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December 22, 2024 • 42 mins
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to Food for Thought with Billy and Jenny,
brought to you by the Box Center. For more than
fifteen years, this dining duo has been eating their way
through New England, mixing it up with top chefs, jumping
behind the line of the hottest restaurants and giving you
the inside scoop on where to whine, dine and spend
your done. So get ready, it's Food for Thought giving
you something to chew on.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hey, everybody, welcome into Food for Thought, brought to you
by the Box Center. It is that time of year
where everyone is crazy running around last minute, and I
think the way that the holidays fall this year made
it feel like there was extra crunch time. Thanksgiving was
a little late. This you know, sort of axuxtended vacation
between Christmas and the New Year's I think has everybody

(00:45):
feeling the intensity and sort of you know, ready for
a little downtime. But one of the things that we
want to do today is to be able to talk
with our partner, so the Box Center. As you know,
you hear Billy and I say brought to you by
the Box Center all the time throughout these programs. This
is an organization that has been very near and dear
to us for a very long time, and we have

(01:09):
had the opportunity to showcase all of the goings on
that take place at the Box Center and the Schubert
and all of the different things that they do throughout
the community. And we want to make sure that you
feel connected to the new leader of the Box Center.
Casey is our guest. I know he was on with
Billy a couple of weeks ago, but we think that
coming up into the new year be nice to sort

(01:30):
of give a refreshing So, Kasey, thanks so much for
joining us.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
Oh, it's a pleasure to be here with you today, Jenny,
thank you.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
So Okay, So, Kathie, you have a beautiful history in
the art and one that I hope that we can
spend a little bit of time dialoguing about and then
we'll get into all the exciting things taking place at
the Box Center. But firstly, can you tell us a
little bit about your history? How you know how you
came to oversee one of the greatest art institutions in

(02:01):
our amazing city.

Speaker 3 (02:04):
Absolutely so. I you know, I am from the area.
I grew up on Cape Cod and in the beautiful
town of Dennis, and I really have been an arts.

Speaker 4 (02:16):
Person my whole life.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
I think my parents would tell you they wouldn't be
They weren't surprised that I was on this track to
where I am now, and and took up the piano
as a very young kid, and also took up the
trombone and played in different bands throughout middle school and
high school, and eventually that took me to Berkeley School
of Music in Boston, where you know, I was really

(02:39):
able to explore, you know, all areas of music from
the studio to touring with bands, and also beginning to
work in the live industry, which is where I ended
up spending my career, and it's been just it's been
a great career. I've worked in many of the venues
in the city over the over the last couple of.

Speaker 4 (03:00):
Decades and beyond all over.

Speaker 3 (03:01):
New England, you know, kind of honing my craft in
the live events industry.

Speaker 4 (03:06):
But the last ten years.

Speaker 3 (03:08):
I've spent at the Cabot Performing Arts Center in Beverly,
which is a place that's near and dear to my heart,
where we took an eight hundred and fifty seat historic
theater that was in you know, know, pretty bad disrecare
and brought it back to life with the support of
the community. And you know, if you look now ten

(03:29):
years later into its history, it's it's a thriving, vibrant,
nonprofit performing arts center that's doing you know, two hundred
or so days a year of programming plus community event
and it's really integral to the downtown in Beverly and
to the North Shore community.

Speaker 4 (03:47):
As a whole.

Speaker 3 (03:47):
And I'm very proud of the work that we have
done there to really connect I think, my love of
music and the arts and also how that can impact
positively an economic driver for a community and a social
and cultural driver for a community. And it's been a
really interesting case study. And so I look at the

(04:09):
work that I'm doing now at the Box Center is
kind of a continuation of all that work in arts
and music and community development. And I'm just thrilled to
be back in Boston. We're living in the city and
just loving every minute of being here.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
I love that so much. I want to say, so,
you said your parents had no question that this was
sort of a path that you were going to take,
But were they involved in the arts at all? I mean,
I think you know, was that something that was important
to your family growing up?

Speaker 3 (04:40):
You know, it's interesting my dad is a songwriter, you know,
even though he spent most of his career working a
corporate job, you know, he would write down his songs
and music. Is it's a thread that definitely, you know,
if you look at my family tree and my family
history and my relatives, you know, it's very very strong

(05:01):
in our family. And and that that gene was certainly
passed along to me.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
Awesome and they were able to help you sort of
cultivate that, which I think is so awesome and so
and we know the theater and but released so so well,
we've been there a bunch and so tell us a
little bit about you know, there was a you know,
major you said, restoration and a lot of process there.
And what was it about the ethos of that that
really felt similar to the ethos of the Box Center

(05:29):
as as you became a leader.

