Worcester Magazine October 31 - November 6, 2019

OCT. 31 - NOV. 6, 2019 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

CULTURE • ARTS • DINING • VOICES

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Our Wicked Spooky Halloween Guide to the Worcester Elections Story on page 11

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FEATURED

Miscues, mishaps and mayhem

‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ set for six shows at Hanover Theatre RICHARD DUCKET T

that further disrupts the entire Buonopane said.

The premise is that an English er Award for Best New Comedy and production. He writes lines on his Through it all, the characters drama society has received a is now in its fifth year on London’s hands to try to save himself, but “always try to find a way out of special bequest to put on a 1920s West End. A Broadway production here are plenty of great anything that has been created,” he then hilariously mispronounces murder-mystery, “The Murder played nearly 800 performances anecdotes about live them. said. at Haversham Manor” by (the from April 2017 to January 2109, theater mishaps in the “When the audience laughs it’s For Buonopane’s character, fictitious) Susie H.H. Brideswell. then opened Off-Broadway in Feblives of actors, including offensive to him,” Buonopane said however, there may be no escape. ruary at New World Stages — Stage It could be quite a coup, but the a couple of very amusing stories of Dennis. “He wanted to make drama society cast and crew are an Buonopane plays Dennis, who in 4, where it continues. about, of all people, the late great turn is playing Perkins, the Butler in friends, but put himself up to the inept and clumsy (and in a couple The U.S. national tour began in Sir John Gielgud.

“The Murder at Haversham Manor.” slaughter.”

2018, and has just got underway for of instances pompous) bunch.

They weren’t Gielgud’s fault, Buonopane, who is originally “This is Dennis’ first play ever There’s a fidgety actor playing a the 2019-20 season with a mostly but the thought of the delightfully from Andover, recalled he was in a corpse, flubbed lines ... Compound- and he is terrified. He got into plummy-voiced actor trying to keep new cast. Previews were in Sioux drama because he was told it would Broadway production of “Grease” ing the situation is a set that won’t a stiff upper lip while being discom- Falls, South Dakota, and Buonohelp him make friends,” Buonopane where there were “major line miscooperate, with props, furniture, fited on stage does make one laugh. pane was speaking on the phone haps.” Also on Broadway in “Cinsaid. doors, windows and a floor all in last week the day after the new In a production of one of Shakederella” one time, the spectacular Often in murder-mysteries of speare’s history plays already mired tour officially opened in Richmond, rebellion.

“Things start going wrong in the yore, the old line was it’s always the traveling trees in the set got stuck, Virginia. with problems such as collapsing wouldn’t “fly out,” and blocked the butler who did it. For Dennis, it’s a first 15 minutes — small things “It went great,” Buonopane said scenery, an actor had to rush out situation where he can’t remember cast in the wings. “But nothing to as a Messenger with a key one-sen- of opening night. “It’s a really, really that the audience can pick up on, this extent,” Buonopane said of the his lines, causing a chain reaction but then things get out of control,” good time.” tence piece of news for the harried King (Gielgud). Unfortunately, the actor, perhaps awed by being in the legendary Gielgud’s presence, froze and apparently did not remember his own name let alone his line.

Gielgud, staying in character, tried to prompt the Messenger as he stood in silence. “’Hast thou naught to say?’” Gielgud’s King asked, with some irritation his voice. Alas, the Messenger, at least also staying in character, could only reply, “Naught, my Lord.”

So it could well be that Gielgud would have appreciated a comedy such as “The Play That Goes Wrong,” about a hapless English theater company whose production of an Agatha Christie type murdermystery goes dreadfully wrong at every single turn.

But you don’t have to be a theater person to laugh at the mis-happenstances in the national touring production of “The Play That Goes Wrong” that comes to The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts for six performances Oct. 31 to Nov. 3.

“Any theater person or any person. We’ve had people beside themselves with laughter,” said tour cast member and Broadway and TV actor Todd Buonopane. “It truly is a special show in that way because once you start laughing, you can’t stop.”

“The Play That Goes Wrong” was written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields of Mystery Theatre, which was founded by some London students, and de“The Play That Goes Wrong” won the 2015 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and is now in its fifth year on buted in a pub/fringe theater. The London’s West End. play went on to win the 2015 Olivi-

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PHOTO/JEREMY DANIEL

FEATURED

ing a scene with Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey, they shoot your side first because you’re the least important person. But it’s important to get it right. But everyone’s been so lovely to me.”

In turn, “I feel it’s an artist’s responsibility to pass on what’s been passed on to them,” he said, recalling the opportunities he had in Andover and also summer theater camps as a teen. That has resulted in Buonopane doing more and more teaching when he has the opportunity. A break in the touring show’s schedule meant he would be teaching seniors back at the University of Michigan just before “The Play That Goes Wrong” comes to Worcester. “Anyone who’s had success in this business, it’s because people believed in them,” he said.

He’s currently booked with “The Play That Goes Wrong” through May, and said he would happily continue with the show, “although it’s physically challenging. We’ll see how my body keeps going.”

There might also be be the possibility of “a couple of new musicals in the fall … That’s the life of an actor. You never know in advance.”

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

What: “The Play that Goes Wrong” When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31; 8 p.m. Nov. 1; 2 and 8 p.m. Nov. 2; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Nov. 3 How much: $39-$79. (877) 5717469; thehanovertheatre.org

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things that go wrong in “The Play That Goes Wrong.”

By the same token, the cast and crew has to have everything exactly right for the show to work, especially the timing.

“That thing on the wall is going to fall,” Buonopane said. “The timing you have to have with your crew backstage — it’s a team effort like no show I’ve ever done before.

We have to take care of each other, so it’s really been special that way.”

Another star of the show is the set itself, with a collapsing second floor cluttered with furniture, sliding slowly toward the audience.

The new touring cast was able to rehearse on the set of the OffBroadway production rather than in a rehearsal room before the tour set had been put up for the first preview performances. “We were lucky. For things to go wrong on the set you’ve got to be on the set,” Buonopane said.

As for learning lines, “I am a very fast learner. I’ve been around for a while,” he said.

Growing up in Andover, “Once we finally gave in to the fact that I couldn’t catch a ball I started performing at the age of 11. Andover has so many opportunities for that … It’s all I ever really wanted to do.”

He earned a BFA in musical theater from the University of Michigan, and then moved to New York City. “I’ve been lucky to make my living doing this since then,” he said. Besides “Grease” and “Cinderella,” Broadway credits include “Chicago” and the “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” Buonopane has also worked in TV and film, including a recurring role as Jeffrey Weinerslav on “30 Rock.”

“My TV work has been really exciting and really scary. Shoot-

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Animating history

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‘Cartoon Carnival’ coming to Park View Room

Tommy Jose Stathes SUBMITTED PHOTO

BILL SHANER

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ou know Bugs Bunny, you know Mickey Mouse, you know Wile E. Coyote. But what about Krazy Kat? What about Felix the Cat? CoCo The Clown?

Early animation is, in some ways, a forgotten part of film history — not looked at with the academic reverence of, say, early silent films, but surely no less important, given the long-lasting relevance of cartoons.

One need look at Pixar movies like “Up,” or the Netflix show “Big Mouth,” to see that the art form is still expanding upon the groundwork laid 100 years ago. Many of the films went unarchived, and film history books consider them lost to time.

In that spirit, film archivist Tommy Jose Stathes is coming to town next week, to play some early cartoons from his extensive collection on real-deal 16mm projection.

Stathes is one of the only archivists of early animation, and his screening

is titled “The Tommy Stathes Cartoon Carnival.” The screening takes place Saturday Nov. 9, 6-8 p.m. at the Park View Room (230 Park Ave.). The event is $10.

Stathes, a resident of Queens, New York, will show a selection of rare cartoons from the 1920s and 1930s, chiefly celebrating a milestone in animation history: Felix the Cat’s 100th birthday. As such, the event will pay special tribute to the archaic cartoon character with homages to Felix’s earliest adventures in the

silent film and early sound era.

Other characters include Krazy Kat and Julius the Cat. Stathes often shows his collection in the New York area, but this is his first trip to Worcester. Stathes has been collecting old cartoon films for almost two decades, and at this point he’s amassed an archive of thousands of reels. He finds them, he said, by essentially thrifting — estate

sales, flea markets, the internet and all the myriad other ways people go about acquiring antiques.

He started collecting the films when he was a young boy, set off by some vintage film canisters his father brought home for him.

“It kind of got the ball rolling. I thought, well, I gotta collect these films now,” he said.

FEATURED

As he began to study the medium of animation more closely, he found many of the films talked about in film history books were considered lost to time.

“That meant to better research the things I was interested in, I was coming up against a wall, that I couldn’t actually watch a lot of these films being written about,” he said.

Though the cat characters like Felix, Julius and Krazy Kat are some of his favorites, he said his collection isn’t so discriminate.

“I’m really more interested in finding and archiving anything from that period that qualifies as animation,” he said.

More so, the collection, which he started in earnest when he was a teenager, is an effort to fill in a gap in film history. Where other mediums at the time have had more attention paid to preserving them, cartoon films sort of fell by the wayside.

“This part of film history was recognized, it was being written about, but there were no really big efforts out there to sort of archive all of it,” he said. “I wanted to do that somehow.”

For the past 10 years, Stathes has been showing his collection to the

public. The live showings, he said, help spread awareness and interest in early animation.

“As a communal viewing experience, people have a lot of fun with it,” he said. “I think people have forgotten how much fun they can have viewing these films as a group.”

At the time, the cartoons were shown almost exclusively in movie theaters, ahead of feature films, and they were intended for fans of all ages, not just children. Cartoons would come to develop the perception of being just for kids over time, especially when cable television came around. But in the early 20th century, cartoons were for everyone, Stathes said, and they were a reflection of the times.

“Those films are fascinating because they capture a sort of urban rough-and-tumble sense of humor and they’re a bit street smart,” he said. “It’s the 1920s, 1930s, so you’ll see a lot of themes that riff on the flapper era and opulence, but also extreme poverty, homelessness, hobos and the Great Depression.”

The films, he said, are a little slice of life.

“I like to call them moving time capsules,” he said.

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CITY VOICES

WOO - BITUARY

HARVEY

What’s black and white The Worcester Lunch Car Company and not read all over? (est. 1906, dissolved 1961)

JANICE HARVEY

chew on long enough for him to do something stupid while reporters — and voters — aren’t looking. unrise, Sunday: along with Does anyone really believe that sipping my first cup of cofDonald Trump is a genius? I mean, fee, I’m listening to Samuel besides Donald Trump?

Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” As the Watergate scandal while reading The New York Times unfolded, I was a 17-year-old high — three things I know Donald school senior. My South High social Trump won’t be doing today.

Trump drinks diet Coke, not coffee, studies teacher dropped the WP on my desk during current events with the frequency of a toddler gripping a sippy cup of apple juice; class every day. (Is there such a thing anymore?) The Washington he has never mentioned a single Post was the light that shone inside performer, musician or genre he the Nixonian rat’s nest, and made listens to for pleasure, and as of this week, the venerable Gray Lady me admire the tenacity of reporters willing to dig deep. If Trump knew has been banned from the White House. Along with the Washington anything about our history, and Post, Trump has declared the NYT particularly the part our free press will be delivered to 1600 Pennsylva- has played in it, The Washington nia Avenue no longer. I’m sure this Post would give the copper-toned cadet a case of reflux that would was devastating news to Melania, who no doubt has a Sharpie at the light up the Potomac.

“All The President’s Men” wasn’t ready each Sunday, anticipating the just a Robert Redford movie, crossword. Taking in to account her Einstein Visa, I’m guessing she though with so much dialogue and no naked babes, I’m fairly certain doesn’t even use a pencil, like the Trump skipped the matinee. Today, rest of us dummies.

The Washington Post (motto: “DeI have the sneaking suspimocracy Dies in Darkness “) and cion that Trump hasn’t read an the New York Times ( “All the News actual newspaper since they That’s Fit to Print”) are staffed came wrapped in the funnies on by reporters living and working Sunday morning. He might read through one of the most exciting headlines, but only the ones he sees on the Internet. It boggles my and challenging moments in history. Despite Trump’s repeated lies mind that we have a president so thin-skinned he can’t handle nega- about declining readership, both papers are experiencing healthy tive print. If breaking news about upticks in subscriptions. His daily his corrupt presidency riles him bumbling ensures their continued enough to throw a hissy fit and growth. You can bet that he was cancel newspaper subscriptions, looking for NYT praise the mornI can only imagine how he’s going ing after al-Baghdadi pulled the pin to handle the upcoming impeachon his suicide vest, especially after ment hearings.

The silliest part of of this temper the World Series bum’s rush he was handed in D.C. tantrum is his insistence that Trump can run, but he cannot federal agencies also end subscriphide from facts forever. His base tions to the papers. This week’s isn’t reading the NYT. His base isn’t White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham says it’s a cost- reading the WP. The voters who would go to these trusted sources saving measure, but she also said for reliable reporting are chuckling that former White House Chief and shaking their heads at the of Staff General John Kelly was babyish behavior they’ve come to “totally unequipped to handle the expect from him. If he doesn’t like genius of our great President,” so honest and fair coverage of his I’m having trouble believing anypresidency, just wait till he gets a thing she says. Sometimes I think peek at the Wednesday morning his administration sits around a headlines in November of 2020. It big table, concocting outrageous ain’t gonna be pretty, friends. statements that the press will

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T&G FILE PHOTO

STEVE SIDDLE

I

f Worcester were a restaurant, we would be a diner. To you and me, a diner is more than a cheap place to eat. To others, a diner is a greasy spoon. To some Worcester is a Mecca, to others the city looks more like Springfield.

