Worcester Magazine February 20- 26, 2020

FEBRUARY 20 - 26, 2020 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

CULTURE • ARTS • DINING • VOICES

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Making an impact Novel ‘RISE’ just the latest of Johnhanes Honeycutt’s accomplishments

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F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020

IN THIS ISSUE

F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020 • V O L U M E 45 I S S U E 26 Find us on Facebook.com/worcestermag Twitter @worcestermag Instagram: Worcestermag

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Story on page 11 Photo by Ashley Green; Design by Kimberly Vasseur

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Making an impact: Novel ‘RISE’ just the latest of Johnhanes Honeycutt’s accomplishments

F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020

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FEATURED

Journalism on ice!

How the Railers almost succeeded in teaching a middle-aged journalist to skate VICTOR D. INFANTE

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t was only with tremendous effort that I had finally managed to make my way unaided around the circumference of the ice rink at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center. And by “unaided,” I mean only relying on the railing to keep me upright, as opposed to the orange traffic cone I’d been given when I’d come in. As accomplishments go, to steal a joke, I was well-aware that this was dangerously close to nothing.

But at that moment, as fourthgrade students from Vernon Hill School whizzed past me, I was absolutely certain of one thing: Ice skating is hard.

Rewind to Feb. 7, when Railers publicist Cam McGuire dropped me a line about the team’s Skate To Success program, where members of the team help teach local kids how to skate every Tuesday. The program, which runs this season through March 24, sounded like a worthy cause, but Worcester Magazine doesn’t deal much with sports these

days, so I kicked it over to our brethren at the Telegram & Gazette. Soon after, I was visited by executive editor Dave Nordman, who said he thought it would be really cool to send over a reporter who’s never skated, or hasn’t skated in a long time, and have them learn along with the kids. I tried to foist it off on reporter Bill Shaner, but as it turns out, he can actually skate.

With dawning horror, I realized it was going to have to be me.

I’m a Southern California boy, and while there are a number of hockey teams where I grew up — the Los Angeles Kings and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim — I have never been partial to snow, and even after nearly 20 years of living in New England, I have never gotten my ice legs. The last time I skated, I was 17 years old, attending a Model UN Conference in New York City. My friend Dana had a dream of skating at Rockefeller Center, and I accompanied her. She could skate well. I mostly managed to stay upright, but could barely move without assistance. She was patient with me, and seemingly had a good time. Afterward, we had street

Left, Worcester Magazine content editor Victor Infante uses a cone to steady himself during the Skate To Success learn to skate program Feb. 11 at the Worcester Ice Center. Above, Infante reaches for a cone to steady himself while talking to Richard P. Burke, president and CEO of Fallon Health.

RICK CINCLAIR

vendor hot dogs and got lost on the subway, so it was a good tourist experience, but I never skated again.

Now, at 48 years old, I found myself Feb. 11 at the Ice Center, in a room full of excited children who were having professional hockey players and volunteers from Fallon Healthcare — which has been a sponsor of the program for its entire three-year run to date — lace up their skates. I am a grown man who thinks he can tie his own shoes, but I quickly learned my first lesson of skating: Throw pride out the window.

I tried to stand, and was wobbly on my feet. I was quickly informed my laces were too loose, and in short order Railers president Mike Myers was helping me lace up my skates. Pride

goeth before a fall, and in this case, that’s quite literal. With tighter-tied skates, I was able to stand and walk … at least until I got to the ice.

As soon as I hit the ice, someone handed me an orange traffic cone, for balance. A lot of the kids had them, while others were pushing themselves on milk crates. I was informed to keep me knees bent, which was no problem, as that’s the only way I could keep ahold of the cone. My body creaked awkwardly as I shambled forward, stopping myself from falling every few minutes, which takes a lot more core strength than one would think. One volunteer advised me to imagine I was swimming, only using my feet instead of my hands to move forward. At least, I

FEATURED

Victor Infante laces up his skates and chats with 4thgrader Quincy Quartey from the Vernon Hill School during the Skate To Success learn to skate program.

RICK CINCLAIR

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

unteers helped kids fix their helmets while forward Cody Payne helped one of the more advanced skaters get some room to race. I asked Payne if he had any advice for someone trying to learn, and he said, simply, “Bend your kneeeeees,” as he skated away with one of the kids.

When the kids hit the ice, they laughed in delight. They are, at that age, mostly built from rubber bands.

For my part, every one of my muscles was sore, and my back ached from being hunched over so long. Eventually, though, I decided it was time to let go of the cone … to take a halfstep forward in my quest to learn how to skate. I mean, I’m not stupid … I stayed near the rail and stopped a whole bunch of times … but eventually, I did it. I made it around once without a cone. It was almost an accomplishment.

Am I better skater now than I was when I went in? Maybe. I’m still not sure I can tie my laces properly. Am I going to try again? Probably not, because even hours later, my back still hurts. But have I come away with a much deeper appreciation for what these players do? Oh, yes. Yes indeed I have, because moving like that on the ice? That is very, very hard.

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think that’s what she said. I was busy trying not to fall down.

I only actually hit the ice twice.

The first was when I stopped to chat with Fallon president/CEO Richard Burke, who skated in his youth and appeared quite comfortable. My mistake, it seems, was actually stopping. So long as I was moving, even awkwardly, I could stay upright. As soon as I stopped, I somehow lost my balance and tumbled to the ground.

Burke laughed good-naturedly as he helped me back to my feet. The second tumble came a bit later, and I’m not entirely sure how that one happened. All I knew is one moment I was upright, the next, I was sprawled on the ice, my cone having slid just out of reach. This time, I was rescued by Railers community relations manager Paul Harris.

Evidently, it takes a village to teach a middle-aged journalist to skate.

By comparison, the kids were doing much better, also with a little assistance. Railers’ forward JD Dudek was enormously patient helping a little girl too scared to let go of the rail, eventually coaxing her onto the ice.

Defenseman Justin Murray and forward Ross Olsson pushed some kids on their boxes, who screamed with delight as they got some speed. Vol-

FEATURED

Call of the Wild

Coywolves ‘part of a healthy, functioning Worcester’ BILL SHANER

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“Well, we got a problem,” he tells me, sitting in a green GWLT pullover at a large table in the middle of his office, in a tone suggesting there’s no problem at all. A wall plastered with wildlife posters and infographics separates him from the constant hum of Polar Park construction across the street as he brims with excitement about

the subject.

“No apex predators requires us to be hunters. Then we got fat and lazy and sat on our couches. Now we’re not hunting. But nature, because she is wild, abhors a vacuum. So

she cooks up a brand new species.

Shazam!”

And thus the coywolf was born.

It’s a coyote, Novick said, but “it’s like going to McDonalds and asking to super-size it.”

An eastern coyote.

AP PHOTO

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ou’ve heard of coyotes in Worcester. Likely, you’ve seen cellphone pictures and videos posted to social media, or else you’ve posted them yourself, with your own story or advisory for pet owners in the neighborhood. Coyotes have been the talk of the town lately, and we’re starting to accept that they live

among us.

But what about coywolves? Equal parts coyote, wolf and domesticated dog, they’re bigger, smarter, more likely to hunt than your average coyote. They move in packs. And they, too, live among us, or so says Colin Novick, executive director of the Greater Worcester Land Trust. He’s seen them, he told me, and he says others have seen them as well in the more wild parts of Worcester.

Above, Executive Director of the Greater Worcester Land Trust Colin Novick.

ASHLEY GREEN

FEATURED

posted to social media, especially to popular Worcester pages and groups, create an artificial sense of a growing problem, Novick said.

In reality, the coywolves have been here for at least a decade, but never before has it been so easy to capture and share a sighting.

While development has pushed other forms of wildlife closer to Worcester — bears and moose especially — coyotes and coywolves have been a natural part of the ecosystem here for years, Novick said.

“Like it or not, this is part of a healthy, functioning Worcester. It’s part of the mix that makes Worcester work,” he said.

Novick cautioned against panic.

The animals want nothing to do with humans, and while they do pose a risk to cats and smaller dogs, pet owners should just keep their animals on leash and they will be fine, he said.

Around here, the coywolves mostly hunt deer. And, from Novick’s perspective, that’s a good thing. When deer population runs unchecked, it throws off the natural balance of woodlands. Deer clear too much of the forest floor — like lawnmowers, he said — which leads to an increase in ticks and destabilizes the ecosystem created by trees.

According to MassWildlife, the state saw its second largest harvest of deer ever in the 2019 hunting season, although, according to Novick, the number of hunters overall has been static over the past few years.

“We should be excited about this,” he said. “We have an imbalanced system that is out of whack.

There has to be an apex predator, and if we’re not the ones who do it, something else has to.”

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Now, it should be said, not everyone agrees that coywolves exist. Some, including MassWildlife, prefer the term “eastern coyote.” In an official MassWildlife powerpoint presentation on the animals, Mass Wildlife downplays the wolf angle.

While eastern coyotes are the result of “western coyotes interbreeding with gray wolves and domestic dogs,” they contain “very little wolf DNA” and are “60-84 percent coyote.” They are about the size of a medium dog, says MassWildlife.

An exceptionally large coywolf — sorry, eastern coyote — is about 60 pounds, but they often look larger because of thick fur. They are transient by nature, traveling 7 to 16 miles a day.

Recently, Novick went out to Donker Farm — the last working farm in Worcester, which GWLT manages — to investigate a recent coywolf sighting. What he found there were two coywolves, each larger than a standard poodle. He’s seen coyotes and coywolves in Worcester going back at least seven years. Around that time, Novick said, he saw a coywolf early in the morning, after a fresh snow. He followed the tracks for the better part of a day, and found that the animal was weaving in and out of people’s yards through thick brush around property edges. They don’t want to be seen and they don’t want to engage with humans, so they don’t.

“They have been there for years and years and years but they are so good at their job that they’re only getting recognized now,” said Novick.

While it might seems like a new phenomenon, or one that has recently gotten more severe, it’s more likely that it’s a phenomenon we humans are creating. Pictures

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CITY VOICES

Spring

POETRY TOWN

Primary Day Blues Home Improvement EVE RIFKAH

After a long New England winter, residents are anxious to begin their improvement projects inside and out.

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Get your business growing...

Advertise your home and garden products or services in this special section!

Coming March 26, 2020 Reservation Deadline is March 9, 2020

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Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed

– Langston Hughes This land our land we walk shaky ground listen for deep grumbles expect the earth to open, to swallow, to belch. our hands empty in travels we hold a shield of not me. in the land of the deluded freedoms lost, our words of greatness in shreds so much confetti the marriage failed a nation divided. we gather in small groups shake our heads moan for dreams deferred cast votes for the lesser devils press-manipulated we feel pressed folded, torn, splattered. we grab our comforts curl in favorite chairs try to remember America of the dream dreamers dreamed— sleep and wake to un-changed change.

Eve Rifkah is a poet and educator who lives in Worcester.

Want to Write For First Person?

Hey, you. Yeah, we’re talking to YOU. You look like you have something to say. So this is your chance: Worcester Magazine is looking for contributors to our weekly First Person column! We’re seeking essays from our readers about whatever facet of Worcester life they want to share. And not just politics: We want to hear about things in this city we might not otherwise ever know: Things that make the city uniquely yours. Tell us your story, and the story of the people around you. To submit for consideration, please send a 750 word essay to WMeditor@gatehousemedia. com with the words “First Person” in the subject line. Let us know what’s on your mind.

