Arts and Recreation
Richard Dworsky join Garrison Keillor on Stage at The Park in Jaffrey, NH Saturday, August 16
Garrison Keillor in performance.
Photo courtesy of The Park Theatre
JAFFREY, New Hampshire (August 12, 2025) Who is Richard Dworsky? Mr. Dworsky was Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion musical director for over two decades. And, The Park Theatre is thrilled to announce the return (for the third time) of America's beloved storyteller, Garrison Keillor, for a special performance with Richard Dworksy this Saturday, August 16, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. It will be an evening of poetry, music, limericks, sing-alongs, and the iconic stories from Lake Wobegon and beyond.
Richard Dworsky, a versatile pianist and composer from St. Paul, Minnesota, began his musical journey studying at the University of Minnesota after early collaborations, including touring with jazz vocalist Al Jarreau in the 1970s. He spent seven years at the Children's Theatre Company as a pianist, conductor, and composer, and later gained recognition for recording New Age piano music with Windham Hill Records. Dworsky joined Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion around 1993, initially as a pianist before becoming the show's music director and bandleader for the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band, a role he held for over two decades until Keillor's retirement in 2016. He continued with the successor show "Live from Here" until 2018, and has since collaborated with Keillor on occasional revival performances, audio books, and tours.
Press quotes highlight Dworsky's indispensable talent and adaptability on the show. Garrison Keillor himself praised him as having "everything," including "classical training and classical skills, a solid foundation of theory," while being "a gifted and fearless improviser" who "loves theater and performance." Described as Keillor's "right-hand man" and "indispensable guy," Dworsky was lauded for accompanying a wide array of stars like Paul Simon, Emmylou Harris, and Yo-Yo Ma, earning him recognition as "probably the most listened-to pianist in Minnesota." His contributions extended to composing themes, underscores, and arrangements for the program, films, and related projects, cementing his legacy in public radio's musical landscape.
Tickets for this event are priced at $45, $55, and $65 and are available for purchase at The Park Theatre box office or online at theparktheatre.org. Given the popularity of Keillor's previous sold-out performances, early booking is highly recommended.
Don't miss this chance to experience Garrison Keillor and Richard Dworsky live, bringing the magic of A Prairie Home Companion to southern New Hampshire for an evening of laughter, music, and storytelling. The theatre's bar will be open (ID required).
The Park Theatre performing arts center is located at 19 Main Street in downtown Jaffrey, New Hampshire, just 90 minutes from Boston & 60 minutes from Worcester, MA.
Regional News
Conversations during Massachusetts' delegation trip to Maine highlight the importance of urgent and regional action to address PFAS contamination in agriculture
(Augusta, Maine) - On Tuesday, August 12, a delegation from Massachusetts, including legislators, agency officials, and advocates, visited Maine to speak with farmers and well-owners impacted by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals") contamination and learn from Maine legislators and agency officials regarding their nation-leading work to enact strong policies protecting soil, water, and food from further contamination.
Maine was the first state in the country to investigate the impacts of sewage sludge applications on farmland. In response to widespread PFAS contamination, the state has enacted strong policies to protect soil and food from further contamination and provided critical assistance to keep PFAS-impacted farms safely in business.
At their first stop, Maine Senator Henry Ingwersen (D-Arundel) hosted the Massachusetts delegation in his district at the first farm to bring PFAS contamination to light in Maine, Stoneridge Farm in Arundel. Owner and advocate Fred Stone spoke with the delegation about the extraordinary ongoing work and financial and emotional burdens placed on him and his family to remediate the significant PFAS contamination at their dairy farm, and why he believes a comprehensive state response with financial support for farmers is essential to maintaining a strong and safe local food system.
"Maine's work to combat PFAS in recent years has been marked by listening, collaborating and acting decisively. For me, this work began right in my hometown of Arundel with the heartbreaking story of Stoneridge Dairy Farm," said Ingwersen. "As our friends in Massachusetts chart their own journey to pass legislation that takes on PFAS, I'm glad they got to see where my work started, talk with the folks who have led the fight here and can head home with a sense of how Maine has led the nation in tackling this threat to public health and agriculture."
"Since the PFAS crisis first came to our attention, Maine has been an international leader in combating this issue," said Maine State Representative Lori Gramlich. "We know that exposure to these so-called 'forever chemicals' has serious, lasting adverse health and environmental impacts. Now, more than ever, it is crucial for state leaders to come together as the federal government dismantles longstanding environmental protections. I look forward to working closely with our counterparts in Massachusetts as they learn from our efforts and we work together to ensure a healthy, safe environment for all."
"I am very excited to welcome our colleagues from Massachusetts to Augusta and to discuss the very real threat that 'forever chemicals' pose to our states and country," said Maine State Representative Bill Pluecker. "Maine is at the forefront of PFAS policymaking, so I am glad we are able to work with Massachusetts lawmakers to guide policymaking regionally and work to protect citizens of our two states. As a farmer, this issue is very personal and I will continue to fight for healthy, PFAS-free food supply chains for all Mainers."
During a 3-hour working lunch and storytelling session at the Maine State House in Augusta, the delegation heard from and participated in roundtable discussions with impacted farmers, advocates, and Maine legislators and agency officials. Participants emphasized that solutions to PFAS contamination must center the communities experiencing the worst impacts--including farmers, farmworkers, and people in rural communities--and must be interdisciplinary and comprehensive in nature, bringing together stakeholders in medicine, public health, environmental justice, and agriculture and food safety. Maine's nation-leading work on the issue offers a tested blueprint for states like Massachusetts to follow as we begin to address this national problem.