The diner has become as synonymous with our city as are triple-deckers, potholes and Kelley Square. Simple homey meals prepared for working men and women. Steamers and bacon and johnny cakes and bulky rolls and coffee milk and Moxie. Loyalty, frugality and potatoes fried in fat.

During the Industrial Revolution moveable horse-drawn lunch wagons were popular in the mill cities of New England. It was in Worcester, though, that Charles H. Palmer is credited for introducing the archetypal long, narrow, diner car we think of. It was the Worcester Lunch Car Company that introduced fixed stools to sit on. The counter became a bar.

What made WLCC diners unique were their patented barrel

roof design and the porcelain panels on which the name of the diner was painted. A Worcester Lunch Car was a world of porcelain and chrome and Formica and neon and steam. A good diner is place that percolates and steams.

Small in scale, intimate in tone, a diner is a little like a boat. There are no unnecessary parts, every tool serves a purpose. Luxury abandoned in favor of cleanliness and speed.

How fitting then that diners

bloomed all over New England.

How incredible the spread of the diner aesthetic. How cool it came from Worcester.

Diners in America, and the working cities they served, suffered in the post-industrial economy of the 1970s and 80s. Franchised fast food became the dominant food source of the lower class, and flush yuppies flocked to new-fangled fusion cafes. The diners’ future is as uncertain as our own.

CITY VOICES

WORCESTERIA

A black eye for the Beer Garden?

BILL SHANER

GARDEN-ROOM BRAWL: It was the talk of the town Saturday night. Everyone at the bar I was at was passing videos back and forth of a knockdown, drag-out bar fight which happened the night before. It happened outside, and, I assume, inside, one of City Hall’s new little golden geese, the Beer Garden. Can’t be good for business, but boy let me tell you it is great for the Worcester I know and love. Of all the places in Worcester where this would happen, who could imagine it would happen at the sterile, VC-owned yuppie trap that is the Beer Garden? I love it. I hope a fight breaks out there every weekend until they shut down under duress.

If you really think about it, a good high-profile bar fight is effective public policy. To quote one of the funniest Facebook comments I’ve ever seen, in response to an observation about gentrification, “that’s why I be tellin ppl u gotta just shoot in the air a couple times a week.” The more bar fights we have, especially in ground zero of Worcester 2.0, the better.

Carry on, native sons and daughters.

DONNA WORCHESTER: We all had a good laugh at City Council candidate Donna Colorio’s expense last week when residents got a mailer of hers in which Worcester is prominently spelled wrong. I mean it’s one of the biggest words on the mailer, and it’s spelled “Worchester.”

That’s just embarrassing. Of course, she tried to cover by saying it was an outside group, not her campaign, which sent out the mailer, but that’s between her and the weird political action committee of out-of-town millionaires she decided to work with. At the end of the day, it’s her name next to Worchester, making her, forever, Donna Worchester (WARChester).

CLIVE IS BACK: Clive MacFarland, the Telegram’s recently laid

PLEASE VOTE: Election Day for City Council and School Commit-

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ECOTORE ME A NEW ONE: Yeah, yeah, I’m sure you all had such a laugh reading last week’s issue, in which the EcoTarium put me on blast (in a purrrty cute way) for shamelessly fear-mongering about the prospect of mountain lions in Worcester. They were especially mad that I blamed them for it on conjecture and without any evidence. Understandable, I suppose. But now I am saddled with the solemn responsibility of holding a lifelong grudge against our local science and nature museum, because this is Worcester, and that’s how it works. I don’t make the rules.

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tee is next Tuesday and I know if you’re reading this column you at least sort of care, right? Well, if you do, please take the time to go vote. If we have this many candidates running and a turnout of under 20 percent of voters (which the 8 percent turnout in the preliminary seems to suggest might be possible), it’s just such an indictment of the health of civic life in Worcester. It’s also a loud-and-clear message to both the city manager’s office and the superintendent’s office. When no one votes, we might as well say, yep, go on, do whatever, I don’t care. And Worcester deserves better than that. So try to care just a little bit, please, and head to the polls on Nov. 5.

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off (and possibly last?) columnist, is back in the game. Last week, he launched WoostaChat, a website which appears to be an outlet for his writing with the potential of being more down the road. So far, he’s written on the death of School Committee member Brian O’Connell, the upcoming city election, discipline policy in city schools and others.

Clive’s voice and perspective are immensely valuable for the discourse here in Worcester, and I’m happy he’s back. So bookmark that page: WoostaChat.com.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ...

‘Drag Bingo’ at the Pavilion at the Beer Garden Local drag superstar Joslyn Fox kicked off her new “drag bingo” night Oct. 17 at the Pavilion at the Beer Garden, 64 Franklin St., Worcester, and is hoping to turn it into a regular event. The “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum can be seen both as a drag performer and DJ around the region.

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Photos by Dylan Azari

COVER STORY

Divining the Worcester elections Tarot reading reveals city council, school committee destinies BILL SHANER AND VICTOR D. INFANTE

I

n a lot of ways, political analysis of an election is pretty much an exercise in precognition: You’re trying to predict the future based on a handful of only dimly reliable indicators: Past performance, which any statistician will tell you is not a reliable indicator of future results; primary election results, which in the case of Worcester’s last election were an abominably low less than 9%; and conventional wisdom,

which is loaded with confirmation bias. Honestly, you might as well be reading tarot cards.

So that’s what we did. In order to get a feel for the Nov. 5 Worcester City Council and School Committee elections, we reached out to April March Penn of Allston. Penn is a queer poet who is the coauthor of “A Tarot Reading Guide for the Haunted Poet” and is the founder of Ram’s Head Tarot, a Boston-based tarot reading business. Most importantly, she knows next to nothing about Worcester and its politics,

which we felt was important.

In order to interpret Penn’s readings and divine how they might apply to the election, Worcester Magazine staffers Bill Shaner and Victor D. Infante were joined by Worcester political watchers Brendan Melican of “508: A Show About Worcester” and community organizer Marianna Islam, and together the quartet attempted to peer into Worcester’s political future.

What forces are affecting the City Council and school board elections?

VICTOR: I find nostalgia both a dangerous and appropriate way to start this discussion, because it really does filter everything about Worcester politics, both good and bad. On the one hand, there are the political forces which are trying to reclaim Worcester’s greatness, before the manufacturing left and the city was plagued by White Elephants and boondoggles. On the other hand, there’s also the nostalgia enacted by those who yearn for when buildings on the Common were empty. I’m not sure which I find more concerning. people, and the work is not distributed with an awareness of community.”

It seems in every issue, folks are calling for more transparency and more public involvement. But our government isn’t set up for that, and the work really does fall on the shoulders of the few people in the City Manager’s Office. Especially with a council that I would generously categorize as subordinate. On the “impending doom” reading, I’m immediately reminded of Ed Augustus’ line from last year maybe, where he compared the current development boom to a bumper crop harvest season. “We’ve got to rake it all in while we can” is what I think he said. That mentality has led to unforced errors, in my opinion.

people coming from marginalized communities who have been the least represented on both School Committee and City Council (see MassInc report). Five of the longest serving School Committee members, including the mayor, have been largely white and male and together combined have served nearly 90 years in a school district that is now overwhelmingly students of color. Moreover, we are still talking about the same issues that I discussed when I was a student organizer in the Worcester Public Schools.

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BRENDAN: This nostalgia bit I find a mostly terrifying; nostalgia for what, exactly? The days before that pesky desegregation plan? When the

MARIANNA: Yikes! Nostalgia in city politics can be a fright-fest for

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BILL: Wow. “The work is resting too much on the shoulders of a few

city leadership was even more white and old?

Ah, the good ol’ days … now I’ve got a sense of impending doom. Why did I agree to do this? Organization is certainly something to be concerned about as more and more communication from campaigns is pushed out via social media. Facebook algorithms don’t care who’s got the best or worst ideas, just which ones are going to provide the most eyeballs and a return on investment in advertising dollars. There’s still time for someone to run a write-in inspirational cat meme campaign for Mayor.

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APRIL: The primary force affecting the City Council and school board elections is a nostalgia for the past and trying to recreate past successes. The work is resting too much on the shoulders of a few people, and the work is not distributed with an awareness of community. In the recent past, the organizers had to reinvent the wheel because the wheel was not passed down to them, and, in order to keep the structures in place so far, leaders will have to leave behind some issues that they think are important in favor of the greatest priorities. Subconsciously, leaders have a lot of dreams and ideals but haven’t expressed how they will actualize that reality. Consciously, there is a sense of impending doom, as if everything is going to fall apart. Overall, leaders will put forward ideas and emotions juxtaposed with intense threats of ruination while being unclear to the point of irrationality.

Key cards in this reading include the Tower — associated with a sense of sudden doom and destruction; The Six of Cups — associated with a nostalgic past; and The Seven of Cups — associated with dream-states that accompany a failure to act.

COVER STORY

Will the City Council see significant change?

APRIL: Yes, the City Council will see significant

change caused by economic growth, building on the momentum that is already present in the city. Many cards in this reading were from the suit of pentacles, so financial issues regarding education, housing and new businesses will receive significant attention. Candidates that present a sense of stability and groundedness as well as a history of sound financial and business planning will be favored. This reading also points to leadership having to make decisions without having all of the information, so be advised that the economic growth is not so much created by the leadership as misunderstood by the leadership. Even in their misunderstanding, they are able to connect with political ideas to uplift the community.

Key cards in this reading include the three pentacles cards: The Nine of Pentacles indicating a harvest or bounty; The Ten of Pentacles associated with a sense of grounded completion; and The Six of Pentacles representing community needs.

BILL: Wow. Again. “Economic growth is not so much

created by the leadership as misunderstood by the leadership.” There’s an urban planning class you could teach on Worcester and the decisions it has made with its downtown over the years. That should be the title. As far as the election goes, I don’t know what to make of this reading besides the fact that it will favor incumbents and those who are already well known and trusted.

BRENDAN: I really like this. I’ve long held the belief Worcester’s success happens not because of, but in spite of, City Hall. And I think that’s a reasonable balance. I know political fence sitters are out of fashion these days, but as we navigate through some explosive growth, measured reaction versus shoehorned preconceived belief seems like the best possible scenario for both those looking to cash in and those who need to keep their heads above water and, hopefully, thrive. None of us have all the answers, all the time, but hopefully our leaders are not just making stuff up as they go along. I don’t need the competition.

MARIANNA: Excited about this change as long as it contributes to moving the needle on more substantive matters that impact the city. Operating without enough information has the potential to impacts efforts in other areas. So few candidates are talking about gentrification in our city as they are talking about education, housing and small businesses. Like, if we are talking about retaining existing teachers in our schools and diversifying hirings of teachers, are we also talking about housing affordability so we are not pricing our own teachers out of our city?

VICTOR: The idea of “significant change” is an

interesting one. Could one seat shifting — a newcomer for either a sitting or former councilor, for example — constitute that change? Because while I have trouble seeing many sitting candidates losing their races, and certainly not Mayor Joe Petty, I could believe Etel Haxhiaj might overcome Tony J. Economou for that last seat, and while that might be a small change, it would definitely be significant.

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Will the School Committee see significant change?

APRIL: The School Committee will see some significant changes but newness will be more contemplative than action-oriented. Candidates who are fire signs (Aries, Leo and Sagittarius) will be somewhat favored, though I also see a strong leader from a different energy embodiment who is a consistent authority, and this leader has to teach the new fireflies how to locate the light outside of themselves.

Key cards include The Queen of Swords who represents the strong, guiding leader, and the three wands cards that represent the new energies coming on board.

BILL: That’s a pretty prophetic-feeling

reading. We should circle back after the election on this one. Obviously there are a few people who come to mind when we talk about strong and consistent authorities on school issues, and there are a lot of newcomers in the race this year.

This one could end up being spooky accurate. I’m a little shook. I’ll have to get all the candidates’ signs.

BRENDAN: Which energy embodiment will teach the fireflies comprehensive SexEd?

MARIANNA: This election season marks the first time

in a long time that we have so many new candidates running for School Committee, many of who are Worcester Public School graduates, parents and people of color.

So here is where I see the tension of contemplative vs action-oriented. What does it say when commencement after commencement address, we hear long-time School Committee members tell Worcester Public School graduates that they are the future and have the opportunity to make a change in their communities but then don’t empower them to have a seat at their table? What does it say when year after year they tell parents to get more involved and when they do, they don’t empower them to have a seat at their decision-making table?

VICTOR: I’d like to note that this reading was done be-

fore the passing of Brian O’Connell, whom I’ve always had a sense was the person who took on the mentor role with new School Committee members, at the very least in the sense of helping them learn the process. There will be at least two new members to the committee, with previous member Tracy O’Connell Novick having the bookie odds to snag one of them. I could very much see her in that sort of leadership role, bridging newer and older voices.

Of course, not everyone agrees with Novick on issues, but then, not everyone agreed with O’Connell, either. This feels more about process than actual action. No matter what, though, with two new members and an absent O’Connell, there is no way that there won’t be a totally different vibe to that committee.

COVER STORY

Are there any rising stars among first-time candidates?

APRIL: In this reading, no one stood out as having a central energy.

Some candidates have a great deal of familiarity with the process while others are brand new. Some candidates speak from a sense of immediacy while others speak in riddles and suspense. The candidate who can find a way to divide up the work so that their work isn’t all about them will have an advantage in such an open-ended, chaotic playing field.

The key card in this reading is the Ten of Wands (which keeps coming up), representing too much individual work-load at the expense of community achievement.

time candidates without a political family base who placed between 7-9 in the primaries like Etel Haxhiaj in the City Council race and Jermoah Kamara and Cara Berg Powers in the School Committee race.