Speaker 3 (05:32):
Absolutely well, the origin stories of the theaters, you know,
there are a lot of common threads. You know, when
when Joe took over the Wang Center, you know, back
in the eighties, the theater was in a terrible state
of disrepair and they had just begun you know, raising
the money for what would be like a ten year
process to restore the theater, which is kind of interesting

(05:53):
because the Cabot has also been a ten year process,
and it takes a long time when you're when you're
dealing with these hundred year buildings and all of the
issues and you're trying to you know, restore them at
the same time that you're operating them in real time.
And so there are I think quite a few parallels
to these theaters, you know, you know, these both of

(06:13):
the theaters were open for movies in the nineteen twenties.
The Cabin opened in nineteen twenty and the Wang is
going to be celebrating its hundred there in nineteen twenty five.
And you know, when you think about the origins of
these theaters and how they were built, you know, they
were built as palaces and the experience of being in
the theater, the idea was that it would be just

(06:36):
as powerful or more powerful than what you would see
on the screen or on the stage. And I think
that is something While I love a lot of modern venues,
you don't always get that same grandeur that you get
in these beautiful historic buildings that were built kind of
between nineteen ten and nineteen thirty five. You know, there
is just this really you know, amazing detail and architecture

(06:59):
that was put into these buildings.

Speaker 4 (07:00):
And so I've definitely, uh, you.

Speaker 3 (07:02):
Know, I'm a historic theater person. I love these kinds
of buildings. In particular. I think if the job offer
had been to run, you know, something that was brand
new and modern, I might not have been interested in.

Speaker 4 (07:16):
It, you know, because I do. Wow, I love it.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
I love those similarities. And it's so nice to be
able to see how you're taking on this next project,
which is one hundred years. We're going to take a break.
We're going to talk more about that and what's coming
up at the Box Center.

Speaker 1 (07:30):
In just a minute, you're listening to Food for Thought,
brought to you by the Box Center and Salem Waterfront
Hotel and Sweet Welcome.

Speaker 2 (07:37):
Back to Food the Thoughts, Bught you buy the Box Center.
Kathy Sword of the Box Center is our guest right now,
and so I wanted to talk a little bit about
the theaters because I know there's not only the Box Center,
but there's also the Shubert and and talk a little
bit about sort of that umbrella and and and that.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
Partnership absolutely so. So back in twenty sixteen, you know,
Ernie Back Junior and his family, you know, has stepped
up and provided a naming sponsorship for our organization. And
so our organization is the Box Center. We have a
wonderful partnership with the Box family around all of the

(08:19):
great things that we do in the community and their
support of that. But you know, the Box Center encompasses
the historic Wang Theater which is turning one hundred years
old next year, and also the historic Schubert Theater that's
right across the street that's turning one hundred and fifteen
years old next year. So we have two beautiful historic theaters.
We have very robust and active education programs for teens

(08:43):
and for kids, and we're in the Boston public schools.
We have after school programs here. We have our City
Spotlights Team Leadership summer program where we give summer jobs
to kids and they come in and they get leadership
training and in the arts in different locations. We also
have the Folk American he Roots Hall of Fame that
is housed inside the way in theater. So the Box

(09:05):
Center is really all encompassing.

Speaker 2 (09:08):
So many things that you're doing let's break things down
a little bit. So I want to talk about the
education that you do, both within the theaters and outside
of them. And I know this has been a major pillar,
certainly for Ernie and certainly for the Wang and the
Schubert and the Box Center in general for a long time,
but it's definitely grown. So tell us a little bit

(09:28):
about what you do to kind of bring the art
to the community.

Speaker 4 (09:34):
Absolutely, so.

Speaker 3 (09:35):
The Box Center's education programs have been around for about
thirty years, and that has been something that's been near
and dear to the organization for a very long time.
The most well known program is our City Spotlights Team
team leadership program that empowers you to become leaders in school.

Speaker 4 (09:57):
At home, and in the community.

Speaker 3 (09:58):
And that is actually how in the summertime at the
Schubert Theater, and it's it's a summer long program and
it's a jobs program for youth. During the school year.
We have in school residencies where you know, we're we're
engaging families and kids giving them arts educations right in
their classrooms with teaching artists that work for us at

(10:19):
the Box Center. And that has also been going on for.

Speaker 4 (10:23):
About fifteen years.

Speaker 3 (10:25):
We also have a ticket access program in the schools,
and last year we gave away about seventy five hundred
tickets to school children and their families in Boston and
the surrounding areas. So you know, those are those are
just two of the ways that we've been doing it.
But also, you know, just just really generally, community partnerships

(10:48):
are are very important to us, and so reaching out
into the community, you know, we have we have a
program actually we just had about one hundred school kids
in the theater yesterday for an interactive reading of The Grinch,
and we had our whole education team there, uh you know,
you know, bringing in the school children and not only

(11:08):
to just read the story to them, but we have
a video component and we really engage the kids and
try to help them understand the true meaning of the story.

Speaker 4 (11:17):
And it's very very cool.

Speaker 3 (11:19):
Having those kids in there and watching them come into
the lobby of the Wang Theater for the first time
in their minds are just blown, you.

Speaker 4 (11:25):
Know, by the by the by the program.

