Best Festivals, Fairs of New England

Readers flocked to this list of the Best Fall Festivals and Fairs of New England.

"From the Big E in Springfield to the Chinese Dragon Boat Races in Rhode Island to the Highland Games in New Hampshire, GoLocal has you covered."

Highlighted in the list is Worcester's StArt on the Street Festival.

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50 Top Movies Filmed in Massachusetts

At the start of the year, GoLocal presented its list of the 50 Top Movies Filmed in Massachusetts. 'American Hustle' had just been released and people in Worcester hit the theaters to check out the familiar sites of the movie filmed in Worcester.

"There a lot of reasons why Massachusetts has attracted film production," said Massachusetts Film Office Director Lisa Strout. "Creatively, this is a goldmine for directors. Our cities and towns offer such a great backdrop, from beaches to downtowns."

Click below to check out the list of 50.

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Deanna Tomasetta Dancing Her Way to NYC

Worcester's own Deanna Tomasetta was featured in a story this fall by GoLocal Worcester.

Tomasetta, who was a finalist on 'So You Think You Can Dance?' in 2012 and 2013, said, "I plan on signing with a dance agency in New York to do more commercial work and musical theater and Broadway. I also was offered a full company position with Kaleidoscope Dance Theater and the Sean McLeod Dance Experience, which is a NYC based dance company, to begin a tour with them come the new year."

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Mass Film Industry Continues to Thrive

In a story released in January, GoLocal Worcester reported on the growing film industry in Massachusetts.

"The Commonwealth continues to attract big movie projects, drawing high profile actors and directors to the state. According to the MA Film Office website, there are currently six films in production, featuring actors Denzel Washington, Sienna Miller, Bill Murray, John Travolta, and Vince Vaughn; along with directors Antoine Fuqua and Ken Scott."

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Film Scene Gets Boost From Local Talent

This spring, GoLocal Worcester did a feature on the film 'A Case Against Sam,' starring Auburn's Kayla Harrity.

Producer Andrea Ajemian said, “Every movie that I work on, I try to get a good mix of both Hollywood actors and local talents. That is part of the reason why enjoy making movies so much; I love giving people an opportunity to shine and make an impact.”

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Girard Brothers Help Make Van Sant Film

Brian and Joe Girard of Worcester worked all summer long on Gus Van Sant's film 'Sea of Trees.' 

Brian Girard was a production assistant and Joe Girard served as Matthew McConaughey's personal assistant.

The Sea of Trees,' scheduled for release in 2015, is a film about a suicidal American man, Arthur Brennan, getting lost in a dense forest at the base of Mt. Fuji. In the forest, Brennan (played by McConaughey) encounters Takumi Nakamura (played by Watanabe), a Japanese man who is also lost, and together they search for a way out.

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Can Hanover Help Worcester's Downtown?

In early October, the Hanover Theater purchased a vacant office building at 551 Main Street, "a move that is expected to influence both the theatre district in Worcester as well as the downtown economy."

Troy Siebels, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hanover Theatre said, “We look forward to working with our charitable partners and others to bring even more vitality to Worcester’s downtown and theatre districts.

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Worcester's Emerging Film Industry

In September, GoLocal Worcester reported on the potential the city of Worcester has within the film industry.

"I think that films definitely help; they bring in people that will spend money with local businesses and rent out locations and other things of that nature. I think that films coming to Worcester has definitely helped the economy, but I don’t think that it is an essential part of what we need to do moving forward," said Tim Murray, President and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce

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'Sort of Late Show' Drawing Big Crowds

At the Lucky Dog Music Hall on Green Street in Worcester, Shaun Connolly hosts 'The Sort of Late Show.'

"It's always been a dream of mine. I've always loved watching (David) Letterman and growing up I would watch PBS infomercials of Jonny Carson. I was always interested in variety shows. And after all these years, this formula has really stuck. Today, people are talking about Jimmy Fallon all the time, and when Conan was fired from NBC, that's all people talked about then," said Connolly.

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Tara Reid to Debut at Rock and Shock

In October, Tara Reid was scheduled to appear at the 11th Annual Rock and Shock, a three day horror and music convention.

Reid, now famous for her 'Sharknado' films, was supposed to be available for autographs and pictures during the event.

However, due to filming, Reid was unable to attend and had to cancel her appearance.

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Worcester Music Awards Nominees

This April, Pulse Magazine released its nominations for the Worcester Music Awards.

The award presentation was held at Jillian's in Worcester.

Live performances by Niki Luparelli, Cara Brindisi, Ricky Duran and others highlighted the night.

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Back to the Future and Back Again

This summer, vocal artist Dale LePage contributed a story for GoLocal Worcester. The article was a collection of local people and the advice they would give to their 10-year-old selves. 

As LePage wrote, "In this article I have chosen some of the most inspiring people I know, to hear what advice they would give to their younger selves."

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Sasso Finds Success with First Novel

Worcester Public elementary school teacher Briana Sasso released her first novel this summer. Sasso self-published 'Elisabetta: A Novel: A Tale of Two Generations Sewn Together.'

According to Sasso, the story is about "Sadie, a sixteen year old girl, who has just gone through a life-changing tragedy and she finds herself forced into a relationship with her paternal grandmother. As time goes on, she starts to realize there is more to her grandmother then meets the eye. Her grandmother begins to recall events about her life, and the story is told from both Sadie's and her grandmother's point of view. Their bond strengthens during the novel as the stories are being retold."

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Small Comedy Show Sets Big Stage

This fall, two comedians who performed locally at the Center Bar and Grill, were seen as comedy acts on late night talk shows.

Matt Donaher, who performed regularly since the Monday show started in 2009, was on Conan Monday night. Alingon Mitra, a regular from 2011-2012 at the Center, was on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Halloween night.

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