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Get ready for school budget battle BILL SHANER

GET INVOLVED: OK, this is about the school budget and hey, wait, don’t

go anywhere. Listen. This is important. You might think the budget is the least interesting thing you could invest your time on, but it’s where all the sausage gets made. Worcester is in a position to decide how to spend a bit more money than usual thanks to the school funding equity law passed last year, and there’s a sense out there among the people who pay attention that the school administration is not being as open as it could be about how that money’s going to get spent. That’s why a host of community groups are putting on a budget discussion of their own this week, on Wednesday (sorry, print readers) from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Worcester State auditorium. The Worcester Public Schools are at a critical juncture, here. They have the chance to do some serious course correction and address longstanding problems, but it might take some pressure to get there, capisce?

ALL THE PRESIDENTS? MEN: The city sent out a text alert earlier this week with a typo that cracked me up. It read “Trash and recycling in Worcester will be delayed one day due to Presidents? Day on Monday February 17th.” This is no issue at all, obviously. It’s a typo. I just find “Presidents? Day” endlessly funny. That’s? all!

ROCK THE VOTE: We got a dang ol presidential primary coming up,

boys and girls. It should surprise no regular reader of this column that I am firmly in the Bernie camp (when the revolution comes, where will you hide?), so I’m excited to share that Remedy Music is putting on a Rock The Vote concert on Feb. 28, a few days before Super Tuesday.

The event runs from 7 to midnight at the Remedy Music shop (75 Webster St.). Come party for Bernie, y’all. America needs Bernie, and Bernie needs us to party.

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GOOD WORK: It’s not perfect by any means but big ups to everyone who put the pressure on Table Talk Pies to commit to a $15 minimum wage within six months as opposed to two years in its tax deal with the city. It’s a tangible win that will materially improve the lives of a lot of people, and it should be celebrated.

9 HARRISON ST. WORCESTER, MA 01604

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PARK AVE.: I drove the length of Park Avenue on Sunday, from Grove Street to Webster Square, and though I’ve done that drive many a time, I was struck by just how many small, independent restaurants of such diversity line that street. There’s a culinary world tour to be had on that mile stretch. New England Roast Beef to Baba Sushi to Dalat (Vietnamese) to a new Pupuseria (El Salvadorian) opening soon next to Pho Dakao.

Much to the chagrin of several East Side townies, I joked on social media that the mantle of Restaurant Row should be removed from Shrewsbury Street and given to Park Avenue. And while that’s a meaningless designation anyway, I think it’s worth acknowledging that the restaurant culture on Park Ave. is a really, really strong testament to what makes Worcester such a uniquely cool and good place to live. There are so many little hole in the wall places to explore and so much culture just sitting there waiting for you to immerse yourself in. Worcester is this way precisely because it is a working class city where real people can afford to live and carve a life around a small family business. This is a feature of Worcester, not a bug. When people talk about Worcester “getting nicer” or being up and coming or whatever other term people use to acknowledge the emergence of more rich white people stuff, it stands to threaten the conditions that led to the emergence of Worcester’s unique character. I like Worcester a lot, thank you very much, and I’d prefer it not turn into mini Boston. I guess what I really mean to say is next time you’re craving noodles, go to Dalat.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ...

Bladesmithing 101 at the WorcShop The WorcShop maker space has made quite a name for itself over the past few years, with classes such as John Maynard’s “Bladesmithing 101: Knives and You” proving to have a perennial appeal. The WorcShop’s calendar of classes has expanded in recent months, with everything from blacksmithing to tarot cards. Visit theworcshop.com/calendar to learn more about its class schedule, and theworcshop.com/expansioncampaign to learn more about its plans to expand into an even larger space.

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Photos by TaJonn Nickelson

COVER STORY

F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020 ASHLEY GREEN

Making an impact

Novel ‘RISE’ just the latest of Johnhanes Honeycutt’s accomplishments

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RICHARD DUCKETT

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Johnhaynes Honeycutt, a Worcester jazz artist, spoken word artist and author, whose book “RISE: The Story of Yolanda Davis” is coming out this month.

COVER STORY

J

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as a background actor on several TV shows and movies, including ohnhanes Honeycutt had “Love Life” starring Anna Kendbeen accepted at college to rick, Adam Sandler’s upcoming study digital media marketing and was telling the news “Hubie Halloween,” and the 50 Cent legal drama “For Life” that to someone who had been his “musical mentor” when a question just premiered on ABC. In the process he has qualified to be stopped him in his tracks. a Screen Actors Guild member “He asked me, ‘What is digital and was recently named a voting media marketing?’ “ Honeycutt member of the New England and recalled. “I couldn’t answer him.”

New York City chapter of the Instead, Honeycutt, 24, went Emmy Awards. his own way. Ironically this may You can call him actor, as well have included some digital media as spoken word artist, poet, jazz marketing as he has worked to musician (including self-taught become a business owner and pianist), and author with a first entrepreneur in Worcester. At novel coming out. He’s also the same time he has traveled a becoming a presence on the lot to pursue acting and appears

ASHLEY GREEN

Worcester cultural scene. With his company Honeycutt One Productions, he is seeking to create original content in the Worcester area that will be seen on a mass scale. Anything else? Oh yes, Honeycutt was also a candidate for Worcester City Council in last fall’s elections. If he had won you would call him City Councilor.

This Week in Worcester has already called Honeycutt “Worcester’s Very Own ‘Renaissance’ Man.” “Renaissance man is maybe an understatement,” said Honeycutt’s longtime fried, Worcester actor Michael Skrzek.

Deciding to take the road not taken, as Robert Frost might have appreciated, “took my life in a different direction,” said Honeycutt, who had just graduated from Holy Name High School in Worcester when he pondered the “What is digital media marketing” question. “I think it formed my thinking and view of the world.”

His mother, Stacianne Beckles, and Worcester itself have also shaped his thinking.

“I was always told by my mom I can do whatever I want,” Honeycutt said.

“Worcester’s such a diverse community. I never felt stigmatized in any way. I never really felt that way. Obviously there have been instances where I’m the only black person in the room. But Worcester is such a great place to live. I’ve traveled a lot and I have to say there’s no place like Worcester. I really do love the city.”

Meanwhile, Honeycutt’s first novel, “RISE: The Story of Yolanda Davis,” soon to be published

and available at outlets such as Amazon via his Honeycutt One Productions in honor of Black History Month, takes him outside of Worcester in place and out of present in time.

“RISE” tells the fictional story of Yolanda Davis from her early childhood in the Jim Crow South of the 1940 to becoming a prominent member of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in the 1960s. Especially after the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., young men and women of color were tired of turning the other cheek, Haynes noted. There are potentially damaging consequences for Davis in becoming a major voice for the Black Panther Party.

“The Black Panther (Party) is something not covered as much as it should be,” Honeycutt said.

The party introduced a free breakfast program and informed and influenced many people about their

COVER STORY

HONEYCUTTONE.COM

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mother who once co-wrote (with a a friend) a song with the same title.

“It’s a very deep album,” Honeycutt said. Consisting of his own poems, some of the topics include death and depression. One poem, “Dementia,” is in memory of his grandmother.

He has given poetry readings here and also in Cambridge, and is is a member of the Worcester County Poetry Association. He also likes attending poetry readings. At one recent event “the poets were so amazing I just soaked my soul with peace,” he said.

Other acting gigs have included “Winona Ryder’s ‘A Plot Against America,’” and “Made In Rhode Island,” which was shot in Worcester last summer.

One of his favorite filming experiences so far has been observing Anna Kendrick’s intensity as an actor during the filming of “Love

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civil rights, he said. At the same time, J. Edgar Hoover was trying to destroy them. As for allegations/ incidents of violence, “The majority had sincerity in their hearts. The message inside the movement was peaceful,” Honeycutt said.

The idea for the story “took about 20 minutes to conceptualize,” he said. The novel took only four months to write. “I guess it was something I had known about, that and the thread of creativity. I think that’s what created the story,” Honeycutt said. “It was something I always had inside of me. I’m sure something subconsciously.”

For his own part, “I grew up very privileged,” Honeycutt said. His mother was/is a software engineer.

As was mentioned earlier, he went to Holy Name High School.

Previously, Honeycutt released a spoken word album, “Memories Held In Time,” dedicated to his

COVER STORY

Life.” After the director said “cut” during one scene, she remained totally in character until filming resumed, Honeycutt recalled.

“She’s something special.” With “Hubie Halloween” he observed how Sandler was “involved with every aspect of filming.”

Starting his own business in a

the city but they only provide a lot of volunteer work ( for actors).”

He would like to see production companies over a certain budget provide local actors a payment or credits toward becoming a SAG member.

“I want to create the extension line that connects Worcester to

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ASHLEY GREEN

similarly immersive way, “I wanted to pursue my own way to college,” Honeycutt said. Initially the business had different forms in advertising and marketing. “I built a data base and really made connections,” he said.

Expanding on that with Honeycutt One Productions, which Honeycutt started early last year, “my objective is to provide opportunity to aspiring creatives in the music field and acting field,” he said.

Honeycutt said that while movies are being shot in Worcester by outside companies, “there hasn’t been anything in-house ... There are a lot of projects that come to

the entertainment industry as a whole ... Whatever talent you bring to the entertainment industry — music, acting, broadcasting — Honeycutt Productions will make the connection.”

That’s the sort of idea that can encourage an actor like Skrzek to come back to Worcester and stick around.

Skrzek said he’s known Honeycutt “for about all my life — kindergarten, elementary, high school.

Then we were off living our own different lives.” Skrzek, a singer and dancer as well as an actor, had to travel away from Worcester to find his creative opportunities. He was

COVER STORY

seen locally in The Hanover Theatre production of “A Christmas Carol” in December. Currently he’s appearing in “Swan Lake in Blue” with the Greater Boston Stage Company in Stoneham.

“We’ve been connecting and collaborating as of late,” Skrzek said of working on some possible film projects with Honeycutt. “He is taking the energy of Worcester, which is in a Renaissance itself, and using his talents to create a vessel for other Worcester actors ... I came home and Worcester right now is on the brink of booming. He is someone looking to make it thrive. A young, fresh individual. I feel it will take off,” Skrzek said.

Honeycutt may have been a bit too young and fresh for voters in Worcester’s District 5 when he ran against incumbent District City Councilor Matthew E. Walley last November. He received 21.55 percent of the votes cast in his first-time effort.

“It was a learning experience,” Honeycutt acknowledged.

“It opened my eyes to how the city works and how the system works. I was very green when I

ran for City Council. I’m happy that I ran because I made so many friends, but if I have to be honest I don’t think I was ready. The better man won because I wasn’t ready. I kind of walked in and said ‘I’d like to be part of the board room.’”

Asked if he would run for office again, Honeycutt said, “Absolutely.

I would do it a lot differently ... I definitely plan on being involved in the city’s politics in some sort of fashion in the future because community is something I’m very passionate about.”

Is he an optimist?

“I like to think so. Actually, I’m a very big optimist. I’m very optimistic for this community. I think we need young city leaders to step up the plate and be part of the community. Worcester is such an open canvass because it’s so new, so vibrant.”

For more information about Johnhanes Honeycutt and Honeycutt One Productions, visit www.Honeycuttone.com.

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

CITY LIF E

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well as schoo and aristo had all kinds and events as going on to art poets, painters found herself the country in gallery shows of creative tors, dancers, over the same types she is today. Aimee now shows all nd herself with the artist that BFA in 2006. She ls. She continues to surrou surrealistic world. that receiving her and arts festiva the luminous colors of her the Harlequin, a magical being l and at various music paint the idea of are sexual, playfu inspire her to working with ic Harlequins world and their own to been people which has esoter she These now it. our For several years the world that surrounds beyond the boundaries of and ng : can change itself s in their thoughts of traveli following events Greenfield. sometimes deviou ly elastic points of views. om/coletteaimee or at the in 13-15 Sept. al: reach tremendous of her work at rawartists.c Aug. 24, Wormtown Festiv own Spencer: Check out more Party in downt Spencer Street

Let us feature your artwork in Worcester Magazine’s Artist spotlight! Email WMeditor@gatehousemedia.com high res samples of your work and a brief bio!