Speaker 3 (11:27):
So these programs are constantly running all year long, you know,
right side by side with all of our entertainment options,
and it's something we're very proud of.

Speaker 2 (11:36):
I love it, and I think access is something that
you have made sure is a big focus for you,
and you just touched upon some of that. I think
a misconception would be that, you know, everyone gets to
enjoy the arts in the way that we're discussing right now.
But the truth is that's not the case. And so
one of your focuses, I know, is making sure that
there is access to the arts for everybody.

Speaker 3 (11:57):
Is that right, Stely, It's it's it's very very important.
And I think anybody who's been to a concert or
an event, especially you know, kind of post pandemic, knows
that the prices of tickets have never been more expensive
than they are now. And you know, most of that
has to do with just the increased costs of touring

(12:18):
and you think about hotel rooms and gas.

Speaker 4 (12:20):
And everything that's just gone up so much and those so.

Speaker 3 (12:23):
Those costs are directly related to the additional costs that
the artists have to put on the show and that
and the expenses. So you know, so with that in mind, uh,
you know, we do everything we can on the you know,
where we can with you know, with the leveraging our
relationships in the community, uh, you know, to be able

(12:44):
to reach out to those who you know, are unable
to afford a ticket and to make those folks feel
as welcome as possible, give them great seats to shows.
And again, you know last year it was seventy five
hundred tickets. That's that's an area that I think it's
important for us to expand upon. I know, you know,
it's very important to the city. Uh you know where

(13:05):
you're seeing. The Mayor's ticket access program with museums has
been piloted, and this is stuff that we've been doing
for decades and you know, you know, along with the
city's interest in that, we want to continue to grow.

Speaker 2 (13:17):
It's so important and I love that focus for you guys,
and it's been nice to be able to share all
that you do in the community. You mentioned the folk
Americana Roots Hall of Fame. I talked with more about that.

Speaker 3 (13:29):
Absolutely, So the folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame is
a is a is a collection of exhibits, education concerts.
It all lives under the Box Center kind of umbrella,
and and we have performances that take place both at
the Wang and at the Schubert Theater. We have exhibit

(13:50):
rooms that are housed in the Wang Theater, which, as
you know, is just such a beautiful space to have exhibits.
We have permanent exhibits on the third floor the fourth floor.
The third floor is dedicated to the history of music
in the arts in Boston, and it's really kind of
a love letter, uh, to to that history that we

(14:10):
have as a city. The fourth floor is kind of
a retrospective of things that have happened at the Wang Theater,
specifically over the decades. Uh. And then in our exhibit
rooms downstairs we have rotating exhibits. Right now, we have
a partnership in there with Club Passine called the Folk Collective,
and that that is a it's a great uh retrospective

(14:33):
of photographs of this amazing group, and it's kind of
the past, present, and future of folk music in Boston.

Speaker 4 (14:39):
And the surrounding area.

Speaker 3 (14:40):
And as you know, Jenny, you know, Boston you know,
really has a claim to being uh you know, some
of the origins of modern folk music and so much
important stuff took place here in Boston. We really want
to shine a light on that history, but also of
the amazing artists that are here now and and and
what the future of that music might look like. So
that's that's a very very important initiative for us. You know,

(15:02):
you know, we see it as part of our nonprofit mission,
you know, you know, to educate and to bring people
together around this important music. Folk music pioneers have always
been change makers and you know, in social justice and
in the climate, mental health, you know, all these important
issues of today can be looked at through this lens

(15:22):
of music and creativity, and I believe those are where
solutions will develop because you know, whenever you have a
problem and you gave it to a creative person, there
is always another way to look at a situation. And
we love doing that through through the talented artists and musicians.

Speaker 4 (15:37):
That we know and love.

Speaker 3 (15:39):
So that's that's a bit about that initiative. We're very
excited about it. We just released a documentary that is
available on PPS. It's been screening on GBH and stations
all over the country. I think over three hundred stations
have picked it up. That will tell you a little
bit more about the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame
and what we intend to do with it in the future.

(15:59):
So we're very excited about it.

Speaker 2 (16:02):
It is an incredible initiative and to be able to
see the displays, the memorabilia, the artifacts, and just the history.
It's so inspiring and really gives you kind of the
whole full picture of not only what you're doing, but
about the importance of the arts in our world right
and then the story of our history. Okay, so I
want to take a little bit of time to talk
about some of the exciting things that are coming up.

