Worcester Business Journal

100 Worcester Business Journal | Book of Lists 2019 | wbjournal.com F O C U S T O U R I S M & H O S P I T A L I T Y Top tourist attractions Ranked by annual attendance in 2018 Attraction 2018 attendance No. of employees Description Chief executive Year founded 1 DCU Center 50 Foster St., Worcester 01608 508-755-6800 • dcucenter.com 553,320 152 Arena and convention center Sandra Dunn general manager 1982 2 Wachusett Mountain Ski Area 499 Mountain Road, Princeton 01541 978-464-2300 • www.wachusett.com 505,000 1,200 Ski resort open year-round for festivals, private events, weddings, summer outings and business meetings Jeff Crowley president 1934 3 Great Wolf Lodge New England 150 Great Wolf Drive, Fitchburg 01420 978-343-9653 • www.greatwolf.com 500,000 750 Two waterparks, slides and hot tub, fitness center, arcade, mini-golf, ropes course, climbing, 3 bars, resort and conference center Henry Tessman general manager 2014 3 Southwick's Zoo 2 Southwick St., Mendon 01756 800-258-9182 x 210 • www.southwickszoo.com 500,000 180 More than 850 wild animals; educational presentations, rides, picnic grounds, food and gift venues; events for large and small groups Peter Justin Brewer president 1963; incorporated in 1965 5 Nashoba Valley Winery 100 Wattaquadock Hill Road, Bolton 01740 978-779-5521 • nashobawinery.com 270,500 60 Winery, distillery, brewery, orchard vineyard and restaurant with locally grown and crafted beverages; wedding, outing and meeting venue Richard Pelletier president & CEO 1995 6 Old Sturbridge Village 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge 01566 800-733-1830 • www.osv.org 251,680 200 200-acre living history museum depicting a 19th- century New England rural farm village where visitors can talk with authentically costumed historians and see heritage breed farm animals James E. Donahue president & CEO 1946 7 The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts 2 Southbridge St., Worcester 01608 877-571-7469 • thehanovertheatre.org 214,000 54 Award-winning Broadway shows, music and more; historic theatre is a catalyst for the development of downtown Worcester (a) Troy Siebels president & CEO 2008 8 Mechanics Hall 321 Main St., Worcester 01608 508-752-5608 • www.mechanicshall.org 200,000 12 Performance and special events venue serving Central Massachusetts for over 160 years Kathleen Gagne (b) executive director 1857 9 EcoTarium 222 Harrington Way, Worcester 01604 508-929-2700 • www.ecotarium.org 170,863 42 Indoor-outdoor museum of science and nature, three floors of interactive exhibits, digital planetarium, science discovery programs, live animal habitats, trails, outdoor play and more Lucy Hale president 1825 10 Tower Hill Botanic Garden 11 French Drive, Boylston 01505 508-869-6111 • www.towerhillbg.org 151,317 N/A Year-round museum of plants on 171 acres owned and operated by the Worcester County Horticultural Society; events, cafe and gift shop Grace Elton CEO 1842 11 Wachusett Brewing Co. 175 State Road East, Westminster 01473 978-874-9965 • www.wachusettbrew.com 125,000 104 Craft brewery with tap room, restaurant, tours, outdoor seating and retail store Ned C. LaFortune founder & CEO 1994 12 Worcester Art Museum 55 Salisbury St., Worcester 01609 508-793-4330 • worcesterart.org 109,832 210 Houses art from more than 50 centuries, including paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, photography, prints, drawings, new media, arms and armor Matthias Waschek The C. Jean and Myles McDonough director of Worcester Art Museum 1896 13 Worcester Palladium 261 Main St., Worcester 01608 508-797-9696 • www.thepalladium.net 100,000 60 Historic performance venue, home to the New England Metal & Hardcore and Rock & Shock Festivals, general admission seating Christopher Besaw general manager 1928; 1996 14 Fruitlands Museums Inc. 102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard 01451 978-456-3924 • www.fruitlands.org 36,000 (c) 25 Four museum buildings of American history and art on 210 acres, 2.5 miles of walking trails, a cafe and museum store Catherine Shortliffe engagement manager 1914 15 Worcester Historical Museum 30 Elm St., Worcester 01609 508-753-8278 • www.worcesterhistory.org 25,000 16 Museum and library dedicated to collecting and preserving shared experience of the Worcester community through exhibitions and public programs; owns and operates Salisbury Mansion William D. Wallace executive director 1875 16 Vaillancourt Folk Art 9 Main St., Suite 1-H, Sutton 01590 508-476-3601 • www.valfa.com 22,309 21 One of the last "Made in America" Christmas studios includes artist studio, retail gallery and museum for hand-painted Vaillancourt chalkware Gary Vaillancourt Judi Vaillancourt co-founders 1984 17 Animal Adventures Family Zoo and Rescue Center 336 Sugar Road, Bolton 01740 978-779-8988 • www.animaladventures.net 20,000 25 Exotic animal rescue center, open to the public for general admission and private tours; traveling presentations to schools, libraries, universities, corporations, fairs, festivals and private businesses and homes Ed and Brenda Laquidara owners & founders 1997 17 Native Plant Trust (d) 20,000 28 Native plant botanic garden in 45-acre woodland Debbi Edelstein NPT 1900; The POW! WOW! Worcester festival is coming back for its fourth year in August, looking to add to the 115 graffiti murals spray-painted on city walls since 2016 and develop its first inter- active mural. Artists and installation sites will be announced in early July, but the initial activities kicked off June 17 with workshops and events leading up to the main festival Aug. 16-23. For the first time this year, POW! WOW! will feature an interactive mural, to be put on the newly resurfaced Allen Court Alley in Downtown Worcester. Spanish muralist Spidertag -- a self-proclaimed Street Art Superhero -- will create a per- manent interactive neon mural using flexible cables and other industrial resources. The battery operated mural will take nearly a week to complete. Spidertag's mural will mark the beginning of the festivities. He will lead a youth workshop from 4-6 p.m. June 17 at the Worcester PopUp on 20 Franklin St. Students from the nonprofits Main Idea, Art Reach and Preservation Worcester will learn how to create small light-based sculptures simulating Spidertags own work. POW! WOW! Worcester has partnered with the Worcester Cultural Coalition, the Worcester Business Development Corp., The Grid and the Federal Square Condo Association to bring in Spidertag. - Devina Bhalla POW! WOW! Worcester back for fourth year Smiley, by OG Slick, in downtown Worcester

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