The South Coast Insider - May 2022

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MAY 2022 Vol. 26 / No. 5

Generational Growth

Music lessons Wedding bliss Buzzing business Spring happenings

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Shows to shop!

May 2022 | Vol. 26 | No. 5 Published by Coastal Communications Corp.

May 21 & 22, 2022 Saturday & Sunday | 10-4

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May 2022 | The South Coast Insider

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the region’s coastal charms. Their new property was a former tomato farm, perfect for supporting the couple’s new hobby: raising chickens.

Fortunately for them, they had a knack for it. Before too long, the Bishops had more eggs than they knew what to do with. They began selling the surplus, and learning about how to expand the farm in a healthy and sustainable way.

To give a sense of how successful this expansion has been, the farm’s chicken population has ballooned from the original 20 to over 3000.

While her husband has kept his IT job, Ester has been able to commit herself to the farm full-time. She prides herself on providing her animals with joyful, stressfree lives. “People should know where their food comes from – you can really taste the difference,” said Bishop.

CONTENTS

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Finding a new melody “You can see how green the grass is

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MAY 2022 Vol. 26 / No. 5

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May 2022 | The South Coast Insider

The South Coast Insider | November 2020

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Celebrating 20 Years of World-Class Cardiac Surgery

Since 2002, the Heart and Vascular Center at Southcoast Health’s Charlton Memorial Hospital has done More to help heal thousands of hearts in our community.

Twenty years ago, Charlton Memorial became the first community hospital in Massachusetts to have an open heart surgery program approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Since then, the Heart and Vascular Center at Charlton Memorial Hospital has been leading the way in advanced, comprehensive cardiac care, and our commitment to healing hearts in our community remains as strong as it was in 2002 — as does our gratitude for the support from all our friends and neighbors who are proud to call our region home.

southcoast.org/more-heart

May 2022 | The South Coast Insider

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THINGS TO DO

! y a M JUMP INTO

Everyone’s eager for the return of trademark events & traditional activities throughout the region! Celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, and Memorial Day in the great outdoors amidst all the flowers, café seating, and music! We’re heading into a spectacular Summer on the South Coast – so, get out there and join in the fun!

Family activities

Check out the free creative arts and cultural events – lectures, music, fabric arts, history, lunchtime concerts, and more – scheduled for May 6-15 from Fall River to Wareham as part of the South Coast Spring Arts Festival (southcoastspringarts.org/2022)!

Go on a day trip to the Bronx Zoo on May 14, sponsored by the Roger Williams Park Zoo (rwpzoo.org)!

Take the kids on train rides through Edaville Park in Carver! Visit Thomas

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Land, Cran Central, and Dino Land (edaville.com)!

Explore the past at the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park (nps. gov/nebe).

Don’t miss the Asian Lantern Spectacular through July at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence – larger-than-life illuminated lanterns of animals and mythical creatures (rwpzoo. org/lanterns)!

Let your family wander through the free May Day Market at the Waterfire

May 2022 | The South Coast Insider

by Elizabeth Morse Read Arts Center in Providence on May 21-22 – arts, crafts, and all things home and garden (finefurnishingsshows.com).

Head for the Museum of Natural History & Planetarium in Providence’s Roger Williams Park on weekends and school vacation days to watch the planetarium shows (providence.gov/ museum)!

Don’t miss WWE Wrestlemania on May 5 at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence (dunkindonutscenter.com).

Let the little ones enjoy a ballet performance of “Mother Goose” on May 7-8 at St. Andrew’s School in Barrington, performed by the Island Moving Company (islandmovingco.org)!

Check out the Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium in Bristol (asri.org).

One-of-a-kind events

Don’t miss “The Azorean Spirit: The Art of Domingos Rebelo,” the first-ever

American exhibition of the works of one of the great modernist painters of the 20th century, at the Whaling Museum in New Bedford through September 22 (whalingmuseum.org).

Register now for the 29th Annual Buzzards Bay Swim on June 18 (savebuzzardsbay.org/discover/events)!

If you enjoy the annual Holiday Stroll in downtown New Bedford, then don’t miss the Shop Small Crawl on May 21 (downtownnb.org)!

Take a free tour of 30+ artist and artisan studios during Tour the Fall River Open Studios May 13-14 (vivafallriver.com)!

Attend a Mother’s Day Tea on May 8 at the whaling-era Rotch-Jones-Duff Mansion and Gardens in New Bedford (rjdmuseum.org).

Don’t miss the annual Kentucky Derby Watch Party on May 7 at Linden Place in Bristol (lindenplace.org).

Head for the Four Corners Art Center in Tiverton for art workshops: “The Infinity Room: A Presentation & Playful Art Workshop” on May 6 and “Beach Walkers: Kinetic Sculpture Workshop” on May 20 (FourCornersArts.org).

Listen to the free panel and community discussion about Paul Cuffe and Frederick Douglass, "A Reckoning of Activism," the first installment of the Paul Cuffe Discussion Series, on May 8 at Gallery X in New Bedford, hosted

by Gallery X and Spinner Publications.

The event will also stream live on Spinner Publication's Facebook page.

To pre-register, go to eventbrite. com/e/cuffe-douglass-a-reckoning-ofactivism-tickets-311412070887.

Take Mom on a Mother’s Day Mimosa Tour on May 8 with the Providence River Boat Tour Company (providenceriverboat.com)!

Flowers galore

Take a stroll through daffodils and other perennials during “Gateway to Spring” at Blithewold Mansion and Gardens in Bristol (blithewold.org).

Register early for the Secret Garden Tours of Newport’s historic properties on June 24-26 (secretgardentours.org) Pack a picnic and stroll through the daffodils and tulips at the whimsical Green Animals Topiary Gardens in Portsmouth (newportmansions.org)!

Register now for the Sakonnet Gardens open garden tour on June 5, sponsored by the Little Compton Garden Club (littlecomptongardenclub.org).

Food, festivals, and farms!

Don’t miss the annual Taste of South Coast on Pier 3 in New Bedford on May 22 with live music and free parking (tasteofsouthcoast.com)!

