The Weekender

You made it through a week of classes, work, and city life after Thanksgiving break’s brief reprieve from the daily grind. It’s time to reward yourself this weekend with a couple of performances, a hockey game, or a trip to a farmers market.

Chicago

Chicago is back in town for one week only. Playhouses from Moscow to Mexico City have hosted the longest-running American musical in Broadway history, which also boasts six Tony Awards and a Grammy. In 2002, director Rob Marshall brought it to the big screen for the film adaptation with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger. Now’s your chance to see the bawdy and brilliant ode to the Jazz Age live at Emerson College’s Colonial Theatre.

Tuesday, November 28, through Sunday, December 3, at the Emerson Colonial Theatre (106 Boylston St., Boston). Tickets start at $45 and can be purchased here.

The Nutcracker

In a city brimming with performing arts spectacles, the seasonal staple can sometimes get buried beneath blockbuster movies and touring Broadway shows. But it wouldn’t be the holiday season without the Boston Ballet’s yearly production of The Nutcracker, a wintertime tradition for nearly six decades. Enjoy choreography by longtime Boston Ballet artistic director Mikko Nissinen and get swept away by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s beloved score.

Friday, December 1, through Sunday, December 31, at Citizens Bank Opera House (539 Washington St., Boston). Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased here.

The Slutcracker

Perhaps you’ve seen The Nutcracker and you want something new. Or you haven’t seen it, but you think it’s a bit old hat. Enter The Slutcracker, a burlesque adaptation of The Nutcracker now in its “sweet sixteenth” season, according to the show’s forever home, the Somerville Theatre. The show includes belly dancers, titillating imagery, and all sorts of irreverence. See the spectacle Boston.com once called a “venture to the naughty list.”

Friday, December 1, through Sunday, December 31, at the Somerville Theatre (55 Davis Square, Somerville). Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased here. 

Somerville Winter Farmers Market

Take a break from the regular grocery hauls with a trip to the Somerville Winter Farmers Market. This year, over the course of 21 weeks, the market hosts 71 vendors selling everything from meat and fish to fresh juices. Don’t forget to check out locally grown fruits and vegetables and be sure to pick up a loyalty card for the fresh food mega fan in your life. Loyalty card holders will be entered into a raffle for prizes from vendors if they shop at the market on six different Saturdays this season.

Saturdays from November 4 through April 6 at 191 Highland Ave., Somerville.

Day One DNA: 50 Years in Hiphop Culture

Take a walk through hiphop history at the Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African & African American Art at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center. The exhibition explores the “cultural, political, and economic influences” that shaped the two legendary artists Ice-T and Afrika Islam. Check out over 200 artifacts, including archival photographs, jewelry, and musical instruments. The exhibition was curated by photographer, New York Times contributor, and Emmy nominee Laylah Amatullah Barrayn. Day One is Barrayn’s latest project; her work has also been featured in the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco and the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Va.

Day One DNA: 50 Years in Hiphop Culture is on view through May 31, 2024, at Harvard’s Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African & African American Art (102 Mount Auburn St., Cambridge). The gallery is free and open to the public.

BU Men’s Hockey vs Merrimack College

The Terriers take on Merrimack College at Agganis Arena on Saturday. BU has the edge with a 9-4-1 record this season against Merrimack’s 6-6-1. BU cooled off from their five-game win streak with a loss to Cornell last Saturday, so they’ll be looking to recoup this weekend. Saturday’s matchup will be the second of a two-game set against Merrimack, the first match being played on Friday in North Andover.

Saturday, December 2, at Agganis Arena (925 Commonwealth Ave.).
Tickets start at $23 and can be purchased here.

Imagine a one-stop animal care facility that provides veterinary, grooming, boarding, training and rescuing services for all animal species.

PennWest Clarion senior pre-veterinarian major Gage Gray won $3,000 with his idea for such a facility – called Animal Buddy Care – during the 6^th annual Student BizPitch Competition Nov. 15. The experience and prize money will be applied toward fulfilling a lifelong dream.

“Ever since I was able to talk, I have said I want to be a veterinarian,” Gray said. “This passion for animals and the drive to be a vet had encouraged me to one day open my own clinic. As I moved through middle school and high school, the motivation to become a veterinarian and one day open my own clinic had become much stronger.”

Due to the pandemic, Gray’s freshman year at Clarion was completed online. He remembers an assignment to present a slideshow of his future career goals.