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wanted

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

19 5 - 21, 20 AUGUST 1

of an actor and

ter in to create small town of ée is the daugh that Colette took her life in the Colette Aim in and out of of the influencesSUNY New Paltz in New York, of art flowing l at crats were many

F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020

artists

Already dreaming about summer?

We. Are. Too.

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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020

We’re planning for our annual SUMMER GUIDE, GUIDE, coming June 11.

JAM-PACKED WITH SUMMER FUN FOR ALL! Get in on the action early!

Call your Multi-Media executive today to book your space and reach more than 200,000 readers.

COMING JUNE 11, 2020

Inserted in: Worcester Magazine, The Landmark, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, Leominster Champion, The Grafton News, The Gardner News, The Item and The Telegram & Gazette

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

F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Christina Replogle is a Central Mass. artist and has been painting for 10 years.

She is mostly self-taught. “I look at a lot of art, and know that it is important to try to let intuition take over. Some of what I am trying to express I think is the spirituality of the natural world.” Replogle works with French oil pastels, shellac, ink, graphite and watercolor on paper and board.

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CITY LIFE

LIFESTYLE

Can swimming make you be more mindful?

SARAH CONNELL SANDERS

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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020

’ve avoided indoor pools for years — abandoned gurgling basins, eluded lapping gutters, sworn off turbid deck air.

The smell of chlorine exhausts me. One single sniff causes my arms to levitate into a streamline while my legs pirouette for the door. It’s the scent of irrecoverable talent. A bouquet of fear.

I joined the world of competitive swimming when I was 8 years old and from that day forward, dry land remained a rarity. At my peak, I was practicing nine times a week and teaching lessons on my only day off.

My swimming career stopped being fun long before it ended.

I have not felt the urge to suit up in over a decade, a notion that took me by surprise when I arrived at WPI a few weeks ago to interview one of my former coaches — the legendary Don Lemieux of Greenwood Swim Club. A facility of WPI’s caliber hadn’t existed in Worcester during my swimming career.

“How unfair,” I found myself thinking as I made my way down the polished pool deck.

It took less than five minutes with Coach Lemieux for him to remind me that life is not fair. And, further-

more, that the Worcester Area Masters program would probably appeal to me if I was willing to put in the work. I decided to lift my personal ban on bathing caps, if only for one last practice.

There was so much I had erased from my memory.

First of all, I had clean forgotten the way swimming demands complete attention in the present moment. It is one of the only activities that imparts an acute awareness of one’s own breath. I am a person who is prone to thinking my way out of most uncomfortable experiences, but I realize now that 5 a.m. practices taught me the tenets of mindfulness long before Oprah or Gwyneth. In the pool, there are no escapes or distractions, save the bold linear markers along the bottom of each lane. It’s the only environment where I allow myself to perceive excruciating pain with sharp attention.

I had also lost sight of my affinity for storing data sets in my head. For years, intervals, splits and yardage totals had propelled my internal calculator. Every second under water required a level of mathematical grappling I now reserve for tax season.

Competitive swimming increased my endurance both physically and

intellectually. There was a time in my life when I could tell you exactly how long it took for a minute to pass without counting the seconds or consulting a clock. I possessed an intimate knowledge of time. I knew what one minute felt like. Now, my brain is so nurtured by iPhone algorithms that it struggles to compute more than one thing at a time.

The part I had blotted out, almost entirely, was the euphoric feeling of touching the wall at the end of a race or a workout. There is a weightless, tingling sense of self worth that nothing but speed inspires in me.

Swimming is punishing in the moment and blissful after the fact — the opposite of bourbon. It is its own reward.

As a young swimmer, my teammates and I were fiercely competitive, but I’d also like to think we were respectful. We shook hands at the end of our races and cheered each other on. We pushed one another to be better. We shared a vehement admiration for oxygen.

When I posted a photo on my Instagram story after completing my second WAM practice, I received multiple messages from former teammates relaying the same reaction. “I feel instant anxiety when I look at that pool,” they all said. I

The Worcester Area Masters swim team practices seven days a week at WPI. SARAH CONNELL SANDERS

could sympathize.

I have accepted the fact that I’ll probably never PR again. My best times are etched in my mind as achievements, but they’re no longer goals. The difference is that my agency has returned. I can choose the agony of training if I want it. And, to my own surprise, I do.

I wrote this column to hold myself accountable, but you can do that

too. It’s just $10 to drop in for a single practice and cheaper if you commit to unlimited monthly workouts with Worcester Area Masters. The team practices seven days a week at WPI. A detailed schedule and more information is available online at wam-swimming.com. Jump in with me and remind yourself what it feels like to come up for air.

THE NEXT DRAFT

Convincing consumers why the grains in their bread, beer and booze matter MATTHEW TOTA

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s craft beer drinkers, we buy into the importance of supporting something local. But do we care as passionately about the ingredients used in that beer, whether the brewer chose malt or hops from farms in their region, rather than ordering in bulk online or over the phone?

Five brewers from the Northeast believe we should. They have joined others in industries reliant on malt barley and wheat — the bakers, distillers and maltsters — in creating a nonprofit focused on building

awareness and demand for locally grown grains.

Formed last year, the Northeast Grainshed (hyperlink to https:// northeastgrainshed.com/) is launching a marketing campaign to increase consumer knowledge about local grains and the pieces of the supply chain that support the region’s bread and beverage makers — malt houses, mills and farms.

The group also wants to see measurable increases in farming acreage within their “grainshed,” which spans New York and New England, by getting more brewers, bakers and distillers to incorporate local grains. With this greater

demand, they hope to entice farmers to dedicate more of their land to growing grains.

“For me as an individual, it was kind of a rallying cry from a lot of like-minded people that we need to shore up our supply of raw ingredients,” said Wormtown Brewery brewmaster Ben Roesch, a founding member of the Grainshed.

“Being a brewer, I can pick up the phone and order malts any day of the week, but normally they don’t come from somewhere near me.

It’s like the avocados you see at the supermarket.”

Arranging for local malt and hops requires more coordination

and planning than ordering the ingredients online or over the phone, Roesch said. He would know: From the beginning Wormtown has emphasized choosing local ingredients for their brews.

It started about a decade ago, when the brewery made a serious beer with a very witty, very funny name.

That beer, “Mass Whole,” is now an American lager, released almost as regularly as the brewery’s bellwether IPA, Be Hoppy. But at the time, Mass Whole’s style was based on whatever local ingredients Roesch could find.

At the start, he would only brew a batch or two of the beer a year,

sourcing the malt from Hadley’s Valley Malt and the hops from Four Star Farms in Northfield, which both opened around the same time as Wormtown.

Over the years, Roesch has taken his commitment to brewing with Massachusetts malt and hops further, with Mass Whole inspiring Wormtown’s credo, “A Piece of Mass in Every Glass.” “We were using one local ingredient in every beer,” he said. “Then it grew from there to where we want to keep a certain percentage of what we do in our beers local.” Last year alone, for example, Wormtown purchased C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 20

CITY LIFE

LISTEN UP

Sapling’s here to fight with ‘No Sequoia’ VICTOR D. INFANTE

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t one point, in the song “Coptic Rock,” Sapling vocalist-guitarist Amber Tortorelli sings, “You said you didn’t come here to fight/I said I did.” That right there is pretty much the underlying thesis of Sapling’s new album, “No Sequoia.” This is punk rock at its most classic: Venting both the personal and the political with bloody fists and a wicked sense of humor.

The band — which will be playing release parties at 8 p.m. Feb. 22 at Dead Moon Audio in Somerville and 3 p.m. Feb. 23 at starlite gallery in Southbridge — never lets the listener forget what they came here to do.

The album begins with “Bikini BDRK,” a stripped down blast of rock ’n’ roll, which has Tortorelli and bassist Rainy Logan trading the lines, “Daughter of a rebel mother/Mary revolutionary/Mistress of a thousand nights/The burden hand was hers to carry/Sister of the nemesis/Resistance isn’t just a test.” The song’s got a vintage garage rock feel, barreling forward with both recklessness and a sort of giddy mania. “Bikini/Body/ Bikini/Diet,” they sing, before pivoting to “Bikini/Ready/Bikini/ Kill, Kill, Kill …” The line is both an overt

statement on female body image expectations and a reference to the iconic riot grrrl band Bikini Kill. It’s not particularly subtle, but really, it doesn’t need to be: You either appreciate the reference or miss it entirely.

The album breaks down its momentum with “Maria Vs. Machine Maria,” a discordant musical journey that’s largely given shape by drummer Jon Cordaro. As the song progresses, Logan’s bass begins to add to the structure, leaving a sort of loose chaotic space that lends discomfort to lines such as, “Don’t look at me that way/I might hypnotize you, mind control/I’ll kill your brain with kaleidoscope/If you scope me out.” Remember what Tortorelli said

earlier about being here to fight?

That pugilistic instinct appears here, and even stronger in the more straightforward “Bitchshifter,” where she sings, “I don’t think I was meant to be happy as a human/I got this cough that I can’t shake off and I can’t afford the co-pay.”

The mood (if not the sentiment) lightens up a bit with the hilariously biting “Everything Was Better,” where the trio delve into a manic slingshot time travel expedition, trying to find that time when everything really was better … the ‘90s, the ‘50s, Ancient Rome, and more: “Let’s go back to Atilla the Hun/when everything was better/the walls were much bigger/ tremendous huge/everything was bigger.” An appearance by Tortorelli’s Theremin gives a sort of “Doctor Who” edge to the whole romp. On a similar token, in “The Unbirdable Barren,” the album’s persona has a personal epiphany “while watching ‘Rick and Morty.’” The pop culture references give the album a contemporary reference point, as well as help lighten the tone. When the band suddenly shouts out the all-female alt-rock band Shonen Knife during the blistering “(Expletive) This Yuppie Barbecue,” it feels far less random than it seems it should.

Things get a bit more serious with “Nice Man,” an evisceration of the culture of sexual assault — “He seemed like such a nice man/I can’t believe he did it.” There are no holds barred on this one: The music is fast and brutal, and the edge in Tortorelli’s voice draws blood almost instantly, even if the enormity of the problem is clearly not lost on here: “Are we losing our minds,” she sings, adding later, “I think we’re losing this,” a chilling sentiment on which the song comes to a sudden stop.

Still, the bite carries over into the next song, “Coptic Rock,” which is the point where the album takes a startling pivot.

The song, which started out meshing a straightforward rock sound with Middle Eastern overtones, begins to take a looser shape as it closes, fading into, “Somos abejas de leche y miel,” where musical structure disintegrates almost entirely as lyrics are replaced with a manic recitation of Shakespeare’s witches’ song, from “Macbeth.” There’s something reminiscent of Patti Smith or Anne Waldman in the delivery, the sense of one woman screaming against the noise, and for all its discordance, it works extremely well. The band finds a sort of power in the witchy

madness, and that was probably the point all along.

The album comes to its proper conclusion with “Sorry You Feel That Way,” which finds the album’s persona singing, “We’re breaking lots of stuff, like our hearts and our guitars/I’m sorry you feel that way.”