BILL: All right, the way I read this, the ground game is the whole game. VICTOR: “Riddles

and suspense” says Bill Those who speak clearly on issues that immediately affect people, as well as organize a good group of volunteers to share the load, will come Coleman to me, but I don’t think that it’s ever out the victors. No, not you, Victor. done him any good in his numerous runs for BRENDAN: I could support a candidate who only spoke in riddles.

City Council. But on the But give me a candidate who primarily uses metaphor and I’ll have my School Committee front, checkbook waiting. I think the message here is the old two ears, one I do think the challengmouth. You may only have a few thousand voters to impress for a win, ers have done a better but who are the candidates actually hearing 200K residents? Mix that job of working collabwith some good political theater (suspense), those are your stars. oratively than the chalMARIANNA: “The candidate who can find a way to divide up the work lengers for City Council, so that their work isn’t all about them will have an advantage.” There is although Etel Haxhiaj seems to have collaborated well with that group of candidates, too, so perhaps we should definitely consider this as a very small number of folks who went in alone with a very small base pointing to her. On the other hand, I do feel like a lot of the established but are now seeing the larger “us” in the way they are politically orgacandidates in both races are mostly working independently, so maybe nizing and aligning with others and, as a result, they have been able to successfully grow their base at the same time. This is evidenced by first- some of them should see this as an omen.

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COVER STORY

Will the election sway the political disposition of city government?

APRIL: Yes, the election will sway the political disposition of the

government. The main authorities remain stable, but they’ll have to contend with some new, swift forces of nature that fate has set into play. The new players cannot be embodied as much as witnessed, which will make it difficult to link their ideas with direct action. This is an age of feelings and ideas and the welcoming of awareness at the expense of project completion.

Key cards in this reading include the Death card, which indicates cycles of rebirth as well as the Sun, the Star and the Moon cards, which are the wild, out-of-control energies that won’t be fully understood. Also the Queen of Swords returns, which represents the traditional authorities and their attempt to make sense of political change.

BILL: Any close observer of Worcester politics knows that the real powers that be won’t be all that much affected by one election. But applying this reading to the School Committee side, this could mean trouble for Superintendent Maureen Binienda, whose run has been marked by controversy — much more so than the city manager. I think that committee could sure use some new, swift forces.

BRENDAN: If a new crop of candidates can shake up the establishment with ideas and feelings that resonate with the public, great.

Lets just hope those feels are positive, or at least grounded in this century.

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MARIANNA: YES! City residents, parents and students are showing up to contend for real power! The superintendent now has a transparent 14-point goals attached to her contract whereas before she had no identified goals to review her performance against. The campaign for comprehensive sex education has produced the most number of candidates running for School Committee in recent history. These issues are now covered in every debate and issues that the School Committee will have to face no matter the outcome.

VICTOR: That there is an awful lot of Major Arcana going on. You don’t even need to know much tarot to feel what April’s talking about. But yeah, I totally agree that the old guard, in both elections, will be largely left intact, with maybe one or two new faces, but the political forces which have spurred so many of these challengers, even the more quixotic ones, won’t vanish once the ballots are counted.

The mere presence of so many new candidates, and such a diverse group at that, in the field is an indication that there are numerous communities that feel that their voices need to be heard. Even if those candidates don’t win, if they remain engaged in the political process, they can have a significant influence on what’s to come.

COVER STORY

What does this election, generally, mean for the next two years in Worcester?

APRIL: Both old and new leaders will fail to see the whole picture and make political decisions that don’t consider all of the economic impacts on communities. The mix of new energy with decisive energy will be sure to confound previous stagnation, and may one day inspire more grounded leaders to rise up to actualize the goals that are still in the brainstorming process right now.

Key cards in this reading include the Five of Pentacles, indicating economic strife in some areas; the Page of Swords, representing new, decisive leadership; and the King of Swords, representing experienced leadership.

BILL: OK, so what I’m

reading is that politically, Worcester’s going to go through a little teambuilding period. They won’t be that good, but they’re looking down the road at a rock star team. I’ll take it. I think Worcester could use that right now in its pool of elected officials.

VICTOR: In the interest of fairness, I don’t think any politician can ever see the whole picture of an economy. There are just too many variables, too many things outside even city government’s control.

For example, I’m pretty sure Ed Augustus Jr. never sat in his office and plotted the downfall of the Cove Music Hall and the Dive Bar, but those closings have everything to do with the ripple effects of development. But I like the idea that “the mix of new energy with decisive energy will be sure to confound previous stagnation.” It points to positive change, and positive change rarely ever reveals itself the way we think it’s going to. Change is always, in the end, something of a surprise that, in hindsight, was inevitable. We just didn’t notice.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

MARIANNA: Many blind spots still exist within city government, and even with the best of intentions, more harm will be done. Leadership within the next two years could mean the difference between staying the course of perpetuating racial, gender and economic inequities or reducing and repairing that harm for the betterment of all in our city. Some decisions in the next two years have the capacity of impacting that trajectory including signing a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) for the new ballpark so city residents can reap the greatest benefits of that major development project.

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BRENDAN: I’m not liking this Five Pentacles thing. Maybe slower than hoped for growth over the last few decades makes us a little less vulnerable to these economic forces? This is the tarot version of a cliffhanger, basically two more years of perpetually impending doom. Tune in next time …

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COVER STORY

Panhandler A short story TRISHA J. WOOLDRIDGE

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“

N

ative Americans make up one of the largest demographics of veterans … ” Madison prattled on.

Dakota pressed her finger on the lever to close her window as the disheveled man with the cardboard sign claiming veteran-hood limped toward her car. From behind oversized sunglasses, she studied his clothes, his facial features, and his footwear. Her dad always said, whenever they got off at one of the many exits with panhandlers, that you could tell fake beggars by their shoes. The man with gray-streaked black hair and ... ethnic ... features shuffled nearer in worn moccasins. “… that’ll be on the test. Professor Quynh is big on us knowing about underrepresented peoples. And he likes trick questions for those of us who didn’t learn this in high school …”

“Mmn-hmn.” Dakota gripped the steering wheel with both hands once the window was closed.

Over his handwritten sign, the panhandler smiled a jagged line of yellowed or missing teeth. She gasped from the tangible jolt of his gaze. Can he see me through my sunglasses? Red brake lights and the stoplight mocked her predicament.

“I have a five —” Madison began.

“No!” Dakota spoke through clenched teeth. “He’s some strange guy, maybe crazy, and we’re two young women alone in a car!”

Maddie frowned but stopped opening her wallet.

The light turned green. Dakota couldn’t accelerate fast enough.

HHH “Every culture has some type of trickster god or spirit … ” Dakota checked her blind spot before pulling into the lane that served as both exit and entrance ramp. As she cursed the stupid design, her eye caught the smear of Maddie’s lipstick. Classwork was the furthest thing from Dakota’s mind. Was it really nearly midterms?

Maddie slipped off her shoulder harness and leaned forward, combing auburn curls back into a braid.

“Professor Reynard will probably want some essay analyzing the tricksters

teaching lessons and crap … and the ones who screw around chaotically because, like, that’s actual life — Hey!” The car squealed to a stop before a pair of accusatory tail lights.

“Sorry,” Dakota muttered, easing her foot off the brake. “But really, who decided to put lights this close to the exit?” Noticing her own shirt buckled with misaligned buttons, she tried to rebutton with one hand.

“Maybe one of Reynard’s tricksters designed freaking 290 exits.”

Maddie chuckled, pushing back from the dash. “Maybe.” She pointed out the window. “And maybe he’s that one-legged Brazilian trickster dude with the red hat?”

Dakota spooked at the lumbering form with the red baseball cap. Her sneakered foot slipped on the brake pedal, shuddering the car again.

“Really?” Maddie raised an eyebrow and fished around for her purse. “Y’don’t wannna annoy trickster gods.”

Right. Trickster gods, Dakota thought, chiding herself for feeling more nervous because this panhandler was a black guy. She wasn’t a racist. He just lurched in a creepy way …

Pinned to layers of flannels, his cardboard sign claimed not only was he a veteran, but a “9/11 veteran.”

A knot of denim dangled between a crutch and a leg that ended in a work boot. She didn’t know men’s boot brands like sneaker or shoe brands. Still …

She grabbed Maddie’s hand to keep her from taking the wallet out of her found purse. “What if he has a gun?” Dakota stared down the light.

Turn green, turn green, turn green!

The light changed. Heart pounding and eyes blurring, Dakota hit the gas.

HHH “Even God in the Bible had angels disguise themselves to trick people —”

“Does Worcester have panhandlers at every damn exit and light?”

Dakota spat.

Madison looked up from her notecards. Red smeared from the corner of her mouth; mascara and eyeliner smudged bruise-like raccoon eyes. “I mean, Jesus was a kind of trickster. I hadn’t thought of that till Professor Laverna pointed it out. He was a god disguised as human, he upset the status quo, he tested people —” “The hell with tests. Every time I’m in the car with you, you’re talking about another test.”

Crimson tail lights taunted from below the Cyclopean traffic signal holding them hostage. A woman with greasy, straw-colored hair shuffled down the line of cars. According to her sign, she was an army veteran and a mother who needed to feed her children. Gray eyes, sharp like knives possibly hiding under the sweatshirts mounded over her stickfigure body, bore through Dakota’s closed window, stabbing her chest so it hurt to breathe.

The changing light flickered and flashed. Dakota stomped on the gas.

Anxiety punched back. Breath stuck somewhere between her throat and lungs; vertigo blurred her vision. She didn’t remember hearing a crash before thinking, That beggar’s breaking my window! Pain cut lines across her head, pounded cracks through her chest. The red light flashed, flashed, flashed, never turning green.

Dakota stood below the traffic light. Clutching tattered clothing with missing buttons, she shivered. Flurries glittered on wind that fluttered notecards trapped in tufts of wayward sidewalk grass.

She grabbed a card. Final exams were coming up. She and Maddie were supposed to be studying.

Aches squeezed her right leg into a shuffle toward twisted cars. How many times had she walked this path? One familiarity was fading; a new redundancy grew. Something crunched beneath her matted Ugg Fluffy Runners. A pair of broken sunglasses glinted in the dying sunlight.

Cracked lenses reflected a warped, gap-toothed face of unrecognizable ethnicity and skeletal fingers clutching a scribbled-upon cardboard scrap.

Trisha J. Wooldridge is a horror writer who lives in Worcester, and a member of the New England Horror Writers Association.

The undead issues that haunt the Worcester election!

BILL SHANER

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alloween is a spooky time, full of spectral energy and visages from the other side. We celebrate the old ghosts that haunt us and give ourselves over to Edrich horrors and the unknown. Just as ghouls, spirits and ghosts haunt the abandoned houses and graveyards of our imagination, so too do the ghosts of issues unresolved haunt municipal governance. As we come upon Election Day, let us take a minute to remember the undead issues that haunt us.

A spectral wind from the east has cast a hex upon our triple decker housing stock. Merchants of death have ridden the gusts atop the backs of undead vultures, compelled by the smell of carrion housing stock. These evil spirits are buying triple deckers en masse to sit on and/or flip in a hot speculative real estate market. Meanwhile, these haunted houses continue to fall into disrepair or sit empty as rent prices become unreasonable for the fair residents of Worcester. Elected officials have had their heads clouded by the decades-old spell of neoliberalism and cannot meet the problem head on. Instead, they seek to cast blame on the small towns around Worcester for not having as much affordable housing stock as this historically working class city. These feeble calls appease no one, and the merchants of death continue their dirty work unabated.

City Manager Ed Augustus at times hears a far-away voice in his office, late at night, when there is no one else around to lay witness. The voice says “Sign a Community Benefits Agreement which ensures that Worcester laborers, surrounding neighborhoods and businesses benefit from the Polar Park project given how much tax money we’re risking to benefit millionaire sports franchise owners.” Augustus shudders every time as the words cut through his body like so many icy knives. “It’s all in my head,” he mutters through clenched teeth. “Nothing to worry about. It’s all in my head.”

The seven layers of hell that is the Worcester Regional Transit Authority bus system sends regular Worcester folks on inferno quests to get across town. Arcane and erudite necromancers at the Worcester Regional Research Bureau have set in motion a spell to make the system free for all, and strong, but brave knights of the Order of Austerity such as City Councilor Gary Rosen continue to counter the dark magic of the WRRB by suggesting we banish the bus system wholesale to the lowest level of hell, never to be seen again. Instead, we should welcome the benevolent and fair High Elves of Silicon Valley to replace the system with more expensive and congestioncausing transportation alternatives. Who shall prevail in these trying times?

If ever the City Council seriously looks at this so-far unresolved issue, we shall see.

On the School Committee side, the Worcester Public Schools are plagued with the ghastly prospect of more than $70 million in backlogged maintenance to city school buildings. A recent facilities master plan found a huge backlog of urgent repairs. Buildings are haunted by undersized classrooms, lack of appropriate ventilation, electric power and acoustics, especially those built decades ago. That’s a lot of time to pick up some ghosts.

Superintendent Maureen Binienda is haunted by the 14 action steps around racial equity built into her contract renewal earlier this year. It seems already she has had trouble banishing this spectral force, as an item asking her to implement racial sensitivity and cultural understanding training for teachers was met with a proposal to offer trainings on general student trauma.

There is a dark cloud of spectral energy around Doherty Memorial High School as the issue of where to put the replacement goes unresolved.