(16:24):
We have some time to share some and then we'll
come back after our break and share more. So tell
us about what we're looking forward to. Either's something that
potentially is still open the last week of the year,
but more so what's happening in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 3 (16:37):
Absolutely well, after just an incredible run at the holiday
time with an Urban Nutcracker and the Grinch, who's back
and we've had so much fun with the Grinch of
the last month or so, but we're coming back strong.
In January, we've got the Dancing with the Stars is
coming in for two nights, two sold out shows. We'll

(16:59):
be going right into some very exciting comedy in February
where we've got two of the top female comedians in
the world coming in for multiple nights. We've got Nicky
Glazier who did the Tom Brady Roast. She's coming in
for three shows at the Wang February twenty first through
twenty second. Taylor Tomlinson is going to set the all

(17:20):
time record for ticket sales in a weekend at the Wang,
where she'll be doing five sold out shows, breaking her
previous record that was set last year of four sold
out shows at the Wang. That'll be coming in in
late February in early March, We're very excited. We've got
some great music coming in as well. We've got a
very special acoustic evening with Trey Anastasio from Fish is

(17:44):
coming in this soloe.

Speaker 2 (17:46):
We're going to take a quick break and we're going
to talk more about some of the more musicians that
are coming in. In just a minute, you're.

Speaker 1 (17:51):
Listening to Food for Thought, brought to you by It's
the Box Center and Salem Waterfront Hotel in Sweet kay
Thank Sward.

Speaker 2 (17:57):
Is our guest at the Box Center. We've got a
nice overview of all the things that are happening there.
We're talking a lot about what's happening in twenty twenty five.
You were just talking about the musicians share a couple
more with us.

Speaker 4 (18:06):
Kasey.

Speaker 3 (18:07):
Absolutely, we've got a Dream Theater Is They're a Boston favorite.
They're coming to the Wang in March. And then we've
got some great family programming coming in. We've got the
Adams Family Broadway Show is coming in in March. We've
got the thirtieth anniversary of River Dance is coming in April.
A family favorite, Paw Patrol for all of you with

(18:27):
young kids. That's a huge hit, Paw Patrol every year.
Herb Alfert is coming in with the Tijuana Brass at
the Schubert. Herb Balfert is ninety one years old, I
believe now and still going strong.

Speaker 4 (18:39):
Top comedy with a.

Speaker 3 (18:40):
Ziz I'm sorry is coming in. Alvin Alley is coming in.
Alvin Ally is the longest running show we have at
the Wang Theater. They're coming in in April. So it's
really a wonderful lineup, you know, just a great diverse
lineup for the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame. Gillian
Welch and David Rawlings are coming in for you know,

(19:01):
to support Farhawks in May. So you know, we're just
throw with this lineup and we have a lot of
exciting things to update you on in the new year
that I'll be able to tell you about once we
can announce them. So I can guarantee you though for
our hundred's anniversary year, we're going big and there's going
to be some very exciting announcements to update you on
as we get into the first quarter of twenty five.

Speaker 2 (19:22):
Well case, you better come to us on the early
And yes, we're so excited about all you're doing for
the one hundredth and it's gonna be great to share
it with everybody. So that sounds like an extraordinary lineup.
I have to echo that Alvin ally is such an
incredible show, whether you're a past answer or not, is
something that's enjoyable for everyone. And I think, like you know,
young kids are so great to expose them to that.

(19:43):
We've had the pleasure of bringing our young girls to
a bunch of shows, both in the Wig and the Schubert,
and it just it just opens their eyes to possibilities
in ways that I don't necessarily think you're your sort
of traditional schedule allows. Okay, so we have a few
seconds left. Share with us what like the perfect day
is to you If you are coming into a show,

(20:03):
where do you tell people to go to eat or
to do in the area.

Speaker 3 (20:07):
Absolutely, yeah, you know, I think you know, come in
early and get dinner when we have an embarrassment of
riches in terms of the dining options near us. I mean,
Davio's is such a favorite. We've got legal Seafoods right
around the corner. Two locations. Actually, you know this great
Places Contesta is right around the corner.

Speaker 4 (20:27):
I've been recently.

Speaker 2 (20:28):
Love they're all those delicious and yummy ones to go
to before a show. Katy. We're so excited to have you,
obviously as a partner in the show, but obviously also
to oversee these amazing institutions. So thank you again for
being with us today, and we'll definitely see you in
the new year to talk about exciting one hundred years.

Speaker 4 (20:45):
Thank you so much, Jenny, you have a wonderful holiday.

Speaker 2 (20:48):
Awesome, thank you. We'll be back with more Food for
Thought in just a minute.

Speaker 1 (20:51):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you by
It's the Box Center and Salem Waterfront Hotel.

Speaker 2 (20:56):
And sweet welcome back into feod of the Thought brought
to you by the Center. Billy and I are very
excited because season two of Meat Boston, our second television
show together, will be launching at the top of the year,
and we wanted to take some time to both celebrate
a couple of our awesome hubsters, which we call our
kind of amazing correspondence reporters, but they're really content influencers

(21:19):
within the city and we are so excited to have
Key on the show this week. You find him on
instagrams want to Be Stay at Home Dad. He creates
so much fun, awesome content that we have loved sharing. Keith,
thanks so much for coming on the program.

Speaker 4 (21:35):
Yeah, thank you guys for having me.