“Sorry you feel that way,” of course is the standard “non-apology apology,” and it’s likely bandied here with a bit of sarcasm. “We’re in the shell, we’re back in hell/We’re back where we began,” sings Tortorelli, “The writing’s on the wall/We’re back where we began but it gets darker every day,” as the music again falls to pieces in dramatic fashion. Is it a cynical note to end with? Perhaps, but Sapling has a few surprises left up its sleeve, both on the CD and with a B-side of their 7-inch single of “Maria Vs. Machine Maria,” the Walt Whitman-inspired “I Sing the Body Electric,” which isn’t included on the CD. If that makes it sound like the band’s making you work a bit for the complete picture here, it’s entirely likely that they’re sorry you feel that way. Still, unlocking this album’s secrets is a rewarding experience, one that seems to deepen with each re-listen

Hayley In The Water spreads ‘Rumours’ At Electric Haze ROBERT DUGUAY

like I have a lot of that in me as well but Stevie is definitely an inspiration now, more than I was younger.”

Hayley In The Water is just one of a few musical endeavors Jane has. She also has her own solo career and she performs with Peabody folk musician Ryan Montbleau in the duo Yes, Darling. Both of these other projects will be active later on in the year, “I’m gonna be doing this current project for the month of February,” Jane said. “Then I have a solo tour that begins on March 12 at the Pickle Barrel Nightclub in Killington, Ver-

mont, and Annie In Water will be my backing band. After that I’m gonna go on the road with Zach Deputy starting on April 1 and I’m also going to have some shows with Yes, Darling. I also just got announced to be part of Mountain Jam happening in May in Bethel Woods, New York, and I’ll also be performing at a few other festivals with a full band.”

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I already knew a lot of the songs off of it from hearing them on the radio.

It’s really an album that’s full of hits, I was really surprised to find that all of these songs were on the same album.

It’s amazing how many popular songs came out of it.”

Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks’ influence is far and wide in today’s music and it can be noticeable in Jane’s delivery. With that being said, she was more into one of Nicks’ inspirations when she was younger, but with the current project she has taken a few of Nicks’ techniques into her own.

“She’s definitely in there,” Jane says of Nicks’ effect on her musical style.

“I didn’t listen to her a lot growing up, my parents weren’t big fans or anything. I was more into Janis Joplin because I loved her fashion, I loved her willingness to be daring on stage and I loved how she flowed. I feel

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

W

hen two musical entities come together, there’s a good chance that something special is going to happen. What if that special thing is doing renditions of songs from one of the greatest albums ever made?

Enter Hayley In The Water, a collaboration that consists of Burlington, Vermont, songstress Hayley Jane and the Albany, New York, jam-funk dynamos Annie In The Water. Together they will be performing music from Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” at Electric Haze on 26 Millbury Street in Worcester Feb. 21. Both Jane and the band will also be performing sets of their own original material to begin the show.

This union between the two acts came from an idea Annie In The Water had. It came to fruition during

a certain festival both the band and Jane were performing at last fall.

“Annie In The Water initially had the idea to cover the ‘Rumours’ album and they thought that I would be a good fit,” Jane says on how the collaboration started. “They asked me to do it a few months ago when we were all down at the Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival in North Carolina, that’s when they first approached me with the idea.”

Jane didn’t get into Fleetwood Mac’s landmark record while growing up but she always knew the songs. Tracks like “Dreams,” “Don’t Stop,” “Gold Dust Woman” and “You Make Loving Fun” are big hits off of the album and she didn’t realize that they all came from the same place until recently.

“I definitely got into it later on in my life,” she says about “Rumours.”

“I got it on vinyl a few years ago but

F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020

LIVE MUSIC

CITY LIFE

DINING

You can’t beat Beto’s Tacos Beto’s Tacos • 891 Main St., Worcester • (508) 304-9900 SANDRA RAIN

T

he first thing that bowled me over when I set foot in Beto’s Tacos on Main Street was an intoxicating fragrance consisting of smoky meat, bushels of cilantro, and chopped white onions.

Corn tortillas warmed on a griddle press behind the counter, readying delicate vessels to load up with chorizo or carne asada. Salsa music played quietly with the accompanying percussion of sizzling pork and pineapple on the grill.

A combination of deep red and forest green vinyl lettering plastered on white subway tile spelled out “Beto’s Tacos” followed by “Tacos, Burritos & Tortas” with a large illustrated chili pepper. A half dozen worn wooden tables were occupied

by Clark students and neighborhood residents. Green baseboards broke away from rough plywood flooring to draw my eyes up past the red countertop toward a messy dry erase board menu. I counted just shy of 30 items including drinks, which I considered a manageable roster of

ingredients for a kitchen of Beto’s size. Everything was less than $10.

Outside, Beto’s was all clean lines, red bricks, and shiny glass. Inside, a hand-painted mural of a Mexican villa grabbed me right away. There was something intimate about the scene — a glimpse of someone’s world beyond Worcester. The only other deliberate wall decoration was

a Disney Pixar calendar featuring Miguel, the young guitarist from "Coco."

A piñata reminded me to “tip el burro” at the register. I sipped agua de Jamaica, a tangy beverage infused with hibiscus flowers that I would liken to cranberry juice for someone unfamiliar with the drink. Food at Beto’s is served on ceramic plates,

at Trillium in Canton that brought together more than 200 people, many representing businesses that depend on grain.

100,000 pounds of malt from Valley Before the event, seven breweries Malt.

The Grainshed was formed with the got together to brew the Northeast Grainshed Grisette, a low-alcohol, mission of showing consumers why it citrusy Belgian style made entirely matters where their favorite brewers, from grains grown and malted bakers, distillers and millers source by farms and malt houses in the their grains. “Consumer demand Northeast. Row 34 in Boston, The is the way to get to the next level,” Roesch said, who joined the Grainshed Dirty Truth in Northampton and Clover Food Lab in Cambridge, all with fellow Massachusetts brewers members of the Grainshed, joined in JC Tetreault, co-founder of Trillium the collaboration by serving the beer Brewing Co. in Canton and Boston, in their restaurants. The grisette is and Matthew Steinberg, founder of also on available at BirchTree Bread Framingham’s Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing Co. Co. in Worcester and Reunion Tap & Crucially, members of the Table in Grafton.

Grainshed have been able to The proceeds from the beer will visualize how their use of local grains be donated to start the Grainshed’s looks on a farmer’s field. nonprofit, Roesch said. Once formed, “One of our goals is being able to the nonprofit will be recruiting quantify our impact as a brewery new members, who will support it or as a baker or as a miller, so we through yearly dues. Already, he said, set up a square-foot calculator, and people can input what they’re doing, more than a dozen companies have signed up. whether brewing or baking, and The list of Massachusetts calculate their usage of local grains, and what that square footage would breweries that have committed to brewing with local grains is small, be on a local farm,” Roesch said. but growing. Those not buying Last month, the Grainshed held from local maltsters often attribute its first public event, a symposium

their hesitancy to questions about quality. Perhaps that was a legitimate concern early on, Roesch said, but it’s no longer the case with today’s malt houses.

“The quality hurdle has been jumped over many times,” he said.

Likely, he said, the breweries that have not jumped at buying local malts don’t want to pay the extra cost, “which is ironic because their customers are paying a premium for local beer.”

“To me,” he said, “local ingredients mean local beer.”

Roesch’s fidelity to his region’s farmers and maltsters goes beyond brewing. Recently, he started Ground Up, a flower milling company, with the owners of Valley Malt, Andrea and Christian Stanley. They acquired a four-foot-wide, 6,000-pound granite mill made by New American Stone Mills in Elmore, Vermont.

Run from Valley Malt, Ground Up is now producing about 2,000 pounds of high-quality flour a week, all from local grain. BirchTree has been one of Ground Up’s biggest customers.

“It has been a really personal passion project,” Roesch said.

THE NEXT DRAFT

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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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

but Jamaica and horchata arrive in styrofoam cups with plastic straws.

Tortas at Beto’s are made with Telera bread, dense white rolls toasted on a sandwich press. Campechana, also known as seafood cocktail, sets the torta selection apart from the tacos and burritos which lean heavily toward land-proteins like beef, pork and chicken. Burritos are packed tight in flour tortillas with rice, beans, pico de gallo, sour cream, and chunky guacamole. The lengua, beef tongue, is particularly popular for its sumptuous preparation.

On my most recent visit, the tacos al pastor exceeded my expectations.

The pork had been marinated in spicy adoba sauce and then grilled with juicy cuts of pineapple to perfection. My tortillas were supple but sturdy. The aromatics of cilantro, onion, lime and salsa verde all but smacked me with appreciation. Each ingredient had been independently tended to as if it were going to be served on its own.

Beto’s is a small operation, so if you’re hoping for tres leches cake, you’d better drop by early in the day.

They sometimes run out. Tortillas are not made in house, but they are fresh. My only other cuisine caution is that I have now tried three taco varieties and they have all been served with the same salsa verde. I can only imagine the salsa wizardry of which Beto’s is capable given a few more months in business. I can’t wait to make frequent returns.

The value is certainly worth mentioning. You will eat very well at Beto’s for next to nothing, not to mention the inherent worth of enjoying food prepared by someone who really seems to care about what they’re putting on the plate.

Dinner for two came to $20.98.

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: HHH1/2 Ambience: HH Service: HHH Value: HHHH

Seven brewers got together to brew the Northeast Grainshed Grisette, using 100% local ingredients.

MATTHEW TOTA

CITY LIFE

TABLE HOPPIN’

Historic Princeton building transformed into Mountainside Bakery & Café BARBARA M. HOULE

announced online.

Call (508) 481-8484 for more information.

M

Carnival pop-up at Still & Stir

Katherine Huck and Robin Springfield, co-owners of Mountainside Bakery & Cafe at 213 Mountain Road, Princeton.

ASHLEY GREEN

cookies, granola and bars are some of the treats offered in the bakery.

Springfield’s weekend bakery specialties include frosted cinnamon buns, pecan sticky buns, brioche and fresh focaccia loaf. “Handmade, locally sourced, proudly offered” are words posted on the business website.

FYI: The Espresso Brownie (creamy coffee infused frosting with chocolate ganache) is the best ever!

The dish on the owners: Princeton residents, Huck and her husband, Shaun Ennis, have four children. She worked in Boston before the couple opened Mountainside Market in 2015.

Springfield, a former teacher, previously owned Honeybee Baking Company and sold bakery products at local farmers markets before joining forces with Huck. Springfield and her husband, A.J. Springfield, reside in Princeton with their three children.

The women share a passion for “food, family and our community.”

They connect visitors with outdoor activities at Mount Wachusett, provide trail maps and help to plan community programs.

They love what they do.

Worcester Restaurant Week on tap

Worcester Restaurant Week is scheduled Feb. 24 through March 7.

More than 40 restaurants will participate in this special event sponsored by Pulse Magazine. Take advantage of menus that offer threecourse meals for $22.50.

Visit https://www.worcesterrestaurantweek.com.

More info about Worcester Restaurant Week in next week’s Table Hoppin’ column.

New hours at Tomasso Trattoria

Fork It Over Girls Scouts event coming up

Circle the date: Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts will host the annual Fork It Over cookie culinary competition from 5 to 7 p.m. March 12 at Mechanics Hall in Worcester.

A single ticket is $50; $40 per person when you purchase two tickets.

Visit www.eventbrite.com for more information.

Girl Scout cookies are the inspiration and main ingredients in chefs’ dishes.

Guests get to sample and schmooze!

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

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Tomasso Trattoria in Southboro announced new dinner hours beginning this month.

Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Monday through Friday. Dinner: 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The restaurant is closed Sundays.

Appetizers, salads and pizza are available between lunch and dinner hours Monday through Friday; half off from 4 to 6 p.m. in the bar only.

Easter (April 12) and Mother’s Day Brunch (May 10) menus will be

The interior of Still & Stir pays homage to New Orleans with original artwork and murals from Ryan Gardell and Mike Briggs.

