Late August may be sneaking up on us, but Worcester’s summer calendar clearly has no intention of going quietly.
This weekend brings music to stages indoors and out, two celebrations with serious cultural flavor and a brand-new festival filling the sky over Institute Park. Whether your ideal weekend involves pierogi and polka, jump blues under the stars, a 15-foot kite or enough KISS and Poison nostalgia to make you reconsider the mullet, there’s plenty to choose from.
Here are five picks for the weekend:
- Back in bloom with Jubilee Gardens: After a long “time out,” Jubilee Gardens returns to the stage Sunday, Aug. 23, at 6 p.m. for a night of original music and a fundraiser for WCUW 91.3 FM. Singer-songwriter Jubilee Connolly leads an unusually colorful ensemble at the FrontRoom, with a lineup featuring guitar, keyboards, violin, oud, harp, bass, drums and percussion for a mix of world, folk, pop and rock—all built around Connolly’s original songs. Gang of 3 opens the evening, featuring vocalist John Solaperto, Evan Harriman on keys and Dan Hunt on guitar. The show takes place at WCUW, 910 Main St., with a suggested minimum donation of $20 at the door, payable by cash or Venmo. Light refreshments served, or guests can bring their own.
- Letting the Love Dogs out! Downtown Worcester gets a serious dose of swing Friday, Aug. 21, when the Love Dogs headline the 9th annual Jazz+ Live behind The Hanover Theatre. The seven-piece band brings more than two decades of jump blues, New Orleans R&B and early rock ’n’ roll to the outdoor stage, complete with blazing horns, boogie-woogie piano, guitar, soulful vocals and enough energy to make sitting in that lawn chair increasingly unlikely. Gates open at 5 p.m., with the show beginning at 6, and the picnic-style setup includes food trucks and cash bars; guests may also bring their own food and non-alcoholic drinks. Tickets are $30 in advance for general admission—bring your own chair—or $175 for a stage-front VIP table for four. General admission increases to $35 on the day of the show.
- Pierogi, polka and a possible pączki showdown: Bring your appetite—and perhaps your accordion—to the White Eagle on Saturday, Aug. 22, for the 5th Annual Polish Festival in Worcester’s Canal District. Running from noon to 6 p.m., the celebration features Polish and American food, vendors and a full afternoon of traditional music and dance, with the Piast Children Folk Dancers at 12:30 p.m., Krakowiak Folk Dancers at 1:30 and the EFO Polka Band from 2 to 6. Organizers are also teasing a possible pączki-related contest, which seems like an excellent reason to arrive hungry. And if six hours of festivities somehow aren’t enough, DJ Voy keeps the party going inside the White Eagle from 8 p.m. to midnight.
- Let your weekend take flight: Worcester is getting its first-ever kite festival on Saturday, Aug. 22, with an afternoon of color, culture and sky-high spectacle from noon to 5 p.m. The centerpiece is the unveiling of a 15-foot community-created kite inspired by a Guatemalan barrilete, joined by synchronized kite flying, a kite contest, art exhibits, live music, performances, vendors and food trucks. The event brings together artists and organizations including Technocopia, Guardians of Traditions, the Southeast Asian Coalition of Massachusetts, the Guatemalan Center of New England, The Village and the No Evil Project for a celebration designed to be as much about community as it is about what’s flying overhead.
- Rock and roll all nite, have nothin’ but a good time: Break out the face paint, teased hair and whatever leather survived the first time around: two tributes to rock’s gloriously excessive eras take over the outdoor stage at Ralph’s Diner on Saturday, Aug. 22. KISS Forever pays homage to the platform-booted, makeup-covered spectacle of KISS, with the anthems that helped make the band synonymous with larger-than-life arena rock, while Nothing But a Good Time brings the party-hearty glam metal of Poison, the band behind ’80s staples including “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” and, naturally, “Nothin’ But a Good Time.” Expect a double dose of big hooks, bigger hair and unapologetic rock ’n’ roll nostalgia. The 21-plus show is $15 at the door.
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
