Nazis. “Who are you?” asks the appalled Jerry. “Mannix?!”

Who is this kid? Her name is Julia Butters. Remember it. She plays an 8-year-old actor on the set of a cheesy TV Western who brings

the insecure Rick to tears when she compliments his performance.

Normally, superprecocious kids make my skin crawl, which is why I had to abandon “Stranger Things.”

Not this girl. Butters already has done substantial TV work (unseen by me), but this feels like the coming-out party for her career.

Goulet. Can there possibly be an image better exemplifying an old-time entertainer straining for hipness in a world he doesn’t quite understand than a tuxedoed Robert Goulet singing “MacArthur Park”?

There can’t be, right?

The coffee cup. While on set, Rick tosses a paper coffee cup to the ground, and, while plainly visible, the cup is never referenced again. Just a couple of years later the memorable PSA of an American Indian tearing up when trash is discarded at his feet would hit the airwaves. Casual littering was a thing.

T&G Readers: For today’s movie showtimes, please see the television page of today’s Telegram & Gazette.

Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway in “The Hustle.”

MGM

attachment and vows to watch over her in this sequel. (1:48) PG. “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” — The giant reptile vies with Mothra, Rodan and the three-headed King Ghidorah for world domination. (2:12) PG-13.

“The Hustle” — Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson play con women who join forces for revenge. (1:43) PG-13.

“John Wick — Chapter 3 — Parabellum” — The super-

assassin played by Keanu Reeves is back, pursued by other hired killers looking to collect a $14 million bounty. (2:10) R. “Late Night” — A swell romantic comedy of a very particular sort, a film that details the delightful attachment two women have to the profession they’re completely devoted to. R. “The Lion King” — The young Simba has a series of adventures on the way to claiming his

birthright in this computeranimated remake of the 1994 animated Disney musical. (1:58) PG. “Men in Black: International” — A new generation of alienbusting agents searches for a mole in their midst. (1:55) PG-13.

“Midsommar” — A young American tourist couple are drawn into the darker aspects of a pagan festival in rural Sweden.

(1:40) R. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” — Leonardo DiCaprio is a has-been TV star and Brad Pitt plays his longtime stunt double in writer-director Quentin Tarantino’s 1969-set multi-narrative tale set during the closing days of the studio system’s Golden Age. (2:39).

“Pokemon Detective Pikachu” — The son of a missing detective teams with the titular sleuth to find his father in this mix of live action and animation. (1:44) PG. “Poms” — Diane Keaton stars as a woman who starts a cheer squad at a retirement home.

(1:31) PG-13.

“Rocketman” — Mild-mannered English piano player Reginald

Dwight transforms into rock superstar Elton John in this musical fantasy biopic starring Taron Egerton. (2:01) R. “The Secret Life of Pets 2” — A sequel to the computer-animated comedy reveals more of the antics our animal companions get up to when we’re not around. (1:26) “Spider-Man: Far from Home” — The young web slinger’s trip to Europe with his school friends is interrupted by Nick Fury and some elemental creatures. (2:08) PG-13.

“Stuber” — A mild-mannered Uber driver is pressed into service by a gruff undercover cop in pursuit of a violent criminal.

(1:33) R. “Toy Story 4” — The gang goes on a road trip and reunites with Bo Peep in the fourth entry in Disney-Pixar’s beloved computeranimated franchise. (1:40) G. “UglyDolls” — The plush toys break out in song in their own animated musical adventure.

“Yesterday” — A struggling musician wakes up to find he’s the only person on Earth who knows the music of the Beatles. (1:56) PG-13.

CITY LIFE

LIFESTYLE

Diving into some summer reading SARAH CONNELL SANDERS A template for summer bliss requires me to swim, read, write and see sunlight all in one day. Finding time for all the items on my inventory can prove difficult in a landlocked city like Worcester, but I persist. For me, the most powerful motivator has always been a compelling book. Please find each of my summer reading recommendations paired with proper swimming holes below. All selections are available at the Worcester Public Library.

“Because Internet” by Gretchen McCulloch at 145 Front

You will have to persuade someone to sign you into the pool at 145 Front, where residents are only permitted two guests at a time. Times are changing downtown. It’s worth calling in the favor if only to experience a resort-style oasis in the space once occupied by the Jordan Marsh department store, an anchor tenant of the bygone Worcester Galleria. Once you’re in, score a coveted umbrella lounge chair or set up shop on a comfortable couch by the fire pit. Little waterfalls spout majestic streams from every angle, creating a peaceful backdrop for the moment when you decide to challenge a lineup of perfect strangers to race a 20-yard sprint. I won, by the way. Bring a copy of Gretchen McCulloch’s “Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language.” McCulloch delves into the patterns driving internet slang, the beauty of text message punctuation, and the emotional impact of gifs. She explains why some memes ignite and transform the English language while others shrink into irrelevance. “Because Internet” illustrates how age-old building blocks can morph into something brand new, like 145 Front rising from the ashes of a failed shopping mall.