Take the family to the 2nd Annual We HeART Fall River Festival on May 15 at Government Center, a free celebration of art, culture, and community – and, around the corner, don’t miss opening day of the Fall River Farmers and Artisan Market on Old Second Street (vivafallriver.com)!

Make your reservations early for the “Shore to Please” farm-to-table dinner on May 14 at Stone Bridge Farm in Acushnet (stonebridgefarmevents.com)!

Mark your calendar for Food Truck Fridays at the Carousel at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence (rwpzoo)!

Take the family to Open Farm Day on May 21 at Round the Bend Farm in Dartmouth (roundthebendfarm.org).

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo on May 5 in Providence, sponsored by Rhode Island Latino Arts (rilatinoarts.org)!

Make your reservations early for “Brunch on the Bay” with live music at Pier 52 in Fall River every Sunday May 29 through September (pier52ferry.com).

Cheers! Head for the “Red, White & Brew” beer-tasting festival on May 20 at New Bedford’s Buttonwood Park Zoo (bpzoo.org)!

Plan ahead for the annual Newport Oyster and Chowder Festival at Bowen’s Wharf on May 21-22 (bowenswharf.com/events).

Learn more about the 2022 Asparagus Fest on May 1 at Four Town Farm in Seekonk (fourtownfarm.com).

Don’t miss the Cherry Blossom Friendship Festival in Fairhaven on May 1, the opening of the Huttleston Marketplace May 21, or the Memorial Day Parade on May 30 (fairhaventours.com).

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May 2022 | The South Coast Insider

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 and artisanal foods! To find a farm, vineyard or farmers market near you, visit semaponline.org, farmfreshri. org, or coastalfoodshed.org. To find food and wine events, go to farmcoast. com, coastalwinetrail.com, or ediblesouthshore.com.

Sounds of the South Coast

Head for the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River to hear the Zombies May 1, Jonathan Edwards May 6, A Tale of Two May 14, Low Cut Connie May 19, John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band May 21 (narrowscenter.com).

Don’t miss Tori Amos perform on May 16 at The VETS in Providence (thevetsri.com)!

Enjoy the free Sunday concerts at the District Center for the Arts in Taunton!

Don’t miss Whole Lotta Heart May 6, Won’t Back Down May 7, Dancing Dream May 9, Duppy Conqueror May 21, Through the Doors May 27 (districtartcenter.com).

Head for Pilgrim Memorial Hall in Plymouth to hear Jeans ‘n’ Classics May 21-22, Bette, Babs & Beyond May 28-29 (memorialhall.com).

Don’t miss Iron Maidens on May 13 or Quiet Riot on May 28 performing at the Greasy Luck Brew Pub in downtown New Bedford (vaultnb.com)!

Buy your tickets now to hear Livingstone Taylor perform on July 9 at the Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery, sponsored by the Westport River Watershed Alliance (westportwatershed.org).

Tickets are on sale now for this summer’s Westport Rivers Sunset Music Series (westportrivers.com)!

Don’t miss Slipknot on May 21 at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence (dunkindonutscenter.com).

Catch Chris Young at Bold Point Park in East Providence on May 27 (riwaterfrontevents.com)!

Check out the line-up at the Zeiterion in New Bedford! Don’t miss Emisunshine May 5, Young @ Heart Chorus May 6, NBSO’s “Prohibition” May 14, “South Pacific” May 22 (zeiterion.org).

Find out who’s on stage at the

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Spire Center for the Arts of Greater Plymouth! Don’t miss Gray Sargeant May 4, Amanda Carr May 6, Johnny Hoy & Bluefish May 7, Ellis Paul May 13, Tusk May 14, Kim Richey May 26, Joanne Shaw Taylor May 27, Cathedral May 28 (spirecenter.org).

Celebrate South Coast Spring Arts 2022 at the Marion Art Center May 6-15, including a Latin Percussion Concert May 6 and a Jazz Jam on May 14 (marionartcenter.org).

Classical acts

Attend a benefit concert for Ukraine on May 1! Enjoy the classical piano marathon, “Cliburn-Bound,” at Emmanuel Church in Newport, sponsored by Newport Classical (newportclassical.org).

Head for McVinney Auditorium in Providence to hear the season finale of the Narragansett Bay Symphony Community Orchestra on May 22 (mcvinneyauditorium.com)!

Newport Classical presents Bridgett Kibbey and Alexi Kenney at Emmanuel Church on May 13 (newportclassical. org/events).

Don’t miss the Pilgrim Festival Chorus’ performance of “A Woman’s Voice” on May 7-8 at St. Bonaventure’s in Plymouth (pilgrimfestivalchorus.org).

Don’t miss “Divine Fire” at St. Peter’s Church in South Dartmouth on May 1, performed by the South Coast Chamber Music Series (nbsymphony.org).

Enjoy a Concerts at the Point performance of the Neave Trio on May 15 at the United Congregational Church in Little Compton (concertsatthepoint.org)!

Attend a Concert in the Garden on May 17 at the whaling-era Rotch-Jones-Duff Mansion and Gardens in New Bedford (rjdmuseum.org).

Don’t miss the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on May 7 at The VETS (thevetsri.com)!

Listen to the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra’s performance of “Prohibition” on May 14 at the Zeiterion in New Bedford (nbsymphony.org).

The shows must go on

Discover the Barker Playhouse on Benefit Street in Providence, the oldest continuously-running little theatre in

May 2022 | The South Coast Insider

America! Don’t miss “It Shoulda Been You” May 13-15, 20-22 (playersri.org).

Find out what’s playing at the Little Theatre of Fall River! Don’t miss “My Way: Sinatra Tributes” May 5-9, 12-15 (littletheatre.net).

Head for Trinity Rep in Providence to see “Sueno” through May 8 and “Fairview” May 19 to June 19 (trinityrep.com).

Check out the Priscilla Beach Theatre in Plymouth, one of the oldest barn summer stock theatres in America!

Don’t miss “Sisters of Swing: The Andrews Sisters Musical'' through May 7, “She Loves Me” May 27 to June 4 (pbtheatre.org).

Enjoy “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812” performed by The Wilbury Group in Providence May 19-June19 (thewilburygroup.org).

