In today’s daily 5 Things You Need to Know feature, ThisWeekinWorcester.com explores five important items and stories that Worcester and Central Massachusetts residents should keep a close eye on.
These five things can cover a whole range of subjects and issues that we feel are pertinent to understanding what’s going on in the city and the cities and towns surrounding Worcester.
In today’s edition — Friday, Nov. 29 — yeah, we know it’s Black Friday, but think about Small Business Saturday in Worcester, the Mass. Symphony Orchestra is getting ready for its big annual holiday show, Santa’s coming to the Whitin Community Center, the Worcester Biomanufacturing Park: The Reactory rolls toward reality, and get a great Black Friday deal for flying.
#ShopSmall this Small Business Saturday in Worcester County
All across the Commonwealth, Thanksgiving is bringing families together and kicking off our favorite shopping season with Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Small Business Saturday going on its tenth year.
Created in the midst of a recession to help small businesses capture a larger piece of the critical holiday season spending, the #ShopSmall movement celebrates the incredible contributions that our small businesses make to local communities and to the American economy.
Since 2011, the U.S. Small Business Administration has been a formal cosponsor of Small Business Saturday, which was founded by American Express the year prior. In 2018, an estimated 104 million U.S. consumers reported shopping or dining at local independently-owned businesses on Small Business Saturday. According to an NFIB survey, last year, U.S. consumers who said they shopped at independent retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday spent a record high of an estimated $17.8 billion in sales generated that day.
Show your love and support for the small shops and restaurants that make up the fabric of your local community. Supporting our small businesses on Small Business Saturday and throughout the year ensures their success, which will help grow and sustain vibrant and thriving downtowns across Massachusetts for today and the future.
Some ideas for places to shop in Worcester County:
- Worcester Wares
- Crompton Collective
- Booklovers’ Gourmet
- Birch Alley
- Craftworks
- Still Four Corners
- CC Lowell
- Funky Stuff
- Guertin Graphics
- Craftworks
- Wonder Bar
- Isador’s
There are hundreds more participating in Small Business Saturday in Worcester County, including countless restaurants and bars. For a comprehensive search, go here and look around.
Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra Plans Its Holiday Pops Concert
The Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra, led by Myron Romanul and Jorge Soto, puts on its 40th annual Holiday Pops Concert at Worcester’s Mechanics Hall on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 8 PM.
This year’s performance features the pops concert with a symphony orchestra along with Irish Step Dancers, a 100-member combined chorus, a superb vocalist and exceptional piano soloist, and a visit by Santa, all in a setting with cabaret tables.
Featured performers are dancers from the Murphy Academy of Irish Dance, soprano Jane Shivick, a combined chorus composed of The Salisbury Singers and students from Anna Maria College and Assumption College, as well as Romanul as pianist in a performance of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” Other works on the program will feature classic symphonic and holiday music by such well known composers as Anderson, Handel, Strauss and Tchaikovsky. Traditional audience sing-alongs of favorite holiday gems will round out the program.
You can get tickets at the Mechanics Hall box office or by calling the Symphony at 508- 754-1234 or online.
Santa’s Coming To Whitin Community Center
The Whitin Community Center (WCC) is happy to announce its 12th Annual free “Santa’ s Coming” event put on by the Blackstone Valley Children’s Place staff.
Santa’s Coming is held in the WCC’s gymnasium from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14, for all children and their families. While waiting to sit on Santa’s lap, the gymnasium is filled with 20 fun holiday-themed games and activities for the kids, including face painting, a holiday photo booth, snowman bowling, gingerbread mini golf, “up on a rooftop” present toss, write a special letter to Santa and our Troops, and making magic reindeer food to take home! Santa also has a special surprise for every child. Don’t forget to bring your camera!
Financial Ball Continues to Roll for Worcester Biomanufacturing Park: The Reactory
The Worcester Business Development Corporation (WBDC) has secured a $2.7 million financing deal to keep the momentum at The Reactory rolling.
“The WBDC is grateful to Country Bank for providing the financing for our new 46-acre biomanufacturing project, The Reactory in Worcester,” said Craig L. Blais, the WBDC’s president and CEO. “Country Bank stepped up to provide the much needed seed capital to create this new development in Worcester which will create new jobs and expand the City’s tax base.”
Funding from the loan, which closed on Oct. 31, will be used for ongoing engineering and site preparation efforts, as well as refinancing the original acquisition costs of the property. The WBDC started purchasing land for The Reactory in 2017. Built on the site of the former Worcester State Hospital, the project is part of the Baker-Polito administration’s Open for Business initiative, which seeks to revitalize under-used state-owned assets.
“This is a unique opportunity to repurpose an under-utilized tract of land, while benefitting the community through job creation and additional tax revenue,” said Bernie Gagnon, Country Bank’s first vice president and commercial lending officer.
The Reactory provides opportunity for up to 530,000 square feet of development with eight shovel-ready pads. The WBDC is currently in negotiations to secure the first tenant, WuXi Biologics, a Chinese contract development manufacturing organization. WuXi’s proposed $60 million facility would employ more than 150 people.
Shopping Travel Deals on Black Friday? That Includes Flights from Worcester Airport
A new discount was just announced from one of the leading online travel agencies, CheapOair.
This Black Friday, thrifty travelers can get up to $40 off of flight fees when they use promo code BFRIDAY40 at checkout.
The offer applies to bookings up to four passengers and expires on Nov. 30. And yes, this includes flights in and out of Worcester Airport, including some great deals to Orlando, FL.
More info about CheapOair’s travel deals and promotions are here.
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