“The Last Romantics” by Tara Conklin at Coes Reservoir

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There’s a scene in Tara Conklin’s novel, “The Last Romantics,” in which the protagonist, Fiona, and her older brother, Joe, discover a sacred New England pond where he teaches her to swim. As I read “The Last Romantics,” I pictured Coes Reservoir, where sandy beach gives way to the steep slopes of Columbus Park on five miles of walking trails. Conklin examines Fiona’s ability to harness inner strength in the face of one family crisis after another. On Fridays at 6:30 p.m. from now until the end of September, the YWCA will offer a 180 Boot Camp free of charge. Arrive early to indulge in Conklin’s coming of age tale while you wait for class to begin at Coes’ universally accessible, multigenerational park and playground.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

You can rent a stand-up paddle board at Regatta Point on Lake Quinsigamond for just $22 per hour. Until Sept. 3, rentals are available from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. on weekdays and until 6 p.m. on weekends. Strike a yoga pose to test your balance and then swan dive into the refreshing waves once you work up a sweat. Or, pack a paperback in a ziplock bag and bob by the shore. I suggest Bianca Bosker’s “Cork Dork,” recommended to me by fellow food writer David Kmetz. Bosker reports from inside the elite tasting groups of master sommeliers in New York City. I’m a sucker for tasting notes. In one scene, Bosker describes a 2012 Condrieu with the terms: ripe peaches, butterscotch, tarragon, Easter lilies and hot dogs. In the end, “Cork Dork” explores the contradiction of assigning agonizing monetary value to a liquid intended for joyful consumption. Explore your senses from the wobble of your paddle board.

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“Cork Dork” by Bianca Bosker at Regatta Point

CITY LIFE

THINGS TO DO COMPILED BY RICHARD DUCKETT, VICTOR D. INFANTE AND HOPE RUDZINSKI

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3rd Annual BVAA Sunflower Show: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 1, Booklovers’ Gourmet, 55 East Main St., Webster. For information: (508) 949-6232, deb@ bookloversgourmet.com. The art show is in conjunction with a stunning garden of sunflowers in front of the store.

Out to Lunch 2019 ft. Crocodile River Music: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 1, Worcester Common Oval, 455 Main St., Worcester. Free.

The Russo Brothers Jazz Quintet: 6-9 p.m. Aug. 1, Sonoma Restaurant, Sonoma Restaurant, 363 Plantation St., Worcester.

Fox and the Dragon: 6 p.m. Aug. 1, Greater Good Imperial Brewing Company, 55 Millbrook St., Worcester.

Summer in the Park Concert Series featuring Ayla Brown: 6-8 p.m.

Aug. 1, Dr. Arthur and Dr. Martha Pappas Recreation Complex, 203.5 Pakachoag St., Auburn.

Screaming Females, Dark Thoughts, Exmaid and Evan Greer: 8-11:59 p.m. Aug. 1, Ralph’s Diner, 148 Grove St., Worcester. Cost: $15-$18.

Thursday Night Laughs: hosted

by James Dorsey, featuring Cassie Tortoricci and Jonathan Tilson, WooHaHa, 8 p.m. Aug. 1, 50 Franklin St., Worcester. $10.

Musical Bingo presented by Wise Guys Trivia: 9-11:59 p.m. Aug. 1, Beatnik’s, 433 Park Avenue, Worcester.

Battle lines at OSV Old Sturbridge Village becomes a military camp from the time of the War for Independence this weekend as hundreds of historic military reenactors will be taking part in the 16th annual “Redcoats and Rebels” event. There will be mock battles and skirmishes between Colonial and British troops, tours of the British and American camps, “School of the Soldier” training demonstrations, cannon demonstrations, musket drilling, martial music and a battlefield hospital. On the domestic side there will be demonstrations of cooking methods and making household items such as soap. The event will be open until 8 p.m. Aug. 3 for “Twilight Encampment.”

What: “Redcoats and Rebels” When: 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 3 ; 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 4 Where: Old Sturbridge Village, 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge How much: Included with standard daytime admission, a season pass, or Village membership. www.osv.org.

Friday, Aug. 2

Famtasia Family Getaway: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Aug. 2, 138 Howard St, 138 Howard St., Lunenburg.

Cost: $30. For information: (413) 218-66, famtasiathesheep@ gmail.com. Musical acts include Creamery Station, The Rebel Alliance, Ben Rudnick & Friends, Color Killer, Rick Redington & The Luv, Shiprock & Anchordog, Don’t Tell Jack and many more.

The event will also feature Papa Joe the Storyteller, The Faerie Tribe Fairies, FestiQuest Game & Adventure, tea parties, a Fire performance to the music of Bella’s Bartok, Jeff Kempton Magic, The Way We Move with Fire and circus performing arts, animals, carnival games and more.

Central Mass 10 Skate Festival:

Delivering laughs Comedian Sarah Martin has built a name for herself through witty and honest comedy sets. Martin tackles such diverse topics as Planned Parenthood and women’s rights, to lighter fare such as being a redhead, delivering laughs through her spunky personality and big energy. Martin is is currently developing a darkly funny dramedy series, “Code Green: Smoke Break,” set at a psychiatric hospital. The first installment is available on YouTube. She has also appeared on television shows such as “The Steve Katsos Show,” and has made radio and podcast appearances on “WAAF” and the “Behind The Funny” podcast.

What: Comedian Sarah Martin Where: The Comedy Attic at Park Grill & Spirits, 257 Park Ave, Worcester.

When: 8 p.m Aug. 2 How Much?: $15

PROMOTIONAL PHOTO

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Thursday, Aug. 1

Comedian Sarah Martin: 8 p.m.

Aug. 2, The Comedy Attic at Park Grill & Spirits, 257 Park Ave., Worcester. $15.

Richard Shindell: 8-11 p.m.

Aug. 2, Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley. Cost: $26.

For information: (978) 425-4311, BryanSawyer@bullrunrestaurant. com.