Speaker 2 (21:38):
Awesome so folks can obviously follow along with all your
off the stories. Again, it's want to Be Stay at
Home Dad. Tell me a little bit about how you
got in the content creation.

Speaker 4 (21:49):
So it actually starting with some peer pressure. I've got
a really close friend that was visiting that's really being
in the content creation and he was visiting me up
here in Boston and was like, hey, man, you should
really try it out. And you know you love to
eat food, so let's go get food and maybe we
do like a food video or something like that. Started
at Monica's in the North end did a Sandwich review,

(22:11):
and then from there it just kind of kept going.

Speaker 2 (22:15):
Well, you tell great stories, and you do it in
such a fun and creative way. So tell us a
little bit about what your experience was being on the
program with us for season one.

Speaker 4 (22:28):
Oh, it was great. So I've been in Boston now
a little over two years, so the Holster experience is
really good for me because I got to see a
lot of new places that I hadn't gotten a chance
to go to since I've been in Boston. Kind of
getting one of the episodes, I got to see Fenway
and go to MGM and kind of see the fanway
experience outside of the baseball games, which I thought was

(22:48):
really cool. And then I always think back to my
North End episode that I was a part of. It
was actually right around the time I was moving out
of the North End, so it was almost like a
chance to kind of say goodbye to the name a
little bit, and it felt really cool. But the Alicer
experience in general, like I said, it was giving me
a chance to kind of open my eyes to new places.
And also, you know, expose provides some additional exposure to

(23:11):
this place to the audience as well. Which is great.

Speaker 2 (23:15):
I love it so much. And you actually met us
in the North End at one point, which was really
fun and that seeds to do. And I think one
of the things that we really wanted to garner with
this program is to show sort of the relationships between
some of the influencers in the market or the content
curators in the market and give you guys an opportunity
to be kind of on the big screen, which is

(23:35):
really the goal, to kind of meld TV and social media,
which are the two kinds of ways that people are
still getting their ideas of what to support within the
within the city. And obviously we're big Boston lovers and
I love that you've become such a big part of
the Boston culinary scene. Can you tell us that some
of your favorite spot star that you've either seen on

(23:56):
the show or otherwise this year, and are there any
that you're looking forward to in twenty five.

Speaker 4 (24:04):
Yeah. So one of my favorite spots is Meta in
the South End. They also open up at East Boston location.
They have really good Italian food. Goodness. There's so many
places just around the city. Actually, one that I found
through the show most in my most recent episode where
we were doing kind of a winter bucket was the

(24:25):
Bowery Bar in Dorchester, and they have these private yurts
you can reserve for you know, like small groups like
eight people you can go reserve the year, play card games,
eat dinners, got great food, and it was a spot
you know, I might not heard of about doing the show,
so it was definitely great to be able to check
it out. But yeah, those are two that kind of

(24:45):
come to mind. I'm excited obviously for the second season,
like I said, to see more places and get to
try a few more new new spots and adds to
the list.

Speaker 2 (24:54):
You are a job dad, and I know you have
connects over that. So is the City of God friendly?

Speaker 4 (25:00):
I think so, because I think one of the best
parts about Boston is just relatively walkable. So I think
if the city is walkable, you know, obviously you can
walk your dog with you. And then there's also spots
opening up. I know, Billy and I were just talking
recently about Park nine. I think it's out in every where.
You can bring your dog with you, you know, and
enjoy your time, and the folks there will kind of
like kind of watch over your dog and you know,

(25:22):
take care of the dog for you a little bit.
So I definitely think Boston is a great dog city.
And you get the snow from time to time as well,
which dogs love, at least my dog loves, which is great.
So yeah, I definitely think it's a great special dogs
and I think my dog is definitely liked it and
enjoyed our time here.

Speaker 2 (25:39):
And you're you're coming into Boston, not that you haven't
been here forever, so like as as you've experienced or
you know, there's a lot of misconceptions about the city.
We're not very really friendly, we're all, you know, we're
all we're not very fashionable, Like all the care about
the city is there true? Or do you have you
have better things to say about this awesome city of arts.

Speaker 4 (26:02):
Well, I think the things that I heard were I
think the biggest thing aired was just that the food
scene wasn't very diverse. And I've been able to tell,
you know, just in my two years or so of
doing it, so that is like outright false. Like there
is a ton of different cuisines you can get it,
taste stuff here throughout the different areas of Boston. I

(26:24):
think it gets a stigma, you know, based off of
probably a tourist experience, you know, and people probably hit
the same spots all the time. But once you really
get a decent knowledge, or if you have a good
person to kind of tell you where to go, you
can try so many different things here, whether it's food experiences.
I also thought coming up, you know, once it gets cold,
everybody likes to hibernate and kind of go and stay

(26:46):
in the house. And I've been able to realize, you know,
through it Winzard. You know, people in Boston like to
stay active, they like to get outside. You know, there's
tons of different festivals and stuff that happen obviously out there, sports, skiing,
snowboarding in the area. So now it's been great and
I think I've been able to dispel those myths.

