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wbjournal.com | Book of Lists 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 75 T O U R I S M & H O S P I T A L I T Y F O C U S Top tourist attractions Ranked by annual attendance in 2019 Attraction 2019 attendance No. of employees Description Chief executive Year founded 1 Davis Farmland and Davis Mega Farm Festival 145 & 142 Redstone Hill Road, Sterling 01564 978-422-6666 • DavisFarmland.com; DavisMegaFarmFestival.com 2,500,000 500 Largest sanctuary of endangered farm animals in North America, Explore Imagine-Acres, Adventureland & MooTown, USA. New England's largest zero-depth water spraypark, U- Pick apples & pumpkins, Mega Farm Festival includes over 50 family fun events including Davis Mega Maze, award-winning Kansas City BBQ, craft beer, wine & live music Laurence Davis 1990 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/new-england 500,000 N/A Two waterparks, slides and hot tub, arcade, mini-golf, ropes course, climbing, restaurants, resort and conference center Henry Tessman general manager 2014 4 Nashoba Valley Winery 100 Wattaquadock Hill Road, Bolton 01740 978-779-5521 • nashobawinery.com 480,000 50 Winery, distillery, brewery, orchard vineyard and restaurant with locally grown and crafted beverages; wedding, outing and meeting venue Justin Rowe Pelletier COO 1995 5 Southwick's Zoo 2 Southwick St., Mendon 01756 800-258-9182 x 210 • www.southwickszoo.com 400,000 N/A 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 6 Old Sturbridge Village 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge 01566 800-733-1830 • www.osv.org 239,837 203 Living history museum focused on early New England life James E. Donahue president & CEO 1946 7 EcoTarium 222 Harrington Way, Worcester 01604 508-929-2700 • www.ecotarium.org 178,000 N/A 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 8 Tower Hill Botanic Garden 11 French Drive, Boylston 01505 508-869-6111 • www.towerhillbg.org 167,606 85 Four season nonprofit museum of plants on 171 acres owned and operated by the Worcester County Horticultural Society; events, gardens, cafe, trails, exhibits, weddings, and gift shop. Grace Elton CEO 1842 9 Johnny Appleseed Country Visitors' Center 1000 U.S. Route 2, Lancaster 01523 978-534-2302 • www.visitnorthcentral.com 165,000 4 Visitor center featuring exhibits on local history, gift shop, local products, information on local attractions and events Roy Nascimento president 1997 10 Worcester Art Museum 55 Salisbury St., Worcester 01609 508-793-4330 • worcesterart.org 107,270 199 Museum Matthias Waschek The C. Jean and Myles McDonough director of Worcester Art Museum 1896 11 Fruitlands Museums Inc. 102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard 01451 978-456-3924 • www.fruitlands.org 32,000 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 12 Animal Adventures Family Zoo and Rescue Center 336 Sugar Road, Bolton 01740 978-779-8988 • www.animaladventures.net 25,000 15 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 13 Worcester Historical Museum 30 Elm St., Worcester 01609 508-753-8278 • www.worcesterhistory.org 21,500 13 (a) 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 14 Garden in the Woods / Native Plant Trust 180 Hemenway Road, Framingham 01701 508-877-7630 • NativePlantTrust.org 20,000 28 Native plant botanic garden in 45-acre woodland setting, with stream, pond and wetlands; tours, education programs, events and shop Debbi Edelstein executive director NPT 1900; Garden 1931 15 Vaillancourt Folk Art 9 Main St., Suite 1-H, Sutton 01590 508-476-3601 • www.valfa.com 18,900 N/A 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 16 Museum of Russian Icons 203 Union St., Clinton 01510 978-598-5000 • museumofrussianicons.org 10,312 N/A With over 1,000 icons and related artifacts, museum has the largest private collection of Russian icons outside Russia. Kent Russell CEO & curator 2006 17 Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University 14 Vernon Street, Framingham 01701 508-215-5110 • danforth.framingham.edu 3,000 4 Art museum and school encouraging visitors to experience art through a permanent collection, exhibitions, educational programs, and studio art classes Jessica Roscio director and curator 1975 Source: Each attraction via survey, web research. N/A = Not applicable or not available. Originally published in the August 3, 2020 edition. (a) Full-time equivalent (FTE) - Compiled by: Timothy Doyle, tdoyle@nebusinessmedia.com