Auntie Trainwreck: 9-11:59 p.m.

Aug. 2, Beatnik’s, 433 Park Avenue, Worcester.

Saturday, Aug. 3

Cheap Trick with Pieces of Eight: 1 p.m. Aug. 3, Indian Ranch, 200 Gore Road, Webster. $56-$119.

“Carolyn’s Garden” Sunflower Festival: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Aug. 3, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Aug. 2, Central Mass Community Harvest Project, 37 Wheeler Road, Grafton. Cost: $10.

Skate Festival, 1 Still River Road, Central Mass 10 Skate Festival: Harvard. Cost: $5-$75. A decade 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Aug. 3, Central Mass in the making, the 10th annual Skate Festival, 1 Still River Road, and last ever Central Mass Skate Harvard. Cost: $5-$75. A decade Festival returns to Harvard for in the making, the 10th annual a final hurrah on August 2-4, and last ever Central Mass Skate 2019. The three-day festival Festival returns to Harvard for features a mini-ramp jam, street a final hurrah on August 2-4, course, downhill race, slide jam, 2019. The three-day festival downhill skatepark, longest slide features a mini-ramp jam, street and biggest air competitions course, downhill race, slide jam, in beautiful, historic Harvard. downhill skatepark, longest slide All skate disciplines, ages, skill and biggest air competitions levels and genders welcomed.

Registration is required to ride any in beautiful, historic Harvard.

All skate disciplines, ages, skill of the roads, ramps or features at any time, but registration does not levels and genders welcomed.

Registration is required to ride any require competitive involvement of the roads, ramps or features at — riders may opt out of their any time, but registration does not heats and just skate for fun. For require competitive involvement information: email contact@ — riders may opt out of their skatecentralMA.com.

NBA 2K Tournament: Summer Jam heats and just skate for fun. For information: email contact@ Classic Edition: 12-7 p.m. Aug. 2, skatecentralMA.com.

44 Portland St, 44 Portland St., Mars — Revealing the Secrets of 4th Floor, Worcester. Cost: $20. the Red Planet: 1-2 p.m. Aug. 3, Canal District Music Series with Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem The Alchemystics and Serenity St., Worcester. For information: Jackson: 6-8:15 p.m. Aug. 2, Worcester Ice Center, 112 Harding (508) 799-1655, wplref@mywpl. org. Introduces the exploration St, 112 Harding St., Worcester. of the red planet beginning Donald Prange: 6-9 p.m. Aug. with Percival Lowell’s drawings 2, Park Grill & Spirits, 257 Park of canals on Mars to H.G. Wells’ Avenue, Worcester.

“War of the Worlds” and into the “Echo in the Canyon”: screening, modern era with NASA & ESA 7-8:30 p.m. Aug. 2, The Park orbiting spacecraft, landers and View Room, 230 Park Avenue, rovers.

Worcester. Cost: $8.50-$10.

5th Annual Summer Gospel Fest: Comedian Mark Normand: 7 and 1-8 p.m. Aug. 3, Institute Park, 100 9:30 p.m. Aug. 2, WooHaHa, 50 Salisbury St., Worcester. Cost: Free.

Franklin St., Worcester. $20.

Outdoor Digital Photography with Plein Air Film Series — screening Richard Hoyer: 2-4 p.m. Aug. 3, of “McQueen”: 8-11 p.m. Aug. Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem 2, Worcester Art Museum, 55 St., Worcester. For information: Salisbury St., Worcester. Cost: 508-799-1655, wplref@mywpl. $12-$16.

org, go.evvnt.com/440062-0.

A hands-on class designed to introduce composition techniques and demystify some camera functions. The class will be taught outside while walking around downtown Worcester taking

Artistic lives The Worcester Art Museum begins a new Plein Air Film Series outside in the Stoddard Courtyard with a screening of “McQueen,” a documentary about the British fashion designer Alexander McQueen, Friday. The films, which will be shown at 8 p.m. every Friday evening in August, were chosen “to stir the imagination with stories of extraordinary creativity and artistic courage.”

Through exclusive interviews with his closest friends and family, recovered archives, and visuals and music, “McQueen” offers a portrait of an inspired yet tortured fashion visionary who died at age 40 in 2010. Upcoming are “Kusama: Infinity” (Japanese artist Yayoi Jusama), Aug. 9; “Leaning Into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy” (a profile of the British artist), Aug. 16; “Faces Places” ( filmmaker Agnes Varda and photographer JT travel the French countryside), Aug. 23; and “Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat,” Aug. 30. The public is invited to bring blankets for relaxing on the lawn; café tables and chairs are also available for cabaret-style seating. Beverages and snacks will be available for purchase.

What: Plein Air Film Series — “McQueen” When: 8 p.m. Aug. 2 Where: Stoddard Courtyard, Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury St. How much: $12 museum members; $16 nonmembers (includes admission for two for a return visit during regular museum hours). For more information, visit worcesterart.org

CITY LIFE

Strange times The Famtasia Family Getaway has a lot going on: On the one hand you have a wide variety of music from such acts as Creamery Station, The Rebel Alliance, Ben Rudnick & Friends, Color Killer and Rick Redington & The Luv. On the other, you have Papa Joe the Storyteller and The Faerie Tribe Fairies, and to round it all off, you have what’s described as “a fire performance to the music of Bella’s Bartok.” All told, that’s a weird combination of things, and it sounds like a heck of a time.

