#CreateTheVote Forum in Worcester
September 23, 2014 by Jess
On July 15, two cars headed from The Umbrella down to Worcester for Mass Creative's Create the Vote forum. Several resident artists, Representative Cory Atkins, and Executive Director Jerry Wedge joined members of the Concord community to listen to Massachussett's gubernatorial candidates discuss their positions on arts advocacy.
Over 500 people joined The Umbrella's delegation in Worcester's newly renovanted Hanover Theater, all eager to display their support for the arts and to see what the candidates had to say. Don Berwick, Martha Coakley, Evan Falchuk, Mark Fisher, Steve Grossman, and Jeff McCormick each took turns answering questions from the audience that ranged from "How has the arts personally transformed you?" to "How do we break the paradigm of arts spurring resurrections of neighborhoods, then getting pushed out when the rent gets too high?"
In addition to the Q&A with the candidates, there were several stunning performances from local arts organizations including ZUMIX, In Da Zone of the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester, and Raices Latin Dance. After all, if you're going to advocate for the arts, you ought to have a chance to enjoy them!