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My sweet sweet friends, it’s time. 2018 will be the last year of Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival.
I’ve been trying to write this love letter to you for a little while now, but I keep getting caught up in the details – there are just SO many feelings wrapped up in those. So for today, Elliot Smith in the background, candles lit, and here’s the scoop.
Firstly, I want to thank everyone who’s been part of this beautiful little project over these five years. I am humbled and filled with gratitude for every submission, every set-up and break down, every volunteer, every judge and every round of judging, and every poet who’d never shot footage before who stepped up to the plate and said, Hey, I’m gonna make a movie out of my poem – let’s see what happens!
Because I tumbled into this project with that feeling – Let me put this in motion and see what happens!* I’ve told every intern I’ve had the pleasure to have worked with that we’ll try this thing, and if it works, great! If it doesn’t work, and no one got hurt, that’s ok too (we just won’t publish it). It’s been amazing – just the sheer number of outstanding films I’ve gotten to see and been privileged to reward has been incredibly nourishing. The contacts I’ve made and the people I’ve gotten to meet around poetryfilm have fed me bone deep. The young women I’ve gotten to work with in the summers** have opened my eyes and helped me see the city I live in from a place I hadn’t been before.***
What’s going on here are wrapped up in a number of factors† all coming together leading to the close of R<3, but mostly it’s time for a little financial mop-up. The last few years in the US have been pretty rough on us regular folks. My husband works for a nonprofit, too, which has made things a touch more fiscally tricky than they might otherwise be. Long story short, I’m looking for some steady employment to get things more solid & send our household books back into the black.††
I love this project, and I’m going to miss it. That said, I’m also really looking forward to a year or two to decide what my next project is going to look like, and excited about what’s next. More than anything, I’m really looking forward to sending Rabbit Heart off in grand style, with a fantastic last show and some popcorn. Come celebrate with us, help us send her up right October 20th at Nick’s. You can pick up your tickets at the Doublebunny Press store right here – hope to see you at the show <6
***
*Actually, that was kinda secondary, even if it became my ethos quickly. It really started with trying to get other people to do it. Turns out it was my Big Work after all ~.o
**Thank you, Clark! Thank you Worcester State!
***And stop-motion trailers, FTW! I would never have started on these little projects without my beloved interns <6
†Not insignificant in this mess are my mixed feelings about social media promotion. I love seeing my friends when I turn on my computer – but also, I get really worried about tiring them out with my insistence that they LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT MY THING, right?
††Say what you will about the economy these days, but I’m looking right at you, Fear of Scarcity. And I believe in my heart of hearts that it was manufactured in rumor at the beginning of this administration, and then, like it does, it became real and immediately impactful. No doubt: things have gotten more expensive and difficult, and I find myself having to ask more often before I get a Yes. I hate that this has become the new normal.
Hello and welcome back to the 2018 Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival’s 100 Delightful Things in Worcester Project! This year, our wonderful interns Fay, Julie, and Lori are #TeamEatYerVeggies – exploring Worcester to bring back the best of the best for you to enjoy.
On this week’s 100 Delightfuls, the crew hit up Wetherell Estate Field on Newton Ave in Worcester, Massachusetts. Locally known as Duffy Field, this 12.88 acre plot of land has a newly installed playground and little league field. The new playground is super safe and super fun for the small ones. With plenty of shade, parents can sit on the benches and enjoy watching their kids run, climb, slide, and swing!
One of the highlights of Duffy Field is its location. After taking the kids out to the playground or after baseball/softball practice, (or if you’d like to take some food/drink with you to the field), there are plenty of places to eat or drink right around the corner from the field. There’s Corner Grille that sells delicious pizzas and salads, Espress Yourself Coffee for a pick-me-up drink, and Pleasant Market if you’re looking for a quick snack and a cool and refreshing Arizona Iced Tea.
Duffy Field is perfect for kids to have fun, and parents to relax in the calm and quiet area of Newton Ave.
Hello and welcome back to the 2018 Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival’s 100 Delightful Things in Worcester Project! This year, our wonderful interns Fay, Julie, and Lori are #TeamEatYerVeggies – exploring Worcester to bring back the best of the best for you to enjoy.
Mondays are for the poets. At least they are down at Ralphs Rock Diner (148 Grove St). Last week, Julie and Lori headed over to the Dirty Gerund to hear some slam and talk to some poetry enthusiasts at Ralph’s 21+ event. Before the show began, the team sat down with Nik and Gabbie, two Gerund frequenters, as well as some other Worcester locals, who were more than excited to pop their faces in and say hi to our cameras. Usually, the Gerund will feature a poet, but while we were visiting, comedian Wes Hazzard headlined the night. The event offered us a creative atmosphere of slam complete with lovesick ballads, social commentary, and everything existential, all while we enjoyed the laid back comfort of this Worcester staple dive bar.