Speaker 2 (27:04):
Well, you have told great stories.

Speaker 4 (27:05):
Key.

Speaker 2 (27:06):
We love having on the show. Can't wait to see
you for season two. Thank you so much for popping
by the radio today.

Speaker 4 (27:12):
Yeah, thank you guys again for having me.

Speaker 2 (27:13):
With great We'll see you in the new year. Thanks. Key.
You can check them out on Instagram. Want to be
stay at home Dad.

Speaker 1 (27:21):
You're listening to Food for Thought, brought to you by
the Box Center and Sale in Waterfront Hotel and Sweet.

Speaker 2 (27:27):
Welcome back to the Food for Thoughts brought to you
by the Box Center. So we just heard from Key
one of our hubsters, want to be stay at Home Dad.
And now we are with another fan favorite from season one.
We are with Matthew Dickey, who you can find on
Instagram as street Skate curator. Matthew.

Speaker 5 (27:43):
How you doing Hello, I'm doing very well. Thank you?

Speaker 2 (27:48):
Ah well, we all got to get together in getting
ready to prepare the launch for season two. So I
got to see you recently, which was nice. But I
want to give people a little idea of who you
are and how you came into content curation.

Speaker 5 (28:03):
Yeah. So I basically have been obsessed with buildings, architecture
and how places look the way they do since forever.
I grew up on sixty six, so there was always
these little mini road trips going to see the kitchen
route sixty six. And as smartphones became a thing and
there was always a camera in my pocket, it just
became a.

Speaker 4 (28:22):
Natural journey for me.

Speaker 5 (28:24):
It's a cool and go take a thousand photos and
then I use that as a way to then try
to get people curious about how and why the city
and neighborhoods looked the way they do around.

Speaker 2 (28:34):
Them so awesome, and I love I love how it
became a passion for you, and I also love how
creative you are in your storytelling. So we found you
and that we were really looking for someone to be
able to tell that part of the city in an
effective way, because I think there is so much rich

(28:55):
history in Boston that maybe sometimes people that live here
forever for granted, you know, if you go to other
cities throughout the country, there's not a whole lot of history.
I mean, there's a few, but like if you're in
la if you're in Chicago, like, so much of this
stuff is new. And so we love the way that
you tell those stories. So talk about some of of

(29:17):
the history. It's too long to do in one in
one radio segment, but some of the history that you.

Speaker 4 (29:24):
Love about Boston.

Speaker 5 (29:27):
Oh man, there's just there's there's so much I love that.
Let's just say, I'm I live in Dorchester and I
frequently cycled down to my office and Beacon Hill and
just the journey between all the neighborhoods. You get to
see the shift in time, You get to see the
shift in living styles and the way people lived and

(29:47):
interacted with the streets of the city. You get to
see a shift in building technologies and like just the
core and I just love that. It's just like you
start downtown, then you go a little bit farther from
downtown where you to the car suburbs, and the architecture
just shifts with it. And it's just something that I
just cannot stop constantly documenting. If I was to go

(30:08):
pick out one neighborhood for somebody to go experience, I
would really tell them to go check out Frederick Deliz's
Historic District, this very small little neighborhood that somehow survived
urban renewal, and like think about Milnea cast and Tremont
where they intersect, and I'll leave the rest for everybody else.
You just go experience.

Speaker 2 (30:28):
Well, it's true, and you can. You can go on
your Instagram and really get a flavor for all of
these And I think, like I said before, you it's
easy to take it for granted, like, oh, oh, here's
that thing that is very very beautiful. But what you're
able to do is kind of bring us inside of
it and say, you know, here's here's what is so
special about it. Here's what history took place. Here, here's
what to appreciate about this beautiful building that you're seeing.

(30:51):
But that's a great suggestion for folks to check out. Okay,
so let's get back to Meet Boston. I'm gonna talk
a little bit more about the program because I only
did it briefly with Key. But so this program the
partnership between me Boston and Billy and myself and Nesson
and it was really an opportunity to talk about Boston
in many, many, many different perspectives. So we have a

(31:13):
lot of content curators, or we call them hubsters, who
share their stories about the city based on sort of
the ways that they have just they have created their
content on their Instagram. So obviously Dicky is talking about
amazing architecture, and then you know, Keing we just talked to,
was talking about food. We have fitness folks, We have
people kind of that run the gamut of the city,

(31:34):
and they're also different ages. They're in different stages of
their life. You know, Matthew and I are both parents,
so like we're doing things a little bit differently than
the year olds who don't have parents. So it's a
really great way to explore this city obviously on Nesson,
which is where it airs, but also on social media,
on the handles of all of our hubsters. So what
were some of the highlights for you now that we've

(31:54):
closed season one and you did, you know, amazing segments
for us. What's some of your favorites?