"From day one, Maine has led the way in protecting public health and the environment from toxic PFAS. The work we have done to safeguard our farmers and farmland serves as a national model," said Sarah Woodbury, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy for Defend Our Health. "We are grateful that colleagues from Massachusetts took time out of their busy schedules to visit Maine to learn from our state legislators and agency staff about what Massachusetts can do to follow Maine's lead. Regional cooperation is crucial in this effort. We are all connected and must work together to implement policies that protect the public from PFAS exposure. We look forward to continuing this important work with our colleagues in Massachusetts."
This trip is part of Massachusetts Senator Jo Comerford (D-Northampton) and Representative James Arena-DeRosa's (D-Holliston) ongoing work on S.56/H.109, An Act protecting our soil and farms from PFAS contamination, a bill pending in the Joint Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries which offers a policy response, based on Maine's work, to PFAS contamination in Massachusetts.
"We learned that the impact of PFAS laden fertilizer on some farmers has been catastrophic. As a legislature we need to proceed in a thoughtful manner, with farmers, scientists and policymakers at the table, so our state plan will protect public health and the food supply, while at the same time supporting the future viability of Massachusetts farmers," said Arena-DeRosa.
"For decades, sewage sludge--a byproduct of wastewater treatment--has been marketed as a safe, affordable, and sustainable fertilizer. But farmers in Maine have shared heartbreaking, firsthand accounts showing that its use can contaminate farmland, food, water, animals, and people with dangerous toxins like PFAS," said Comerford. "I am profoundly grateful to Representatives Pluecker and Gramlich and Senator Ingwersen for lending their expertise, and to my Massachusetts colleagues for their tireless commitment to this issue. Maine's leadership has shown us that with a coordinated state response, we can address PFAS contamination in ways that safeguard farmers, protect public health, and preserve both for generations to come."
As Massachusetts conducts its own investigation into PFAS-contamination on farms and works to achieve stronger protections and support for communities facing PFAS contamination, this trip provided an important opportunity to learn from Maine's experience, bring those lessons home, and highlight the importance of regional cooperation and partnership.
At the conclusion of the visit, Maine and Massachusetts legislators joined together to speak with the press, reflecting on the conversations throughout the day and highlighting the lessons that Massachusetts legislators, agency officials, and advocates will bring back to the Commonwealth.
Gardening
Freshen Up Your Late Season Gardens and Containers with Strawflowers
Peachy Keen, Pink and White Granvia strawflowers combine nicely creating a colorful container garden.
Photo courtesy of Suntory Flowers
As summer is winding down and fall approaches, your thoughts may turn to mums, asters, and pansies. Consider changing things up this year by adding deer-resistant strawflowers to your late summer and fall containers and gardens.
Grow strawflowers (Xerochrysum bracteatum formerly Bracteantha) in full to part sun and moist well-drained soil. They are heat and cold tolerant, grown as annuals in most areas, and short-lived perennials in zones 8 to 10. You'll enjoy continuous blooming and visiting pollinators from spring through summer and into fall until frost. Plant some now to replace fading summer annuals, freshen up your late season garden or create fall containers. The range of flower colors makes them easy to include in your late season displays.
Plant strawflowers in the garden or a container with drainage holes and fill with a quality potting mix. Select a pot, at least 12" in diameter to avoid the plant becoming rootbound and drying out too quickly. Although the flowers look dry, the plants prefer moist well-drained soil. Check containers daily and water thoroughly as needed. Those growing in the garden should be watered thoroughly when the top few inches of soil are crumbly and moist.
Strawflowers unique blossoms look and feel dry to the touch, making them extra fun for kids to grow. This straw-like texture of the flowers inspired the common name. You may also hear them referred to as everlasting flowers since they don't wilt readily when picked and retain their shape and color for years once dried.
Granvias (suntoryflowers.com) are larger, vigorous plants with much bigger blooms than other strawflowers, making them excellent thrillers in containers and showy in the garden. You can find these supersized strawflowers in gold, pink, white, Crimson Sun, Harvest Orange, Peachy Keen and Orange Flame.
Set a pot of colorful strawflowers among your pumpkins, ornamental squash and other fall décor. Combine them in containers and garden beds with other fall favorites like ornamental kale and cabbage, grasses, ornamental peppers, pansies, calibrachoas, and more.
Grow plenty so you'll have enough to enjoy as cut flowers and even more to dry for crafting wreaths, garland, flower spheres, and adding to dried arrangements. Harvest strawflowers when two to three layers of their petal-like bracts have unfolded but the center is still tightly closed. The flowers will continue to open as they dry so waiting too long results in a more open bloom. Harvest regularly to encourage even more flowers.
Recut the stems at an angle and place the strawflowers in fresh water and condition them in a cool, dark place for a few hours or overnight when using in fresh arrangements.
Hang the stems in bundles upside down in a warm, dry place when preserving them dried. You may opt to remove the stem and replace it with florist wire if you plan on using the dried strawflowers in a wreath or an arrangement where a stem is needed. As the flower dries, it secures the wire in place. Remove the flowers from the stems once dried if you plan on using just the flowers in crafting projects.
Discover the beauty and many uses of strawflowers this fall. Then next season, start early and grow even more to enjoy all season long.
Melinda Myers has written over 20 gardening books, including The Midwest Gardener's Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses "How to Grow Anything" instant video series and the nationally-syndicated Melinda's Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned by Suntory Flowers for her expertise in writing this article. Myers' web site is www.MelindaMyers.com.