Visit https://www.stillandstir. com for more information about the menu that includes dishes traditional to the French Quarter, such as Crab and Corn Bisque, Chicken and Sausage Gumbo and Steak Au Poivre.

Fat Tuesday in New Orleans the classic Mardi Gras cocktail is the Hurricane. It’s a great way to start the party.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

than 15.

Artwork on loan from the Historical Society of Princeton adds to the overall ambience of this café.

Huck and Springfield are especially proud of an antique piece of furniture fitted with a granite top that was donated by a customer. The granite, originally from a former Worcester deli, was cut to layer over the top of the cabinet, said Springfield. “It’s a statement piece” she said.

Mountainside Bakery & Café, 213 Mountain Road, Princeton, has a full liquor license and is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday; 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Closed Mondays. Telephone: (978) 464-0300.

Visit www.mountainsidebakerycafe. com; Facebook: @mountainsidebakerycafe; Instagram: mountainsidebakerycafe.

Soups, salads, sandwiches, Panini, “wrapinis,” smoothies and shakes are on the menu. There’s a “quiche of the day,” in addition to house-made macaroni and cheese, listed under “anytime” items.

There’s no dinner menu, but Dinner of the Day (main and sides) is available after 4 p.m.

Muffins, scones, tea breads,

Still & Stir Cocktail Bar, 90 Commercial St., Worcester, is in the midst of a monthlong New Orleansinspired Carnival Pop-Up featuring traditional New Orleans food and cocktails.

Leading up to a Fat Tuesday party on Feb. 28 with Big Jon Short providing live entertainment and a Mama Roux kitchen takeover, local DJs play every Saturday night. “Dancing is encouraged!”

F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020

ountainside Bakery & Café in the old superintendent’s house at Mount Wachusett State Reservation in Princeton is hands down an amazing destination gem.

Katherine Huck and Robin Springfield are curators at the 122-year-old historic building that had fallen to disrepair after the third superintendent of the state park retired in 1969.

The state Department of Conservation and Recreation in 2015 announced that the building was one of four in the state being offered through its curatorship program to be privately managed and renovated, according to Huck and Springfield.

“The state was looking for owners who would be willing to create a use for the building in exchange for free rent,” said Huck, previous owner of Mountainside Market on Route 62 in Princeton. Springfield, who grew up in Princeton, was baker in the business that closed in 2019.

“When we heard about the superintendent’s house we decided together we would bring the property back to its glory and signed a longterm lease,” said Huck. “We knew the result would be truly special.”

It’s more than special.

The inside of the building shows traces of its history. Jaw-dropping before-and-after pictures near the entrance indicate to visitors just how much has actually changed with the new owners. While work to the inside of the building is completed, the exterior is not, said Huck. “It’s an ongoing project that is difficult to maintain in winter months,” she said. “We have plenty of parking but our goal is to expand the lot. We also want to open an outdoor terrace.”

The “lodge” building on the property will be turned into an ice cream shop by early summer, according to the owners.

The bakery, which produces everything from scratch, is located at the entrance to the building; two comfy dining rooms, one with a fireplace, accommodate 49 people. A room on the second floor can be reserved for meetings, with seating for not more

CITY LIFE

FILM

Mourning the loss of ‘Mindhunter’

Jonathan Groff and Anna Torv star in “Mindhunter.”

NETFLIX

JIM KEOGH

A

few months ago, Netflix announced that its popular FBI series “Mindhunter” is going on indefinite hiatus because creator David Fincher has too many conflicting projects. The actors were released from their contracts, and

the show’s return is questionable.

Fans howled in protest, with good reason. In its second season, “Mindhunter” had hit its stride, narrowing its focus from the scattershot interviewing of notorious serial killers to the singular pursuit of the Atlanta child murderer (with a few side trips thrown in, including a memorable

Q&A with a sulfurous Charles Manson). The makers of “Mindhunter” also wisely put the brakes on the brash and immature FBI agent Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and devoted more screen time to his seen-it-all partner, Bill Tench, played by the exceptional Holt McCallany.

Tench’s personal travails alone would make a watchable miniseries.

One other thing bothering “Mindhunter” devotees, I among them, was the fact Fincher had laid the track for a story arc about the BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) murderer — the dogcatcher and church council president who sent taunting letters to police and newspapers detailing his 17 years of horrific crimes. With the fate of the show now in doubt, we may never get the opportunity to watch Ford and Tench set up camp in small-town Kansas and stalk their prey.

Fincher is violating no law if he doesn’t give us a third season. He has bigger fish to fry, more irons in the fire, and any other adage suggesting the guy does not place a premium on his serial-killer series. But we still feel jilted. We entered into this viewing relationship in good faith, expecting

the gruesome promise he made this season with all those BTK sequences would be fulfilled down the line.

Perhaps it will be. Lovers of the show “Ray Donovan” were miffed when Showtime abruptly canceled the show after its seventh season.

Showrunner David Hollander told TV Guide he’d planned for an eighth season, which, presumably, would have involved an appropriate sendoff. Then last week, star Liev Schreiber offered hope in a cagey tweet in which he acknowledged the passion of “Ray Donovan” fans and hinted the show will return in some fashion.

I understand the impulse to shut down a series before it sours. Once Steve Carell departed, “The Office” circled the drain until it became unwatchable. Quick, name one funny thing British actress Catherine Tate said in her 37 episodes. How about Will Ferrell during his time as branch manager? Did the Dunder Mifflin crew travel to Florida for professional training or to jump sharks?

Viewers crave closure. They want a finale to tie up loose ends and offer up something to dissect when the final-final credits roll (“The Office”

did OK in that regard). Nail the landing (“MASH”) and you’re a legend.

Falter (“Seinfeld,” “The Sopranos,” “Lost”) and the world will argue about it forever.

To Netflix, Fincher, and anyone else who can influence the fate of “Mindhunter”: I don’t care if Ray Donovan himself has to make the arrest, just deliver us BTK.

Brad Pitt winning Best Supporting Actor for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” comes with a bit of cosmic symmetry. Pitt’s character, aging stuntman Cliff Booth, thwarts the murder of Sharon Tate, ordered

by Charles Manson, with a vicious preemptive act. Once the words “Charles Manson” and “stuntman” fall into the same sentence, it’s impossible not to conjure up actor Steve Railsback, whose indelible portrayal of Manson in the 1976 miniseries “Helter Skelter” set the standard (approached only by Damon Herriman in “Mindhunter”). Railsback’s other defining performance? As a stuntman in 1980’s “The Stuntman.”

Of course.

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F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020

FILM CAPSULES “1917” — Two young British privates during WWI must cross through enemy territory to warn their fellow soldiers of an impending ambush in director Sam Mendes’ real-time thriller. (1:50) R. “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, Eddie Izzard, Sarah Paulson.

(1:32) PG-13.

“Bad Boys for Life” — Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reunite for one last go-round as Miami narcotics detectives. With Vanessa Hudgens, Kate Del Castillo, Nicky Jam, Joe Pantoliano. Written by Chris Bremner, Peter Craig, Joe Carnahan; story by Craig, Carnahan. (2:03) R. “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” — Tom Hanks slips on the friendly cardigan of children’s TV show host Fred Rogers to dispense lessons in kindness to Matthew Rhys’ jaded journalist. (1:48) PG.

“Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” — The Joker’s now ex-girlfriend teams with a crew of female superheroes to save a young girl from a twisted villain.

With Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ewan McGregor, Rosie Perez, Ella Jay Basco, Chris Messina, Ali Wong. Written by Christina Hodson. Directed by Cathy Yan. (1:49) R. “Bombshell” — Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie play Fox News employees whose allegations of sexual harassment help topple network founder Roger Ailes.

(1:48) R.

Miles in this fact-based drama. (2:32) PG-13.

“Frozen II” — Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven join Elsa as she searches for the truth behind her powers in this sequel to the blockbuster 2013 animated musical. With the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel. (1:43) PG. “The Gentlemen” — An American drug kingpin in London faces threats to his empire. With Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Marsan, Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant. (1:53) R.

Martin Lawrence and Will Smith in “Bad Boys for Life.”

COLUMBIA PICTURES

“Dolittle” — Robert Downey Jr. headlines as the veterinarian who can talk to the animals in this effectsladen adventure tale. With Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Tom Holland. (1:46) PG. “Downhill” — A near miss from an avalanche drives a wedge between

a married couple on a family skiing trip in the Alps. With Will Ferrell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Miranda Otto, Zach Woods. (1:26) R

flick based on the classic TV series.

With Maggie Q, Lucy Hale, Portia Doubleday, Michael Pena, Michael Rooker, Kim Coates. (1:50) PG-13

“Fantasy Island” — Visitors to a magical island see their fantasies turn into nightmares in this horror

“Ford v Ferrari” — Matt Damon is American car designer Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale is British racer Ken

“Gretel & Hansel” — A young girl and her little brother find terror in the deep woods in this reimagining of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale. With Sophia Lillis, Samuel Leakey, Jessica De Gouw, Alice Krige. (1:27) PG-13.

“Judy” — Renée Zellweger portrays Judy Garland during the legendary C O N T I N U E D O N N E XT PA G E

CITY LIFE

FILM CAPSULES

Scanlen, Timothée Chalamet, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep. (2:14) PG.

entertainer’s run of sold-out stage shows in 1968 London. (1:58) NR.

“The Photograph” — A woman finds romance with a journalist while exploring the early life of her estranged mother, a famous photographer. With Issa Rae, Lakeith Stanfield, Chanté Adams, Chelsea

C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 22

“Jumanji: The Next Level” — Danny Glover and Danny DeVito join Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black,

Kevin Garnett, LaKieth Stanfield and Adam Sandler in “Uncut Gems.”

ELARA PICTURES

Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan in this sequel to the 2017 action adventure hit about young people trapped in a video game. (1:54) PG-13.

“Knives Out” — Writer-director Rian Johnson rounds up a stellar group of suspects for this whodunit about the murder of a famous crime novelist. With Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette.

(2:10) PG-13.

“Spies in Disguise” — A secret agent is transformed into a pigeon with the help of a nerdy scientist in this animated comedy. With voices of Will Smith, Tom Holland, Rashida Jones, Ben Mendelsohn. (1:42) PG. “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” — Forty-two years after “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” first appeared on movie screens, the ninth episode brings the space saga to its conclusion as the Resistance struggles to defeat the First Order. (2:35) PG-13.

“Uncut Gems” — Adam Sandler stars as a desperate New York City jeweler juggling numerous deals in this crime thriller. (2:15) R.

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“Little Women” — Writer-director Greta Gerwig adapts Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel about the four determined March sisters coming of age in Massachusetts during the Civil War. With Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza

“Sonic the Hedgehog” — The speedy blue critter battles an evil genius in this video game adaptation.

With Jim Carrey, James Marsden, Neal McDonough and the voice of Ben Schwartz. (1:40) PG

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

“Like a Boss” — Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne star as cosmetics entrepreneurs whose financially shaky business is targeted for a buyout by beauty tycoon Salma Hayek. With Billy Porter, Jennifer Coolidge, Ari Graynor, Jessica St. Clair.

(1:23) R.

“Playing With Fire” — Firefighters find their lives turned upside down when they rescue three siblings but can’t find the kids’ parents.

F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020

“Just Mercy” — Michael B. Jordan portrays Bryan Stevenson, the reallife civil rights activist and criminal defense attorney famed for fighting for justice for the wrongly convicted.

(2:16) PG-13.