Speaker 5 (32:02):
Oh man, there's this again. There's just so many things
to choose from. I think the places that I really
enjoyed were the ones that I didn't know as much
about going into it. And I was sent to Brighton Austin,
which I live in Dorchester, so that's almost on the
opposite side of the city. And I went to Boston
University for grad school, so I was there then, but
I didn't really explore the area that much. So when

(32:24):
I went off to Brighton Austin, I was like, what
can I learn about this area? And I ended up
And you guys do this so well with the episode,
You're like, you gave it a loose structure, but then
it's like a little journey of discovery every time you go.
And there is this really amazing old park. It was
it not old park. It's from nineteen sixty from called
Herder Park and it's just along the river and it

(32:45):
is a building designed by Nathaniel Saltonstall. He was the
founder of the Institute of Contemporary Art and it was
the first before the Institute of Contemporary Art built in
Boston and it's now abandoned. So I obviously became very
obsessed with that. Now I'm just like, I have to
get inside.

Speaker 4 (33:01):
I have to get inside.

Speaker 5 (33:03):
And then after that I went to the Waterworks Museum
and that was just they call it, I think I'm
going to might get it wrong, but it's like the
Cathedral of Steam and it's just one of these places
when you go in you're just like, wha, this is
a thing that exists. And like just being able to
tour with the museum director was just icing on the cake.

Speaker 2 (33:23):
Oh well, we loved that one so much and so
did all of our followers everyone. I think it's one
of our most viewed pieces of the season. So it
was something definitely worth checking out and Okay, so that
was definitely a high light. And what was it like
to work with a lot of the other content curators.

Speaker 5 (33:41):
It was it was fun. There was it was like
whenever you get your like episode of Simon, she learned
who else is also kind of doing where they're going.
And there were several times when I was with I
think it was the Beacon Hill episode where I was
trying to make it just like a little appearance when
aj would come by in my seat and I go
buy in his but we just couldn't get the having
to align with each of our interviews that we had

(34:02):
going on that day. But it is it's both fun
to get to see their journey and how they kind
of tell their story that they're staying and then seeing
them side by side in the episode, and then you
just get to learn. You get to learn from everybody
like how did you do this storytelling or how did
you handle this situation? And that I really love that
aspect of the being a hupster.

Speaker 2 (34:23):
Oh, I appreciate that, and I think one of the
things that we found so awesome was the camaraderie that
developed among you guys, And that was something that made
us really proud, because the whole hope is to really unify,
you know, our city is in a way that feels
approachable for everybody, whether you're on the show or not.
And so okay, so now I mentioned I mentioned, oh yeah.

Speaker 5 (34:48):
I was just going to say, like, I'm very glad
you guys have fitness hupsters that are on here well
as well, because I remember there is an episode when
they did the Harvard Stairs. I was like, oh, thank goodness,
that wasn't me.

Speaker 2 (34:59):
We would not make you do that. That was like
a bit with basically a newborn. So so I did
reference that you are a dad. So have you been
able to explore some stuff with the baby at all?

Speaker 3 (35:11):
Oh?

Speaker 5 (35:12):
Yeah, absolutely. We just got back from it was like
a holiday event that was at the Shirley Houston's House
museum and there's a crowd of people and he just
he just goes into a situation and just he learned
to crawl recently, so we just put him on the ground.
He was like exploring all these crazy styled carpets from
the seventeen to eighteen hundreds and just we try to

(35:33):
toss them into any situation that we can.

Speaker 2 (35:35):
Really and you got it. You got to bring them
into your world and they get so happy when they do. Okay,
So I know that you're an avid cyclist. So many
of your segments take place on your bike. I'm assuming
you've traveled in places outside of Boston and cities elsewhere.
So where is Boston's stack up as it relates to
being a bikeable today.

Speaker 5 (35:56):
It's pretty high up there, actually, because Boston has a
lot of density and it doesn't brawl very much, so
you can easily get from one end of the city
to the other end of the city in mostly fifteen minutes.
And that's what really draws me to cycling. It started
off as a tool just because of the quickest way
to get from point A to point B. I used
to work in the South End and if you took
the train, you had to do the spoken wheel thing,

(36:17):
you know, and you go all the way to the downtime,
you come back out again, and I realized, there's a
ten minute bicycle ride. Why don't I just do that?
And then it just took off from there.

Speaker 2 (36:28):
I love that well, but it is that's a great
way to experience the city. And I'm happy to hear
it backs up pretty good because I think I know
they've worked really hard to figure out a way to
make it such so so it's always working with oh yeah,
go ahead.

Speaker 5 (36:45):
There's something else that's really fascinating about when you're cycling
or walking in the city. A lot of Boston is
on man made land, and when you're cycling, you can
always tell when you're on man made land because it's flat.
And then the moment you hit the hill, you know
that you're now on actual tear firma and you can
kind of trace where the actual land and man made
land kind of starting. And it's kind of a look for.

