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The 4th Wall Stage Company invites you to start your new year off with the story a a greedy, vindictive Texas clan who hatch a plan to murder their estranged matriarch to cash in on her insurance policy. Enter title character Killer Joe - full time cop, part time contract killer. This shocking play by Pulitzer Prize winning author Tracy Letts originated at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater and went on to astound audiences at the Edinborough Festival and New York City. Catch Killer Joe by Tracy Letts on stage at the Worcester Hibernian Cultural Centre, 19 Temple Street, Worcester, Fridays and Saturdays, January 3rd - 11th. This co-production with Boston's Zero Point Theater/Bent Productions stars Sean Stanco from last season's The Late Henry Moss and Simpatico. Tickets are $20. Please note, performance contains strong language, content and situations - not recommended for children.

Do you speak Italian? Always wanted to learn a foreign language? The Gene J. DeFeudis Italian American Cultural Center, 28 Mulberry Street, Worcester, is offering three levels of Italian language classes beginning the week of January 7th. Choose from Beginners I (Thursdays), Beginners II (Wednesdays) or Intermediate (Tuesdays) 6:30- 8 p.m. for ten weeks. Tuition $120. Contact Joan for further details or to register.

The Worcester County Poetry Association will welcome author and poet Michael Fisher as the featured poet at its Street Beat Poetry Thursday on Thursday, January 9th at 7 p.m. at Vasa Hall, 1 Ekman Street, Worcester. Releasing his first collection of poetry, Libretto Exhausted, Fisher is a teacher of English and literature, with a voice that has a distinctive slant. Open mic precedes the featured poet. Enjoy complimentary coffee and homemade desserts.Admission is FREE and open to all. Hat passed to support featured poet/venue.

 

Renowned pediatric neurosurgeon, inspiring storyteller and New York Times best selling author Benjamin Carson, M.D. will be the featured guest at The Hanover Theatre's, 2 Southbridge Street, Worcester, Distinguished Speaker Series on Thursday, January 9th at 7:30 p.m. In his enlightening presentation, Dr. Carson gets at hard issues surrounding the medical field while sharing the warm and compassionate perspective that have made him a world-renowned surgeon. Tickets available online or by calling the Box Office at 877 571-SHOW. Save 10% off tickets with WOO Card.

Apple Tree Arts kicks off the new year with an entertaining production of Once Upon a Mattress, Friday, January 10th and Saturday, January 11th at 7 p.m. at Grafton Middle School, 22 Providence Road, Grafton. The show shares the tale of Princess Winnifred who hope to marry Prince Dauntless the Drab but first she must convince the Queen, his mother, that she's a true-blood princess. Don't miss this rollicking, musical satire based upon Hans Anderson classic fairy tale The Princess and the Pea Admission $8 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, free for children four and younger. Tickets will be sold at the door.

The Worcester Jewish Community Center will host rabbi Jeffrey Salkin, author of The Gods Are Broken: The Hidden Legacy of Abraham at Temple Emanuel Sinai, 661 Salisbury Street, Worcester on Sunday, January 12th at 9:45 a.m. Rabbi Salkin will discuss why the story of Abraham might be the most important Jewish story ever told and how its legacy has shaped Jewish identity. Lecture is FREE and open to the public. Following the lecture Rabbi Salkin will be available for a book signing.

Got a budding musician on your hands? Pakachoag Music School of Greater Worcester, 203 Pakachoag Street, Auburn, is hosting a parent information session about its popular Suzuki violin program for ages 4 and up on Monday, January 13th at 7:15 p.m. The Suzuki approach to learning and teaching is a specialized method based on the philosophy that "every child can". Advanced registration for the free information session is requested. WOO Card holders can swipe for WOO points when attending.

The holidays may have come and went, but that doesn't mean your opportunity to participate in a sing-a-long has passed as well! On Sunday, January 19th, in honor of MLK weekend, the Salisbury Singers will host a community sing-a-long of African-American traditional spirituals 3-5 p.m. at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran church, 73 Lancaster Street, Worcester. Not a concert, but a sing-a-long open to all! This is a chance for all those who love this traditional music to come and sing some favorites including Deep River, Swing Low Sweet Chariot, Were You There and other  well-known spirituals. Music will be provided. $10 donation taken at the door.

In anticipation of the Knights exhibition in March, the Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury Street, Worcester, presents Flora Euphoria: Courtly Pleasures which will transport you to the time of King Arthur while you feast on inspired interpretations, hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar at the Flora in Winter 2014 Opening Celebration on Thursday, January 23rd 5:30 - 8 p.m. Enjoy wandering minstrels and period costumed performers! Reserve by January 17th for discounted admission. WOO Card holders can swipe for WOO points. Flora in Winter will continue through Sunday, January 26th. During this premier floral design event, skilled arrangers from across the region create captivating and imaginative interpretations of artworks in virtually every gallery of the Museum. It is a succulent feast for the eyes and spirit in the middle of winter! WOO Card holders can swipe for WOO points.

While wintertime and harvest are two ideas we hardly put together, for 19th century New Englanders, it made perfect sense. In the world of 1830s economics, ice wasn't just frozen water, it was cold hard cash. Old Sturbridge Village, 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge, celebrates Fire & Ice Days, Saturday, January 25th - Sunday, January 26th, 9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. each day. Historians will demonstrate how ice was collected the old-fashioned way at Mill Pond, visitors can give ice-cutting a try with a vintage ice saw. Also enjoy presentations about the history of ice skating, how early New England families kept warm, as well as sledding and horse-drawn sleigh rides. Save $5 off adult daytime admission with a WOO Card.