The first weekend of fall is apparently not interested in easing quietly into sweater season.
Worcester is packing the weekend with samba and Brazilian food at Institute Park, a block party outside the public library, three very different bands on one Off The Rails bill and another serving up everything from Motown to country beside Lake Quinsigamond. For something a little more refined, the Worcester Chamber Music Society opens its season with Mozart, Brahms and Dohnányi at Assumption University.
Here are five picks for the weekend:
- A little Bahia comes to Worcester: Institute Park gets a Brazilian beat Sunday, Sept. 27, when the Brazilian Festival of Worcester returns for a day of samba, capoeira, live music, dancing, food, crafts and family activities. More than 3,000 people are expected for the free, rain-or-shine celebration, with Brazilian favorites ranging from feijoada and pão de queijo to forró, axé and samba. This year’s festival pays special tribute to the state of Bahia, known for its distinctive music, food and Afro-Brazilian cultural traditions. Admission is free, and while organizers are calling it an “all day” celebration, no specific festival hours are listed.
- The library is throwing a block party: Books are only part of the story Saturday, Sept. 26, when the Worcester Public Library takes the festivities outside for Harvest in the City, its biggest event of the year. The free Community Block Party runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Main Library, with performances, activities for all ages, food trucks and more than 60 artisans, nonprofits and other vendors, plus a Friends of the Worcester Public Library book sale. The Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District is joining the fun, and free validated parking is available in the McGrath Parking Lot during the event. Rain won’t cancel the party—if the weather doesn’t cooperate, everything moves indoors.
- Three bands, no musical lane required: Off The Rails gets a little bluesy, grassy, jazzy, funky and everything in between Friday, Sept. 25, with three distinctly different acts sharing the bill. Classical, jazz and flamenco guitarist Carlos Odria opens the music with a solo acoustic set, followed by 2026 Worcester Music Award winner Boogie Chillin’, whose improvisational stew pulls from Americana, R&B, psychedelia, blues and jam-band favorites. The HouseTones close things out with their wide-ranging take on rock spanning the ’60s through today, from Dylan and the Stones to Tom Waits and the Black Keys. Doors open at 7 p.m., with music beginning at 8.
- A little bit of everything by the lake: 3Sum Band brings three hours of genre-hopping favorites to the MCL Club on Lake Avenue on Sunday, Sept. 27, from 2-5 p.m. The local group doesn’t spend much time worrying about musical boundaries, bouncing among rock, pop, blues, country, Motown and R&B for an easygoing Sunday afternoon on Lake Quinsigamond. Whether the band sets up outside by the water or moves the party indoors will depend on the weather—but either way, the music is on.
- Three centuries, one autumn evening: The Worcester Chamber Music Society opens its season Saturday, Sept. 26, with “Autumn Winds,” a program that travels from Mozart to Brahms to Dohnányi without leaving Assumption University. Guest musicians Gary Gorczyca on clarinet and Clark Matthews on horn join the ensemble for three works written across three centuries, culminating in Dohnányi’s spirited “Sextet,” a piece with enough eccentricity and sass to keep classical music from getting too well-behaved. A pre-concert talk begins at 7 p.m., followed by the performance at 7:30 in Jeanne Y. Curtis Hall at the Tsotsis Family Academic Center. Tickets are $42 for adults, $38 for seniors, $10 for college students, $5 for WIC, EBT and CareConnector participants, and free for ages 17 and younger.
For more events, visit the Discover Central Massachusetts events calendar.
Have an event, news tip, idea for a feature, information, joke, favorite recipe or anything else you’d like to tell us about? You should. Contact carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org