Encroach on the shrouded, dark woods of Newton Hill and risk a hex upon your house from preservationists. Move to a private parcel and awaken the beast of speculative real estate costs. A spooky municipal problem if ever there was one.

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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Richard Ovian was born and raised in Worcester.

He has studied at the Worcester Art Museum and graduated from Assumption College. One of his major themes is the Worcester Cityscape. Showcased here is an oil painting done near the Worcester Train Station.

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CITY LIFE

LIFESTYLE

Here’s Your Saturday Itinerary

SARAH CONNELL SANDERS

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re you ready for the most monumental Worcester Saturday of all time? You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll sweat and you’ll drink. You’ll feel like you’re a part of something important because you are. Brace yourself — Worcester needs you on Nov. 2.

10:30 a.m.: Run4Veterans at the Beer Garden

This year’s Run4Veterans is gearing up to be the biggest race in Veterans Inc. history. Start your morning on the brand new out-andback course. This exceptionally flat race will kick off at 10:30 a.m., leaving from The Beer Garden on Franklin Street, continuing down Main Street toward Veterans Inc. headquarters, and turning around just before Sagamore Road. Last year’s Run4Veterans drew only 136 competitors. This year,

organizers are aiming for 500 runners and walkers with a celebration to follow at The Beer Garden Pavilion.

Veterans Inc. is the largest provider of support services to veterans and their families in New England in addition to serving as a national leader in ending homelessness among veterans. The Beer Garden afterparty will be pet friendly, family friendly and most of all — veteran friendly.

So goes the Veterans Inc. philosophy: “They were there when we needed them, so we must be there now that they need us.”

1 p.m.: Leyenda + Vago Mezcal Seminar at simjang

You should have just enough time to hit the showers and freshen up before making your way to simjang on Shrewsbury Street. Two distinguished mezcal producers, Leyenda and Vago Mezcal, are teaming up for an educational seminar and discussion led by Joy Flanagan of M.S.

Walker and Brenden Lee of Samson & Surrey. Flanagan and Lee will be talking terroir, rehashing history, and breaking down the process of producing artisanal mezcal. Simjang’s bar manager Sean Woods will also be on hand, mixing mezcal cocktails to enjoy along with a few snacks from the kitchen. Trust me, you’ll need a good base for later.

6:00 p.m.: The Dive Bar’s Final Farewell

If The Dive Bar could talk, we’d all be in trouble. But, more importantly, The Dive would request one last crowning night of refined beers, fried chicken sandwiches and old friends.

Owner Alec Lopez remembers The Dive in four chapters: the college bar, the beer bar, the music venue and the beer garden. On Saturday night, these factions will converge. I haven’t begun grappling with where we’ll all go now. Maybe it will play out like the television show “Friends” and we’ll trade our favorite bar for a

The Run4Veterans kicks off at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Runners will leave from The Beer Garden downtown and head toward Veterans Inc. on Grove Street.

PHOTO COURTESY HEIDI RICHARD

coffeehouse. Maybe I’ll stay in more often and make the time to write a novel. Or, maybe a new neighborhood bar will take me by surprise.

There’s no use trying to predict the future. A limited number of T-shirts designed by artist Heidi Geist will

be for sale on Saturday to honor the occasion. It’s wise to arrive early. Tip your bartenders, hug your friends and express your gratitude. Worcester will never have another spot like this.

TABLE HOPPIN’

Local chefs to face off for Chowderfest at Bay Path

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BARBARA M. HOULE

Chili’s Grill & Bar in Auburn; Oxford’s Casual Dining in Oxford; Chef Giacamo Armarta and Chef Derek Henrickson and members of Bay Path’s baseball team. Marcie Wood, culinary arts instructor at Bay Path, coordinates the event.

Grab your spoon!

Satisfying chowders from the simplest to the wildest!

The fundraiser from 4 to 6 p.m. costs $5 per person. Guests get to taste all the chowders and vote their two favorites. Winners take home bragging rights. Proceeds benefit the Junior American Culinary Federation chapter at Bay Path, host for the 19th Chowderfest.

Participants for the 19th Chowderfest: Karol’s Corner in Rochdale; Cornerstone Café at Tantasqua Regional Senior High School in Sturbridge; McAuley Nazareth Home for Boys in Leicester; Sturbridge Host Hotel, Oliver Wight Tavern at Old Sturbridge Village and the Publick House Historic Inn, all in Sturbridge; Uncle Jay’s Twisted BBQ Catering in Leicester; Harvest Grille in Jefferson; 44 Catering and Elm Centre Café, both in Southbridge; The Overlook in Charlton; Pine Ridge Country Club in North Oxford; Zorba’s in Worcester; West Boylston Seafood in West Boylston;

Four-course dinner at Peppers

Participants in the Chowderfest at Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School include, from left, students Jared Washburn and Syndey Cardinal, instructor Derek Henrickson, Russell Tavares from the McAuley Nazareth Home for Boys, instructor Giacomo Armata, chef Jay Powell of JP’S Twisted BBQ,, instructor and baseball coach Mark Sansoucy, and students Dylan Brien and Steven Sutton.

RICK CINCLAIR

Peppers Artful Events will host a fall inspired four-course dinner Nov. 7 in the tasting room at Peppers, 43 Hudson St., Northboro. Guest will be Matt Bindel, U.S. brand ambassador for Foley Family Wines in New Zealand.

The dinner, $85 per person, will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at eventbrite.com.

Limited seating.

Foley Family Wines will be paired with food on the menu: first course: Goat Cheese Panna Cotta, Roasted Red and Gold Beets, Pomegranate, Candied Pistachio, Beet Chips, Beet Puree and Pomegranate Molasses; second course: Spiced Pumpkin C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 21

CITY LIFE

LISTEN UP

Thank God for Science asks why ‘Humans Are Special’ VICTOR D. INFANTE

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the song, one that’s only enhanced as it flows into the viola-driven “Sitting in the Wayback.”

By this point in the album, we’re out of the chaos and on a journey, albeit to an unclear destination.

Perhaps this sense of disorientation is what makes the Latin-flavored “Neruda,” a clear reference to the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, so soothing. This is a place the listener feels real. Likewise at first the penultimate “Number Eight,” which starts with a lovely flair of Spanish guitar, before breaking down into discord. The discord itself, with a lovely melody struggling to rise out of the noise of radio samples, doesn’t really evoke the Beatles’ “Revolution 9,” but the two songs do share a sense of everything falling apart, except here, the band chooses to put everything back together. The album’s last track, “I-O Moon Blues (Reprise),” begins with disembodied voices before coalescing again into a solid blues blast, before ultimately disintegrating again, leaving only the noise of random voices, which seem to mean nothing. But for one brief moment, there was meaning among the noise, and it was glorious.

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t was early in the sixth or seventh straight listen through of Thank God For Science’s newest album, “Humans Are Special,” that I realized what was making its wild, almost chaotic storm of music such a compelling listening experience: The album begins in cacophony and discord, until suddenly it coalesces into something recognizable as music. The music gives shape and purpose to the chaos. It gives the listener something solid to grasp. It turns a maddening storm into something that transcends language, something we can understand.

Thank God For Science is the brainchild of bassist Jeremy Moses Curtis — a member of Worcesterarea band the Curtis Mayflower — and features Mike Castellana on guitar, Peter MacLean on drums, Marc Pinansky on guitar, James Rohr on keyboard, Barry Rothman on phonographs and Laurence Scudder on viola. The band will perform Oct. 31 at Club Passim in Cambridge with Peter Mulvey, Ali McGurk and Tim Gearan, and again Nov. 2 at the Stone Church in Stone Church Brattleboro, Vermont.

“Humans Are Special” defies linear review. The album begins, with “Oldsmobuick,” in a series of disconnected musical strands, all of which congeal into the structure of a blues line, albeit one with oddly jazz-informed overtures. By contrast, the subsequent “Fingerpricking” is an understated bit of bluegrass that rolls forward unassumingly as, eventually, sampled noises of horses and carriages encroach and fade. The music is never unadulterated. It’s always marred by something. Is this what makes us “special”: Our ability to both create and spoil beauty? The gentle beauty gives way to a madcap, Tom Waits fever dream in “I-O Moon Blues,” a tripped-out carnival of sound which eventually cools into classic barroom blues. It creates a music space the listener recognizes.

The blues thread continues deep into the next song, “Odd Times,” but is eventually haunted by sampled opera

voices. They feel distant against the blues guitar’s immediacy, and the listener clings to the melody as the pace escalates. It’s a frenetic feeling, which makes the peaceful, almost holy lull of the subsequent “Feetsteps” so arresting. It gives the listener a chance to catch their breath before the weird reasserts itself on “DaDaDeco” and its ineffable feel of soft jazz and ‘70s ballad rock. There’s an out-of-time feel to

CITY LIFE

DINING

Scruffy’s suits Tatnuck 638 Chandler St., Worcester • (508) 796-5614 • scruffymurphysworcester.com/ SANDRA RAIN

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cruffy Murphys will be packed tonight. It’s packed every night, which is good for the Tatnuck neighborhood where sitdown restaurants have historically struggled.

Scruffy Murphys’ success could be on account of familiarity. For one thing, the restaurant’s sister location, Funky Murphys on Shrewsbury Street, shares a nearly identical menu. For another thing, the location at 638 Chandler St. will feel significant for a generation that grew up going to Friendly’s after Friday night football games on the West Side of Worcester. Friendly’s has been closed since 2012, but Scruffy’s has only occupied the space since June of this year.

Let’s just get this out of the way: There should be a possessive apostrophe in Murphy’s. At least its absence is consistent across all materials.

Dark wood paneling and caged

Edison bulbs lend the ambience of a hunting lodge or a proverbial man cave. Ten televisions span the walls, along with Keno monitors and walllength Guinness typography. All high tops, bar seats and tables are full by 7 p.m., as evidenced by the number of greasy fingerprints that soak through the specials menus by the end of each night. Scruffy’s knows volume.

Big windows on either side of the front vestibule widen the space. The staff is efficient and highly professional. Servers repeat orders for accuracy and check in at their tables with frequency. Every guest in the house feels well attended to.

Scruffy Murphys draught list is pretty standard: Wormtown, Wachusett and Greater Good make up the local options. As an Irish pub, you can be sure to find both Guinness and Smithwick’s — which is technically spelled with an apostrophe, although it is absent on Scruffy’s menu, in keeping with their apostrophe-free approach.

THE NEXT DRAFT

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PHOTO/COURTESY OF REDEMPTION ROCK

B

efore hiring them full time, Dani Babineau knew the three members of her taproom and café staff at

with a black pepper crust.

The music can get pretty loud in the dining room of Scruffy Murphys and I’d prefer that the to-go containers were stored on a dedicated shelf rather than in a booster seat, but all in all, Scruffy’s is a nice addition to the neighborhood. It’s no surprise that the owners also have a stake in Quinn’s Irish Pub on West Boylston Street. If you’re a fan of Quinn’s to the north or Funky’s to the east, you’ll love Scruffy’s to the west. (Sorry for all of the apostrophes; I couldn’t help myself.)

On our last dinner for two at Scruffy Murphy’s, the total came to $78.85.

Explanation of Stars: Ratings are from zero to five. Zero is not recommended. One is poor. Two is fair. Three is satisfactory. Four is good. Five is excellent.

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

Brewery sees opportunity to expand diversity in blind hiring

From left, the three full-time employees Redemption Rock hired through blind hiring, Anna Vellante, Bronwyn Vogler and Rebecca Baker, alongside the brewery’s events coordinator Jen Carlson and CEO Dani Babineau.

MATTHEW TOTA

The menu has an odd formatting error that splits appetizers among the front and back of the menu. This will be an easy fix for the next printing run. Start with buffalo chicken nachos, served with two types of chips buried in full chicken tenders, shredded carrots, celery, cheddar and crumbled blue cheese. The buffalo sauce will leave your senses tingling without setting them aflame. The dish could feed a small army of starving teenagers.

Skip the fish taco trio in favor of lettuce wraps. Fried haddock arrives in a lettuce cup with black beans, avocado, pico de gallo, spicy mayo and pepper jack cheese. There are very few tortillas worth messing with in Worcester, and I found this alternative to be a welcome solution as opposed to stomaching a processed flour wrap. For another fresh dish with some crunch, I recommend the Waldorf steak salad served with apples, walnuts and blue cheese. The New York strip is grilled to medium

Redemption Rock Brewing Co. only

by ID numbers.

Babineau, Redemption Rock’s cofounder and CEO, didn’t know their names, races or genders throughout much of the hiring process. And

she never saw their resumes. The first round of interviews was done through Skype chat, sans video or voice chat. And they did not meet in person until the final interview.

That’s because Redemption Rock hired its taproom staff last year blindly, as an experiment in the name of expanding diversity in craft beer.

Blind hiring seeks to limit any bias, whether conscious or unconscious, from the early stages of the hiring process by removing the applicant’s name, gender and race.

The technique has become increasingly popular in the male-dominated tech field, where companies have even turned to programs that alter applicants’ voices.

Like Silicon Valley, craft beer has had to reckon with an industrywide lack of diversity. In recent years, breweries and taprooms have emphasized the need to bring in new faces and voices, working hard to

go beyond a heavily white, male and bearded past. But the industry has a long way to go.

Rather than hiring in the traditional way, Redemption Rock decided it needed to be proactive from the start in bringing more diversity to its brewery.

“We think diversity and inclusion is incredibly important as the beer industry continues to expand.

As it grows, you have to take steps to embrace everyone, and not just who you think is the regular craft beer consumer,” Babineau said. “We wanted to reach those people. And one of the steps to do that is to have a diverse staff.”

The experiment started with a job posting that directed applicants to an online questionnaire — no call for resumes or cover letters.