“While going through the logistics of what I really wanted to do with my own clinic and what I wanted to offer, I came up with a very large project to treat any animal for any problem they may have,” Gray said. “Over the years, this plan developed into ‘Animal Buddy Care.’ ABC is more than just a veterinary clinic. It is a service to treat any animal for any problem, A through Z.”

Although Gray had the idea for ABC and the passion to make it a reality, he didn’t have the business knowledge to get it off the ground.

“After working closely with the (PennWest Clarion) Small Business Development Center – specifically Hailee Liptak and Cindy Nellis – I was able to make the idea look more like reality. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish what I did without the help of Hailee and Cindy,” Gray said. “I am beyond grateful for all the knowledge I gained from this competition and for the opportunities this provides me with for the future.”  

In its sixth year, BizPitch is open to part-time and full-time students at PennWest Clarion. Students develop and deliver an effective, professional business pitch presenting an innovative and marketable business concept that is both technically and economically feasible and profitable.

After Gray graduates from PennWest Clarion in 2024, he plans to take a gap year before moving on to four years of vet school.

“Most veterinarians who open their own practice start by working at another clinic, so I will start there with my career. Once I have built up enough experience, I plan to begin the making of ABC,” Gray said.

As for the prize money, he plans to use it for the business.

“Since my business will not begin for quite some time, I would like to put a portion of my winnings into my savings, and I would like to invest the other portion,” Gray said. “By splitting up the prize money, I am able to save it and ultimately have a larger amount to use when starting my business.” 

 Second place winner Samurah Curry is a senior communications major. For BizPitch, she developed B.E.Y.O.N.D the Art Foundation, a nonprofit that provides community art classes for ages 5 and older.

“The B.E.Y.O.N.D the Art Foundation will allow kids to have a creative outlet that is missing in society,” Curry said. “The arts are constantly being defunded in schools, and art colleges have steadily been shutting down over the years. Some kids love art, but one day they put down their paintbrush and never pick it up again because they don’t have a program to help them grow their art skills.”

Curry’s goal is to foster a love for the arts. The target demographic will be elementary and high school children, but she wants to include art classes for older students, including college, young adults and middle-aged people. The program will offer creative kids something they’re missing: A place they can call their own.

She was inspired to meet this need for the community while babysitting during her high school years.

“I started teaching kids how to draw and paint to pass the time. I noticed the kids had a real interest in it, but they didn’t have any resources to help them develop the necessary skills,” Curry said.

At this year’s Autumn Leaf Festival, one of the kids that Curry teaches set up a booth to sell artwork.

“I bought some of the pins and prints they had, and they thanked me for starting them on their art journey,” she said. “The (B.E.Y.O.N.D the Art) organization stems from that core moment. When the BizPitch competition came around, I knew it was time for me to take my idea to the next level.”

Her $2,000 prize will be added to a start-up fund for B.E.Y.O.N.D the Art Foundation.

After graduating from PennWest, Curry plans to attend Seton Hall University in New Jersey for her master’s degree in communication, with a focus in public relations. As she completes her graduate degree, she will do research and networking to enable her to launch B.E.Y.O.N.D the Art.

Third place winner is Giovanni Catalone, a senior environmental biology major, for his business idea, “The Pot of Gold,” a flower pot and an app that will monitor the health of a plant so it will be easier to take care of. He received a $1,000 prize.

“The idea for the Pot of Gold came over a span of three years,” Catalone said.

 He has been interested in entering the competition for a couple of years, but it took time to develop ideas and determine which ones had potential.

“I came up with several ideas, with the Pot of Gold being the best,” he said. “I went on to further flesh out and develop this idea.”

After graduation, Catalone will work as an aquatic biologist, and he plans to further develop the Pot of Gold, including making prototypes.

The $250 Fan Favorite prize, which is decided by the audience, was awarded to juniors Mackenzie Schwerzler, a marketing major, and PJ Wheaton, an accounting major, for Alt. Creations.

Schwerzler and Wheaton said they came up with the idea for Alt. Creations through their love of cooking. Alt. Creations is a service that makes home-cooked meals for college students.

“Students all across Clarion complain about the lack of (dining) options in the area, with most being fast food,” Schwerzler said.

They created the business specifically for the competition, but they knew the model would fill a hole in the area, Wheaton noted. They will split the prize and use it for various expenses.

After graduating, Schwerzler, who is an intern with the SBDC, plans to open her own event-planning business to work with nonprofit organizations and hospitals.

Wheaton, who is in the Air Force Reserves, plans to acquire his certified public accountant and certified financial planner credentials and work for an accounting firm.

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