COVER STORY
has been missing from the local cultural life. “We need festivals to bring us together,” says Erin Williams, Worcester’s Cultural Development Officer. “Worcester is a city made up of immigrants over the centuries: Scandinavians, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Armenian, Southeast Asians, Latinx, Dominican, Italian, Ghanaian, Albanian and many more who have made Worcester home and shared their celebrations. They bring tourism, economic spinoffs for restaurants, hotels and the local businesses. These businesses and the artists and organizers involved have lost significant amounts of money this year.” For many in the city, the loss of the festivals has been palpable. “Gay Pride Worcester is so unique,” says musician Jereme Hamel. “That’s because we are such a college town, we throw it during the fall. And the Latin festival has the best food of all our festivals — well, the Middle-Eastern Festival also was a great time to be had and food was dope too. I simply miss seeing people come together in these large groups — to forget about their problems and just eat and have fun and see culture.”
Learning From Each Other
FILE PHOTO/CHRISTINE PETERSON
that will return.” Pet Rock is definitely a favorite for locals, but almost all of the events are dear to the hearts of large swaths of the city’s population. Tina Zlody, co-director for stART on the Street, says, “The Caribbean festival is hands down my favorite festival ever. I’ll never forget their first year, we were moving our festival stuff out of our HQ on Park Ave. when all of the sudden the windows of the empty store front we were occupying
started to rattle and then we heard a noise and out of this amazing fog of sound came this vision of trucks with speakers, glitter, feathers, the most amazing dancers we had ever seen ... We were in awe. We literally stopped what we were doing and got drinks at Park Grill and stood amazed and thrilled. The next year Gabe Rollins, our performance director, looked to us at this event and said, ‘We aren’t the best festival anymore.’ He was not wrong. A group of us go every year to dance, eat and enjoy the culture.
11
sage out with a segment that is just ‘looking for a wholesome, family event where they can bring their dog,’” says Charlene Arsenault, who organizes the event with Jeannie Hebert. “As with stART on the Street … Pet Rock Fest became a defining bookmark for the end of the summer and the kickoff to the fall around here. Twenty-two years. That’s something a lot of people planned and looked forward to, so even by virtue of longevity, the Pet Rock Festival became part of the culture, I think. I certainly hope
WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
Performance artist Lily, the living statue, hands back a toy gorilla to Charlotte Odame at last year’s stART on the Street festival.
O C T O B E R 8 - 14, 2020
W
“
orcester being the second largest city of New England is rich with its tapestry of culture — of all ethnic origins, arts, visual and performing arts performances, the parades, and street festivals,” says Christina Andrianopoulos, Chairman-Publicity, Outreach & Program Book of the Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Cathedral Grecian Festival. “Worcester would not be the city it is without all that our diverse citizens and community have to offer.” Indeed, Worcester’s size goes a long way toward explaining why the festivals have such a visceral presence. It’s big enough to have something for just about everybody, but small enough that when everyone’s out partying, it’s felt. You have to kind of work to miss it. “Festivals evoke pride and put Worcester on the map as a truly creative city,” says Williams. “All together, we are a plethora of cultural expression. Festivals bring people
in Worcester together, and visitors learn much from Worcester’s rich cultural heritage.” Father Milad Selim of St. George Orthodox Cathedral certainly agrees with Williams’ sentiment. “Our three-day festival brought together roughly 10,000 people of different backgrounds and walks of life under one tent. It showcased the rich diversity of our great city and affirmed the need for more culturally focused events. The pandemic took away the opportunity for the people of our city to witness what our rich Middle Eastern culture has to offer in terms of food, music, faith and art.” “The festivals are our culture on display,” says Dolly Vazquez, founder of the Latin American Festival. She no longer runs the festival, but she still feels it “brings a celebration and display of Latin culture, which is an important part of Worcester. It demonstrates the legitimacy of that portion of the population. And it’s a lot of fun.” Jennifer Gaskin, organizer for the Worcester Caribbean American Carnival, says, “All the different festivals showcase a little bit of who we all are. By everyone in the city getting to experience each little bit in return we all begin to open up and accept our differences as unifying not divisive.” Indeed, for many locals, the festivals have been a lifelong touchstone. “My mom,” says country musician Stan Matthews, “who grew up in Worcester, always took me every year to the the Greek, Armenian, Italian and Irish festivals.” Not all the local festivals are centered on cultural backgrounds, of course. Some, such as the Central Mass. Jazz Festival and Wootenany, focus on particular art forms. “There are not may live venues for jazz these days,” says Jazz Fest organizer Mauro dePasquale, “especially locally or regionally ... Central Mass Jazz Fest doesn’t just present jazz artists, it celebrates jazz and the amazing diversity jazz represents through live music performed by some of the finest local, regional and internationally acclaimed artist of the genre available. It brings people together in a unique and joyful way.” Another festival, Pet Rock, is different in that it centers on animal welfare. “It brings to the city a major social event that pairs a segment of the population that struggles somewhat to get its mes-