Don’t miss “South Pacific” May 22 at the Zeiterion in New Bedford (zeiterion.org).

Plan ahead to see a performance of “My Fair Lady” May 11-15 and Blue Man Group May 20-22 at the Providence Performing Arts Center (ppacri.org)!

Head for Your Theatre in New Bedford to see “The Shape of Things” May 13-15, 20-22 (yourtheatre.org).

On the roads again

Register now for Fairhaven’s annual Father’s Day 10K and 5K Road Race on June 19 (fairhaventours.com).

Cheer on the Cinco de Mayo 5K in Wareham on May 1, or the Honor Thy Mother 5K in Lakeville on May 14 (southshorerace.com)!

Get Healthy! “Walk With a Doc” on Saturdays at Buttonwood Park Zoo, part of the New Bedford Wellness Initiative (nbewell.com).

Sign up for the Providence Marathon (and after-party!) on May 1 (providencemarathon.com).

Register now for the 2022 Harvest Triathlon on June 11 in Wareham (maxperformanceonline.com)!

“Discover Buzzards Bay" offers an online portal with information about 100+ public places to walk, bird-watch, kayak/ canoe, fish, snowshoe or cross-country ski (savebuzzardsbay.org/discover). You can find other outdoor recreation spots along the South Coast at thetrustees.org, exploreri.org, massaudubon.org, riwalks. org, asri.org, riparks.com, or stateparks. com/rhode_island.

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Coast I N S I D E RMay C A2022 L L 5 |0 The 8 . 6 South 7 7. 3 0 0 0 Insider

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THINGS TO DO

Event of

EVENTS

The pandemic may be viewed by some as an opportunity to reassess how we do things – from the routines of daily life to how to safely navigate our communities and maintain our connections to family and friends.

by Ron Fortier

I

t also caused, among other things, an interruption of our much-lookedforward-to seasonal, cultural, and annual celebrations. There have been, however, some positive aspects to the pandemic paradox.

One of them was SouthCoast Spring Arts. An event of events that successfully engaged the spirit of regional cooperation rarely seen before.

A relatively new creative festival, the organizers describe it as “a celebration of the place and presence of the arts in our communities.” Those communities, once perhaps isolated from each other geographically or traditionally, are now working in concert to show their local pride in a region-wide cultural celebration.

Their pre-pandemic community event calendars have been both resuscitated and incorporated into an impressive representation of the South Coast.

According to the organizers, “local arts and cultural organizations, as well as the artists and creative entrepreneurs, have banded together to present innovative, creative, affordable, and participatory art and cultural events.”

The communities represented are found across the South Coast. This year marks the second installment of the SouthCoast Spring Arts festival.

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Local arts and cultural organizations, as well as the artists and creative entrepreneurs, have banded together to present innovative, creative, affordable, and participatory art and cultural events.

The festival was originally launched in May 2021. The inspiration was to continue the intent and spirit of ArtWeek MA, which was a statewide creative festival for all, presented by Highland Street Foundation and produced by the Boch Center.

Covid, however, interrupted the initiative’s momentum. Lee Heald, known for AHA!, the successful monthly celebration of New Bedford’s art, history, and architecture, and one of the many SouthCoast Spring Arts collaborators, says, “It’s a great consortium. We picked up partners from Fall River to Wareham and have had a wonderful opportunity to work collaboratively.”

Working together and across a large region, the new festival was crafted, “for residents and visitors, it’s the one event that offers a bevy of events across the South Coast,” says Heald.

The event’s website, southcoastspringarts.org, offers the curious and those planning on attending the event-packed festival a single resource to find out what’s going on in the spring and plan for it.

May 2022 | The South Coast Insider

ARTS COME ALIVE

One of the best byproducts of this seasonal regional celebration is how Fall River and New Bedford event planners have partnered to present a very lively spring kickoff to the upcoming warmer months. It offers people an opportunity to get out and see what’s going on and to celebrate what the region’s artists and arts community have to share.

For individual artists and organizations, the event’s website lists all the scheduled events, dates, times, and locations.

The many participating businesses and patrons of the arts, many organizations, and supporters, far too many to mention here, but all represented on the website, include the Marion Art Center, Viva Fall River, BayCoast Bank, Destination New Bedford, the Mass Cultural Council, and WMVY Radio.

The many SouthCoast Spring Arts supporters and contributors are to be commended for their support of this fantastic lemons-to-lemonade effort that displays the South Coast’s

the region’s coastal charms.The Their new abundant arts and culture. positive property was ahas former tomato farm,mustpercollaboration yielded another fect forevent supporting couple’s new hobattend with athe slate of 67 events. by: raising chickens.

Patti Rego, the District Director of the FortunatelyChamber, for them, they knack SouthCoast says had thatathis for it. Before long, the Bishops had initiative hastoo “far-reaching benefits to more eggs than they knewlife what toerases do all aspects of community and with.

Theyprovincial began selling the surplus, and outdated boundaries through learning about how to expand the farm collective community engagement.” in a healthy andSpring sustainable way.

SouthCoast Arts agenda To give aViva sense how successful this includes FallofRiver, the 2nd Annual expansion farm’s chicken We HeARThas Fallbeen, Riverthe event, and the population has ballooned from the origiFABRIC Arts Festival. nal 20 to over 3000.

The SouthCoast Spring Arts festival While her has 6, kept IT job, kicks off onhusband Friday, May andhis continues Ester has been able to commit herself through Sunday, May 15. It’s a jam to the farmten-day full-time.

She prides packed event festivalherself that on providing her animals joyful, stressofficially kicks off thewith 2022 art season free lives. “People should know whereto and offers attendees an opportunity their comes from –to you can really pressfood the reset button spring forward. taste the difference,” said Bishop.

Jennifer Wolfe Webb, President of

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Coastal Communications Corp. com for shop-and-stroll events in Rhode The AARP Massachusetts Auto Insurance Program from Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Island. For that special gift, support local Plymouth Rock offers AARP members in Massachusetts special Ljiljana Vasiljevic savings in addition to the everyday benefits that set Plymouth craftsmen and artists by heading over to Rock apart from its competition. With Plymouth Rock, lower Editor the Waterfire Arts Center in Providence rates are just the beginning.