Peretti. Written and directed by Stella Meghie. (1:46) PG-13

CITY LIFE

THINGS TO DO COMPILED BY RICHARD DUCKETT, VICTOR D. INFANTE AND CHARLENE ARSENAULT

Thursday, Feb. 20 Tactile Art Exhibit — Come Touch the Art!: noon.-2 p.m. Feb. 20, ArtsWorcester, 44 Portland St., Worcester. Cost: Free.

Millennium 20 Year Time Capsule Opening on February 20, 2020: 2-6 p.m. Feb. 20, Worcester Regional Airport, 375 Airport Drive, Worcester. For information: paulgunnerson@charter.net. A short speaking program will start at 2:00 pm, then the open and reveal will take place at Exactly 2:20 pm, as planned 20 years ago. Then at about 3:00 pm the contents will remain on display till about 6:00 pm in the airport main concourse. Free.

Gallery Talk by Peter A. Moriarty:

4-5 p.m. Feb. 20, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College St., Worcester. For information: (508) 793-3356, prosenbl@holycross. edu. Moriarty explores the architecture and collections of a series of historic European and American greenhouses.

WooSox Community Skate: 6-8 p.m. Feb. 20, The Worcester Common Oval, Front Street, Worcester.

The Hip Swayers: 6-9 p.m. Feb. 20, Greater Good Imperial Brew Co., 55 Millbrook St., Worcester.

Medical History Book Club: 6-9 p.m. Feb. 20, Sahara Restaurant, 143 Highland St., Worcester.

Cost: Free. The subject will be “The Social Transformation of

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A father’s journey Internationally noted photographer and Clark University faculty member Stephen DiRado of Worcester has credited his late father, Gene, with taking him “to the art museums in Worcester and Boston to see all the different shows.

He was just such a great inspiration.” Later in life, when Gene started to show signs of Alzheimer’s disease, DiRado and his brother and sister took turns caring for him at home. “I started photographing him all the time because it was a way to fill the void,” DiRado said in an interview last year. “It was a way to love him the same way that I had all those years before, and that was to adore him with my camera. Some days I’d make very pedestrian, boring photos, and other days they were spiritual.” When Gene died, a big consolation for DiRado was the series of compassionate, emotionally revealing blackand-white photographs taken over the 20-year course of his father’s disease.

DiRado will give a talk about his award-winning photographic journal “With Dad” Feb. 27 at Clark University. Also, Clark colleague Soren Sorensen will screen his forthcoming short film about the project. Refreshments will be served.

What: “With Dad — Artist Talk and Screening” When: 4:30 to 6 p.m. Feb. 27 Where: Higgins Lounge at Dana Commons, Clark University, Worcester How much: Free and open to the public. https://www.clarku.edu/centers/ higgins-school-of-humanities/event/with-dad-artist-talk-screening-andreception/

CHRISTINE PETERSON

American Medicine,” 2nd edition (2017) by Paul Starr.

Master Series Third Thursday Art Talk, February 20 at 6pm: 6-8 p.m. Feb. 20, Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury St., Worcester. Cost: $14-$18. For information: information@ worcesterart.org. Ethan Lasser, John Moors Cabot Chair, Art of the Americas at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, will discuss “Paul Revere and John Singleton Copley: Making an American Icon.”

Kerrville North featuring Nancy Beaudette, Liv Greene and Mike Laureanno: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20, 215 Great Rd, 215 Great Road, Shirley.

Cost: $18. For information: (978) 425-4311, bryansawyer@ bullrunrestaurant.com.

Galactic Thursday Featuring Conflict of Interest: 8 p.m.-1 a.m.

Feb. 20, The Raven, 258 Pleasant St., Worcester.

Girls Night Out the Show: 8-10:30 p.m. Feb. 20, Charlee Bravos, 9 Grove St., Putnam. Cost: $14.95$74.95.

Dzo-nga ‘Thunder in the Mountains’ Album Release Show: with Advent Varic, Shunyata and Duende en la Penumbra, 9 p.m.

Feb. 20, Ralph’s Rock Diner, 148 Grove St., Worcester. $10.

Preserving Worcester's black history Black History Discovery Day on Feb. 23 is an opportunity to be part of the Worcester Black History Project in partnership with Worcester Historical Museum. People can bring in documents and photographs, which will be scanned and returned to them, or artifacts to be photographed.

What: Black History Discovery Day When: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 23 Where: Worcester Historical Museum, 30 Elm St., Worcester How much: Free. www.worcesterhistory.org

City Councilor Khrystian King joins organizers of the Worcester Black History Project Debbie Hall and Parlee Jones at the Worcester Historical Museum in hopes of collecting photos, documents and other historical treasures related to the history of black women in Worcester.

ASHLEY GREEN

Friday, Feb. 21 “Through a Lens Darkly”: film screening, 2:30-4 p.m. Feb. 21, Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem St., Worcester. For information: (508) 799-1655, wplref@mywpl. org.

Open Mic Night: 6-10 p.m. Feb. 21, Harvard General Store, 1 Still River Road, Harvard. Cost: Free.

Takin’ It To The Streets: Tribute to the Doobie Brothers, 6:30-10:30 p.m. Feb. 21, The Barn at Wight Farm, 420 Main St., Sturbridge.

Cost: $40-$55.

Sing — Quiet Corner Song Swap: 7-9 p.m. Feb. 21, The Vanilla Bean Cafe, 450 Deerfield Road, Pomfret.

For information: (860) 928-1562, ask@thevanillabeancafe.com.

“Pain and Glory”: film screening, 7-9 p.m. Feb. 21, Park View Room, 230 Park Ave, Worcester. Cost: $8.50-$10.

Gracie Day and the Phantom Limbs: 7 p.m. Feb. 21, Timberyard Brewing Company, 555 East Main St., East Brookfield.

Ben Cote Band: 8-10 p.m.

Feb. 21, Chuck’s Steak House/

Margaritagrill, 10 Prospect St., Auburn.

Craig Low: 8-9 p.m. Feb. 21, The WooHaHa Comedy Club, 50 Franklin St., Worcester. Cost: $20.

Headliners Comedy Series: featuring Amy Tee and Greg Boggis, 8-10 p.m. Feb. 21, 215 Great Rd, 215 Great Road, Shirley.

Cost: $18-$22. For information: (978) 425-4311, BryanSawyer@ bullrunrestaurant.com.

Carmen Lagala: 8-9 p.m. Feb. 21, The Comedy Attic, Park Grill & Spirits, 257 Park Avenue, Worcester. Cost: $15.

Joe Moss: 8-10 p.m. Feb. 21, Chan’s Fine Oriental Dining, 267 Main St., Woonsocket. Cost: $15$20.

Gloomy Sunday: 8:30 p.m.12:30 a.m. Feb. 21, Beer Garden Worcester, 64 Franklin St., Worcester. For information: gloomysundayband@gmail.com.

Vinyl Junkies: 8:30 p.m. Feb. 21, Greendale’s Pub, 404 W Boylston St., North Worcester.

Bearly Dead: 9-11 p.m. Feb. 21, Palladium, 261 Main St.,

Worcester. Cost: $12.

Saturday, Feb. 22 GWLT Hike Series — Southwick Pond: 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Feb. 22, Southwick Pond, Crystal St., Leicester. For information: (508) 795-3838, info@gwlt.org. Hike led by Board President Allen Fletcher.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Fun: 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Feb. 22, Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Square, Worcester. Cost: Free.

Celebrating the book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” by Roald Dahl.

Black History Discovery Day: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 22, Worcester Historical Museum, 30 Elm St., Worcester. For information: (508) 753-8278, davidconner@ worcesterhistory.net.

Winter Hike: 1-3 p.m. Feb. 22, River Bend Farm Visitor Center, 287 Oak St., Uxbridge. Cost: Free. With MA Department of Conservation and Recreation Ranger Molly Cardoza will lead

Acrylic painting demonstration Artist Lori MacDonald will give an acrylic landscape demonstration at the Northborough Historical Society Feb. 25 in a program presented by the Northborough Art Guild. MacDonald will use a limited palette of three colors plus white. However, MacDonald doesn’t appear to accept many limitations.

She has said, “As long as there’s light, there’s something to tell about.”

What: Acrylic Painting Demonstration — Lori MacDonald When: 7: 30 p.m. Feb. 25 Where: Northborough Historical Society, 50 Main St., Northboro How much: Free

Worth noting

What: Women of Note — Presented by Arts on the Green When: 4 p.m. Feb. 23 Where: First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury, 19 Church Road, Shrewsbury How much: Free, with donations accepted to support the Arts on the Green concert series. www.fccsm.org

Let’s face it, you go to one of Niki Luparelli’s speakeasys because you know it’s going to be the best party around, and fantastic performances are just expected. This time around, though, the featured musical act is Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band, and that’s definitely a show worth seeing. Add to that performances by burlesque performers Harley Foxx, Bettysioux Tailor, E’Nygma, Lady Larouge and a drag performances by Lucifer Christmas, and of course Luparelli herself and her Gold Diggers, and it seems the good times will indeed be rolling.

What: Mardi Gras Masquerade Speakeasy When: 8:30 p.m. Feb. 22 Where: The Secret Atrium, 1 Exchange Place, Worcester How much: $20-429

Republic. Formal attire.

PBR — Pendleton Whiskey Velocity Tour: 7 p.m. Feb. 22, DCU Center, 50 Foster St., Worcester.

Cost: $19-$180.

Amy Gallatin and Stillwaters: 7:30-9:30 p.m. Feb. 22, The Vanilla Bean Cafe, 450 Deerfield Road, Pomfret. Cost: $15. notloB Parlour Concerts presents Noah y Maurizio: 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Feb. 22, Fivesparks, 7 Fairbank St., Harvard. Cost: Free. ’80s Prom at Gardner Elks: 8 p.m.-12 a.m. Feb. 22, Elks Lodge #1426, 31 Park St., Gardner. For information: bbeck71@grmail. com.

Missy Maxfield: 8-10 p.m.

Feb. 22, Chuck’s Steak House/ Margaritagrill, 10 Prospect St., Auburn. For information: 5088322553, chucksmanager@ gmail.com, https://go.evvnt. com/607120-0. Live Music Scarborough — The Music & History of Simon & Garfunkel:

8-10 p.m. Feb. 22, Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Rd, 215 Great Road, Shirley. Cost: $28-$32.

Mardi Gras Masquerade Speakeasy: hosted by Niki Luparelli, 8:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Feb. 22, The Secret Atrium, 1 Exchange Place , Worcester. Cost: $20-$29.

FoTK — Elvis Presley Tribute: 9 p.m.-12 a.m. Feb. 22, Marine Corps League Inc, 181 Lake Avenue, Worcester.

Sunstained, Circumstances, The Fight Left Inside, Almost Social: 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Feb. 22, Ralph’s Rock Diner, 148 Grove St., Worcester.

Petty Larceny (Tom Petty Tribute): 9 p.m.-12 a.m. Feb. 22, Rascals, 70 James St., Worcester. Cost: $10.

PBR After Party featuring Mychael David: 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Feb. 22, the Palladium (Downstairs), 261 Main St., Worcester. Cost: $10.

Best Night Ever: 9:30 p.m.-1 a.m.

Feb. 22, Palladium (Upstairs), 261 Main St, Worcester. Cost: $15. One Direction VS. Jonas Brothers: A

modern boy band dance party.

Located Upstairs. Ages 18+, ID Required for entry.

Sunday, Feb. 23 Drag Queen Meat Raffle: 12-5 p.m. Feb. 23, Beer Garden Worcester, 64 Franklin St., Worcester. Cost: Free.

Tarot Reading 101 with Jade Anderson: 1-3 p.m. Feb. 23, The WorcShop, 233 Stafford St., Worcester. Cost: $40$50. For information: email theworcshop@gmail.com.

