Worcester Common, 8:45 pm, Thursday, September 1, 2011

photo courtesy of Louie Despres

FREE Showing of Spaceballs Tonight on the Worcester Common, Dusk

Visit www.WorcesterFilmWorks.org for additional information.

Poster by Mike McMenemy

Answer: Sidewalks Should be 5 ft. Wide

You may recall back in April I had a post discussing how wide a sidewalk should be. Well, I learned yesterday from Bob Moylan that the sidewalks on our road will be increased to a width of 5 ft.

We currently have 4 ft. wide sidewalks in horrible condition and 4 ft. is just not wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side. When I found out our street and sidewalks were on the list to be repaired this year, I thought I would reach out to my City Councilor, Joff Smith, and Bob Moylan, Commissioner of Public Works & Parks and ask them if they would be willing to increase the width a few feet (we have unusually wide 9 ft. grass strips) since they were going to be replacing 90% of the sidewalk already.

Existing 4 ft. Sidewalks and 9 ft. Grass Strips

I followed up with Joff by phone a few weeks later and left a voicemail. Joff called me back almost immediately; he informed me that he had spoken with Bob about my request and that Bob was looking into the feasibility of widening the sidewalks. I heard nothing from either of them following that call with Joff, and to be honest I forgot about it until NSTAR started digging up our street a few weeks ago to install new gas lines. So I again followed up to both Joff and Bob by e-mail yesterday requesting an update on my request, and Bob replied almost immediately with the good news. Apparently DPW also looked at other streets in our neighborhood to see if their sidewalks widths could also be increased (a number of streets in our neighborhood have the 9 ft. wide grass strips), but ours was the only one "free of physical limitations to allow us to widen the walk" (or, in other words: sufficiently devastated by the ALB such that there was not one tree remaining on the grass strip).

Looking forward to that first stroll down the new, wider sidewalk soon.....

(and Harry T., Summerhill Ave. is a good guess, but incorrect....)

Worcester Common, 8:33 pm, Thursday, July 28, 2011

photo courtesy of Louie Despres

Worcester Common, 9:15 pm, Thursday, June 30, 2011



photo courtesy of Louie Despres

Movies on the Common 2011 - GREASE is Coming & Series Sponsorship Opportunities

The Hanover Insurance Group Foundation has signed on to be the series sponsor of Movies on the Common 2011!

Make your calender now and plan to come down to the Worcester Common on Thursday evening, June 30, 2011 to watch Grease outdoors under the stars!



All shows are FREE and will start at dusk. Bring your own picnic basket, blanket and chairs. Food and beverage vendors and themed entertainment will kick off at 6 pm.

To date we have received commitments totaling $8,750 on our way towards our goal of $16,000. We recently were able to reduce our budget by $1,000 thanks to a combination of belt tightening and generous in-kind donations by a number of individuals and local companies.

If you and/or your company is interested in sponsoring this exciting series designed to keep and draw people to downtown Worcester after business hours during the workweek, please contact me ASAP at eric@WorcesterFilmWorks.org to explore potential sponsorship opportunities. The follow opportunities are available:

1. Show Sponsors - For a donation of at least $2,500, your company can be the show sponsor for either Back to the Future (July 28, 2011) and/or Spaceballs (August 25, 2011). Marketing opportunities at this level include: 1) Company name included in title of sponsored film and 2) Medium sized company logo on all marketing and donor recognition materials (includes print advertising, online, etc.)
2. Supporters - For a donation of at least $500, we will market your company by placing a small sized logo on all marketing and donor recognition materials (includes print advertising, online, etc.)
3. Friends - For all donations less than $500, your company name will be listed in all donor recognition materials.

ARTSWorcester is serving as our fiscal agent for the 2011 series. Checks should be made payable to "ARTSWorcester" and include "Movies on the Common 2011" in the memo line. Checks should be dropped off or mailed to:

ARTSWorcester

660 Main St.

Worcester, MA 01610

If you are interested in sponsorship at either the Show Sponsor or Supporter level, you must finalize your commitment no later than next Wednesday, June 15, 2011 to ensure that your logo will be included in the marketing and advertising materials for Grease.

I'm looking forward to seeing you on the Common on Thursday evening, June 30, 2011. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at eric@WorcesterFilmWorks.org.

Path of the 1953 Tornado in Worcester