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Paul Letendre Thursdays (November 5) you can “shop and dine local” in Barrington, Bristol, and Contributors Warren (discovernewport.org).

Sebastian Clarkin, Deborah Allard Dion, Kick-off the holiday season at Frerichs Steven Froias, Paul Kandarian, Brian J. Lowney, Call today for a free, Elizabeth Morse Read Farm in Warren with “Girls Night Out” no obligation on November 6, 7 and 8 – buy your auto insurance quote: holiday trees, greenery, and gifts there, The South Coast Insider is published monthly for too 508-673-5893 (frerichsfarm.com). Then mark North Mainvisitors St. and residents of the South Coast area and your calendar for the Newport1000 Block is distributed free of charge from Mount Hope Bay Fall Wharf River, MA 02720 Party & Holiday Stroll at Bowen’s to Buzzards Bay. 508-673-5893 on November 27 – you can watch All contents copyright ©2020 the Illuminated Boat Parade while Actual coverage is subject to the language of the policy as issued. AARP membership is required for Program eligibility.Communications Applicants are individually underwritten Coastal Corp.and some may not qualify for auto insuranceand from Plymouth Rock based on driving history or other factors. Premiums will be based on verified information and the coverage choices and policy options that you select. you shop enjoy Caribbean music Plymouth Rock pays royalty fees to AARP for the use of its intellectual property. These fees are used for the general purposes of AARP. AARP does not employ or endorse agents, producers or brokers. AARP and its affiliates are not insurers. (bowenswharf.com).

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Bishop’s commitment to “beyond orcollaborators describes the festival as ganic” farming extends beyond cuddles “a celebration of the arts in the South and words of affirmation to her livestock.

Coast’s communities that is a diverse She ensures all the animals are provided and inclusive representation of local arts with healthy, organic meals, and that their and cultural organizations, artists, and waste is repurposed as manure. creative entrepreneurs.”

“You can see how green the grass is The MAC Kickoffs with their sponsored where the turkeys have been,” Bishop Conversation with an Artist, featuring says. “That’s because they fertilize the exhibiting artist Paula Stebbins Becker. soil with their manure. Manure is the There’s also the Latin Percussion basis of organic fertilizers. There are no Concert featuring percussionist chemicals added, or needed, when the Jesús Andujar, to name just two of the animals do their job.” organization’s scheduled events.

Speaking of animals doing their jobs, Other presenting participant Bishop has conscripted her goats and businesses and organizations include pigs into clearing away swaths of underthe Dartmouth Cultural Center, AHA! brush on the property – the “gnarly vines” Newgive Bedford, Craftyish, Fall River Open that the farm its name.

Studios, Southcoordinates Coast Artists, Hatch Gnarly Vines with neighStreet farms Studios, the Kilburn Artisan boring to provide its customers Federally insured by NCUA Center, Southof Coast Surface Design, with a variety sustainable and organic The Drawing Room, the Westport products. Angus beef, for instance, will Art out Group, Midori Creativity, the into sell almost as soon as it comes New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, stock.

Narrows for the Arts, But the Center farm is not bound

by Onset terrestrial Bay Association, and the New Bedford limitations: the Bishops have partnered Preservation to name just a few! with Captain’sSociety Finest and Sakonnet Make sure to attend presentation Lobster to bring fresh this seafood to market. ofBishop innovative, creative,proud affordable, and is particularly of a new iniparticipatory art and cultural events in tiative at the farm: food security commucommunities the South nity supportedacross agriculture (CSA)Coast! plans.

For more information, visit nationthe event’s CSAs, popular among farms website, southcoastspringarts.org, wide, allow customers to pre-purchase or contact Wolfe Webb at are “shares” of Jennifer the farm’s produce, which jennifer@marionartcenter.org.

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13 The South | November 2020 The South MayCoast 2022Insider | The South Coast Insider 11 Coast I

COVER STORY

Advertorial L-R: Tyler Winn, Jessica Winn, Realtor Holly Bronhard and Attorney Mark Gagliardi

Family Family within a

Thirty-three years ago, in a rented one-room office in Avon, Connecticut, Phil DeFronzo and his mother, Sophie DeFronzo,

launched Norcom Mortgage.

by Sean McCarthy

T

oday the company has a national footprint with 41 locations across America.

One of those locations was opened nine years ago in Fall River with the ambitious vision of Donna Winn. Winn’s aim was to establish her reach from coast-to-coast – a goal she eventually realized with the opening of branches on Cape Cod and in Torrance, California.

Combining the professional track record of a proven company with the family feel that only comes from a community-based business, Norcom offers 24/7 service with an emphasis on making the mortgage experience transparent and convenient, living up to their motto of “We Make Homes Happen.”

“We’ve had growth and success because we’ve built a good team that is like a family. We’re like-minded people

12

If you’re looking for a house on the weekend or you need to do business at night, the Norcom team is available to you. working together with an understanding of the community,” says Winn, Regional Manager and Norcom Partner. “Personal service sets us apart – we’re open on nights and weekends, and we provide a process that doesn’t make people feel like a number.”

If you’re looking for a house on the weekend or you need to do business at night, the Norcom team is available to

May 2022 | The South Coast Insider

you. They understand that clients want the experience of buying a house to be comfortable and honest with a proactive agency.

Today, Winn boasts three Norcom offices – the main branch is at 139 South Main Street in Fall River, and their Cape Cod branch is at 4 Merchant Square in Sandwich. Since 2018 they have had an office in Torrance, California, which enables them to provide mortgages throughout the state. Norcom is also licensed throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

“We pride ourselves on communication with the client,” says Kevin James, Manager of the Sandwich location. “If I have to pull my car into a parking lot and take out my laptop to do business with a client then that’s what I’ll do. I’ve had offers accepted at midnight.”

In addition to conventional mortgages,

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L-R: Kevin James, Donna Winn and Brent Winn

"Our success is generated from the top-down,” says Tyler Winn. “It’s about being good to your people and doing well for your client.

Norcom also offers FHA, VA, USDA, MA Housing, Rehab Loans, Reverse Mortgages and Bank Statement Programs for self-employed borrowers.