Redemption Rock asked applicants eight questions, focused less on their professional experience and more on their love of beer and their personal

qualities. For instance, they had to share their craft beer origin story and describe their favorite brewery.

A hiring team, made up of three men and one woman, took the questionnaire, as well, critiquing their own answers.

The brewery received 28 questionnaires, which its events director collected and prepared for the hiring team by removing names and replacing them with ID numbers. The team reviewed each submission and scored it, eventually cutting the list down to 14 applicants.

“Because we started out with motivation questions and passion questions, some of the people who maybe would have looked good on a resume because they had brewery experience didn’t do as well on answering those questions and justifying why they want to be in the brewery industry and why they want to be in our company,” Babineau said.

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Ravioli, Pickled Butternut, Cider Poached Squash; Arugula Pistou, Soy-Pepitas Brittle; third course: Red Wine Braised Short Rib; Potato and Leek Croquette, Honey-Glazed Carrots, Celeriac Puree, Bruleed Onion, Toasted Garlic Crumble and Black Garlic Jus; fourth course: Smoked Black Forest Cake, Chocolate Sponge, Cherry Mousse Mascarpone. Dessert includes a chef ’s demo.

Peppers Artful Events is a certified Green Caterer, using the “freshest ingredients available and sourcing from local farms and Peppers organic herb garden.”

Sonoma offering Thanksgiving dinner

Sonoma Restaurant at The Beechwood Hotel in Worcester is accepting Thanksgiving dinner reservations.

Dinner service will be from noon to 5 p.m. Cost is $49.95 per adult; $19.95 for children 12 and younger.

In addition to turkey, dinner choices include Garlic and Herb Crusted Black Angus Prime Rib, Faroe Island Salmon, Honey Glazed Baked Ham and Butternut Squash Ravioli.

For a peek at the complete menu and to reserve, visit sonomaatthebeechwood.com. For information, call (508) 754-2000.

Boston-Fenway.

Seventy-three percent of adults report purchasing more candy than they need for trick-or-treaters so they can have the extra themselves, according to Echeveste.

I don’t know about you but I’ve been eating from a Halloween stash since late summer when candy corn hit the shelves. I’ve already started biting off the chocolate heads of Santas.

By chance, if you do have Halloween candy leftovers, keep Echeveste’s pairings in mind. You may find them more interesting than some wine and food pairings, and what a sugar high!

Echeveste’s pairings: Pink Strawberry Starburst pairs well with Angry Orchard Cider: The elegant but fruity nature of the rose complements the sweet pop of the strawberry Starburst.

Temper the spice of a Hot Tamale with Modelo: Hot Tamales leave your mouth with an intense, sweet and warm cinnamon flavor. Modelo, refreshing and crisp, immediately cleans it up with its hint of malty elements that complements the warmness of the cinnamon.

You can’t eat Snickers without a Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar in your hand: The hazelnut twist on this European brown ale has a natural nuttiness charm, which pairs perfectly with the peanuts in Snickers.

Delirium Tremens settles the sour in Sour Patch Kids: This beer has an initial floral taste that rolls into an igniting, warming feel on the palate. It’s bold and complex, cutting through the AKESIDE sour flavor of the Sour Patch Kids.

Combine New Holland Dragon’s Milk and Milky Way Midnight for pure decadence: This beer is dark, LAKESIDE but balanced with vanilla and a bourbon sweetness. The nougat found in the Milky Way Midnight picks up the vanilla in the stout, while chocolate picks up the smoky, charred oak hint.

Taste the rainbow with Tropical Skittles and the New Belgium Mural: This refreshing and crushable beer is brewed with real watermelon to add a fruity twist — the perfect pair to your favorite Skittles flavors! Additions of watermelon, lime, hibiscus and agave, turn up the flavor on this lighter beer. The fruit-forwardness makes it a beer that even non-beer drinkers will love, especially when partnered with the exotic flavors included in a Tropical Skittles bag.

Reel in Swedish Fish with Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher: This hoppy refresher is a 0% ABV IPA-inspired sparkling water that is easy to drink and provides a refreshing experience to those looking for something that’s zero-alcohol, zero-carbohydrates and zero-calorie.

Lakeside dining in the company of good friends and family ...

Come savor a casual drink and appetizer on the deck overlooking the lake.

Host a business luncheon with prospective clients, or celebrate one of life’s milestones at a preplanned special function.

Whatever the occasion, we want you to relax and enjoy the company of others in this lakefront environment created just for you.

LAKESIDE

308 East Main St., East Brookfield • 774-449-8333 308lakeside.com • Open 7 Days

LAKESIDE

Pairing beers with Halloween leftovers

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For adults wondering what to do with leftover Halloween candy, Michael Echeveste, beverage manager for Yard House, a national restaurant known for its fleet of taps with more than 110 beers on draft, developed a list of “unique beer and Halloween candy pairings that are to die for.”

Note: Yard House has more than 80 restaurant locations, including

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and Our Lady of Loreto Parish in Worcester will hold a Harvest Bazaar from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 10 at Our Lady of Loreto, 37 Massasoit Road, Worcester.

Share memories and enjoy Italian food specialties, which will include traditional Italian cookies. Shop the Country Store for holiday decorations, jewelry (new and vintage), knitted goods and more. A themed basket raffle and Grand Money raffle are planned.

Fun day for the entire family.

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Harvest Bazaar at Our Lady of Loreto LAKESIDE Our Lady of Mount Caramel

CITY LIFE

FILM

A time to revel in scary movies JIM KEOGH

D

avid Warner crouched in the sand, gathering up a collection of ancient knives, when the truck carrying sheets of glass slipped out of gear and lurched backward down a short incline.

Hearing the crunch of oncoming tires, Warner looked up just as a large pane shot off the back of the truck, cleanly severing his head from his neck. His head bounced across the glass like it was being dribbled by an angel while horrified onlooker Gregory Peck pressed his hands against his eyes as though trying to prevent what he’d seen from seeping into his brain. People around him screamed and ran.

I watched all this unfold in a dark movie theater and thought to myself: This is good.

Of course I did. I was 15. The decapitation scene in “The Omen” had been a hot topic during the

“The Omen” TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX

summer of 1976 and I wanted in on the conversation. Until then, the only beheading I’d witnessed was of a prisoner at the beginning of “Papillon,” and it hadn’t been nearly graphic enough to quench my teenage bloodlust. “The Omen” made me whole.

Just a few minutes ago, I watched poor David again lose his head (thank you, YouTube) and the scene holds up nicely. No CGI, no 3-D needed, just a mannequin and a plaster head with a passable wig. I’d forgotten the shot of the character’s surprised face reflected in the shattered glass once the deed had been done — eyes open, mouth agape.

Beautiful touch.

Halloween makes me nostalgic for the horror movies of my teenage years. Some of our most intense feelings are experienced watching films that played on our most emotionally fragile, hormonally charged state.

We see ourselves fleeing Michael

Myers or exacting revenge against our tormentors like prom queen Carrie White. There aren’t enough adjectives to describe the stew of reactions racing through this Catholic boy’s brain when I first saw “The Exorcist” a few years after its 1973 release.

Clearly, I’m partial to the horror pictures of the 1970s. I’ve written extensively about my love for “Jaws,” but consider the other great scary films of the time. “Alien” launched a franchise that perseveres 40 years later; same with “Halloween.” Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” remains a classic of low-budget exploitation frights. And while “Scream” brought fun self-awareness to the genre, the best horror spoof of all time is “Young Frankenstein,” released in 1974.

Even movies on commercial television trafficked in the creepy. Steven Spielberg’s made-for-TV film “Duel” memorably pitted traveler Dennis

Weaver against the spectral driver of an oil truck along a lonely stretch of desert highway. In “The Night Stalker,” Darren McGavin played scruffy and fearless newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak, who tracked a modern-day vampire through the neon-lit streets of Las Vegas. A series was later fashioned around Kolchak’s quest to expose the forces of darkness — a less-polished precursor to “The X-Files.”

Then came “Trilogy of Terror.” I, and every other eighth-grader at St. Matthew’s Elementary, watched as a spear-wielding tribal doll sprang to life and attacked Karen Black in her apartment. “Trilogy” was an anthology film of three stories, but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who cared about the other two. Everyone only wanted to talk about the evil doll. It was 1975. Little did we know, a year later heads would roll.

Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Matthew Goode. (2:02) PG. “Gemini Man” — Ang Lee directs Will Smith in this action-thriller about an elite assassin who faces off against his younger doppelganger. With Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, Benedict Wong. Written by David Benioff, Darren Lemke, Billy Ray; story

by Benioff, Lemke. (1:57) PG-13.

“Hustlers” — Former strip club workers plan to take down a group of Wall Street players. With Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Mercedes Ruehl, Lizzo, Cardi B. Written and directed by Lorene Scafaria; based on a magazine article by Jessica Pressler. (1:50) R. “It Chapter Two” — It’s 27 years later and the evil returns to Derry, Maine.

James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Martell, Wyatt Oleff, Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor.

Written by Gary Dauberman, based on the novel by Stephen King. Directed by Andy Muschietti. R. “Joker” — Joaquin Phoenix takes on the role of Gotham’s notorious mad clown in this standalone character study/origin story. With Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Marc Maron, Shea Whigham. Written

by Todd Phillips, Scott Silver; based on characters from DC Comics.

Directed by Phillips. (2:02) R. “Judy” — Renée Zellweger portrays Judy Garland during the legendary entertainer’s run of sold-out stage shows in 1968 London. With Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell, Michael Gambon. Written by Tom Edge; based on a play by Peter Quilter.

Directed by Rupert Goold. (1:58) NR. “The Lion King” — The young Simba has a series of adventures on the way to claiming his birthright in this computer-animated remake of the 1994 animated Disney musical. (1:58) PG. “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” — Angelina Jolie reprises her role as the Disney villainess in this sequel to the 2014 fantasy tale. With Elle Fanning, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ed Skrein, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville, Michelle Pfeiffer. Written

by Linda Woolverton, Noah Harpster, Micah Fitzerman-Blue; story by Woolverton. Directed by Joachim Ronning. (1:58) PG. “The Peanut Butter Falcon” — A young man with Down syndrome chases his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. With Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Johnson, Zack Gottsagen, John Hawkes, Bruce Dern, Jon Bernthal, Thomas Haden Church, Jake Roberts, Mick Foley. (1:33) PG-13.

“Rambo: Last Blood” — Sylvester Stallone’s venerable action hero embarks on a vengeful final mission.

With Paz Vega. Written by Matthew Cirulnick, Stallone; story by Stallone; based on the character created by David Morrell. Directed by Adrian Grunberg. (1:40) R. “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.

“Toy Story 4” — The gang goes on a road trip and reunites with Bo Peep in the fourth entry in DisneyPixar’s beloved computer-animated franchise. (1:40) G. “Western Stars” — Bruce Springsteen, backed by a band and a full orchestra, performs the 13 songs from his latest album, touching on personal themes and the American West. Directed by Thom Zimny, Springsteen. Written by Springsteen, Patti Scialfa. (1:23) PG. “Zombieland: Double Tap” — Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone reunite to dispatch even more of the undead in this sequel to the 2009 horror comedy.

With Rosario Dawson, Zoey Deutch, Luke Wilson. Written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Dave Callaham. Directed

by Ruben Fleischer. (1:33) R.

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FILM CAPSULES “Abominable” — Three friends try to reunite a young Yeti with his family in the Himalayas in this animated adventure. With the voices of Chloe Bennet, Tenzing Norgay Trainor, Albert Tsai, Eddie Izzard, Sarah Paulson. Written and directed by Jill Culton. (1:32) PG-13.

“The Addams Family” — Cartoonist Charles Addams’ creepy, kooky clan returns to the big screen in animated form. Voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, Allison Janney, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara. (1:45) PG. “Angel Has Fallen” — Gerard Butler’s Secret Service agent returns, this time framed for the attempted assassination of the president. With Morgan Freeman, Jada Pinkett Smith, Lance Reddick. (2:00) R. “The Angry Birds Movie 2” — The irritable avians of the popular game app return in this animated sequel. Voices of Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Leslie Jones, Bill Hader, Rachel Bloom, Awkwafina, Sterling K. Brown, Danny McBride, Peter Dinklage, Dove Cameron, Lil Rel Howery, Nicki Minaj. (1:36) PG. “Black and Blue” — A black female rookie cop in New Orleans witnesses fellow officers committing a murder.

With Naomie Harris, Tyrese Gibson, Frank Grillo, Mike Colter, Reid Scott,

Beau Knapp, Nafessa Williams.

Written by Peter A. Dowling. Directed

by Deon Taylor. (1:48) NR. “Countdown” — A mysterious phone app claims to predict the moment a person will die. With Elizabeth Lail, Jordan Calloway, Talitha Bateman, Tichina Arnold, P.J. Byrne, Peter Facinelli. Written and directed by Justin Dec. (1:30) PG-13.

“The Current War — Director’s Cut” — Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse and Nikolai Tesla square off in a race to illuminate the modern world. With Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult, Katherine Waterston, Tom Holland, Tuppence Middleton, Matthew Macfadyen. Written by Michael Mitnick. Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. (1:47) PG-13.

“Dora and the Lost City of Gold” — The teen explorer from the animated series leads her friends on a jungle adventure in this live-action tale. With Isabela Moner, Eugenio Derbez, Michael Pena, Eva Longoria, Temuera Morrison. (1:42) PG. “Downton Abbey” — The Crawleys and their staff prepare for a royal visit in this big-screen adaptation of the beloved British TV series. With Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Maggie Smith, Imelda Staunton, Laura Carmichael,

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The first set of live interviews took place through texting on Skype; to preserve anonymity, there was no video or voice chat. The interview questions dealt with professional experience and career ambition. The hiring team wanted to glean the applicants’ overall skill set and perspective on craft beer, Babineau said.

