Here are the Worcester Guardian’s five picks for things to do in Worcester this weekend:
- Silk, tea and a few centuries of imperial drama: A new multi-sensory exhibition at JMAC exploring the lives and imagery of Chinese empresses opened May 13 and continues through May 23, featuring the work of artist Xiang Li and her daughter and creative partner Fei Wu. Hosted at Jean McDonough Arts Center, the exhibit combines silk scroll paintings with storytelling, tea tastings, incense and multimedia elements designed to pull visitors a little further into the experience than the average gallery stop. An opening reception takes place Thursday, May 21, from 6:30-7 p.m. with refreshments, a welcome talk and a behind-the-scenes presentation on the artwork and cultural traditions behind it. The exhibit also includes selections from Li’s Panda and Chinese Zodiac collections, which are considerably less politically complicated than the empresses.
- How does it feel? Worcester’s annual Bob Dylan Birthday Bash returns Saturday, May 23, at 7:30 p.m. at WCUW, with musician Jim Perry assembling another deep bench of local performers to work their way through Dylan’s catalog. The lineup includes Cara Brindisi, Gracie Day, Sarah French, Chuck & Mud and several others backed by a full band, which means the evening will likely swing between reverent, loose and unexpectedly loud depending on the song. Tickets are $20 in advance, with possible door sales if the room doesn’t fill up first. There will also be Dylan-themed raffle baskets, because apparently even Bob Dylan eventually becomes raffle-basket-adjacent.
- It’s OK to bang on the exhibit: A new interactive exhibit celebrating East Asian percussion traditions opens Saturday, May 23, at EcoTarium, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for 11 a.m. Music: Journey through the Sounds of East Asian Rhythms invites visitors to do the exact opposite of what most museums usually ask of them: touch things, make noise and generally participate. The exhibit features hands-on instruments and sound experiences tied to Chinese, Japanese and Korean musical traditions, including singing bowls, gongs and Korean Buk drums, with mirrored “stage” areas designed to encourage movement and performance. Which is another way of saying there’s now a scientifically sanctioned reason to drum loudly in public.
- For people who still wish Worcester had a (sort of) Castle: The Worcester Art Museum is bringing Roman military history back into the conversation Saturday, May 23, with an Arms and Armor demonstration focused on the Roman Legion from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Members of the living history group Legio III Cyrenaica will discuss weapons, tactics and day-to-day life during the Flavian period while dressed as legionary and auxiliary soldiers from roughly 60–100 CE Egypt. For longtime Worcester residents, any local armor-related event still tends to trigger at least a brief moment of “remember the Higgins Armory?” — a topic recently revived in a surprisingly long and funny exchange between Worcester natives Conan O’Brien and Denis Leary in this clip: Conan and Denis Leary talk Worcester and Higgins Armory.
- Ride like the wind with the Yacht Lobsters: Oh lovey, now this is smooth. The Yacht Lobsters dock at Off The Rails on Friday, May 22, for a night devoted to the polished, suspiciously expensive-sounding soft rock of the late 1970s and early ’80s. Expect plenty of the usual yacht-rock royalty—Steely Dan, Toto, Hall & Oates, Christopher Cross, Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald-era Doobie Brothers (and solo McDonald)—along with detours into Fleetwood Mac, disco and the occasional curveball. The band leans hard into the details that made these records work in the first place: tight harmonies, horn charts, immaculate keyboards and the sort of rhythm section that sounds like everyone involved owned at least one satin jacket. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 general admission or $65 premium.
For more events, visit the Discover Central Massachusetts events calendar. Have an event, news tip, information, joke, favorite recipe or anything else you’d like to tell us about? You should. Contact carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org