“It’s a competitive market, but we have flexibility as a direct lender,” Winn says.

“We do programs that other lenders can’t do. We offer programs that people don’t usually see on Cape Cod. We do loans that small local banks aren’t doing.”

Helping clients Winn

Giving back to the community is an important role for the Norcom family.

Five years ago the company created “Norcom Cares,” a charity organization that provides for the underserved across the nation. In the South Coast, the Fall River and Sandwich branches contribute donations and volunteering to numerous organizations, including the Fall River YMCA Toy Fund. They have helped the Boys & Girls Clubs send children to summer camps, and provided dozens of bicycles to foster children.

They have contributed to veterans’ and childrens’ charities in the greater Fall River and New Bedford area, and Donna Winn has mentored in the Fall River Public School System.

“Having been raised in the north end of Fall River it’s a pleasure to be able to

give back,” Donna Winn says. “People know that they can call Norcom for a donation.”

The local Norcom businesses are a family within a family. In addition to Donna, the organization includes her 23 The South Coast Insiderabout | November 2020home?

Thinking selling your husband Brent Winn (a loan officer), Join our waiting list today! her son Tyler Winn (marketing director and loan officer), brother-in-law Doug Dalton (senior processor), her nephew Keith Lambert, (processor), her sister Paula Dalton, (marketing assistant), and her daughter-in-law Jessica Winn (marketing assistant).

Other members of the team include loan officers Randall Pina, Alex Pena, Adult communities for 55+ Gary Corvelo, Nick Briguglio, David Join our extended family!

Zionts, and David Sorensen.

Safe, worry-free living with fun activities “Our success is generated from the and friendly on-site management top-down,” says Tyler Winn. “It’s about being good to your people and doing Oakwood well for your client. The company cares – Swansea – about your success as much as you 508-324-1279 OakwoodSeniorEstates.com do. Client relationships are what I love about being in the mortgage industry.

It’s awesome to sit at the closing table and see the joy in a client’s face as a new chapter is opening for them. One of the biggest decisions in many people’s lives Westport Village North Farm is to buy a house and we can help them.”

– 62+ Westport – – Somerset – Norcom can be contacted at 508- 636-6775 508-676-9700 401-663-6889 or 508-672-0005 WestportVillageApartments.com NorthFarmSeniorEstates.com — Equal Housing Opportunity — or visit fallriver.norcommortgage.com

May 2022 | The South Coast Insider

13

BUSINESS BUZZ

Finding a new melody

by Ron Fortier

A

t last count, they are currently teaching over 550 students a week.

It founder, Todd Salpietro noted that the business has existed for 25 years, but “we've grown quite a bit over the last five or six years since we rebranded from ‘TJ's Music’ to the ‘Fall River Arts Academy.’”

The Academy offers private and group lessons in most of the popular instruments including piano, guitar, violin, drums, bass, clarinet, and the ukulele to name a few. Add voice lessons to this impressive list.

And it’s all available at one location.

Salpietro played in a lot of local bands professionally, but “I always had a thing for business, and I thought that it would be really fun to open a business. Twentyfive years later I can say it's not an easy task to take on, and it's not for the faint of heart.”

Todd first established his business as a music store, focusing on drums. He soon realized that expanding into a full-line music store would be best and included guitars, professional DJ audio and lighting equipment, and lots more. But there

14

The Fall River Arts Academy has become the largest independently owned music school in the South Coast.

was always a focus on providing music lessons.

At one point, Salpietro was teaching 75 private music lessons a week and “would be running the music retail shop and teaching lessons out of the back room at the same time.”

Eventually, his wife Tammy started to work with him and things started to accelerate. He now had someone on the front line to take care of the retail and music lessons for him.

Soon, they were hiring teachers and built new lesson rooms in the basement that they still use today. Together, he and Tammy grew the program from 100 students in 2017 to over 500 today.

A new tempo

The time was right. Tammy joined the business during a slump in the housing market. And coincidently, they noticed an uptick in their music lessons. “All these guys are coming in with construction boots on, with a big pickup truck outside and a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee,” Salpietro says. They all wanted to buy a guitar and begin taking music lessons because the

May 2022 | The South Coast Insider

The Academy offers private and group lessons in most of the popular instruments including piano, adrums, bass, clarinet, and the ukulele to name a few downturn was the first time that they'd had to themselves in quite a long time.

Todd and Tammy quickly learned that the music business could thrive in a bad economy.

On the other hand, “The buskers and all the other musicians suffered. They had no venues to perform at, and that was tough. There was nothing beautiful about the pandemic, right?”

and emotional welfare of children is at stake, especially in children from high-risk homes. The socioeconomic divide will only become wider, and who is protecting the kids who need it right now? I stress about how I will find a high school during this time for my daughter next year. I can’t imagine being a mother of a child who is being abused, starving, freezing… School is safety, shelter, and home for many kids.

It’s sad to think most will continue to be at home not getting the help they need.”

Did I hear any really reassuring advice?

Not really. The takeaway, then, is that navigating unchartered territory all of He continued, “it was very, very,isscary these: unsettling, vacillating, unnerving, and I thought it was almost like when the terrifying, hopeful, necessary, andhad inevitaTwin Towers went down.

You just ble. We areof, writing this story, together,to as that sense you know, vulnerability we gowas along.

Theon.” best we can do then is to what going trust that others are entered arming themselves As Massachusetts quarantine with as much information as possible and in March 2020, Todd and Tammy stayed will live in such a way as to do no intenfocused, and were booking close to 400 tional harm. students.

When things shut down, Todd While woken us up in went outCoronavirus and boughthas eight tablets and terms of helping us appreciate our prior installed the Zoom app on all of them. freedoms (to travel, go to school, tothe He then called 400to parents, to save mingle with to attend business, tofriends, ask it was okay toconcerts), teach their that losson of innocence has hopefully children Zoom. Ninety-five percent helped uswith grow. districts, were fine it School but it just wasn'tjudggoing to ingaby the amount ofsmaller work that goes into be good fit for the kids. reopening under state A lot of students quit. guidelines, They were have down to 100working students by the end of theafirst been tirelessly to create plan of year of Parents the pandemic.