Redemption Rock reviewed and scored the chat transcripts, then whittled the pool from 14 candidates to eight. The final eight later met with the hiring team in person at the brewery.

Redemption Rock finally had the names and faces of their potential employees. And to the surprise of Babineau, they were all women.

So did the experiment work?

Yes and no, according to Babineau.

Looking back on the data, she said, the initial candidate pool of 28 applicants was evenly split, 14 men and 14 women. And after the Skype chat, the final eight candidates were all women. The three full-time hires turned out to be three women, two white and one Latina.

Yet that early pool of candidates was mostly white and straight, Babineau said, showing that Redemption Rock’s job posting had not reached enough minorities or LGBTQ people.

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Veterans Day event in Windsor Locks

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The New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, offers free admission to all veterans and active duty military personnel from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 9 in honor of Veterans Day. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet and talk-one-on-one with veterans of military conflicts. Included in the program will be World War II re-enactors, representatives from Soldier On (an organization committed to ending veteran homelessness), plus more.

At 12:30, Serene Hackle will discuss her book, “Skipper Goes to War: The True Story of a Pilot and His Dog,” based on a beloved Cocker Spaniel and his relationship with a B-17 bomber crew (including Hackle’s husband) during World War II. Visitors are encouraged to bring new personal hygiene products that will be donated to a local veterans’ home. Children are encouraged to create a holiday card for veterans.

For more information, visit neam. org, or call (860) 623-3305.

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

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The overwhelming sweetness of the Swedish Fish balances out the hoppiness in the refresher.

Soft intensity with Charleston Chew and North Coast Brewing Old Rasputin: This rich brew pairs well with the creaminess of the vanilla nougat. The beer is intense and finishes dry, but the Charleston Chew helps to soften the taste with its creaminess.

The most iconic candy pairs with an iconic beer: Reese’s Cups, meet Miller High Life: Greatness meets greatness in this pairing. The granddaddy of both the beer and candy world — the forever constant. It’s the only way to finish your Halloween evening when your kids have gone to bed.

Finally, enjoy the iconic flavors of honey-forward candy corn with Founders Solid Gold Premium Lager: Candy corn has been a symbol for Halloween candy for decades.

With sweetness from a touch of honey, the candy corn marries well with the herbal lemon-like aroma of the lager. The drinkable golden lager is brewed with lager yeast and lemon drop hops. Its crisp and satisfying finish teams up nicely with the caramellike flavors of the candy corn.

She also wondered whether making the questionnaire available in other languages would have made a difference.

The struggle, she said, is “how do you reach those communities without seeming patronizing? I think the biggest source for us in getting hires in is our own social media presence.

That to me says you need to start with your brand and make sure it’s not ostracizing those communities in the first place. I think a lot of breweries struggle with that concept: that you are genuinely welcoming to all people.”

To seek out a more diverse group of candidates, Babineau said, breweries also need to get out of the habit of just posting job ads on craft beer websites. “You need to look to people outside of those in the standard craft beer community,” she said.

After the holidays, Redemption Rock intends to hire at least another two more people, giving blind hiring a second try and hoping to improve upon the areas where the experiment fell short. The brewery is not saying blind hiring will work for everyone, nor that it’s a panacea for craft beer’s diversity problem.

“We want to be a part of Worcester, and that means being a part of all facets of this diverse community, not one little bit that’s been claimed by the craft brewing industry,” Babineau said.

CITY LIFE

THINGS TO DO

Poetry of the diaspora

COMPILED BY RICHARD DUCKETT, VICTOR D. INFANTE AND CHARLENE ARSENAULT Grove St., Worcester. $5 per night. ’80s Prom of the Dead: MC’d by Poise ‘N Envy and Harley Queen, 9 p.m. Oct. 31, Fiddlers’ Green Pub/ Worcester Hibernian Cultural Centre, 19 Temple St., Worcester. $10 in advance, $15 at the door.

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Friday, Nov. 1 Our Cosmic Canvas Photos of the Night Sky: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 1, Alternatives Unlimited, Inc., 50 Douglas Road, Whitinsville.

For information: (508) 234Thursday, Oct. 31 6232, cristi.collari@openskycs. org. The Astroimaging Group Story Time — Terrific 2’s & 3’s: 10:30-11:30 a.m. Oct. 31, Boylston from the Aldrich Astronomical Society will exhibit their photos Public Library, 695 Main Street, of astronomical objects in the Boylston. For information: (508) 869-2371, llstretton@cwmars.org. Gallery and share how they capture these images with SUM 41 with The Amity Affliction modest, obtainable equipment. and The Plot In You: 7 p.m. Oct. Deadbeat: 6 p.m. Nov. 1: The 31, the Palladium, 261 Main St., Pavilion at the Beer Garden, 66 Worcester. $30.50-$199.50.

Franklin St., Worcester. $15-420.

TUSK — The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31, Bull “Animation Next”: screening, 7-8:30 p.m. Nov. 1, Park View Room, Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, 230 Park Ave, Worcester. Cost: Shirley. $35. $8.50-$10.

“The Sleepy Hollow Experience”: Erin Almond Book Reading 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31, Old Sturbridge of “Witches’ Dance”: 7-8 p.m.

Village, 1 Old Sturbridge Village Nov. 1, Bedlam Book Cafe, 138 Road, Sturbridge. Cost: $45.

Green Street, Worcester. For The Yo Daddy Doe Variety Show: information: (508) 459-1400, hosted by CoffeeHouse Craig, 7 bedlambookcafe@gmail.com. p.m. Oct. 31, Strong Style Coffee, Sombre Arcane: with Khand, 13 Cushing St., Fitchburg.

Troy Gonyea and Nick’s Halloween Pumpkin Witch and Sciense, 8 p.m. Nov. 1, Raven Music Hall, 258 Party: 8 p.m. Oct. 31, Nick’s Bar Pleasant St, Worcester. $7. and Restaurant, 124 Millbury St., Jim Morrison, Albert Einstein Worcester. & the Shocking Solution to the Comedian Mike Vecchione: 8 p.m.

Quantum Enigma: 8-10 p.m. Nov. Oct. 31, WooHaHa! Comedy Club, 1, Hilton Garden Inn, 170 Forest 50 Franklin St., Worcester. $20.

Beatnik’s Boo-zy Halloween Party St., Marlborough.

Sabaton: 8 p.m. Nov. 1, the Featuring Dj Sha-Boo: 9 p.m.Palladium 261 Main St., Worcester. midnight, Oct. 31, Beatnik’s, 433 Sold out.

Park Avenue, Worcester. Featuring 8th Annual MT Heavy Metal jams by Dj Sha-Boo. Costume Halloween Covers Weekend: 8 contest! Prizes! Special spooky p.m. Nov. 1, Ralph’s Rock Diner, 148 cocktails!

Grove St., Worcester. $5 per night.

8th Annual MT Heavy Metal Halloween Covers Weekend: 9 p.m. Comedian Mike Vecchione: 8 p.m.

Nov. 1, WooHaHa! Comedy Club, 50 Oct. 31, Ralph’s Rock Diner, 148

Franklin St., Worcester. $20.

Comedian Frank Santorelli: 8 p.m.

Nov. 1, The Comedy Attic at Park Grille & Spirits, 257 Park Ave., Worcester. $15.

Secondhand Smoke — Sublime Tribute: with Toreba Spacedrift, 8 p.m. Nov. 1, Drafter’s Sports Cafe, 35 Chase Ave., Dudley. $10.

Saturday, Nov. 2 11th Annual West Brookfield Elementary Vendor and Craft Fair: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 2, West Brookfield Elementary School, 89 North Main St., West Brookfield.

Scaredy Cat 5K Run: 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Nov. 2, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, 200 Westboro Road, Worcester County. Cost: $25.

Fall Craft Fair: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 2, Paxton Senior Center, 17 West St., Paxton.

Bladesmithing Fundamentals: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 2, The WorcShop, 243 Stafford Street, Worcester.

Cost: $164-$195. For information: theworcshop@gmail.com.

Coffee Cupping: 10 a.m.-11 p.m.

Nov. 2, Acoustic Java Roastery & Tasting Room, 6 Brussels Street, (Behind Rotmans Furniture), Worcester. Cost: $35.

Bedlam Turns One Year Old: events all day, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Nov. 2, Bedlam Book Cafe, 138 Green St. Suite 1, Worcester. Free.

Cooking with Chef Kim: Say Cheese!: 2-3:30 p.m. Nov. 2, Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Street, Worcester. For information: (508) 799-1655, wplref@mywpl. org.

Veterans Inc. Run4Veterans 5k: 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Nov. 2, Beer Garden Worcester, 64 Franklin Street, Worcester. For information: media@veteransinc.org.

When Main Street Was Gay: A Walking Tour: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Nov. 2, Worcester PopUp, 20 Franklin Street, Worcester. Cost: $5.

Exploring the Silk Road at WAM “Travel the Silk Road,” a free community day at the Worcester Art Museum, will include music and dance performances from India; lighting of clay Diwali lamps; Chinese fan, origami cranes and sand art activities; and an exploration of art from the Middle and Far East and more. The event is held in partnership with the India Society of Worcester and the Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts, and also features two art workshops exploring Silk Road cultural themes (separate fees apply). Food and snacks will be available from the Grub Guru Food Truck.

What: “Travel the Silk Road” — Fall Community Day When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 3 Where: Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury St., Worcester How much: Free admission. For more information, visit worcesterart.org

Clark University will host “Diaspora, Poetry and Translation/Diáspora, Poesía y Traducción,” a free bilingual Spanish/English concert and poetry reading Thursday. The internationally known poets will include Rhina Espaillat, Osiris Mosquea, Leonardo Nin, Jimmy Valdez-Osaku and Claribel Díaz (Dominican Republic), Norberto Stuart (Puerto Rico), and Cristina Cortez (El Salvador). Local singer and guitarist Lucelia de Jesús will also perform. Espaillat is known for poetry that finds beauty in the seemingly mundane and routine and also addresses immigration and assimilation. Mosquea’s poems explore aspects of the Dominican diaspora in New York City.

What: “Diaspora, Poetry and Translation/Diáspora, Poesía y Traducción” When: 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Oct. 31 Where: Room 320, Jefferson Academic Center, Clark University

For information: (508) 753-8278, davidconner@worcesterhistory. net. With WPI Professor and LGBTQ+ Worcester FOR THE RECORD co-curator, Joe Cullon.

Painted Mason Jar Candleholder: 2-4 p.m. Nov. 2, Boylston Public Library, 695 Main Street, Boylston.

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

Fat Foot Films presents STRAY: 3:45-6 p.m. Nov. 2, Elm Draught House Cinema, 35 Elm St., Millbury. Cost: $10. Q&A following the screening the filmmakers, cast and crew.

Artifacts and Incidents — memory and the creative process: featuring work by Crystal Blanchflower, Scott Boilard, Katie Dye, Tim Gannon, Melinda Goodhue, Casey Hickey, Cesar Rodrigues, Chris Thibault, Jean Carlos Velez and Sarah Williams, 5 p.m. Nov. 2, Sprinkler Factory, 38 Harlow St.,

Worcester. Free.

Roald Dahl’s The Witches: 6 p.m.

Nov. 2, the Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester. $5.

Knocked Loose with Stick To Your Guns, Rotting Out, Candy and SeeYouSpaceCowboy: 6 p.m. Nov. 2, the Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester. $22-$37.

Dale LePage and The Manhattans: 7-9 p.m. Nov. 2, Wong Dynasty and Yankee Grill Inc., 176 Reservoir Street, Holden.

Murderous Intent: 6 p.m. Nov. 2, Raven Music Hall, 258 Pleasant St, Worcester.

Comedian Mike Vecchione: 7 p.m.

Nov. 2, WooHaHa! Comedy Club, 50 Franklin St., Worcester. $20.

Comedian Frank Santorelli: 8 p.m.

Nov. 2, The Comedy Attic at PArk Grille & Spirits, 257 Park Ave., Worcester. $15.

Paul Rishell & Annie Raines: 8 p.m. Nov. 2, Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley. $22.

The Flying Burrito Bros. 50th Anniversary AllStar Tribute: 8 p.m. Nov. 2, Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley. $35.

A Night with Seamus Kennedy — A Benefit for Vision Research: 8-11 p.m. Nov. 2, Franklin Elks Lodge, 1077 Pond St., Franklin.

Cost: $25-$40.

8th Annual MT Heavy Metal Halloween Covers Weekend: 9

CITY LIFE

New exhibit at Briarwood

The courage of women “We Grow Into Courage” is a remarkable multi-media presentation and performance based on readings from the writings of women who were involved with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s. Edited and produced by Claire SchaefferDuffy as an educational project for the Center for Nonviolent Solutions in Worcester, the presentation features a talented cast of readers who convey the occasional humor, the definite horror, and the great courage of the women in the struggle for civil rights in the South. There will be an after-chat with the audience following the performance.

p.m. Nov. 2, Ralph’s Rock Diner, 148 Grove St., Worcester. $5 per night The Brit Wits: 9 p.m.-12 a.m.

Nov. 2, Dark Rose Saloon, 274 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester.

Ayahausca Blues Project: 9 p.m.

Nov. 2, Nick’s Bar and Restaurant, 124 Millbury St., Worcester.

Comedian Mike Vecchione: 9:30 p.m. Nov. 2, WooHaHa! Comedy Club, 50 Franklin St., Worcester. $20.