For fans of straight-up Chicago blues, it’s hard to go wrong with the combination of guitarist-vocalist Nick Moss and harmonica player Dennis Gruenling. The pair form the nucleus of a scorching blues outfit, with songs such as “Make Way For Me,” “Before the Night is Through” “Fare Thee Well” and “From the Root to the Fruit” creating a blistering, gritty vibe.

What: The Nick Moss Band with Dennis Gruenling When: 8 p.m. Aug. 3 Where: Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley How much: $20

Ran-d Xtra Xtra, Brad Will, Salomé Strange, Poise’N Envy, Brianna Marie Brewer, Ezra Jordan, Michael Crompton and DaishaDore Famouz, 8 p.m. Aug. 3, Bull Mansion, 55 Pearl St., Worcester.

Sunday, Aug. 4

Worcester Whirl Wind: Major Taylor Bike Tour: 9:30-11 a.m.

Aug. 4, Preservation Worcester, Worcester, Corner of Main St. & School St., Worcester. Cost: $5.

For information: (508) 754-8760, events@preservationworcester. org.

Drag Bingo ft. Bootz: 1 p.m. Aug. 4, Bull Mansion, 55 Pearl St., Worcester. $5 per bingo packet.

Josh Turner: 1 p.m. Aug. 4, Indian Ranch, 200 Gore Road, Webster. $50-$70.

Killswitch Engage with Clutch: 4 p.m. Aug. 4, Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester. $30-$249.

Monday, Aug. 5

Music & Instruments: 8:30 a.m.4:30 p.m. Aug. 5, Technocopia, 44 Portland St., 6th floor, Worcester.

Cost: $300. For information: lauren.monroe@technocopia.

Gorgeous songwriting Richard Shindell is an exquisite songwriter. Whether it’s the melancholy remembrance of “Cold Missouri Waters” or catching the bitter edge of love lost in “Are You Happy Now,” he creates songs that are beautifully wrought and which capture a moment of glistening emotion, suspended in space and time. It’s gorgeous work, from a true master.

What: 5th Annual Summer Gospel Fest When: 1-8 p.m. Aug. 3 Where: Institute Park, 100 Salisbury Street, Worcester How much: Free

American History Book Club — The 1960s: 7:15-8:30 p.m. Aug. 6, Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem St., Worcester. For information: (508) 799-1655, wplref@mywpl. org. This week’s book is “The Road to Woodstock,” by Michael Lang.

Advance registration requested.

Wednesday, Aug. 7

Animal Adventures at the Town House: 1-2 p.m. Aug. 7, Boylston Public Library, 695 Main St., Boylston. For information: (508) 869-2371, lstretton@cwmars.org.

Wacky Wednesday Jam: 8:30 p.m.

Aug. 7, Greendale’s Pub, 404 W. Boylston St, Worcester.

Duncan Arsenault and friends: 9 p.m. Aug. 7, Vincent’s, 49 Suffolk St., Worcester.

Thursday, Aug. 8 PAWS to Read: 10-11 a.m. Aug. 8, Worcester Public Library Burncoat Branch, 526 Burncoat St., Worcester. For information: lsheldon@mywpl.org.

Thursday Story Time: 10:3011:30 a.m. Aug. 8, Boylston Public Library, 695 Main St., Boylston.

For information: (508) 869-2371, lstretton@cwmars.org. Ages 0-6.

Out to Lunch 2019 ft. Whitney Doucet and the Moonshine Band: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 8, Worcester Common Oval, 455 Main St., Worcester. Free.

Nutrition Classes — Great Whole Grains: 2:30-3:30 p.m. Aug. 8, Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem St., Worcester. For information: (508) 799-1655, wplref@mywpl.

Rock and gospel Country singer Josh Turner’s latest album, “I Serve a Savior,” is his first gospel project, although his faith has always been part of his music. The singer with the deep voice who returns to Indian Ranch on Sunday can get nice and low on the traditional “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” but hasn’t forgotten how to rock along with his own hits such as “Long Black Train” — performed live and with plenty of spirit on the new album as it likely will be on Sunday.

What: Josh Turner; opening Alana Springsteen When: 1 p.m. Aug. 4 (doors 11:30 a.m.)

Where: Indian Ranch, 200 Gore Road, Webster How much: $35-$60; child general admission $20. indianranch.com

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What: Richard Shindell When: 8 p.m. Aug. 2 Where: Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley How much: $26

Tuesday, Aug. 6

The annual Summer Gospel Fest at Institute Park, now in its fifth year, has emerged as a gem of the summer festival season, with spiritual vocalists all across the region converging for an uplifting and energizing day of performances. This year’s performers include Worcester’s Belmont AME Trinity Dance Ministry, the Centro Cristino Betesda Worship Team, Shadow and N-Fearon; the Holden Christian Academy Dance Team; Transformers from Fitchburg; and Lekien Mcfini of East Hartford, Connecticut.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

COURTESY OF RADOSLAV LORKOVIC

Scorching blues

Programs for ages 5-15.

Alien Landing STEAM Challenge: 3:30-4:30 p.m. Aug. 5, Worcester Public Library Tatnuck Magnet Branch, 1083 Pleasant St., Worcester. For information: lsheldon@mywpl.org.

Recommended for ages 7-12.

Creature Double Feature — 2 Movies, Lots of Monsters!: 6:30-11 p.m. Aug. 5, Elm Draught House Cinema, 35 Elm St., Millbury.

For information: (508) 7554207, sorana@thatse.com. Free tickets available only at That’s Entertainment until the day of the show, while supplies last.