But, at and the same action. are proactive creative time, they were offering free online the in imagining a new routine.

Through classes. loss of hundreds of thousands of lives The Academy also kept their music around the globe, the best we can hope instructors, were alsoinsight musicians, for is that wewho have gained about going.

They had over two hundred guitar our interdependency: we are all truly in students learning on Zoom. this together.

They also offered voice, ukulele, Some of us, though, want to go back to and lessons. they didget thatdrum innocent time,But when wealso could something unprecedented.

They gave excited about backpacks and sneakers out guitars, keyboards, and a couple ofto and lacrosse games. Maybe not return drum kits because they knew it was what “normal” but get as close to it as possithese people needed. ble in the midst of a pandemic as we can.

“We couldn't take professional the music lessons Kellie, a healthcare from away from the kids, and then,with youthe know Florida, has daily interaction now, it built something that we didn't Coronavirus and she is hoping her kids see Allschool the parents to can coming. go back to soon. wanted “This virus do lessons, too, because they saw the isn’t going away,” she says pragmatically. kids having so much fun in this half-hour “We all need to get back to some sense session once a week on their tablet of normalcy. Practicing safe reintegration in their bedroom, and everybody was is essential. We are all going to be okay. home!”

I know I’m biased because two of mine Contact Salpietro at 508-567-5555 or [tested positive] and were essentially fine. visit the Fall River Arts Academy website: I treat [COVID] patients every day – and fallriverartsacademy.com.

I’m fine.”

We couldn't take the music lessons away from the kids, and then, you know now, it built something that we didn't see coming.

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The South | September 2020 MayCoast 2022Insider | The South Coast Insider

9 15

COVER STORY

Planning a

by Michael J. DeCicco

(post-pandemic)

PERFECT WEDDING

Planning the perfect nuptials takes time. In 2022, after the pandemic shutdowns and disrupted wedding schedules of 2020 and 2021, local wedding planning vendors all say the same thing: a couple should plan every phase of their wedding a year or more in advance.

"A bride should come in at least a year to 10 months before her wedding," said Madalena Arruda, owner of Carmen's Fashion Bridal Shop, found at 1415 Pleasant Street in Fall River.

For 25 years, she and co-owner Mary-Jo Mederios have slowly guided brides through finding the perfect wedding gown and bridesmaids dresses, and even do the alterations in-house.

She noted this process takes time, especially because 90 percent of the shop's purchases are custom orders.

Despite the necessity of custom ordering, many brides come in planning their weddings on short notice. She's had 20 or more brides come in at the last minute this year. As a result, they had to pick from the rack. "But many others do and should plan a year in advance," she said.

Last-minute planning is especially complicated in the post-COVIDshutdown era. "The suppliers and a lot

16

of these manufacturers are overseas," Arruda explained. Before the pandemic, it took 4-6 months to receive the shipment of a custom order. Now it takes 6-8 months because of shipping delays related to current supply chain issues.

Arruda says that Carmen’s goes above and beyond to make sure a bride gets the dress she always dreamed of, no matter what obstacles may be in the way. “We make sure our brides have a stress-free experience with us,” she said.

Love songs Jordan Paiva of Music of our Lives DJ Service, found at 6 Cotton Candy Lane in Dartmouth, has been helping engaged couples provide music for

May 2022 | The South Coast Insider

their weddings for 15 years. Perhaps counterintuitively, Paiva’s advice is to hold off on calling him.

"Give it at least a year to a year and a half to save for and plan out your wedding," he said. "And secure the venue first. Then it's a breeze to schedule the rest. Your vendors need to know where and when first. Lock in the venue. Then you can secure all your vendors. For a stress-free wedding, plan ahead."

Paiva provides DJ and MC services for wedding receptions with whatever style or international type of music the couple requests, but he also offers a fun photo booth and even wedding ceremony photography; Paiva’s wife is a professional photographer. He can do what he calls an “all-inclusive package.”

He's been able to assemble a “dream team” of the vendors an engaged couple needs for a wedding plan. "Sometimes I've planned the entire wedding," he said.

But how did the years of the pandemic

shutdown affect his schedule? In 2020, he said, he did only 15 weddings, all following COVID protocols.

Lately, however, he's seen that most people moved their plans to 2021 or as far ahead as the fall of 2022 or even later. "Now I am already starting to book for 2023," he said. "That's why taking time to plan matters."

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By Angel, found at 620 Hixville Road in Dartmouth, said she is a one-stopshop event and wedding planner. For people who have already organized their wedding, she can be the one who executes and coordinates the plan the day of the wedding. She will conduct pre-event meetings with the couple and orchestrate the rehearsals and manage all the events on the actual wedding day.

She can also plan the entire package, helping to get the venue and the vendors. "I help with all the details no one wants to think about," she said, "taking away the stress of having to manage the event from the couple who just wants to enjoy their big day."

She said she is 100 percent behind the idea of starting the wedding planning early, especially in the aftermath of the Covid era. In 2020, she saw couples either having a small wedding or postponing their nuptials to a postpandemic time. "And there are those who had a small wedding, then didn't want a big wedding afterward because some were really happy with the small one they had and didn't want more."

This year, however, has been the

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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17

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 biggest one for weddings since 2018, according to the Wedding Wire, a national authority on wedding statistics, she said. A total of 2.6 million couples are marrying this year, way higher than in 2021.

Her concluding advice to people planning their wedding is familiar: "Prioritize what means most to you and go from there. And start a year or so before. Quicker might be doable.

But more than a year of planning is advisable."

Supply chain issues have only complicated matters, she added, but she has found ways around those restrictions. "Prices have skyrocketed," she said. "You have to order a lot, and way in advance. You still can't get certain varieties of flowers with everything happening with the supply chain. But we'll offer alternatives to get the similar look and feel of the vision for the particular wedding plan. And it still pleases."

She also says wedding plans should start a year or more in advance. "We know some who have planned two years out because they don't want to lose their venue and their vendor. We have already seen bookings for the 2023-’24 seasons."

A rose by any other name Ann Marie Peckham of Amber Rose Florist, found at 72 Pettey Lane in Westport, has seen two major changes since the pandemic: people have been postponing that nuptials, and she has has to adjust to price hikes and supply chain problems.

