Autumn in the North Cemetery.

Sixty miles west of Boston, Massachusetts there is the small New England town of Sturbridge. Located at the junction of I-90 (The Mass Pike), and I-84 it has become known as the "Crossroads of New England". The town was first settled over 300 years ago, and like other small New England towns it has grown just enough over the years to be in a difficult place today. How do we embrace the future without forgetting how we got to our present? How do we attract the right kind of growth, and maintain who we are? And, what about our culture out here in Central Massachusetts?



These pages will cause one to think about how to protect what we have, our future direction, and how to move on in the very best way.


Those thoughts, and other ramblings, will hopefully inspire more thought, conversation, action, and occasionally a smile...

...seems to be working so far

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Now, To Come Up With A Name for The Place...

Last Wednesday was a great day. Mary and I headed to Boston early to attend the Fleetwood Mac Concert at the Garden. We spent some time at the Museum of Fine Arts, then grabbed a great meal at Antonio's on Cambridge Street. After dinner we walked over to the Garden, and people watched at North Station until the doors were opened at 7:00.

The concert was freakin' amazing. Every age was there, from old fans like myself, to 16 year olds with their parents. Fleetwood Mac performed flawlessly.

This morning I got to thinking. I was thinking that music does so much to bring people together, all ages, all types of people. People will seek out good music. On the Channel 5 program "Chronicle" recently they were discovering the Main Streets and Back Roads of the South western Maine. One of the segments was about a couple that formerly toured as musicians, and decided to settle down and open a small venue on their farm. They took the large barn they were using for other purposes, and converted it into a fine restaurant and venue to listen to great music. Everything from classical musicians from Boston, to big names have been attracted to this small stage in the woods of Maine. The intimacy the musicians feel with their audience is something they normally do not get.

The place is a great success.

What if Sturbridge had a place like this? Nothing on the size and scale of "Great Woods / Tweeter Center / Whatever it is Called Now", but a small venue, a few hundred seats, that offered music in an intimate setting, and maybe dinner as well?

We have the location. We have the roads to get here. We have the hotel rooms. A music venue would do wonders here.

One more reason to come to Sturbridge.

So, talk it up to your musician friends. Find some land, build a big 'ol post and beam barn large enough for 300 people, toss in a kitchen, some parking, and start hiring some musicians. Chamber Music one week, folk the next, some acoustic solo sounds from a big name, maybe a night of smooth jazz.

I know, I know...I seem to want it all, don't I?

And, why not?
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