It’s that time of year again, sister – tickets for Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival 2018 are now available for purchase at the Doublebunny Pess Store \o/
This year’s #RHPFF judges are currently hip-deep in fantastic work, picking out the best of the best to move on to the shortlists, and it’s shaping up to be a fantastic festival –
This year we received over 200 entries from 26 countries across 6 continents, in a multitude of languages. I am super excited about what will be showing this year at both the Awards Ceremony and at the return of the Showcase Matinee – I’m also super excited to announce that Tony Brown and Melissa Mitchell will be returning as our emcees this year (& quite possibly with a very special friend)!
Nick’s Bar on Millbury Street in Worcester will once more be hosting this year’s festival (luxe!), and we at Doublebunny couldn’t be more pleased. The shows will be on Saturday, October 20th, with the matinee at 2:30 (doors at 2:oo), and the awards ceremony at 8pm (doors at 7:30), so please save the date. As this is our last year of festival, seating is limited – we expect a packed house again, so you’ll want to check in at the Doublebunny Store soon to reserve your seats (or, if you want to help but cannot attend, to donate seats).
You can purchase tickets now for Rabbit Heart 2018 at the Doublebunny Store.
Hello and welcome back to the 2018 Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival’s 100 Delightful Things in Worcester Project! This year, our wonderful interns Fay, Julie, and Lori are #TeamEatYerVeggies – exploring Worcester to bring back the best of the best for you to enjoy.
This week Lori, Fay, and I headed down to The Living Earth (232 Chandler Street). This organic food and wellness store is a family owned business that has deeply rooted itself as a vital centerpiece for Worcester since its early beginnings almost fifty years ago! The store opened in 1971 and has adapted and evolved over the years while remaining entirely committed to providing environmentally conscious, fair trade, all natural, organic, and high quality products to customers.
Like many cornerstones in this city, the establishment has seen itself change overtime, but if there’s one thing that is still the same as ever, it’s the business’ dedication to their local community and beyond. People come from all over in search for healthy food and supplements they can trust, and quickly find that The Living Earth has so much to offer. The store includes a local and organic produce section, all natural meat and dairy, bulks, breads, and so much more. Additionally, the store includes a wellness and beauty department, as well as a newly installed area of the market called The Island. The Island can be compared to a cafe in that it serves coffee, kombucha (on tap!), and various other grab-n-go items, but it also caters to those looking to sit down and eat some breakfast or lunch.
What makes The Living Earth so special, in my opinion, are the people that come in and the employees you will find there. Everyone who works at the Living Earth is so kind, down to earth, and eager to help. As an employee myself, I can say one of my favorite things about working at the Living Earth is meeting the devoted customers who have been with the Living Earth from the start, as well as the new faces that come in wide eyed and excited to try all the things we have to offer. As an employee behind the counter at The Island, I get to do so much more than pour coffee. Often I get to talk to people and learn new things about the people I share this beautiful city with. They give me all sorts of lessons and stories that teach me a lot about where I’m from, and I can share some useful tips and ideas I’ve come to know too, and to me, I think that is the most rewarding part. I feel lucky not only to work there, but to have this place right here in the heart of this city.
xox,
Julie
Hello and welcome back to the 2018 Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival’s 100 Delightful Things in Worcester Project! This year, our wonderful interns Fay, Julie, and Lori are #TeamEatYerVeggies – exploring Worcester to bring back the best of the best for you to enjoy.
After meeting up for coffee at the Living Earth, Lori and I decided to take a trip to a local art supply store up the street and around the corner called CC Lowell. As we later found out, not only is this store the coolest art supply store ever, but it is also the oldest in the country! We had no idea that the store does so much more than just sell paint brushes and canvases. Browsing through the shop we found fantastic gift ideas lined up against beautiful big windows, piled high with mugs, pins, notebooks, pens, posters, and more. The inventory manager named Amanda greeted us at the front desk which practically doubled as an information desk because this woman knows her stuff! Not only is she super passionate about her job and the store’s purpose, but she knows a whole lot about the products that can be found in each aisle. and was super helpful in answering customers’ questions. She talked a great deal about the vital role CC Lowell plays in our city’s artistic community and beyond, and how the business does especially important work with education. The store even has a downstairs classroom designated for art classes and special events.
Amanda also gave us a quick tour of CC Lowell’s mini museum shelf, which showcases rare historical artifacts of some of CC Lowell’s oldest products that have been rediscovered throughout the years and donated to the store. Amanda let Lori and I test out some pens and paint and taught us the essential differences between oil and acrylic paints. Lori and I had a hard time leaving by the end of our visit – we could have stayed there all day! CC Lowell isn’t just simply a place to go and buy stuff, it’s an experience that is as equally playful as it is enlightening. If you’re thinking of channeling your inner artist, don’t hesitate in heading down to CC Lowell where Amanda and other wonderful employees will be waiting eager to help you get started or continue on your creative journey!
Hello and welcome back to the 2018 Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival’s 100 Delightful Things in Worcester Project! This year, our wonderful interns Fay, Julie, and Lori are #TeamEatYerVeggies – exploring Worcester to bring back the best of the best for you to enjoy.