“It’s Always Sunny “ Trivia at the Red Heat Tavern in Westborough, MA: 7-9 p.m. Aug. 5, Red Heat Tavern, 227 Turnpike Road, Westborough. Cost: Free.

Dirty Gerund Poetry Series: 9 p.m.

Aug. 5, Ralph’s Rock Diner, 148 Grove St., Worcester.

A U G U S T 1 - 7, 2 0 1 9

photos. We will cover aperture, shutter speed, exposure settings, composition, and file types. Learn how to eliminate distractions, use line and texture and the Rule of Thirds to create more dynamic images. This class is open to digital camera and smartphone photographers of all experience levels. For ages 18 and older.

Outdoor Digital Photography with Richard Hoyer: 2-4 p.m. Aug. 3, Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem St., Worcester. For information: (508) 799-1655, wplref@mywpl. org. For ages 18 and older.

The Flaming Lips and The Claypool Lennon Delirium with Particle Kid: 5-11:59 p.m. Aug. 3, Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester.

Cost: $45-$50. For information: (508) 797-9696, info@ thepalladium.net.

Comedian Mark Normand: 7 and 9:30 p.m. Aug. 3, WooHaHa, 50 Franklin St., Worcester. $20.

Comedian Sarah Martin: 8 p.m.

Central Mass 10 Skate Festival: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Aug. 2, Central Mass Skate Festival, 1 Still River Road, Harvard. Cost: $5-$75. A decade in the making, the 10th annual and last ever Central Mass Skate Festival returns to Harvard for a final hurrah on August 2-4, 2019. The three-day festival features a mini-ramp jam, street course, downhill race, slide jam, downhill skatepark, longest slide and biggest air competitions in beautiful, historic Harvard.

All skate disciplines, ages, skill levels and genders welcomed.

Registration is required to ride any of the roads, ramps or features at any time, but registration does not require competitive involvement — riders may opt out of their heats and just skate for fun. For information: email contact@ skatecentralMA.com.

PROMOTIONAL PHOTO

What: Famtasia Family Getaway When: Aug. 2-4 Where: 138 Howard St, 138 Howard Street, Lunenburg How much: Festival passes $70 per adult, $45 per child; day passes $30 per adult, $15 per child. Children 6 and younger free

Aug. 3, The Comedy Attic at Park Grill & Spirits, 257 Park Ave., Worcester. $15.

Ballroom Dance: 7:30-11 p.m.

Aug. 3, Greendale Peoples Church, 25 Francis St., Worcester. Cost: $12. For information: info@ frohsinnclub.com.

Trude and Tag: 8-11 p.m. Aug. 3, Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley. Cost: $14. For information: (978) 425-4311, BryanSawyer@bullrunrestaurant. com.

The Nick Moss Band with Dennis Gruenling: 8-11 p.m. Aug. 3, Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley. Cost: $20. For information: (978) 425-4311, BryanSawyer@ bullrunrestaurant.com.

‘Les Liaisons Dangereuses’: a modern adaptation of the play produced and directed by drag queen Kandi Dishe and featuring

Spreading the Gospel

CITY LIFE

THINGS TO DO org. Presented by Judy Palken, MNS, RD, LDN. Register online at mywpl.org or call (508) 7991655x3.

Mount Carmel/Loreto Italian Festival: ft. music by Windfall, 5-6 p.m. Aug. 8, 37 Massasoit Road, 37 Massasoit Road, Worcester. Cost: $2. For information: (508) 753-

5001, olmcoll@gmail.com.

Ukulele J presents Hank Williams Songs & Stories: 6-7:45 p.m.

Aug. 8, Mill Street Stage, Mill St., Fitchburg.

Sip & Stars: 6-10 p.m. Aug. 8, Brimfield Winery & Cidery, 35 Main St., Brimfield. Cost: $5-$25.

For information: (413) 245-9977, sue@hitchcockacademy.org. The Thames Amateur Astronomical Society will have telescopes for stargazing.

Little Black Dress: 6-9 p.m. Aug. 8, Sonoma Restaurant, Sonoma Restaurant, 363 Plantation St.,

Worcester. For information: (508) 754-2000, sales@ beechwoodhotel.com.

Summer in the Park Concert Series — XS Band: 6-8 p.m. Aug. 8, Dr. Arthur and Dr. Martha Pappas Recreation Complex, 203.5 Pakachoag St., Auburn. For information: kpappas@town. auburn.ma.us.

Genealogy Group: 6:30-8 p.m.

Aug. 8, Boylston Public Library, 695 Main St., Boylston. For information: (508) 869-2371, efurse@cwmars.org. Bruce and Nancy Filgate from the Boylston

Challenge yourself The fourth annual Woo Challenge promises family-friendly fun and something for everyone in downtown Worcester starting at 9 a.m.

Saturday. Presented by the Telegram & Gazette, the event includes a 5K race with 20 obstacles to negotiate on a new route from the Worcester Common up to Elm Park and back. Participants can run as an individual, with a team or in the family heat. Additionally, the Woo Challenge features a 10-obstacle course for children ages 5 to 10 on Worcester Common from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Also on Worcester Common, a free family festival will include music, food trucks, a beer Phou Phommavong, of Rhode Isgarden, games, vendors and land, competes in the 2018 Woo more. “The Telegram and Challenge.

