Here are five picks of things to do in Worcester this weekend:
- Color the City…of Worcester: The Cultural Development Division (CDD) holds its fourth annual Color the City Festival on Friday, Aug. 16, from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Worcester Common. This festival is a free event that celebrates young talent and highlights the creativity of the next generation of artists, innovators, and changemakers. Organized by the Create 508 youth project in collaboration with the CDD and the Division of Youth Opportunities, the festival promises an array of activities and entertainment.
- Expert-led hike of Parson’s Cider Mill: Board Director of Mairos, Deb Cary, leads a hike of Parson’s Cider Mill & Marois 28 from the Sullivan Middle School (Worcester) lot, starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The Parson’s Cider Mill area was among the early GWLT projects, with the first piece of the puzzle falling into place back in 1993, and Cary remembers it all. Learn about the old Cider Mill, the old City of Worcester Reservoir, and so much more local history.
- Annual Latin American Festival takes over the Common: It’s back! Organized by CENTRO Inc., the Latin American Festival is a magnificent celebration of diversity and culture, returning to the Worcester Common Oval on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. More than 15,000 attendees come every year to enjoy a day full of fun, food, and entertainment. This year, featured performers include Viti Ruiz (Main Artist), Chico Mania, Selena Lee, Grupo Los Nitidos, and JK EL Especialista. We will have food vendors, kids activities, handicraft items, and many more.
- Head out on a Worcester Hot Dog Safari: It’s the 14th year of this fundraiser of gluttony and glory called Hot Dog Safari benefitting the Worcester County Food Bank. This celebration of the hot dog, which has raised tens of thousands of dollars, brings old friends and invites new ones to come together in the spirit of charity to decide the year’s hot dog. Home base is Ralph’s, where participants meet at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17, to receive a score card. From there, the contestants head out to five locations to try wieners and judge them on the following: dog, bun, topping, presentation and value. Meeting back at Ralph’s, enjoy the psychedelic surf tunes by Providence’s Deep Ones as the scores are tallied, and Mama Roux (two-year reigning champs) serves up dogs. The winner gets a trophy, and the bragging rights as “top dog.”
- Be a Dinner Detective: North America’s largest interactive comedy murder mystery dinner theatre show, the Dinner Detective, comes to Worcester with its production of “Dirty Money” at the Hilton Garden Inn on Saturday. Diners “solve” a hilarious true crime mystery while feasting on a fantastic dinner. The culprit is hiding in plain sight somewhere in the room. You may even find yourself as the prime suspect. Go here for the menu, tickets, and more info.
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