Evie Joy: 9 p.m Nov. 2, Nick’s Bar and Restaurant, 124 Millbury St., Worcester.

Sunday, Nov. 3 WAM Fall Community Day: Travel the Silk Road: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Nov. 3, Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury Street, Worcester.

For information: information@ worcesterart.org. Free.

Brahms, Beethoven, and Bach: Inmo Yang with Symphony Pro Musica (Sunday Performance): 3:30-5:30 p.m. Nov. 3, Putnam Family Arts Center, St. Mark’s School, 25 Marlboro Road, Southborough. Cost: $20-$25.

Listen! A Poetry Reading: hosted

by Dave Macpherson, 7 p.m., followed by the Duende Project, Nov.3, Nick’s Bar and Restaurant, 124 Millbury St., Worcester.

What: “We Grow Into Courage” When: 4 p.m. Nov. 2 Where: All Saints Church, 10 Irving St., Worcester How much: Free and open to the public

Tuesday, Nov. 5 Steps to Starting a Business: 1-2:30 p.m. Nov. 5, Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Street, Worcester. Register online at mywpl.org or call (508) 799-1655 x3.

Simple Plan with State Champs: with We The Kings and Northbound, 6:45 p.m. Nov. 5, the Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester. $30.50-$60.50.

American History Book Club: The 1960s: 7:15-8:30 p.m. Nov. 5, Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Street, Worcester. For information: (508) 799-1655, wplref@mywpl. org. Discussing, “When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present,” by Gail Collins.

The Cobra Kings: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29, Greendale’s Pub, 404 W. Boylston St, Worcester.

Wednesday, Nov. 6 Story Time - Bouncing Babies: 10:30-11:30 a.m. Nov. 6, Boylston Public Library, 695 Main St., Boylston. For information: (508)

What: Opening reception “The Light Within” — photographer Ron Ronsenstock When: 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 3.

Where: The Gallery at Briarwood, 65 Briarwood Circle, Worcester How much: Free and open to the public

869-2371, lstretton@cwmars.org.

Afternoon Book Club: 1-2 p.m.

Nov. 6, Boylston Public Library, 695 Main Street, Boylston. For information: (508) 869-2371, efurse@cwmars.org. Discussion of “Sometimes I Lie” by Alice Feeney.

Hydroponics Gardening Club: Week 4: 4-5 p.m. Nov. 6, Worcester Public Library Goddard Branch, 14 Richards Street, Worcester. For information: lsheldon@mywpl. org.

Today’s Girls are Tomorrow’s Leaders: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 6, Mechanics Hall, Washburn Hall, 321 Main Street, Worcester.

Marianne Felice, M.D., Professor Emerita, Pediatrics, UMass Medical School, hosts a casual conversation with Victoria Waterman, CEO, Girls Inc. of Worcester, on the topic of ensuring today’s girls are tomorrow’s leaders.

Community WorcNite #38: Writer’s Development Bootcamp, 6-9 p.m.

Nov. 6, The WorcShop, 243 Stafford Street, Worcester. Cost: Free.

Writing Workshop Series: 6:308:30 p.m. Nov. 6, Charlton Creative Arts Center, 4 Dresser Hill Rd, Charlton. Cost: $125.

WCPA November 2019 Board

Only a Memory …

With the “Artifacts and Incidents” exhibit, the participating artists explore the relationship between memory and the creative process.

Participating artists include Crystal Blanchflower, Scott Boilard, Katie Dye, Tim Gannon, Melinda Goodhue, Casey Hickey, Cesar Rodrigues, Chris Thibault, Jean Carlos Velez and Sarah Williams.

What: “Artifacts and Incidents” opening reception When: 5 p.m. Nov. 2 Where: Sprinkler Factory, 38 Harlow St., Worcester How much: Free

25

What: Symphony Pro Musica, with guest violinist Imno Yang When/Where: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2, Hudson High School; 3:30 p.m. Nov. 3, Putnam Family Arts Center, St. Mark’s School, Southboro How much: $25; $20 seniors; students and first-time concertgoers, free. symphonypromusica.org

Animal Matters Seminar: The Pets for Life as One Health Study: noon-1 p.m. Nov. 4, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, 200 Westboro Road, Worcester County. For information: (508) 839-7991, capp@tufts.edu. Kevin Morris, PhD, Director of Research, Institute for Human-Animal Connection and Research Associate Professor, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver The Humane Society of the United States’ Pets for Life program uses a personcentered approach to break down barriers to accessing veterinary care and other pet services in over 40 under-served communities. ’90s Themed Trivia: 7-9 p.m. Nov. 4, Red Heat Tavern, 227 Turnpike Road, Westborough. Cost: Free.

Dirty Gerund Poetry Series: hosted

by Alex Charalambides, 9 p.m. Nov. 4, Ralph’s Rock Diner, 148 Grove St., Worcester.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Rising star violin virtuoso Imno Yang returns to perform with Symphony Pro Musica as the orchestra officially opens its 37th season with two concerts Saturday and Sunday in Hudson and Southboro. The Korean violinist, a first-prize winner of the internationally renowned Paganini Competition, will perform Brahms’ beloved Violin Concerto with the same Stradivarius violin (crafted in 1714) that was used at the first performance of the work. Yang currently attends the New England Conservatory of Music where he is the only violinist in its highly selective Artist Diploma program. “Inmo Yang is undoubtedly one of the world’s most gifted young musical geniuses before the public today,” said Symphony Pro Musica music director Mark Churchill.

“Last season he astounded our listeners with his elevated music-making and flawless technique, and we’re honored to have him back before he moves to Europe in December to continue to develop his rapidly expanding international career.” The program will also include Beethoven’s 7th Symphony and Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze.”

Monday, Nov. 4

The newly renovated Gallery at the Briarwood Community will host its first show since November 2018 with an exhibition of images by acclaimed Holden photographer Ron Rosenstock titled “The Light Within.” The exhibit is based on a DVD of color photographs from different countries. Rosenstock has been creating images of the world and its people since the 1950s, and his work is in collections at the Fogg Art Museum, Worcester Art Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the International Center of Photography, and in many private collections. He has also published six books of photography. Rosenstock will have DVDs and books available at the opening reception, which will also include refreshments.

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Violin virtuoso with SPM

7 Bridges Road — An Acoustic Tribute to the Eagles: 7-9 p.m. Nov. 3, The Barn at Wight Farm, 420 Main St., Sturbridge. Cost: $45$55.

CITY LIFE

THINGS TO DO

Burrito Tribute Founded in 1968 by music heavyweights Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman (formerly of the Byrds), the Flying Burrito Bros. has always been a bit of a legend of country rock, continuing on as all of the original members have died or moved on.

Now, in a tribute to the iconic band, drummer Jim Goodall, the Flying Burrito Bros.’ longest tenured member, will join with musicians Greg Harris, Jeff Pevar and David Jackson for an evening celebrating 50 years of dynamic roots music.

What: The Flying Burrito Bros. 50th Anniversary AllStar Tribute When: 8 p.m. Nov. 2 Where: Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley How much: $35

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Meeting: 7-8:30 p.m. Nov. 6, Sprinkler Factory, 38 Harlow Street, WCPA Office, 2nd Floor, Worcester. For information: (508) 797-4770, wcpaboard@yahoo. com.

Screen Printing: Free Form: 7-9 p.m. Nov. 6, Technocopia, 44 Portland St., 6th floor, Worcester.

Cost: $65-$90.

Dax: 7 p.m. Nov. 6, the Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester. $25-$75.

Matt Brodeur: 7 p.m. Nov. 6, Art’s Diner, 541 W. Boylston St., Worcester.

Wacky Wednesday Jam: 8:30 p.m.

Nov. 6, Greendale’s Pub, 404 W.

Boylston St, Worcester.

Thursday, Nov. 7 Story Time — Terrific 2s & 3s: 10:30-11:30 a.m. Nov. 7, Boylston Public Library, 695 Main St., Boylston. For information: 508869-2371, llstretton@cwmars.org.

Registration Required.

Snack & Study: 2:30-4:30 p.m.

Nov. 7, Boylston Public Library, 695 Main St., Boylston. For information: (508) 869-2371, efurse@cwmars.org.

Free First Thursday: 3-7 p.m. Nov. 7, Fitchburg Art Museum, 185 Elm

St., Fitchburg. For information: (978) 345-4207, vdezorzi@ fitchburgartmuseum.org.

Intelligent Lives: Film screening & panel: 3:30-5:30 p.m. Nov. 7, Fitchburg State University, 160 Pearl St., Fitchburg. Cost: Free.

The Journey — The 13th Annual ACE Gala: 5-9 p.m. Nov. 7, Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester. Cost: $30-$75. For information: (401) 451-0856, toneil@acechildren.org. Sonsored by the Worcester Polytechnic

Institute Talent & Inclusion Division, and includes a fashion show presented with the WPI Black Student Union, live West African music from Crocodile River Music Dance, step & drum performances from ACE students and college groups African cuisine courtesy of Gold Coast Catering Inc. and Fatima’s Cafe.

The Renaissance of Worcester’s Canal District: 5-7 p.m. Nov. 7, The White Room, 138 Green Street, Worcester. Cost: Free. A lecture

Golda’s decision Beth Goldman revisits her acclaimed portrayal of Golda Meir in the 4th Wall Stage Company production of “Golda’s Balcony” by William Gibson. As prime minister of Israel on Oct. 6, 1973, Meir (1898-1978) faced a crisis. A surprise attack by Egyptian and Syrian forces on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, rocked Israel back on its heels. In the early days of what has become known as the Yom Kippur War, Meir awaited word from the U.S. about providing previously promised material supplies. Israel had an alternative course of action at its disposal to save the state from disappearing — but at a terrible cost. “Golda’s Balcony” opened on Broadway in 2003 and is the longest running one-woman play in Broadway history. Frank Bartucca, founder and artistic director of 4th Wall, directs.

What: “Gold’s Balcony” by William Gibson — 4th Wall Stage Company When: 8 p.m. Nov. 2, 7 and 9; 4 p.m. Nov. 3 and 10 Where: Congregation Beth Israel, 15 Jamesbury Drive, Worcester How much: $25: $22 seniors; $10 students. 4thwallstagecompany.org

CITY LIFE

By the Book

‘Night Music’ to remember The many musical shades of night will be explored in a concert by the Worcester Chamber Music Society titled “Night Music” Sunday. Arthur Foote’s dreamy “A Night Piece” and Franz Schubert’s elegant “Notturno” highlight the night’s amiable nature, while Luigi Boccherini’s “Night Music of Madrid” evokes a city that never sleeps, and Arnold Schoenberg’s lush “Verklärte Nacht” probes the depths of the human psyche. WCMS will be joined by guests Ashleigh Gordon, viola, and Rhonder Rider, cello.

in Boston. Gen Silent discovers how oppression in the years before Stonewall now leaves many elders not only just afraid but dangerously isolated. LGBTQ+ exhibit open prior to program from 5-7 p.m. Free with museum admission.

The Yo Daddy Doe Variety Show: hosted by CoffeeHouse Craig, 7 p.m. Nov. 7, Strong Style Coffee, 13 Cushing St., Fitchburg.

Get the Led Out: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7, the Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester. $29-$49.

Comedian Sean Patton: 8 p.m. Nov. 7, WooHaHA! Comedy Club, 50 Franklin St., Worcester. $20.

It’s only been a year since Bedlam Book Cafe opened? Man, that seems hard to believe, it’s become such an integral part of Worcester’s literary fabric. And in true Bedlam fashion, the store will be celebrating its anniversary with a daylong celebration, which will include a recitation from memory of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” by Kevin Keady at 2:30 p.m., bookended by sitar performances by Steve Benson. All this, plus raffles and customer appreciation prizes.

Sounds like a booklover’s party!

What: Bedlam anniversary party When: 11 a.m. To 5 p.m. Nov. 2 Where: Bedlam Book Cafe, 138 Green St. Suite 1, Worcester How much: Free

Stage

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“The Haunting of Hill House”: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1, 2; 2 p.m. Nov. 3. Pasture Prime Players, The Charlton Arts & Activities Center, 4 Dresser Hill Road, Charlton. pastureprime.org What: “Night Music” — Worcester Chamber Music Society “The Play That Goes Wrong”: When: 4 p.m. Nov. 3 (3:30 p.m. pre-concert talk) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31; 8 p.m. Nov. 1, Where: Curtis Performance Hall, Assumption College, Worcester 2; 2 p.m. Nov. 2; 1 p.m. Nov. 3 and How much: $36; $10 students; $5 EBT card holders; free youth 17 and under. worcesterchambermusic.org 6:30 p.m. Nov. 3. The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, 2 Franklin Pierce University; Gregory Southbridge St., Worcester. $39series focusing on adaptive reuse $79. thehanovertheatre.org V. Sullivan, A member of NEFAC’s architecture.

“Golda’s Balcony”: 8 p.m. Nov. 2, Board of Directors; moderator Rings of Saturn: with Enterprise 7, 9; 4 p.m. Nov. 3, 10. Presented Emily Sweeney, who writes the Earth, Angelmaker, Brand Of by 4th Wall Stage Company.

“Blotter Tales” column for The Sacrifice, Wretched Tongues Congregation Beth Israel, 15 Boston Globe; and Phyllis Zrzavy, and TrueShot, 6 p.m. Nov. 7, Jamesbury Drive, Worcester. $25; a professor of communication at the Palladium, 261 Main. St., $22 for seniors; $10 for students.

Franklin Pierce University.

Worcester. $18.

4thwallstagecompany.org.