Speaker 2 (37:07):
A great piece of information, Matthew, and I think people
don't necessarily know. Thank you for sharing that. That's awesome. Anyway,
we had such a blast with you. You do such
a great job. I urge everybody listening to head onto
Instagram follow Matthew Dickey at Street Escape Curator and you'll
have a blast with him and you'll see more of

(37:27):
him on our program.

Speaker 3 (37:29):
You could also follow.

Speaker 2 (37:30):
Us on Instagram. Left me Boston, Matthew, thank you so much.
I hope you have a great rest of the year.
We look forward to season two.

Speaker 5 (37:36):
So you're very much and I'm excited for it.

Speaker 2 (37:38):
Okay, so you assume we got more Food for Thought
coming up. In just a minute.

Speaker 1 (37:41):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you by
It's the Box Center and Salem Waterfront Hotel and sweet Wow.

Speaker 2 (37:47):
Well that was a great show. I'll do a little recap.
So we had Kathy Sword, who is the new awesome
leader of the Box Center. You heard us talk to
Josiah Balding for years, who oversaw the Wing and the
Schubert and then the aditioned into the Box Center for
I don't know decades, and so it's been so nice
to see Casey sort of step into the role with
the same enthusiasm and passion and history for the arts.

(38:11):
And one of the things we'd love to do on
the show, Billy and I love to do is to
be able to expose you to things that you haven't
been exposed to before in the city that you've probably
lived in your whole life. And Boston is so rich
in so many of them. And then we were talking
about our season two of Meat Boston, and I realized
I told lots of folks wor to follow our hubsters,
but you can follow us on Instagram at less Meet Boston.

(38:33):
And then of course we have our other program, which
is Dining Playbook, which serves sort of more as the
food and dining guide. But Meet Boston, who is our
partner in Meet Boston with Billy and Jenny, has such
an amazing resource online. So if you haven't been to
meet Boston dot com, it is I don't even I
can't even begin to tell you how much time you
can spend there coming up with different activities, seeing different

(38:55):
events that are taking place in the city, finding different
places to enjoy, to go eat, whether you're coming to
the theater or going to do something with your kids.
So I'm going to talk about a couple of the
awesome things that you can do coming up for the holidays.
One of our great friends, Josh and Jen Ziskin on
a restaurant called Lamora. She's been on the show before
and she's doing an awesome feast to the Seven Fishes

(39:17):
on Christmas Eve. So if you're looking for somewhere great
to go, add that to your dieting playbook and get
there on Christmas Eve. Another one that we really love
is they're doing a special at Peregrine, which is a
great restaurant inside the Whitney Hotel that ones in Beacon Hill.
Lamora's in Brookline. Another great one is if you really
checking out any of the hotels, Boston Harbor Hotel has

(39:37):
a great Christmas brunch. There's a wonderful one taking place
at the fair Mount Copley Plaza, the Oak Long Bar.
That's going to be a really tasty one. And so
on this website that I'm actually looking at right now,
there's lots of different holiday events, which obviously will show
all the Box Center ones and all the other ones
that are taking place in the city. Of course, if
you have time or official tickets left, which I think

(39:58):
there are, check out the Hall Pops, which is a
great thing to do this season, just such a special
opportunity to see how much just so much talent, certainly
in a symphony. And they do different things throughout the city.
There's different places doing gingerbread houses for kids, the zoo
lights at the Stone Zoo, and there's also the lights

(40:19):
at the Franklin Park Zoo that's a great thing to
do with the kids. Of course, there's annual you know,
family tree Festival things that are happening at various museums.
But this website is a really great one to check
out if you're looking for anything special this year. So
the Boston Common is also doing their annual Menura lighting.
It's so interesting that Hankah is taking place around the

(40:40):
same time as as Christmas. And I guess I looked
at up the other day as my family celebrate Hanka,
and it only happens like every sixteen years or something
where they fall together. So typically you have Hankkah like
very you know, like in November or well before it
feels like it's the holiday season or so much earlier
than Christmas. So it's nice that they fall together and
they'll do a beautiful full Hanukkah Menora lighting in Copley,

(41:04):
which is so fun to check out Snowport if you
haven't been a go. It is so awesome, filled with artisans,
great place to go if you need to find some
last minute gifts for the holidays. And then Soa, which
is in the South End, is another place that has
that's actually indoors, so it has another group of artisans

(41:25):
that you can really, you know, get all of your
shopping done. And then of course if you're looking for
something last minute. We would be remiss not to mention
the fact that Billy and I launched a cookbook this year.
The cookbook is called A Taste of Boston. You can
find it on Amazon or in many of your local
bookstores if you're listening as in the Boston area. We
hope that you'll give this gift. It's a gift of
sixty chefs, sixty recipes, and sixty stories from our twenty

(41:46):
years together. It's been an amazing year. Of course, we
want to give a big shout out to AJ, our
incredible producer who puts all these shows on for us
every single week. We look forward to seeing more of
you in the new year and sharing more about this
beautiful city in this awesome region. Happy holidays, Happy New Year.
We'll see in the new year.
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