Peckham’s shop (which meets customers by appointment only or same-day service by telephone or online) has been the place to go for a variety of floral needs from centerpieces to bouquets to large floral decorations like arbors for a decade. Of course, the years of the pandemic were unique ones for her.

"In 2020, a lot of people postponed to the following year," Peckham said.

"We closed down a whole five months during the pandemic shutdowns. People scaled their weddings back. They had to downsize. Now things are slowly opening up and getting backed up.

Now they are scheduling a year out to preserve their big day."

18

Marlene Souza, the owner/cake designer/baker at Molly B's Cakes of Distinction and Design, found at 61 Bayview Avenue in Berkley, says wedding cake seekers should also book early.

Souza has been successfully designing and creating cakes for over forty years.

What sets Molly B’s apart from other bakers is that Souza is a pastry chef and does everything from scratch, using fresh farm-to-table ingredients whenever possible. Molly B’s is a niche bakery, and only accepts telephone orders.

Her advice for wedding planners booking her services: "They need to plan early. At least a year ahead for a wedding cake. And customers don't need a large wedding cake.The new trend is for couples to do a small cake

May 2022 | The South Coast Insider

and individual desserts. People can help themselves at a dessert bar and have more options."

Full hearts & stomachs D&D Caterers, found at 297 Ashley Boulevard in New Bedford, has been feeding wedding parties for 36 years.

Drew Sylvia, son and now partner of original owner Dave Sylvia, described a see-saw, down-then-up Covid-era experience. "We had to shut for two months when all the Covid craziness started," he said. "We had to cancel a lot of jobs. In May of that year, we were back up and running, doing the same work but in Covid-safe ways, serving pre-packaged meals, etc.

Since the changes in Covid protocols, we're back to the same service as before."

He predicts 2022 will be a good year for the business. He projects D&D will be serving a total of 26-30 weddings this year, compared to "only a couple" of small weddings with no more than 20 people in 2020 and 15-21 weddings, with no more than 50 people, in 2021.

That's why he too emphasizes the point that early planners get the weddings they want. "We're seeing people booking as much as two years in advance. We work on a first-come-firstserved basis. The deposit reserves your date. I've got jobs for September 2023 already on the books."

His main advice for couples planning their wedding: "Review your menu options carefully and reserve your reservation early," he said. "Dates are flying off the shelf pretty quickly."

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19

BUSINESS BUZZ

HoneyDo!

by Brian J. Lowney

Local beekeeper Mark Martin can’t recall a time in his life when he wasn’t fascinated by nature and bees that are members of the Apidae family, flying insects that collect nectar and pollen.

L

ocal beekeeper Mark Martin can’t recall a time in his life when he wasn’t fascinated by nature and bees that are members of the Apidae family, flying insects that collect nectar and pollen.

The well-read apiologist explains that there are many different types of bees, possibly 20,000 species, and there are many differences between them. Some make honey and some don't. Some can sting, while others can’t.

Martin, who works by day as a carpenter, fondly recalls the many happy days of his bucolic youth.

“My fishing pole and I would take off for the day and we’d out for the day,” he recalls. “I’d hunt and fish and forage for mushrooms and plants, just like I do today.”

According to Martin, bees and beekeeping “are a natural extension” of his longtime interest in nature.

“You know where the nectar comes from and what goes into it,” the beekeeper emphasizes.

20

Three years ago, Martin and his partner, Lori Torres of Somerset, enrolled in a beekeeping class offered by the Bristol County Beekeepers Association at Bristol Community College in Fall River. The avid outdoorsman had met a beekeeper at a local tractor supply store where he learned about the course and wanted to learn more.

Torres shares that the nominal course fee covered 10 weeks of instruction, a book, materials, and membership to the organization for one year. Once the course began, the couple’s exuberance couldn’t be contained and their business, Lorimar Apiaries, was soon born.

“We are just coming out of winter – we’ve lost about 60 percent of our bees,” Martin adds, noting that the couple has 11 hives in Somerset, Swansea, Seekonk, and Assonet.

“The remaining bees are going to forage skunk cabbage and collect pollen,” he continues. “Bees travel up to two miles and sometimes farther and have a way of communicating with other bees to tell

May 2022 | The South Coast Insider

The well-read apiologist explains that there are many different types of bees, possibly 20,000 species, and there are many differences between them. each other where the source of food can be found.”

Martin says that bees bring the nectar back to the hive, fill the cell and fan it with their wings to thicken it, and then cap the honey with wax that they have made and processed.

Martin notes that it takes 12 bees a lifetime – about 41 days – to produce one teaspoon of honey.

“Honey is still good if it’s capped,” Torres says. “It’s antifungal, anti-bacterial, and full of vital nutrients.”

The couple visit the hives once per

week, feed them sugar water, and check for mites, mice, ants, wasps, and any debris.

“If the bees are healthy they can care for themselves,” Martin says.

The bee’s knees

While the couple hopes to expand their business, they currently sell the honey to family and friends. Torres makes chapsticks from the wax and other natural products and would like to continue that small production.

“We also make honey butter,” Martin says. “Honey has so many properties that can benefit your health. Once you learn about bees, you get excited about it and you can’t stop learning.”

Tiverton resident Susan Medyn says she became interested in beekeeping eight years ago after accepting a self-challenge to try a new pursuit.

“You are a steward for the bee’s survival and in essence are their own personal physician, monitoring for and addressing the queen’s problems, varroa mites, viruses, and other diseases within the hive,” she says.

Medyn now cares for 20 hives, many of which are housed on a friend’s farm McGovern’s Family Restaurant property.

310 Fall River LikeShove MartinStreet, and Torres, Medyn enrolled 508-679-5010 in the course offered by the beekeepers mcgovernsonthewater.com association and her interest continues to This well-known restaurant and banprosper.

Her husband, David Formanck, quet facility overlooking LaurelAssistant Lake enjoys his role as Chief Apiary usually packsmore themabout in forthis a large buffet and learning fascinating on Thanksgiving Day. The menu typicalhobby. lyMedyn includes traditional dinner with describes herturkey beekeeping Paul’s stuffing, butternut squash, prime activities as “engrossing and almost an rib, ham, and much more.