Author S.M. Stevens: signs and Karaoke for a Cure: 6-9:30 p.m.

“American Buffalo”: 7:30 p.m. discusses “Horseshoes and Hand Nov. 7, 42 W Boylston St, 42 West Nov. 8, 9, 15, 16; 2 p.m. Nov. 17.

Grenades,” 6:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 7, Boylston Street, West Boylston.

Pilgrim Soul Productions, GB & Boylston Public Library, 695 Main Cost: $45-$450. For information: Lexi Singh Performance Center Street, Boylston. For information: info@pancreaticalliance.org. The at Alternatives’Whitin Mill, 60 (508) 869-2371, efurse@cwmars.

12th Annual Karaoke for a Cure.

Douglas Road, Whitinsville. org.

With special guest host James $20; $18 for seniors and Dorsey. Join the crowd at this fun- Gen Silent Film Screening and under 18. (508) 296-0797, Discussion: 7-8:30 p.m. Nov. 7, filled event in raising awareness pilgrimsoulproductions.com Worcester Historical Museum, 30 and funds for pancreatic cancer Elm Street, Worcester. Cost: $5. research. Area celebrities and For information: (508) 753-8278, local professionals will compete for the title of Karaoke for a Cure’s davidconner@worcesterhistory. net. Gen Silent asks six LGBT Best Singer. To help sponsor the event or purchase a table, contact seniors if they will hide their lives to survive. They put a face on Maureen Grenier at mgrenier@ what experts in the film call an mirickoconnell.com. epidemic: gay, lesbian, bisexual First Amendment and the Free Press: 6-7:30 p.m. Nov. 7, Fitchburg or transgender seniors so afraid of discrimination, or worse, in Public Library, 610 Main Street, long-term/health care that many Fitchburg. For information: (978) go back into the closet. And, their 829-1780, kenneya@cwmars.org.

Speakers include: Kristen Nevious, decisions are captured through intimate access to their day-todirector of the Marlin Fitzwater day lives over the course of a year Center for Communication at

CITY LIFE

EAST DOUGLAS PHOTOGRAPHY

ADOPTION OPTION Welcome to Adoption Option, a partnership with the Worcester Animal Rescue League highlighting their adoptable pets. Check this space often to meet all of the great pets at WARL in need of homes.

WARL is open seven days a week, noon-4 p.m., 139 Holden St. Check them out online at Worcesterarl.org, or call at (508) 853-0030.

Meet Buttons! Buttons’ owner could no longer care

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for him, so a relative returned him to WARL. Buttons lived a solitary life with the woman without exposure to kids or pets. He would be most comfortable in a quiet home with one or two people. Buttons loves food, especially kibbles. He needed dental work and was ecstatic when his mouth healed and he could eat dry food again. Buttons qualifies for our Senior for Senior Program.

GAMES

J O N E S I N’

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

39 40 45 47 48 49 50 52 54 55 56 57 59 62

of Emperor Augustus) “___ a real nowhere man” Nurturing sort Gothic arches Riding with the meter running “I’ve had it up ___!” “___ back, tell a friend” (Eminem lyric) Company that makes the Slip ‘N Slide and Frisbee Earth Day setting Its HQ is in Brussels Mad moods Word in a series of Larsson titles Boba not found in tea First Atlantic hurricane “R” name to be used twice Con con

Last week's solution

29

©2019 Matt Jones (jonesincrosswords@gmail.com) Reference puzzle #960

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Down 1 Musk-making mammals 2 Rachel’s “The Favourite” costar 3 Radio staples 4 “When the Lights Go

Down” critic Pauline 5 “___ on Jeopardy” (“Weird Al” Yankovic parody) 6 '70s prog rock supergroup, for short 7 Astronomer Kepler 8 Deserter status 9 Greet (the new year) 10 Stays away 11 Rigid 12 “Harry Potter” librarian ___ Pince 13 “…chame la Culpa” singer Lovato 14 Boardroom fixture?

21 Basement fixture 24 Athlete who once said “Labels are for filing.

Labels are for clothing.

Labels are not for people.”

27 Green New Deal concern, for short 29 “___ Life” (Peter Mayle book) 30 “13th” documentarian DuVernay 31 Cross product 32 Unsure syllables 34 Cafe designation 36 Stop on the Trans-Siberian Railway 37 1400, for legionnaires?

38 Record label for acts like Cocteau Twins and Bon Iver (and a year in the reign

O C T. 31 - N O V. 6, 2019

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!

Across 1 They may be moved higher to prevent stealing 11 Green beans, e.g.

15 Line from a permissive judge 16 Moving feature of a Jurassic Park pinball machine 17 Skype predecessor 18 Onetime “Fashion Emergency” host 19 Pandora releases 20 Like notation in some high school classes 22 Make equal 23 “Grand Ole Opry Live” channel, once 25 Filing material?

26 Manuscript enclosure, for short 28 Trickster god of African folklore 30 “George of the Jungle” creature 33 Yielded under pressure 35 Lucky Charms bit 37 World’s oldest active endurance car race 41 Saffron-and-rice dish 42 Concert add-on?

43 Patient observers, for short 44 Daughter of Cyrus and mother of Xerxes (hidden in LOS GATOS-SARATOGA) 46 Meal prep boxes 50 Kristen of the upcoming “Wonder Woman 1984” 51 X-___ large 53 Dance-drama of Japan 54 Bars and clubs, say 58 Czech Republic capital, to locals 60 “Largo al factotum,” e.g.

61 Too steep 63 Phrase 64 Like a field for horses, perhaps?

65 City that hosted the Winter Olympics 8 days after Elizabeth II took the throne 66 Sextant forerunners

“Nothing Is As It Themes” – themeless this time.

by Matt Jones

CLASSIFIEDS

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LEGALS Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Docket No. WO19P3444GD Worcester Probate and Family Court 225 Main St. Worcester, MA 01608 CITATION GIVING NOTICE OF PETITION FOR APPOINTMENT OF GUARDIAN FOR INCAPACITATED PERSON PURSUANT TO G.L. c. 190B, §5-304 In the matter of: Marvin P Colegrove Of: Worcester, MA RESPONDENT Alleged Incapacitated Person To the named Respondent and all other interested persons, a petition has been filed by Dept of Developmental Services of Worcester, MA in the above captioned matter alleging that Marvin P Colegrove is in need of a Guardian and requesting that Deborah A Santana of Worcester, MA (or some other suitable person) be appointed as Guardian to serve Without Surety on the bond. The petition asks the court to determine that the Respondent is incapacitated, that the appointment of a Guardian is necessary, and that the proposed Guardian is appropriate. The petition is on file with this court and may contain a request for certain specific authority. You have the right to object to this proceeding. If you wish to do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance at this court on or before 10:00 A.M. on the return date of 11/19/2019.

This day is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline date by which you have to file the written appearance if you object to the petition. If you fail to file the written appearance by the return date, action may be taken in this matter without further notice to you. In addition to filing the written appearance you or your attorney must file a written affidavit stating the specific facts and grounds of your objection within 30 days after the return date. IMPORTANT NOTICE The outcome of this proceeding may limit or completely take away the above-named person’s right to make decisions about personal affairs or financial affairs or both. The above-named person has the right to ask for a lawyer. Anyone may make this request on behalf of the above-named person. If the above-named person cannot afford a lawyer, one may be appointed at State expense. WITNESS, Hon. Leilah A Keamy, First Justice of this Court. Date: October 21, 2019 Stephanie K. Fattman, Register of Probate 10/31/2019 WM

WORCESTER HOUSING AUTHORITY ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS SEALED BIDS shall be received at the Purchasing Office, 69 Tacoma Street., Worcester, MA 01605. Solicitation package may be picked up at the location above or may be downloaded from our website: www.worcesterha.org/purchasing, or call (508) 635-3202/3203, TTY/TDD (508) 798-4530. Bidders are responsible for ensuring they have received any/all addenda prior to submitting a bid. Separate awards will be made for each solicitation. WHA or its affiliate reserves the right to reject any or all responses, in whole or in part, deemed to be in their best interest.

Award of all contracts is subject to the approval of the WHA Executive Director or Board of Commissioners. The Operating Agency shall indemnify and hold harmless the WHA and its officers or agents from any and all third party claims arising from activities under these Agreements as set forth in MGL c.258, section 2 as amended.

Project Title Bid Opening Bid No. Release Date 19-29 10/28/2019 Supportive 2:00 PM November 21, 2019 Services for the Chronically Homeless 19-34 10/30/2019 Elevator 2:00 PM November 26, 2019 Maintenance Jackson Restrepo, Chief Procurement Officer

BAZAAR

Sudoku Answers

FOR RENT Auburn (Worc. Side) Room for rent in 3-4 BR house, month-to-month basis. W/D, microwave, sitting area. References. Avail. Nov 1. Additional details: Call 508-753-3894, lv. msg.

SERVICE DIRECTORY

Sacred Heart - St. Catherine of Sweden Church 596 Cambridge Street, Worcester, MA CHRISTMAS BAZAAR Sat. Nov. 2, 2019, 8am-2pm Homemade Christmas and gift items. Various knit & stitched items & more. Bake table, jewelry, large book table, vendors table.

Large raffle & cash raffle.

No admission fee to bazaar.

Free coffee! Lunch 11a-1:30p $6.

Vendors call Mary Ellen to rent table ASAP. 508-752-1608

NOVENA Prayer to the Blessed Virgin (Never known to fail) O most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity, O Star of the Sea, help me and show me where you are my mother. O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech thee from the bottom of my heart to succor me in my necessity, (make request). There are none that can withstand your power, O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee (three times). Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (three times). Say this prayer for three consecutive days and you must publish it and your request will be granted to you.

DMH

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LAST CALL

Daniel Danger

featured artist at The Sprinkler Factory PHOTO COURTESY OF ZAC WOLF

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“

f we go, we go together — screenprints by Daniel Danger” opens Nov. 2 from 5-8 p.m. at The Sprinkler Factory on Harlow Street.

Danger is an illustrator and print-maker inspired by 1920s children’s books.

Where did you grow up and what is your connection to Worcester?

I grew up in Brimfield, Massachusetts. My dad was the art teacher in the town of Palmer for almost 40 years, so I grew up in a very arts-oriented household.

My mom was a professional potter who had a shop in Sturbridge for years until it burned down in a fire. I live in Southampton now with my wife and have a studio in Easthampton, which is where I’ve been working for the last seven or eight years.

– Sarah Connell Sanders

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Do you have any favorites that come to mind?

I mean, doing anything officially “Star Wars” is kind of fun. Bandwise, getting to work for the Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails, and Death Cab for Cutie was neat. To work with the bands that I really loved when I was growing up and to put my stamp on their work was special. I’m always trying to find a middle ground between what I do as a personal artist and the aesthetics of these bands or these movies. Rather than just making a traditional concert poster, I get to make a piece of art that’s meaningful to me and connects to what they do.

What can people expect when they go to your show at the Sprinkler Factory?

The Sprinkler Factory show is going to include work from my entire career, all in one place.

Every time I do a show, which is a couple of times per year, I’m putting up maybe a year or two’s worth of stuff. I’d really like, partially for my own amusement, to see it all together in one place. I’m inviting people to compare the first ever screen prints that I made and sold out of my dorm room in college to the pieces that I am working on 15 plus years later. I want to track that progression of how I’ve moved and shifted and changed and also these aesthetics that I carried with me the entire time. Because, there’s still a thread that runs between the work that I do now and the work that I did way-back-when, on a narrative level. I’m still playing with the same themes and little characters and motifs. I’m just executing them better.

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I know you’ve worked on big projects like “Star Wars” and “The Jungle Book.” What was your trajectory like as an artist? How did you end up with those opportunities?

I think it’s just the nature of doing nothing else and focusing on drawing and putting it out into the universe. I’ve been involved in various arts communities online since the early 2000s. My

That’s funny, I was just listening to the interview with Scott Listfield on Matt Gondek’s Clean Break podcast and he said something similar. He explained that a lot of people were afraid to put their art on the internet early on. And for him, putting work online was a defining decision because so many people were exposed to it.

My online existence predates Instagram and even Twitter.

Back then, there was this website, gigposters.com, where I got a lot of my early client work and they had a really amazing forum there. It was just a lot of artists and collectors talking with each other. And it became such an influential site that a lot of art directors for record labels and movie studios started poaching people out of there. I got hit up by the right people and found good regular clients who looked out for me. I’ve been able to work for all of these big properties and bands that were dreams of mine.

You have such an intricate style. How would you describe it to somebody who hasn’t seen your work?

My work is rooted in very old school traditional book illustration. I have a tight but loose penning style. I work reductively.

I’m usually using clay board and blocking out areas of ink and then carving away with a knife.

If you are drawing on a piece of white paper with a pen or a pencil, you’re always drawing shadow. No matter what you’re doing, you’re drawing shadow.

My brain works the opposite way in that I prefer to draw light.

I’m tending to block out areas and then use a knife to carve through the ink and draw the highlights and draw the light hitting things.

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Aside from your POW! WOW! mural at Chandler Elementary School, you haven’t done a lot of work locally. Where have you been showcasing your art?

I think that’s kind of the funny thing. Despite living in Massachusetts for most of my life, I’ve only ever done one small show here. Other than that, I show in LA quite regularly with Gallery 1988. I’ve shown in Chicago with Rotofugi. I’ve done an endless variety of group shows around The Cotton Candy Machine in New York. I do all the big comic conventions like San Diego Comic-Con and DesignerCon.

work was out in the universe a lot earlier than other people’s.

The right people saw me and the right kind of doors opened up.

It’s that adage of: Work hard and be nice to people and that pays off.

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