Enjoy our guided tour of Worcester Historical Museum's landmark exhibit "Pretty Powerful." Listen as co-chairs Marlene Persky and Moyra Moynihan Manoog take us counter-clockwise through the gallery, along with curator Charlotte A. Haller and Director Anne Sadick. Hear the stories behind special pieces contributed by former First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as local legends like Senate President Emerita Harriette Chandler and Southeast Asian Coalition Executive Director Anh Vu Sawyer. The exhibit is open to visitors from Tuesday to Saturday, 10 AM to 4 PM through March 31, 2022.

Patty Ann was a 17-year-old student at South High in 1984. Her two best friends are also named Patty. Patty Dansereau and Patti Weagle L'Ecuyer. Collectively, they were known as "the 3 Patties." On a cold, rainy Wednesday night in October, Patty Ann called her mom to say she'd be late coming home from her boyfriend's house where she was playing Trivial Pursuit. The next morning, family and police discovered her belongings in an alley near the train tracks and her body in a window well at a factory on Grand Street. Before her passing, Patty's mother told the Telegram and Gazette, "I still have to believe that somebody saw something that night, or the murderer has told somebody something, and that person or persons aren't talking. Maybe someday someone will come forward, and that will be the break in this case that we've been waiting for..." Thank you to Heather Bish for shining a light on this Worcester cold case.

Worcester Fire Department gear comes under scrutiny. We referred to Diane Cotter as 'Worcester's Erin Brockovich' after reading the September 2021 feature in Men's Health centered around her activism. (Then, we found out how true that moniker has become...) Cotter walks us through her husband Paul's battle with cancer and her own fight for justice. She is a force, born and bred in Worcester. We are eager to see what comes next.

Heather Bish is an educator, an advocate, and a warrior. When her sixteen-year-old sister Molly was abducted and murdered in the year 2000, her life changed forever. Heather has sought justice for over two decades, not just for her sister—for all missing persons. As a member of the Massachusetts Missing Persons Task Force, she is taking the criminal justice system to task. Thank you to everyone who supported our first live show! Photos by Unity Mike Hendrickson. We are #WACfunded. Next, let's talk about Patty Gonyea.

Pop It shirts are now available at Crompton Collective from our pals at Hundred Acre Apparel.

Our live show at the BrickBox is fast approaching on 9/30! Get your tickets here. In preparation for the big event, we met up with Managing Director Olivia Scanlon. This project is funded by the Worcester Arts Council.

On September 30th, we will sit down with Heather Bish to reflect on the abduction of her sister, Molly Bish, which took place more than two decades ago at a Central Massachusetts pond. We are taking this opportunity very seriously and doing our homework to better understand the significant details of the case. If you feel comfortable attending, we hope you will join us for our live show at the BrickBox Theater at 7 PM on 9/30. Tickets are $6; proceeds will go to the Molly Bish Foundation. Thanks to the support of Worcester Arts Council, this event is #wacfunded.

White Lotus, Larry David v. Alan Dershowitz, Bennifer, & more.

We're back! I missed you, Molly. xoxo -S

Live show at the JMAC Brick Box on September 30th: A Conversation with Heather Bish

$6 Tickets to benefit the Molly Bish Foundation

Worcester Arts Council supports our efforts to elevate the voices of womxn & girls in the community through podcasting. Our most recent podcast pop-up took place in Great Brook Valley at the first POW! WOW! Worcester event of the summer. Artist Stephanie Benenson of Harbor Voices was on site to oversee an art installation titled "Not Alone" that combined recordings (5:30-15:20) and lasers to deliver a powerful message about mental health.

Thank you for taking the WAC 2021 Funding Priorities survey. Its purpose is to identify areas of community interest for the Council's upcoming grant cycle. Projects funded under these priorities will be completed in 2022. This survey should take about 3-4 minutes to complete. To enter for a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort Earbuds ($279 value), you must provide your name and email address at the end of the survey before you submit your answers.

SchoolHouse aims to improve both the quality and safety of K-8 education by working hand in hand with parents to create local "pods" that provide a tailored learning experience. Nevertheless, a powerful New York Times op-ed recently referred to pods as "the latest in school segregation." Clara Totenberg Green went on to say, "At face value, learning pods seem a necessary solution to the current crisis. But in practice, they will exacerbate inequities, racial segregation, and the opportunity gap within schools." Shara explains why microschools are the right model for her right now.

Mairéad Dickinson Connolly has always admired Ali Wong, but motherhood has given her a fresh appreciation for the critically acclaimed comedian. We discuss Mairéad's own standup career and her new role as a show producer.