The restaurant obsession.” She adds, “I’m in a Zen place has been offering dine-in and takeout, when I’m with the bees.” including its locally famous corned Her interest in beekeeping has ledbeef her and cabbage, for 50 years. Here’s a proto study to become a Master Beekeeper tip: if you can’t wait until Thanksgiving for at Cornell University, where she plans to a roast turkey dinner, you don’t have to – help others to successfully learn about it’s on the regular menu. the many facets of caring for honey bees and helping others to understand Merrills on the the importance of Waterfront honey bees and 36 Homers Wharf, New Bedford pollinators.

508-997-7010 Medyn sells her delicious honey at merrillswaterfront.com Coastal Roaster’s in Tiverton, at the

This favorite restaurant Tiverton Farmers Market,and andfunction at other facility sits on overlooking small stores inthe thewaterfront area. the port. But if fish isn’t your Forbusy morefishing information about honeybees, thing on traditional turkey day, be sure contact the Bristol County Beekeepers to keep watch for their holiday offerings.

Association at: president@bristolbee.com.

Last year, Merrill’s served up turkey and prime rib, all the sides like apple sage stuffing, and sweet corn and polenta ravioli, plus pies galore.

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Last year they served up a feast of turkey, roast prime rib, sausage stuffing, and more. The restaurant currently offers dine-in and takeout, including some oven-ready dishes like seafood casserole and stuffed lobster.

White’s of Westport

66 State Road, Westport 508-675-7185 shop.lafrancehospitality.com White’s has been offering family-style takeout and curbside meals pickup for months, so when Turkey Day comes around, it’s a good bet they’ll have a handle (or rather a drumstick) on that too.

Currently, the restaurant is offering meal packages and platters like its “Taste of New England” that comes with chowder, quahogs and clam cakes or its Italian package of salad, lasagna, meatballs and breadsticks. Both meals serve six. Also available are dinner-for-two meal packs like fish and chips, lobster rolls, bourbon beef tips, and even kid-sized pasta and meatballs for two. With more than 60 years in the hospitality industry, White’s is accustomed to cooking for a crowd.

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ON MY MIND

Black and white

by Paul Kandarian

We’ve all had moments like this: someone says something offensive or wrong or just idiotic and you shake your head unable to think of something to say until later.

R

ecently, a guy I know was talking about how a popular magazine erroneously came to his house, and prefaced what was coming by saying “You’re probably not gonna like this,” which is a phrase that if you hear it, you should just walk away.

But I didn’t. He then said he was flipping through the magazine where “there was nothing but Black people.

Except for the ads, it was like 90 percent Black people,” he said shaking his head as if he’d unearthed an unearthly truth that would destroy mankind.

Keep in mind this guy is a huge supporter of that guy who pretended to be president, so I guess his diatribe about Black faces in what I guess he assumed should be an all-white magazine wasn’t out of character.

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I shook my head and moved off to talk to other people, but later a crystal clear response formed in my mind on the way home that was the perfect answer I wished I thought of to his horror of finding so many Black faces in a magazine: Now you know how Black people feel.

Black people who’ve long felt invisible, unimportant, unnoticed, living Black in a white world populated by white faces in boardrooms, the entertainment industry, nice neighborhoods, good schools.

Like it or not, this country was and is a racist nation, the evidence of which erupted in a presidency that gave people permission to express their racism and shined a raw light on a problem that has long divided the country

May 2022 | The South Coast Insider

and still does. It gave them a desperate and pathetic voice to what they saw as a threat to their kind.

This guy, and many others, isn’t a fan of the Black Lives Matter movement either. No shock there. He’d put up Blue Lives Matter signs, and he and others would say “White lives matter, too,” completely missing the point that many miss. White lives, blue lives, have always mattered.

Black lives? Not so much.

I am white and have not a single clue what it’s like to live as a Black person. I was raised by parents who said if you get pulled over by a cop, be respectful and maybe you won’t get a ticket. Do you know what Black parents tell their kids? Be respectful and maybe you won’t get shot.

I don’t think that was covered in any Dr. Spock books on how to raise your white babies, folks.

Another term many white people don’t like is “white privilege,” and honestly, I didn’t really know what white privilege was until I read about it and realized I am the epitome of white – and while we’re at it – gender privilege:

older white male. Doors open wider for people like me and white people in general. For Black people, that door if not closed completely, is a helluva lot harder to tug open to get a foot in.

But in an ironic and pleasant twist, later that same day, I was part of a screening for a film I was in that was made in Brockton, written and directed by a very talented young Black man, Tim Young, with many Black people in the cast. The screening was in a small studio owned by another terrific young Black Brockton filmmaker, Rui Canvasking Lopes. The audience was predominantly Black.

I have never felt less out of place anywhere. This was a room full of people proud of their city, proud of these young filmmakers, proud to be part of a blossoming BIPOC film scene. And I am proud to know them.

The film is called “Abort,” about a young Black woman, Monica, played very well by Amanda Offley, in her first acting role, which she nailed.

She plays a professional woman with an eye on her

career, with a white fiancé who wants marriage and children, and his family is putting pressure on her as well. The ending leaves doubt as to what happens and I love films without tidy endings like this, leaving the audience to guess what happened – and the door open for a sequel.

This film has done really well on the festival circuit home and abroad. Tim won Best First Time Filmmaker Feature at the Cannes Worlds Film Festival for one thing. Not bad for a kid from Brockton, the stereotype of which is hardscrabble and downtrodden, which any city is in spots. But Brockton is also home to hard-working people and filmmakers like Tim and Rui who are evidence

of a pride of place as deep as their desire to show it off in film.

Nothing thrills me more than seeing and working with young people like Tim, and in an industry that truly needs more faces of color, his is one of the brightest on the cinematic horizon. I look forward to being on one of his sets again.

And to white folks who feel threatened by seeing more Black faces in places like magazines? Relax – what’re you afraid of? Tomorrow, you’re still gonna wake up white. Just share the world, would you? Getting along with and trying to understand one another goes a long way to making it a better place.

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