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Pandemic protocols reenergize TCAN guest Graham Parker

May 18, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

English singer/songwriter Graham Parker paid a visit to TCAN in Natick Center over the weekend, playing solo on his acoustic and electric guitars—as well as a harmonica and kazoo—as he treated the crowd to a mix of new and old songs.

Parker, with his band The Rumour, began releasing catchy, sometimes edgy songs, in the mid-1970s, and his style has often been lumped in with the likes of Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello. I own at least one of his CDs from back in the day, though reached for Spotify to refresh my Parker memories before the show (he half joked/half ranted about streaming services during his show, resigned to the fractions of fractions he said artists receive for their work).

Inspired by some of the different rules during the pandemic in London, including being able to hang out in public with friends and get away with stuff, Parker has cranked out new music that he dubs his “lockdown tapes.” He played both the B-side, which he described as being creepy (“3D Printer for Another You”), and the lead single, “Humans are a Mutant Virus.”

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Parker didn’t perform some of his more recognizable songs (i.e., “Local Girls”) that even my younger friends know without Parker’s name ringing a bell for them. He did dust off the timely “Coathangers” in light of current Supreme Court doings.

While shaking his head about a 40th anniversary re-release, the singer we saw sure sounded like Graham Parker of old. He also slowed things down here and there for story time, including the strange backstory on a song called “I’ll Never Play Jacksonville Again.”

We attended the show for a night out, not to review it. But we’ll share some basics for those of you who haven’t been, or haven’t been in a while due to the pandemic.


TCAN offers memberships that can knock a few bucks off your ticket price, but more importantly supports the downtown entertainment venue located in a former fire house. TCAN runs a no frills movie theatre upstairs with seating for 120.

We ordered our tickets online, though as it turns out could have bought them at the door and skipped the “convenience” fee. A guy leaned against the wall outside seeking “extras,” and sure enough a patron with more tickets than he needed gave the man one.

The cozy theater seats 270 people, and Parker’s show didn’t sell out.  But there was a good sized and appreciative crowd.  We found the acoustics excellent, and that’s great for hearing a wordsmith like Parker who tosses off zingers in many of his songs. Importantly, the temperature was also reasonable: It was steamy outside, but TCAN didn’t chill us out.

The volunteers who get you into the theatre, serve refreshments (beer, wine, popcorn, etc.), and usher you into your comfortable seats are friendly and fantastic. Masks were encouraged, but the crowd was mixed in terms of wearing them.


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Filed Under: Entertainment

Memorial Elementary School staff jump into action for choking child

May 18, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Local news crews visited Memorial Elementary School in Natick to interview school employees who performed the Heimlich maneuver on a child who was choking on food in the cafeteria. Head custodian Mark Plant, and Emily DeOliveira, a cafeteria worker, were able to dislodge food from the student’s throat, and were lauded by school administration for taking action so quickly.

The student is fine and was expected to return to school on Wednesday, according to the reports.

WBZ-TV and WCVB-TV have the details and interviews.

Memorial Elementary School, Natick


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Filed Under: Health, Schools

Teens invited to take part in public reading of famous Frederick Douglass

May 16, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Local teens are invited to bring their voices to a community reading of Frederick Douglass’ 1852 speech, “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?”

Sign up to be a reader using this form.

The reading will take place on Sunday, June 26 at 6:00pm on the front steps of the Morse Institute Library in Natick. Each teen will then have the opportunity to read 1-3 paragraphs from the speech, which is about thirty minutes in total. The event will be filmed by local cable station Natick Pegasus.

This event is free and open to the public, co-hosted by the Natick Historical Society and Natick for Black Lives Matter. Please practice social distancing, and bring your own chair or blanket. Bathrooms at the Morse Institute Library will NOT be open.

This event is inspired by the Mass Humanities Reading Frederick Douglass program.

Look back at 2020 reading.