Gazette is proud to bring the Woo Challenge back for T&G FILE PHOTO/ASHLEY GREEN the fourth year in row,” said Paul. M. Provost, Telegram & Gazette president and publisher. “This family-friendly event is one of the highlights of the summer and brings action, food and entertainment to our downtown.” The event is supported by a number of community partners, including Ultimate Obstacles, 104.5FM WXLO, family festival sponsor Worcester Railers Hockey Club, Kids Woo Challenge sponsor Fidelity Bank, fitness and warm up partner Anytime Fitness at 386 Shrewsbury Street, and Rugged Races. Obstacle sponsors include: Hot Power Yoga, Webster 5, Worcester County Orthopedics, Greendale Physical Therapy and Reliant Medical. The Woo Challenge beer garden is sponsored by Greater Good Brewery and Atlas Distributing.

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What: Woo Challenge When: Aug. 3. Heats for the Woo Challenge begin at 9 a.m. Free family festival 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: Event begins on the Worcester Common How much: Registration fees range from $15 to $75. For more information, visit: www.telegram.com/woochallenge or email woochallenge@telegram.com Historical Commission will be on hand.

Sarah Grace & the Soul: 7:30-11 p.m. Aug. 8, Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley. Cost: $16.

For information: (978) 425-4311, BryanSawyer@bullrunrestaurant. com.

Hot Dog! A Comedy Sideshow: 8-9 p.m. Aug. 8, Coney Island, 158 Southbridge St., Worcester.

For information: (508) 826-8496, woocomedyweek@gmail.com.

Hosted by Shaun Connolly and Bryan O’Donnell Featuring: Kevin Knightly (grumpy dog), Liam Meagher (douche dog), Moseph Mussa (wild card dog), Ezra Prior (Western MA dog), Aaron ‘Tiny’ Smith (big dog) and Brandon Vallee (Resident Hot Dog).

Stage

“Seven Keys to Baldpate”: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 2, 3; 2 p.m. July 28. Presented by Daft Theater

Productions. Singh Performance Center,50 Douglas Road, Whitinsville. $20; $18 for seniors.

(774) 287-8374 “Shrek The Musical”: 7:30 p.m.

Aug. 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17; 2 p.m.

Aug. 4, 11, 18. $24 The Bradley Playhouse, 30 Front St., Putnam, Conn. $24; $21 for seniors and students. thebradleyplayhouse.org.

“The Music Man”: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 2, 3, 8, 9 and 10; 2 p.m. Aug. 4. $20. Presented by Vanilla Box Productions. Joseph P. Burke Center for Performing Arts - Holy Name CCHS 144 Granite St., Worcester. vanillaboxproductions. com.

“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 2, 3 and 10; 2 p.m. Aug. 4 and 11. Presented by Regatta Players. Flanagan Theater, Southgate at Shrewsbury, 30 Julio Drive, Shrewsbury. $18; $15 for students and seniors. regattaplayers.com, ​​(508) 925-

CITY LIFE

‘Scoundrels’ in Shrewsbury A small town on the French Riviera isn’t big enough to have two scoundrels talking rich ladies out of their money. So Lawrence and Freddy agree that the first to swindle the naive-looking American heiress Christine Colgate out of $50,000 gets to stay in town while the other has to leave. The 2004 musical comedy “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” based on the popular 1988 movie, has plenty of nice tricks up its sleeve for the audience as well as a jazzy score as the Regatta Players put on a rare local production of the show. The cast includes Kyle Collins (Freddy), Peter Worrest (Lawrence) and Nicole Dobberpuhl (Christine). Jeremy Woloski directs, Bonnie Narcisi is musical director and Kira Troilo is choreographer.

What: “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” When: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 2, 3 and 10; 2 p.m. Aug. 4 and 11. Opening night celebration with cheese and wine 6 p.m. Aug. 2 Where: Flanagan Theater, Southgate at Shrewsbury, 30 Julio Drive, Shrewsbury How much: $18; $15 students and seniors. www.regattaplayers.com 0583 “Singin’ In The Rain”: 8 p.m. Aug. 9, 10, 16, 17 and 2 p.m. Aug. 18. $22; $15 for ages 16 and younger.

Theatre at the Mount, Mount Wachusett Community College, 444 Green St., Gardner. mwcc.edu/ tam.

“Newsies”: 8 p.m. Aug. 9, 10, 16, 17; 2 p.m. Aug. 11, 18. $20; seniors and students, $18; youth 11 and younger, $10. Stageloft Repertory Theater, 450A Main St., Sturbridge. stageloft.org.

Audition

Tickets

Josh Turner: 1 p.m. Aug. 4. $53$202. Indian Ranch, Webster, 200 Gore Road, Webster. (508) 9433871 or indianranch.com/.

Sarah Grace & the Soul: 7:30 p.m.

Aug. 8. $16. Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Rt. 2A, Shirley. bullrunrestaurant.com (978) 4254311.

DeadBeat: 8 p.m. Aug. 9. $18. Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Rt. 2A, Shirley. bullrunrestaurant. com (978) 425-4311.

Papa Roach: Who Do We Trust?

Tour with special guests Asking Alexandria, Bad Wolves: 4 p.m.

Aug. 10. $45 general admission; $129 VIP 2; $299 VIP 1. The Palladium Outdoors, 261 Main St., Worcester. thepalladium.net. (508) 797-9696.