WCPA 2020 Annual Meeting: 2-4 p.m. Feb. 23, First Unitarian Church, 90 Main St., Bancroft Room, Worcester. For information: (508) 251-9262, rwgill@hotmail. com. Featuring performance by poet Maudelle Driskell, director of The Frost Place.

Carlos Odria Trio: 3-6 p.m. Feb. 23, Greater Good Imperial Brew Co., 55 Millbrook St., Worcester.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

The a cappella singing chorus Women of Note will be hitting a number of notes with a diverse program of music on Feb. 23 in First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury as part of the Arts on the Green concert series. The music will be from all eras, including rock and roll and the new millennium. Women of Note rehearse every Monday evening at Grace Baptist Church in Hudson. The chorus is a member of Harmony, Inc., an international, nonprofit organization whose purpose is to empower all women through education, friendship and a cappella singing in the barbershop style.

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020

a winter family friendly hike starting at River Bend Farm Visitor Center. For information contact Maggie Plasse at maggie. plasse@thebrwa.org.

Mardi Gras with Gadget: 6-8 p.m. Feb. 22, Wachusett Brewing Company, 175 State Road East, Westminster.

Dave McLellan & Tracy Kraus: 6-9 p.m. Feb. 22, Harvard General Store, 1 Still River Road, Harvard.

Cost: $50-$62.

Comedy Night to benefit Tedy’s Team: featuring Al Park and Sean Sullivan, 6-9 p.m. Feb. 22, Oak Hill Country Club, 870 Oak Hill Road, Fitchburg. Cost: $60.

Suffragettes & Corselettes: 6-7:30 p.m. Feb. 22, Asa Waters Mansion, 123 Elm St., Millbury.

For information: (508) 865-0855, luleerose@yahoo.com. Presented by the mother-daughter team

of Velya Jancz-Urban and Ehris Urban. Ticket price is $20.

Salsa Dancing Extravaganza: 6:30-11 p.m. Feb. 22, ABL DanceSport Center, 184 W Boylston St, West Boylston. Cost: Free.

“Back to the 90s” Fundraiser for Mike Weaver & Dan Hollis Foundations: 7 p.m.-12 a.m. Feb. 22, Elks Lodge, 1077 Pond St., Franklin. Cost: $25.

Craig Low: 7-10:30 p.m. Feb. 22, The WooHaHa Comedy Club, 50 Franklin St., Worcester. Cost: $20.

Woo Model Workshop Seaon 1 Fashion show: 7-10 p.m. Feb. 22, Worcester PopUp, 20 Franklin St., Worcester. Cost: $10. Featuring runway presentations to showcase local designers’ work.

Curt Curtin at the The Fourth Saturday Open Mic: 7-9 p.m. Feb. 22, Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Plaza 541 D Lincoln St., Worcester.Josh Briggs and Friends: 7-10 p.m. Feb. 22, Greater Good Imperial Brew Co., 55 Millbrook St., Worcester.

Hope You Laugh — Night of Comedy! Denise/Team Hope Boston Marathon 2020 fundraiser: 7-11 p.m. Feb. 22, 3 Restaurant, 461 West Central St., Franklin. Cost: $50.

Red Hot Ball: 7-11 p.m. Feb. 22, Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester. Cost: $50-$55.

Cena de Gala con Cuquin Victoria: 7-11:59 p.m. Feb. 22, AC Hotels by Marriott Worcester, 125 Front St, Worcester. Cost: $50, in advance, $60 at the door.

Casa Cultural Dominicana of Worcester will be celebrating the 176th Anniversary of the independence of Dominican

STEVE LANAVA

CITY LIFE

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CITY LIFE

THINGS TO DO Hey, Kiddo — Live & Unabridged: 3-5 p.m. Feb. 23, Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester. Cost: $10-$20.

Listen! A Poetry Series: hosted

by Dave Macpherson, 7-8:30 p.m. Feb. 23, Nicks Bar and Restaurant, 124 Millbury St., Worcester. Cost: Free.

Super Whatevr with Chapel, Happy and Rocket Ship Pastel: 7:30-10:30 p.m. Feb. 23, Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester. Cost: $13.

305 Shrewsbury St., Worcester.

Free.

Wandering Arts Market: 6-10 p.m. Feb. 24, Electric Haze, 26 Millbury St., Worcester. Cost: Free.

The Dirty Gerund Poetry Series: 9 p.m. Feb. 24, Ralph’s Rock Diner, 148 Grove St., Worcester.

Free, donations requested to help pay the performers.

Tuesday, Feb. 25

Yoga & Live Music in the Great Hall: 6-7 p.m. Feb. 25, Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester.

Cost: $10-$15.

Writing with Pictures — The Shrewsbury Toastmasters Graphic Novel: 10-11 a.m. Feb. Invitation: 6:45-8:30 p.m. Feb. 24, Mechanics Hall, 321 Main 25, 258 Walnut St, 258 Walnut St., Worcester. Cost: $5. A School Presentation for Grades 3, 4, and 5. St., Shrewsbury. Cost: Free.

Open Mic: hosted by Rick Hamel, The Thirsty Lab Poetry Reading 6:30 p.m. Feb. 24, Funky Murphys, with John Hodgen: 7-9 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 24

Drag Queen Meat Raffle

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The “meat raffle” is one of New England’s more bewildering traditions, a staple of VFWs, community centers and church fairs. So, naturally, seeing a “Drag Queen Meat Raffle” scheduled at the beer garden was … attention getting. We’ve been assured by host and drag superstar Josyln Fox that it is, indeed, meat that’s being raffled, and not “hunky men,” but you know, we’ve learned to expect the unexpected where she’s concerned. And it’s not just fun and games: the event is a benefit for Pawsitively4Pink, a nonprofit organization that provides support to low-income, underserved women in Worcester County who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

What: Drag Queen Meat Raffle When: noon-5 p.m. Feb. 23 Where: Beer Garden Worcester, 64 Franklin St., Worcester How much: Free

Feb. 25, The Thirsty Lab, 206 Worcester Road, Princeton. For information: (508) 251-9262, rwgill@hotmail.com.

The Poetorium Reading Series & Open Mic Featuring Adam Grabowsk: 7-10 p.m. Feb. 25, starlite gallery, 39 Hamilton St., Southbridge. For information: poetorium@protonmail.com.

Poetry Open Mic: 7 p.m. Feb. 25, Strong Style Coffee, 13 Cushing St., Fitchburg. Free.

The Cobra Kings: 7:30-10:30 p.m.

Feb. 18, Greendale’s Pub, 404 West Boylston St., Worcester.

Southside Talent Showcase: open mic, 8:15 p.m. Feb. 18, The Southside Grille and Margarita Factory, 242 W. Broadway, Gardner.

Tone-Deaf Tuesdays: hosted by Poise’N Envy and Harley Queen, 9 p.m. Feb. 18, Electric Haze, 26 Millbury St., Worcester.

Funeral Cone, Vacation, Alpha Error and Scare City: 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Feb. 25, Ralph’s Rock Diner, 148 Grove St., Worcester.

of weather.)

With Dad — Artist Talk and Screening: 4:30-6 p.m. Feb. 27, Clark University (Higgins Lounge at Dana Commons), 950 Main St., Worcester. For information: (508) 793-7356, clarkarts@ clarku.edu. Stephen DiRado will deliver an artist talk about his photographic journal chronicling his father’s decline into Alzheimer’s. Soren Sorensen also will screen his forthcoming short film about the project.

WAM’s “What’s It Worth?” Event!: 6-8 p.m. Feb. 27, Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury St.,

Worcester. Cost: $50.

Reading Photographs: 6-7 p.m.

Feb. 27, Worcester Historical Museum, 30 Elm St., Worcester.

For information: (508) 753-8278, robertstacy@worcesterhistory. net. In this talk, with Robert Stacy, we will look at some historic photos and discuss the questions we should ask when we attempt to read and interpret photographs from the past.

Matt Soper: 6-9 p.m. Feb. 27, Greater Good Imperial Brew Co., 55 Millbrook St., Worcester.

John Nemeth: 7:30-9 p.m.

Feb. 27, 215 Great Rd, 215

Wednesday, Feb. 26 Gallery Talk by Sahar Bazzaz: 12-1 p.m. Feb. 26, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College St., Worcester. For information: (508) 793-3356, prosenbl@ holycross.edu. Professor Bazzaz’s lecture is held in conjunction with the exhibition ‘Warm Room: Photographs by Peter A. Moriarty of Historic Greenhouses’.

Grayscale with Hot Mulligan, WSTR and Lurk: 7-9 p.m. Feb. 26, Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester. Cost: $22.

Matt Brodeur: 7 p.m. Feb. 19, Art’s Food & Spirits, 541 W. Boylston St, Worcester.

Wacky Wednesday Jam: 8:30 p.m.

Feb. 19, Greendale’s Pub, 404 W. Boylston St, Worcester.

Duncan Arsenault and friends: 9 p.m. Feb. 19, Vincent’s, 49 Suffolk St., Worcester.

Thursday, Feb. 27 Major Taylor, “the Worcester Whirlwind” — an illustrated talk: 10-11:30 a.m. Feb. 27, Worcester Senior Center, 128 Providence St., Worcester. Cost: Free.

Admission is free; registration is requested at 508-799-1232.

(Postponed from Feb. 13 because

Rolling ‘Thunder’ One of the most striking features of Dzö-nga’s most recent album, “Thunder in the Mountains,” is how lovely stretches of it are. The music arcs from Dzönga’s heavy metal base into some truly beautiful instrumental stretches that give a real texture to the more ferocious bits. Songs such as “The Song of Hiawatha” and “The Death of Minnehaha” — both references to Longfellow’s epic poem, “The Song of Hiawatha” — are both emotionally and musically complex. It’s the sort of album one can lose one’s self in, and that’s a highly enjoyable experience.

What: Dzö-nga album release with Advent Varic, Shunyata and Duende en la Penumbra When: 9 p.m. Feb. 20 Where: Ralph’s Rock Diner, 148 Grove St., Worcester How much: $10

CITY LIFE

Great Road, Shirley. Cost: $18$22. For information: (978) 425-4311, BryanSawyer@ bullrunrestaurant.com.

Hypnotist Dan Candell: 8-9 p.m.

Feb. 27, The WooHaHa Comedy Club, 50 Franklin St., Worcester.

Cost: $20.

Stage

Organ concert at Trinity Lutheran Church

What: WCPA 2020 Annual Meeting with poet Maudelle Driskell When: 2-4 p.m. Feb. 23 Where: First Unitarian Church, 90 Main St., Bancroft Room, Worcester How much: Free

28, 29, March 6, 7, 8. Theatre at the Mount 444 Green St., Gardner.

Auditions “Of Mice and Men” Auditions: March 29 & 31 (Show dates: June 5,6,12,13,14, 2020).

Gateway Players Theatre. Elm Street Congregational Church, 61 Elm St., in Southbridge. www. gatewayplayers.org “God of Carnage” Auditions: Aug. 2, 3 (Show Dates: October 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 2020).Gateway

Players Theatre. Elm Street Congregational Church, 61 Elm St., in Southbridge. www. gatewayplayers.org “Happy Hollandaise! “ Auditions: October 5 & 7 (Show Dates: December 11, 12, 13, 2020).

Gateway Players Theatre. Elm Street Congregational Church, 61 Elm St., in Southbridge. www. gatewayplayers.org

Dance Party Yeah, OK. A DJ dance party playing music by One Direction and the Jonas Brothers. We’re supposed to sneer at this, aren’t we? But … see … the thing is, I have “Sucker” by the Jonas Brothers in my head right now, and that is one of the most joyously addictive pop confections in recent memory, and suddenly I have to admit that this whole “boy band dance party” may not be a bad idea at all. “I’ve been dancing on top of cars and stumbling out of bars/I follow you through the dark, can’t get enough…” Yeah, I’m earwormed now. This is probably genius.