Douglass speech reading


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Filed Under: Uncategorized

Natick Business Buzz: Austin Liquors seeks to move, change name; Lookout Farm invites diners back outdoors; MutualOne donates big to Spark Kindness

May 13, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Our roundup of the latest Natick, Mass., business news:

Austin Liquors seeks to move, change name

 

The Natick Select Board will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, May 18 at 6:30 p.m. to consider an application from Austin Liquors Too for a change of location from 212 North Main St., to 45 Worcester St., currently a Bernie & Phyl’s furniture store location on Rte. 9 west that was also in the running recently for a cannabis shop.

Austin Liquors is also looking to go back to being called Fannon’s.

Lookout Farm invites diners back outside

 

It’s out with the Greenhouse and back in with The Lookout at Lookout Farm at 89 Pleasant Street in Natick.

The reopening this Friday of the outdoor dining at picnic tables spread across a scenic landscape is a sure sign that better weather is on way. (No dogs allowed.)

*Wednesday 4pm to 9pm (kitchen closes at 7:45pm, last seating 7:15pm)
*Thursday 4pm to 9pm (kitchen closes at 7:45pm, last seating 7:15pm)
*Friday – 12pm to 10pm (kitchen closes at 7:45pm, last seating 7:15pm)
*Saturday 10am to 10pm (kitchen closes at 7:45pm, last seating 7:15pm)
*Sunday 10am to 9pm (kitchen closes at 7:45pm, last seating 7:15pm)

Our 2020 visit to The Lookout.

lookout farm outdoor dining

 

MutualOne donates big to Spark Kindness

spark kindness logo

The MutualOne Charitable Foundation has awarded $10,000 to SPARK Kindness to support its “Resilient Community” speaker series.

The program series has been designed to support the emotional and mental health of families most affected by the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing free virtual programming.

 

 


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Filed Under: Business, Charity/Fundraising, Restaurants

Natick seeks to fight COVID fatigue as numbers head in wrong direction

May 11, 2022 by Bob Brown 2 Comments

Natick Public Health Director Michael Boudreau ticked off a list of COVID-19 numbers at the Board of Health meeting on Wednesday that confirmed what many of us know personally or anecdotally: The virus is making yet another comeback.

Natick’s rate of new cases per 100,00 people over 14 days is up to 40.7, above the state’s rate of 32.5, and positivity percentage rate for PCR tests in Natick is up to 7.96%, also well above the state average.

At the Natick Public Schools, COVID numbers are up as much as 50% at some schools, and not at all in others, Supt. Dr. Anna Nolin told the Board of Health. There has been no confirmed school-based transmission of late, according to a slide presented by Boudreau.

nps covid data

Fortunately, rising case counts and positivity rates aren’t translating into troubling hospitalization or death data in town.

But rising numbers will result in Natick Public Schools turning to its flex mask policy and strongly encouraging its community to return to masks until the current surge subsides, Nolin said. “I think people are waiting to hear from us on that, and so we would like to recommend that again,” she said, noting that home tests are still being sent home with kids and are being used.

Nolin said she feared things might actually be worse by now with COVID in the schools. “There’s a fatigue with the isolation and people are fully committing back to social events,” she said.

The personal responsibility of school community members will be tested, Nolin said, as students will be forced to make decisions to attend important events like prom based on their health. The school system is coaching its community on what personal responsibility means in this context, from monitoring systems to following protocols if infected.

As for the town, Boudreau’s plan is to refresh messaging within the community to ensure people don’t dismiss posters and other materials that they might assume has been up there for months. The town will work with its own departments as well as local businesses to spread the message, and pledges to reach out to those who need the latest information on protocols to follow if sick.

Boudreau started the meeting by pointing to relatively low vaccine booster levels in town (57%) vs. fully vaccinated residents (87%). His department is exploring possibly hosting or co-hosting clinics to encourage more residents to get boosted, though acknowledged intelligence from nearby communities that have done booster clinics is that participation has been low. With those age 12 and up now eligible for boosters, though, Boudreau said he’s optimistic booster numbers will rise.

The community needs to face the fact that “COVID is not going to be eradicated…It’s going to be here, we’re still going to see mutations,” he said.

natick covid and booster data


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Filed Under: COVID-19, Education

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Events calendar

  1. Public reading of Frederick Douglass’ 1852 speech, “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?”

    June 26 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

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