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The Pasture Prime Players auditioning for “The Haunting of Hill House” by F. Andrew Leslie, at 7 p.m. Aug. 8 and 10 a.m. Aug. 10 at the Charlton Arts and Activities Center, 4 Dresser Hill Road, Charlton. The show will run two consecutive weekends, Oct. 25 through Nov. 3. There are roles for three men and four women ages 20s to 60s. Auditions will be cold

readings from the script. For more information, email pasture.prime. players@gmail.com.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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CITY LIFE

EAST DOUGLAS PHOTOGRAPHY

ADOPTION OPTION

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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.

This is a special pair. Cersei and Jamie were abandoned in a box in a driveway. They are both siblings and husband-wife (thus the “Game of Thrones” names).

A week after arriving at WARL Cersei gave birth. Jamie helped raise his kittens. We have adorable photos of him taking care of them and grooming his sister/wife.

Cersei and Jamie are only 2 years old and enjoy being with people. They don’t like other animals. They have each other and don’t want to share their humans with other pets. They are a bonded pair and must be adopted together for a reduced fee of $250 for both cats.

Can’t adopt, but still want to help? Here are some of WARL’s regular needs: Pet Supplies: Dog and cat food (both canned and dry). Purina brand preferred. Please no grainfree; Non-clumping kitty litter; Bedding, comforters, blankets and towels (not pillows & sheets); Kuranda Beds; martingale collars.

against; For dogs: Kongs, Ruff Wear, Jolly Balls, Tuffies, tennis balls.

Office Supplies: Copy paper (white and colors), postage stamps, pink and blue post-its, etc. Staples gift cards are always welcomed!

Pet Toys – For cats: furry mice and balls with bells, stuffed animals for orphaned kittens to snuggle

Computers, Laptops, Printers: Newer models or gently used models are welcomed.

Medical Supplies: Latex gloves, gauze, anti-bacterial hand sanitizer, popsicle sticks, Dixie cups, One Touch Test Strips.

depend on the heartfelt outpouring of people like you. Donations can be given online, mailed, or given in person at WARL.

Monetary Donations: WARL is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and your donations of money, time, supplies, homes, and love are vital to our cause and the lives of the animals in our care. The animals

Cleaning Supplies: Paper towels, 33-gallon trash bags, sponges, bleach, dish soap, “HE” (high efficiency) laundry detergent, Lemon Joy soap.

Amazon Wish List: Can’t stop in?

Do you like the ease of shopping online? Visit our Amazon Wish List, and the items will be shipped directly to WARL!

GAMES

“Inseparable” — almost always one with the other.

by Matt Jones

J O N E S I N’

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

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

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 18 19 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

43 First Top 40 hit for “Weird” Al 46 In ___ and drabs (sporadically) 47 “The Beverly Hillbillies” star Buddy 48 LPs 49 Best-seller list heading 50 “Westworld” character Hughes 51 First name heard at pools?

52 Hollywood power player 53 Alan who lost to Obama in 2004 55 100 cents, for some 57 Aspiring MD’s hurdle 59 Hip-hop’s Run-___ 60 Suffix for senator or president 61 Volleyball divider

Last week's solution

©2019 Matt Jones (jonesincrosswords@gmail.com) Reference puzzle #947

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42

in 2019 Mauna ___ (macadamia nut brand) Geometry calculation Prepare to score on a fly ball Couturier Cassini ___-hoo (drink brand) “... long, long ___” Decaf brand that once sponsored “I Love Lucy” Type of bath salts Annoying, like tiny insects Like Ray Romano’s voice quality Flawless solving result?

Converses with Some trains in the Thomas the Tank Engine universe Hit the gas pedal Small '90s-era storage medium Type of helmet Emote on stage, say Ball club VIPs Egypt’s org., once Lo-cal, in ads Simple sandwich May preceder (abbr.) “___ the season to be jolly” “Castlevania” gaming platform Cookie bit

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Down 1 “In-A-___-Da-Vida” 2 Motorcyclist 3 Ticket price category 4 Muppet who turned 50

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A U G U S T 1 - 7, 2019

Call 978-728-4302 or email cmaclassifieds@gatehousemedia.com today to place your ad here!

Across 1 Take quickly 5 Jackson who was a guest judge on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” 11 IRA type 14 Senator’s assistant 15 Words after bump or ants 16 Dr. Zaius, e.g.

17 Classic role-playing game designed by Gary Gygax 20 Fourth letter of two alphabets 21 Drag around 22 “All right, I get it” 23 Humanities major 24 Ladder rung 26 Lost in thought 28 Barnyard noise 29 San Francisco Bay structure 30 Team behind “The Mikado” 38 Muscat’s location 39 Highland Games gear 40 “The Andy Griffith Show” boy 41 2000s series with Sally Field and Calista Flockhart 44 1/2/34, for instance 45 Part of UNLV 46 “The Lorax” voice actor 49 “Go ___” (Pet Shop Boys song) 51 BB___ (English pop group behind “Back Here”) 54 MLB Triple Crown stat 55 It may go for a long swim 56 Mirror reflection 58 Subject of some educational museums 62 Queen ___ (pop music nickname) 63 “Just a Friend” rapper Biz ___ 64 Skin breakout 65 Show with a cold open, for short 66 Organizer’s area of focus, maybe 67 Alternative to fries, in some restaurants

