Little Local Conversations

Discover the latest Watertown government moments, stories, and numbers in this conversation with Tyler Cote, the Director of Communications and Community Engagement for the City of Watertown, and Victoria Weichel from WCA-TV. 

See links to things mentioned in this episode at LittleLocalConversations.com. 

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

This episode is one in the Helping Hands series, where I highlight people in our community doing nonprofit or mission-based work. I recently was introduced to a couple of youth-led initiatives around the subject of food insecurity and food waste. So I sat down for two conversations, one with a group of the Troop 30 Scouts based in Watertown, about their Scouting for Food that they do every November that collects multiple tons of food for the Watertown Food Pantry. After that, I chatted with Max Gershberg, a local high schooler about an app called FoodXChange, he's developed with a couple other co-founders that aims to engage communities at the household level to reduce food waste. 

Learn more about FoodXchange at their website.

Keep on eye out for flyers for Troop 30’s Scouting for Food on November 21st. Learn more about the Troop at their website.

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

Discover the stories behind 3 art exhibitions going on in Watertown then go visit the galleries and experience the art yourself! 

Images and more details at LittleLocalConversations.com

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

Meet Kristina Courage! She's the owner of two businesses BESTEA and Grit Life Fitness. In this conversation we chat about growing up in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, her path to fitness and personal training, lessons from working with real people, not just textbooks, how she changed her views on nutrition and nourishment, how that led to her making her own tea, and how the Watertown community has played a big role in the growth of BESTEA.

Find out more about BESTEA at the drinkbestea.com or Instagram

Find out more about Grit Life Fitness at GritLifeFitness.com

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

Discover the latest Watertown government moments, stories, and numbers in this conversation with Tyler Cote, the Director of Communications and Community Engagement for the City of Watertown, and Victoria Weichel from WCA-TV. 

See links to things mentioned in this episode at LittleLocalConversations.com. 

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

As part of the Creative Chats live podcast event series, I sat down at the Mosesian Center for the Arts for a conversation with artist and gallery owner Ellen Wineberg. We discuss curation from many angles: choosing the artwork for shows, solving the puzzle of hanging the art in a way that the pieces are in conversation with each other, matchmaking pairings and groupings of artists, and learning to bring out the character in her unique space. We also get a glimpse into the community she's created with Storefront Art Projects and hear about her broader perspective on curation beyond the gallery walls.

Find out more about the shows Ellen has coming up at Storefront Art Projects at StorefrontArtProjects.com.

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

Hear from 5 Watertown seniors and their wide-ranging stories of 90+ years of living in the area. I visited The Residence at Watertown Square to chat with Ellen Dupuis, Gene Merullo, Joseph Labianca, Lou Romanelli, and Peggy O'Hara among a room of their peers. They share memories of Watertown over the years and the lessons they've learned from working hard, caring for others, and always keeping a smile on your face no matter what life throws your way.

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

Discover the latest Watertown government moments, stories, and numbers in this relaxed but informative conversation with Tyler Cote, the Director of Communications and Community Engagement for the City of Watertown, and Victoria Weichel from WCA-TV. 

See links to things mentioned in this episode at LittleLocalConversations.com. 

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

This episode is from a Watertown's Open event that happened on September 16th, 2026 at the WCA-TV studios. The theme of the panel conversation was Activating Local Independent Retailers. Listen for insights as a small business person, as an interested resident, or just out of curiosity! There's lots of good information shared throughout the discussion.

Panelists:

Liz Helfer, City of Watertown, Senior Planner for Public Arts & Culture  

Erin Rathe, City of Watertown, Senior Planner for Economic Development

Allison Yee, UpNext, Founder and CEO

Independent Retailer Guest:

Anthony Eyring, Ampersand Glassworks

Watertown's Open are live podcast events for small businesses, and it's a place to get local business owners together to discuss topics such as this.  The project is a collaboration between the City of Watertown’s Economic Development Planner, the Little Local Conversations podcast, WCA-TV, and the Watertown Business Coalition.

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.

To kick off season 3 of the live podcast Creative Chats event series, I sat down at the Mosesian Center for the Arts for a conversation with musician, producer, impresario, and good-natured mischief lover Zachariah Hickman to talk about how he's continuing to build his second act.

His first act? Touring as a bassist, musical director, and more with acts such as Josh Ritter and Ray LaMontagne (sprinkling in some gigs with The Who and Bob Weir), playing venues such as Carnegie Hall (which included the single scariest moment of his performing career), Red Rocks, and the Royal Albert Hall, performing on the David Letterman show six times. He was on the road 280+ days a year, filling in the gaps flying overnight to play shows back in Boston then fly back to the tour right after. In short, it was awesome...and exhausting.

The second act? Building things locally, for a community, sustainably. This included becoming the pandemic-era "Tuba Guy" to spread joy in the streets, building a recording studio in his Watertown home where musicians can stay for a few days and make a record in a supportive environment, running a music camp and mentoring budding musicians, and putting together unique showcases of local talent.

Listen to hear his journey, philosophy, and add a splash of mischief to your day. 

Keep up with Zachariah on Instagram or Facebook

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on. 

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Upcoming events! Click here to see upcoming live podcast events.