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What: Best Night Ever — One Direction vs. Jonas Brothers When: 9:30 p.m. Feb. 22 Where: Palladium (Upstairs), 261 Main St., Worcester How much: $15

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

What: The Annual Transfiguration Day Organ Recital — Michael Ging, organist When: 4 p.m. Feb. 23 Where: Trinity Lutheran Church, 73 Lancaster St., Worcester How much: Free/offering. www.trinityworc.org

In addition to being the director of The Frost Place, a museum and nonprofit educational center for poetry located at Robert Frost’s former home in New Hampshire, Maudelle Driskell is an extremely accomplished poet. Poems such as “The Heart’s Archaeology” and “The Propaganda of Memory” are sharp, hotly burning pieces of writing, each word densely packed with meaning.

“No instrument of percussion:,” she writes in the former poem, “place this against your lips,/fill it from your lungs to sound/a note winding double helix, solo/and thready calling to the pack.”

F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020

Michael Ging is a church musician, organist and entrepreneur increasingly in demand as a concert artist.

He will perform the Annual Transfiguration Day Organ Recital at Trinity Lutheran Church in Worcester Feb. 23. Since being appointed organist/choirmaster at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Folly Beach, South Carolina, at the age of 14, Ging has become one of the most active liturgical organists in the United States. As director of music/organist-in-residence at New Hope Lutheran Church in Missouri City, Texas, and as associate director of music/organist at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Houston, Texas, Ging inspires thousands of worshipers each week and plays for over 400 liturgies each year. In addition to his rigorous performance schedule, Ging is managing partner of Seven Eight Records LLC, a company that operates Seven Eight Records, an emerging classical music label, and Seven Eight Artists, an international artist management agency that has blossomed into one of the leading rosters for organists worldwide. Sunday’s program will feature music ranging from the Renaissance through Bach to the present today. A reception follows the concert in Jeppson Hall.

The recital is part of the Music at Trinity series.

“Agnes of God”: Feb. 21-March 1, Bradley Playhouse, 30 Front St., Putnam, Conn. www. thebradleyplayhouse.org “Treasure Island” and “Around the World in 80 Days”: Double feature radio drama, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 21, 22; 2 p.m. Feb. 23.

Sterling Community Theatre, First Church in Sterling parish hall, 6 Meetinghouse Hill Road. www.sterlingtheatre.com Sex n’ The City — A “Super” Unauthorized Musical Parody: 7-9:30 p.m. Feb. 23, The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester. For information: (877) 571-7469, marketing@ thehanovertheatre.org.

Recommended for ages 18 and older. Tickets are $45 and $49.

The Insanity of Mary Girard: 7:30-9:30 p.m. Feb. 27, 28 and 29, Worcester State University, 486 Chandler St., Shaughnessy Administration Building 2nd Floor, Worcester. Cost: $5.

“The Drowsy Chaperone”: Feb.

Heart & Memory

CITY LIFE

ADOPTION OPTION

EAST DOUGLAS PHOTOGRAPHY

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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020

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.

Handsome Harry was adopted from WARL when he was a kitten. He

lived a happy life with his family until recently when they got another cat and Harry developed litter box issues. He had cystitis, which was easily treated. He is using his litter box at the shelter. It’s likely he has Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD), which is a condition that’s often triggered by the stress of the new cat. Putting a cat on canned-food only eliminates and/or decreases flare-ups of FLUTD. Harry would do best in a quiet house without pets or little kids. He’s a shy cat. The couple said he was a “great cat” who was the extra member at the table for meals.

GAMES

J O N E S I N’

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67 Rub out

46 47 50 51 52 53 54 56 57 59 61

Antiquated Day planner divs.

Ones, in Juarez “Helps stop gas before it starts” product Microscopic Actor Ving of “Pulp Fiction” Resort island near Majorca Boggy areas “Get Out” director Jordan “Anna and the King of ___” Part of a parcel, perhaps “Chocolat” actress Lena “Bearing gifts, we traverse ___” Poutine seasoning? “___-Hulk” (upcoming Disney+ series)

Last week's solution

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©2020 Matt Jones (jonesincrosswords@gmail.com) Reference puzzle #976

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Down 1 Action figure with kung-fu grip 2 “Waterworld” girl with a map on her back 3 It’ll knock you out 4 Slot machine city 5 Chicago transit trains 6 President Cleveland 7 Invisible vibes 8 Disappointments 9 Like some sugar 10 Beguile 11 Gets out of the way 12 Time to “beware” 13 Gen ___ (post-boom kids) 18 Mary Louise Parker Showtime series 22 Lead-in to “while” 25 Like some shirts or pajamas 27 Molly’s cousin 28 Healthcare.gov statute, briefly 29 Completely consume 30 “Your Majesty” 31 Everything bagel bit 32 Per ___ 33 Notion 34 Winter house protection

38 40 43 44

F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020

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 “You’re the Worst” star Chris 6 Gadot of “Wonder Woman” 9 DJ’s output 14 Pentium company 15 Have regret 16 Positive terminal 17 Liquid extracted from beer brewed by quarterback Elway?

19 Be indecisive 20 Margarine substitute 21 Dodge 23 Quagmire 24 Musical ability 25 Recognize 26 Cookies in sleeves 28 British actor Garfield is angry?

32 Item thrown by Olympic athletes 35 They’re attracted to sugar 36 Compete 37 Work badge, e.g.

38 NBA tiebreakers 39 “That should do it” 41 Abbr. in want ads denoting fair hiring 42 Clothing company founded in Queens 44 Disallowed 45 Sandwich grill belonging to comedian Short?

48 Movement started on social media in 2006 49 Bale stuff 50 Mini-menace 53 “No Ordinary Love” singer 55 ___-Kettering Institute 57 “Million Dollar ___” (2006 “Simpsons” episode featuring Homer’s dad) 58 Desktop images 60 Result of an arson investigation on Sesame Street?

62 Got up 63 20-20, e.g.

64 Brownish eye color 65 “The Post” star Streep 66 Ken Jennings has four of them

“I’m No Saint” – shot out of the canon.

by Matt Jones

CLASSIFIEDS

LEGAL

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F E B R U A RY 20 - 26, 2020

NOVENA

SERVICE DIRECTORY

Sudoku Answers

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.

Place your ad here!

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LAST CALL

Lawrence Norman global marketing leader

That’s quite the dedicated professor. Who are some of the guest speakers you’ve had?

The first guest speaker we had was Polina Raygorodskaya, the CEO of Wanderu, which is a travel app. She was on Forbes 30 Under 30 and Inc. Magazine Top 40 Women Entrepreneurs in the country. After her was the president of the Boston Celtics, Rich Gotham. The third speaker was the chief marketing officer of Puma. Today was the former CEO of Reebok and Adidas. He created the advertising that led Adidas to be the number one advertiser in the year with his Muhammad Ali “Impossible is Nothing” campaign.

Next week is Brendan Tuohey, who’s the founder of PeacePlayers International, which is the most important sports philanthropic organization in the world Do you have a campaign that you are particularly proud to have worked on?

I worked closely with Derek Rose

How do you feel about the YEEZY conglomerate and what are your thoughts about Kanye’s relationship with Adidas?

Kanye West is the most influential person that’s not an athlete in my lifetime to ever be in the sneaker industry. I have YEEZYs at home and a lot of my students are wearing YEEZYs to class. I think he’s a brilliant entertainer. I love his music. The fact that he went from “All of the Lights” to “Use This Gospel” blows my mind. And those are two of my favorite songs.

What are your thoughts on the hypebeast culture that keeps streetwear in such high demand?

Well, fashion is cyclical and it changes quickly. There’s always going to be pressure to come up with new designs. Getting those designs to the right people at the right time is where it gets complicated. You need to understand macro influencers versus micro influencers. You need to know what’s driving them. “Why they buy” is what we say in psychographics. It’s part of the way to define a target consumer and determine their motivation. Sometimes what drives consumers at the front of trends is supply and demand. To keep products limited, brands will number them, do special packaging, and make these drops with the right retailers who promote them in a way that makes them seem even more exclusive than they are. A lot of the time, that’s what drives a trend.

– Sarah Connell Sanders

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I had just learned Hebrew. They said, “OK, if you can learn Spanish in two weeks, then we’re going to send you to Spain to be the head of basketball.” I learned Spanish, moved to Spain, and was presentDid you speak Hebrew? ing in business Spanish a couple At the time I didn’t, so I didn’t of months later. I became head get the position. The next day, I of basketball for Europe. Then, I put on a suit. It was super hot in Israel, but I took 200 resumes and moved to America to take on some global basketball marketing and just knocked on doors in every communications roles in Portland. building. I didn’t know where I was going. I found somebody who Eventually, I moved to Amsterdam knew somebody who was starting to be head of international sports an Adidas subsidiary of the global marketing for basketball. It was a job I wanted to do and asked to company in Israel. I interviewed, got a job as the head of marketing do — to sign NBA players from and began working during the day. outside America and build a grassroots system worldwide. After I would take three buses to work two years, I went back to the U.S. at six in the morning, work from and became head of business and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. then take three brand affairs, which is the rightbuses to night practice from 8 to hand strategy man to the CEO of 10:30 and then take three buses Adidas. In two years, I became the to get home by midnight. I stayed head of global basketball, which and did both jobs for three and was my dream job. Eight years a half years. The next stop was moving to Germany to work in the later, I moved to Athens, Greece, and was the head of Adidas and Adidas headquarters. I was there Reebok for 10 countries in that for one month and somebody asked if I spoke Spanish. I didn’t. region. Then, I moved back to

That’s an incredible resume.

Clark is lucky to have you.

I pitched this idea more than five years ago and it was all about marketing to a young audience.

At Adidas, we were always trying to find interns, but they were rarely prepared. They didn’t have the expertise we were looking for. I wanted to teach a course that would help Clark students be ready on day one and also give them a chance to land a job or internship either during the class with a guest speaker or after the class is over. That’s why I’m here.

The dean of the business school’s name is Priscilla Elsass. She was a professor of mine and she was the one who said, “OK, we’ll do it. You teach it.” So, I commute here from Manhattan every week.

at Adidas. He’s a basketball player in the NBA. We did some really good campaigns when he was just coming into the league. We also did one with Ken Jeong called “slim chin.” And another one with Derek Rose after he was coming back from an injury. The campaign was called “The Return,” which showed how the whole city of Chicago was supporting him on his way back.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Can you describe your career trajectory?

I attended Clark for the BA and MBA program and graduated with an MBA in 1975. I received a phone call from a basketball agent in Israel. The agent had seen my name in a magazine and asked if I wanted to play professionally overseas. It was as simple as that.

I thought, I would love to start my career over in Israel — play basketball, find a job, and then eventually, after a year, the plan was to move back and start the rest of my business career. I loved it over there. I was living outside of Tel Aviv. We played one game a week in addition to four practices.

Meanwhile, I was going door to door looking for an internship for the one year that I was going to stay. It didn’t work out in the

beginning. I almost landed a job at the top ad agency. Then, the CEO came back and said, “Do you speak Hebrew?”

Boston as the head of digital for Reebok. After 21 years with Adidas, I moved on to executive roles for an artificial intelligence company and a CBD cannabis company. Now, I’m teaching here at Clark.

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L

awrence Norman spent more than two decades building the Adidas brand.

This semester, he is teaching a marketing class in Worcester at his alma mater, Clark University.

DYLAN AZARI

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