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YARD SALE

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A U G U S T 1 - 7, 2019

SERVICE DIRECTORY

LEGAL PUBLIC AUCTION NOTICE Notice is hereby given pursuant to the provisions of M.L.C.225 sec, 39A the following vehicles will be sold to satisfy our garage lien thereon for towing and storage charges and expenses of sale and notice: 2005 Honda Pilot VIN# 2HKYF18115H553724 2009 Hyundai Sonata VIN# 5NPET46C99H541487 2000 Mercury Sable VIN# 1MEFM55S0YA642406 2011 Hyundai Elantra VIN# 5NPDH4AE2BH012541 2015Nissan Altima VIN# 1N4AL3APXFC433038 The sale will be held at Early’s on Park Ave., Inc. at 536 Park Ave., Worcester, MA 01603

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LAST CALL

Coqui Negrón and Em Quiles community activists

C

who have money, not just to the big corporations and not just to the US government. But, that means a call for good education, for good healthcare, for respect to their pensions. I think that the first step is to get rid of all the corruption, but then to have policies that support the people Can you give us a brief overview and neoliberal policies. Personally, I want decolonization. I can’t say of why you called for Puerto that 100% of those who went to Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello’s the rally also believe that, but I resignation during the rally on believe that.

Monday?

EQ: Yeah, I agree with Coqui. I Coqui Negrón: We wanted to think a lot of Puerto Ricans have join the thousands of people in their own idea of what an ideal Puerto Rico who were on the Puerto Rican government looks streets asking for the governor’s like. Whether that’s decolonization resignation and we wanted to or statehood or just staying the show solidarity. We are also way it is as a commonwealth of from Puerto Rico, so it means the United States. I personally a lot to us. The rally was called support Puerto Rico as a free and because of all the corruption independent country. I would love and because of the way the to see it decolonized because I Puerto Rican government and strongly believe that a lot of the the US government handled the problems that are happening on aftermath of the hurricane. Also the island, like the revolving door due to all the policies that have of corrupt government, is a result favored public enterprises and of its colonization. It’s the oldest corporations over people. colony in the world; it has never had autonomy. But at the end of Em Quiles: We decided to have the day, I just want Puerto Ricans the rally on Monday because we on the island to feel supported no wanted to come together and matter what they want. The main support our brothers and sisters goal is to make sure that everybody on the island. They planned a received the message that we massive protest where over a will hold our elected leaders million people showed up. We accountable no matter what. wanted to have a sister protest here so that they would know How did you each end up here they’re not alone and that we in Worcester from Puerto Rico? support them. We are all Puerto CN: I had a brother who graduated Rico no matter where we go. from college and he wasn’t able to find a job in Puerto Rico because Rosello agreed to step down of the unemployment there. He two days later. Describe your found a job in Worcester. A year view of an ideal outcome for later, I graduated from high school Puerto Rico moving forward? and I moved here and I went to CN: I think this is just the first college here. I was born and grew step. I think people are on this up in Puerto Rico and then I streak of protesting because moved here. they want corruption to end.

EQ: I was actually born in Chicago Not just by the governor, but by and then I grew up in Puerto Rico all the people in government. and New Jersey. I went back and He’s not the only one involved forth a lot. I just had family here in this. And I think to take it a in Worcester and so I’ve been here step further, what people want for like 10 years now. is a government that responds to the people, not just to people oqui Negrón and Em Quiles organized a rally in Worcester on July 22 in solidarity with Puerto Rican protests to demand Gov. Ricardo Rossello’s resignation. On July 24, Rossello announced he was stepping down.

Em Quiles, left, and Coqui Negrón DYLAN AZARI

What does it mean?

EQ: It’s shorthand to say, “para adelante,” which means, “keep moving forward.”

– Sarah Connell Sanders

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How do you spend your days here in Worcester?

CN: I’m a health educator and a community activist. Usually I don’t organize big events, I focus on the small activities that affirm the community and try to create the change that we want to see in the world in our own spaces for equity of racial, gender and class justice. I’m involved with the

Worcester World Cup where we use soccer as a way to celebrate immigrant cultures and a way of supporting youth in their leadership development. I’m also a board member and volunteer at a community bike shop called Worcester Earn-a-Bike.

EQ: I work in a law firm. I just got my bachelor’s in business in paralegal studies. Aside from my own career, I really like to support black and brown businesses. I started an organization, Pa’Lante, which aims for Latinos to be more politically and civically engaged in the community, to grow that community, to be a presence, and to make some noise. Pa’Lante is a Puerto Rican slogan. It’s something that we chant with our fists in the air.

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My apologies, that’s how I’ve seen it noted by the local media.

CN: No, this is not our mainland.

Puerto Rico is a colony of the US and this is not our mainland.

EQ: Especially when more than half of Americans don’t realize that Puerto Ricans are Americans and that Puerto Rico is a territory

of the US. So I think the US fails us in that respect. That’s a whole other conversation. But, I think that Worcester is a great city to be Puerto Rican in because it is welcoming. It’s very diverse. For Puerto Ricans, our culture is so magnanimous, so present, and no matter where we go in Worcester it feels pretty open to celebrating other people’s cultures.

CN: Worcester has a strong community of people who are fighting for racial and social justice celebrating a “new Worcester” that includes all immigrants.

A U G U S T 1 - 7, 2019

Why do you believe Worcester is uniquely suited as one of the top mainland cities for our Puerto Rican population?

CN: I think people tend to go to where their family is or where their friends are. A lot of people might not want to live in a big city.

This is a place where it’s not too big or too small. Obviously once Puerto Ricans get here, we need schools that are responsive and inclusive. We need jobs. We need the same things that everybody aspires to have for a decent, good life. And one thing that I will say is I do not call the US “the mainland.”

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A U G U S T 1 - 7, 2 0 1 9

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