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104 Worcester Business Journal | Book of Lists 2018 | 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 2017 Name 2017 attendance No. of employees Description Chief executive Year founded 1 Great Wolf Lodge New England 150 Great Wolf Drive, Fitchburg 01420 978-343-9653 • www.greatwolf.com 500,000 650 Two waterparks, slides and hot tub, fitness center, arcade, mini-golf, ropes course, climbing, resort and conference center Henry Tessman general manager 2014 1 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 1 Wachusett Mountain Ski Area 499 Mountain Road, Princeton 01541 978-464-2300 • www.wachusett.com 500,000 1,000 Ski resort open year-round for festivals, private events, weddings, summer outings and business meetings Jeff Crowley president 1934 4 DCU Center 50 Foster St., Worcester 01608 508-755-6800 • dcucenter.com 468,570 140 Arena and convention center Sandra Dunn general manager 1982 5 Old Sturbridge Village 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge 01566 800-733-1830 • www.osv.org 253,087 200 200-acre living history museum depicting a 19th- century New England rural farm village James E. Donahue president & CEO 1946 6 Mechanics Hall 321 Main St., Worcester 01608 508-752-5608 • www.mechanicshall.org 250,000 14 Performance and special events venue celebrating 160 years serving Central Massachusetts Robert M. Kennedy executive director 1857 7 The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts 2 Southbridge St., Worcester 01608 877-571-7469 • thehanovertheatre.org 214,000 50 Ten seasons of award-winning Broadway shows, music and more; historic theatre is a catalyst for the economic development of downtown Worcester (a) Troy Siebels president & CEO 2008 (b) 8 EcoTarium 222 Harrington Way, Worcester 01604 508-929-2700 • www.ecotarium.org 176,559 77 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 Patricia Crawford deputy director 1825 9 Johnny Appleseed Country Visitors' Center 1000 U.S. Route 2, Lancaster 01523 978-534-2302 • appleseed.org 165,000 4 Open daily and year-round with gift shop, local products, information on local attractions and events, rest rooms, vending machines and ATM machine Roy Nascimento president N/A 10 Worcester Railers HC DCU Center, Door 22 105 Commercial St., Worcester 01608 508-365-1750 • railershc.com 150,000 (c) 20 ECHL affiliate of the New York Islanders hockey team Michael G. Myers president 2016 11 New England Baseball Complex 333 Southwest Cutoff, Northborough 01532 508-409-4101 • newenglandbaseball.com 125,000 N/A Fully equipped baseball and softball facility and home to the New England Ruffnecks with three fields, concessions and batting cages; hosts college baseball, tournaments, traveling teams, indoor and outdoor clinics and flag football Peter Batchelder development manager 2014 12 Tower Hill Botanic Garden 11 French Drive, Boylston 01505 508-869-6111 • www.towerhillbg.org 119,754 N/A Year-round museum of plants on 171 acres owned and operated by the Worcester County Horticultural Society; special events, cafe and gift shop Grace Elton CEO 1842 13 Worcester Art Museum 55 Salisbury St., Worcester 01609 508-793-4330 • worcesterart.org 108,331 193 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 14 Animal Adventures Family Zoo and Rescue Center 336 Sugar Road, Bolton 01740 978-779-8988 • www.animaladventures.net 100,000 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 15 Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field 1 College St., Worcester 01610 508-793-2753 • hanoverinsurancepark.com; worcesterbravehearts.com 72,928 N/A Home of Worcester Bravehearts and the College of the Holy Cross Crusaders (baseball) Nathan Pine athletics director 2005 16 Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex 1 College St., Worcester 01610 508-793-2323 • www.holycross.edu 56,028 N/A Home of College of the Holy Cross Crusaders (basketball and hockey) Nathan Pine athletics director 1975 13 Worcester Art Museum 55 Salisbury St., Worcester 01609 508-793-4330 • worcesterart.org 108,331 193 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 14 Animal Adventures Family Zoo and Rescue Center 336 Sugar Road, Bolton 01740 978-779-8988 • www.animaladventures.net 100,000 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 15 Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field 1 College St., Worcester 01610 508-793-2753 • hanoverinsurancepark.com; worcesterbravehearts.com 72,928 N/A Home of Worcester Bravehearts and the College of the Holy Cross Crusaders (baseball) Nathan Pine athletics director 2005 16 Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex 1 College St., Worcester 01610 508-793-2323 • www.holycross.edu 56,028 N/A Home of College of the Holy Cross Crusaders (basketball and hockey) Nathan Pine athletics director 1975 17 Indian Ranch (d) 200 Gore Road, Webster 01570 508-943-3871 • indianranch.com 45,000 125 Summer concert series along Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagung- amaugg in one of the country's oldest outdoor amphitheaters; Indian Princess paddle wheel riverboat tours; RV resort campground with 200 sites, ample event space Suzette Raun president 1946 18 Fitton Field 1 College St., Worcester 01610 508-793-2753 • www.holycross.edu 36,001 N/A Home of the College of the Holy Cross Crusaders (football) Nathan Pine athletics director 1876 19 Bolton Fair (Fairgrounds at Lancaster) 318 Seven Bridge Road, Lancaster 01523 978-365-7206 • www.boltonfair.org 30,000 N/A (e) Agricultural fair on 53 acres in Lancaster; 136th annual events to take place Aug. 10-12 Rose Darden president & fair manager 1874 20 Fruitlands Museums Inc. 102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard 01451 978-456-3924 • www.fruitlands.org 24,000 15 Four museum buildings of American history and art on 210 acres, 2.5 miles of walking trails, a cafe and museum store Guy Hermann general manager 1914 21 Escape Games Worcester 108 Grove St., Worcester 01605 855-372-4263 • escapegamesworcester.com 20,500 7 The first real-life escape-the-room game in Central Massachusetts Jason Eastty CEO 2016 22 Garden in the Woods (New England Wild Flower Society) 180 Hemenway Road, Framingham 01701 508-877-7630 • www.newenglandwild.org 20,000 25 Native plant botanic garden in 45-acre woodland setting, with stream, pond and wetlands; tours, education programs, events and shop Debbi Edelstein executive director Society 1900; Garden 1931 23 Vaillancourt Folk Art 9 Main St., Suite 1-H, Sutton 01590 508-476-3601 • www.valfa.com 18,400 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 24 Wachusett Brewing Co. 175 State Road East, Westminster 01473 978-874-9965 • www.wachusettbrew.com 18,000 75 Craft brewery offering guided tours, tastings and a full retail store Ned C. LaFortune founder & CEO 1993 25 Museum of Russian Icons 203 Union St., Clinton 01510 978-598-5000 • museumofrussianicons.org 11,609 7 With over 1,000 icons and artifacts, museum has the largest private collection of Russian icons outside Russia Kent Russell CEO & curator 2006 26 Stageloft Repertory Theater 450A Main St., Fiskdale 01518 508-347-9005 • www.stageloft.org 7,850 1 (f) Presents a new, fully staged and live theatrical production monthly specializing in comedies, musicals and youth productions Christine Taylor executive & artistic director 1994 27 Worcester Historical Museum 30 Elm St., Worcester 01609 508-753-8278 • www.worcesterhistory.org 7,242 N/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 Source: Each attraction via survey. N/A = Not applicable or not available. Note: Danforth Art Museum will open as a part of Framingham State University in 2019, when it'll make the university the state's first public school to host a comprehensive art museum. Sterling's Davis Farmland and Davis Mega Farm Festival do not report attendance. Bolton's Nashoba Valley Winery, Charlton's Tree House Brewing Co., Hardwick Vineyard and Winery, Northborough's Tougas Family Farm, Clara Barton Birthplace Museum of North Oxford and International Fairgrounds of Uxbridge did not respond to the 2018 survey. (a) The Hanover Theatre's acquisition of 551 Main St. houses new function space, offices, rental space for a restaurant on the ground floor and The Hanover Theatre Conservatory for the Performing Arts on the lower level. (b) Opened in March 2008 (c) Estimate for first season, 2017-2018 (d) New Waterfront Room, completed May 2018, offers waterfront view and seating for 120 in banquet style; Samuel Slater's Restaurant opened summer 2018. (e) Twenty year-round volunteers, and as many as 150 during the fair (f) An additional 25 volunteers - Compiled by: Stephanie R. Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Christina Andreoli with Wormtown Brewery Co-founder Ben Roesch. Christina Andreoli, the former president and CEO of the regional tourism agency Discover Central Massachusetts, left the organization to become the new senior vice president in the private banking group at Berkshire Bank. Andreoli, of Holden, had also served as executive vice presi- dent of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, and before that, chief of staff to Worcester City Manager Michael O'Brien. Stephanie Ramey, who was previously sales manager for corporate & association markets at Discover Central Massachusetts, will be the new executive director for the agency. Discover Central Mass. switches leaders