This week the gang headed downtown to check out the Worcester Public Library. We got the chance to take a brief tour of the floors and sections as well as speak with the Library’s very own outreach librarian, Jillian Parsons, who was kind enough to answer all of our questions!
In addition to providing the public with free access to literature and other medias, the library runs a variety of free programs that benefit the community. With classes on computer basics, photography, and Zumba, the library has something for everyone. They even run classes that assist members of the community working towards citizenship.
Doors are always open for anyone looking for a quiet spot to study or catch up summer reading goals. You can check out www.mywpl.org for tons of information and schedules for programs and classes.
We’d like to thank our friends at WPL for a lovely time. Be sure to head on downtown to sign up for a library card or pay off any existing late fees (like we did)!
Hello and welcome back to the 2018 Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival’s 100 Delightful Things in Worcester Project! This year, our wonderful interns Fay, Julie, and Lori are #TeamEatYerVeggies – exploring Worcester to bring back the best of the best for you to enjoy.
Maria’s Homegoods is a thrift shop located on 406 Chandler Street, Worcester Massachusetts, that features an impressive selection of antiques, furniture, collectables, and more. After strolling through nearby neighborhoods on the West Side or grabbing a bite to eat at the Loving Hut conveniently located across the street, Maria’s Homegoods makes for a unique and affordable thrifting experience. I would say that this place is especially a goldmine for local artists here in the city—photographers, film or stage set designers and the like; those who regularly seek props or furniture to enhance their creative visions. It’s also a neat place for anyone looking to liven up their home with decorative tea sets or pretty framed paintings. There’s an idea and a story on every shelf. One corner of the store is loaded with beautifully woven picnic baskets that would be perfect for an old school romantic picnic date in the park. Another area features all kinds of assorted collectables from NASCAR to Star Wars. In all, Maria’s Homegoods has something for everybody, whether you’re into action figures or vintage jewelry, antique vials or funny coffee mugs, or if you’re simply in the mood to browse through the aisles and wonder what the history is behind every piece you find, Marias Homegoods is a quaint little establishment bursting with imagination and fine taste that meets all the criteria of a cool thrift store.
Hello and welcome back to the 2018 Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival’s 100 Delightful Things in Worcester Project! This year, our wonderful interns Fay, Julie, and Lori are #TeamEatYerVeggies – exploring Worcester to bring back the best of the best for you to enjoy.
Along with being home to a plethora of artists and craftspeople alike, Worcester itself is a blossoming canvas. This week the team went on a mural hunt throughout the city and found some truly special pieces that we are more than excited to share with you all. Our quest began in the lobby of the Worcester Art Museum where we found two murals masked as one* and concluded on Park Ave with a comic book inspired piece appropriately placed on the brick exterior of That’s Entertainment.
Over the course of our journey we attempted to look up the artists of the murals we were visiting to get a feel for their work and discovered that many of them were based outside of Massachusetts. A few times we set off for one location expecting to find a specific mural and were surprised with multiple murals upon our arrival. Although we saw a lot of gems, there are dozens more we just didn’t have time for.
Many of the murals we visited were part of POW! WOW! Worcester, an annual creative movement organized by different Worcester locals attempting to give back to, showcase and inspire the community they love with public art. Head over to powwowworcester.com for more information on this year’s up and coming goals and events.
xox,
Lori
*Unfortunately that one didn’t make it into our video, but you can check it out at WAM during museum hours <6
~srm
Hello and welcome back to the 2018 Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival’s 100 Delightful Things in Worcester Project! This year, our wonderful interns Fay, Julie, and Lori are #TeamEatYerVeggies – exploring Worcester to bring back the best of the best for you to enjoy.
For Rabbit Heart’s 35th out of the 100 Delightfuls, the crew went up to the iconic Bancroft Tower in Salisbury Park on Bancroft Tower Road in Worcester, MA. The “crew” consisted of the Rabbit Heart interns of summer 2018, Julie Wyman, Lori Shanley, and Fay Bcharah, and also expert reader of plaques, Aisha Naseem.
As you drive through the windy and hilly road up to Bancroft Tower, you sense almost an eerie vibe, but the 56-foot high natural stone and granite tower surrounded by grass and trees uplifts the mood, and makes you want to jump out your car and check the monument out.
The castle-like building was constructed in 1900 in memory of George Bancroft, who was a native Worcester politician and historian. It was built by his friend and admirer Stephen Salisbury III.
This monument has become a sightseeing area for the people of Worcester. It has a great view of the city landscape, including the clock tower of city hall. This view is particularly beautiful in the fall and winter, when the trees have lost their leaves, leaving a clearer view of the landscape. With its greenery and unique tower, this monument is also a space high-schoolers use to take pictures for their proms.
Though you cannot go inside the tower, there have been openings in the past by a team of organized Worcester volunteers called Park Spirit. The last tour was back in October 2016; they opened it to the public for five days, and it has not opened since.
If you are ever looking for something to do that includes scenic views, historical sights, and no money at all, head to Bancroft Tower! For mroe information, about Bancroft Tower, check out this rad writeup from Roadside America.
Apple Tells All 