100 Years of Boston Comedy with Nick Zaino
ATHOL – Join the Athol Public Library at 568 Main St., Athol, on Wednesday, March 25, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for Nick Zaino’s show “100 Years of Boston Comedy.”
The history of Boston comedy is a slide presentation with videos of Boston comedians. Veteran arts journalist Nick Zaino explores Boston’s long history of comedy, from vaudeville to YouTube, highlighting some of the personalities that have defined laughter in America for 100 years using audio and video clips.
Eva Tanguay found her calling as the Queen of Vaudeville in Holyoke. Fred Allen found inspiration at the Boston Public Library to start his vaudeville career. Jay Leno, Denis Leary, Paula Poundstone, Steven Wright, Janeane Garofalo, Conan O’Brien, Eugene Mirman, Mike Birbglia, Bo Burnham, Chris Fleming, Sam Jay, Ziwe – all are part of the fabric of Boston Comedy lore.
Zaino is a freelance art journalist, and creator of Boston Comedy Radio, podcaster, and musician. For 28 years, he has covered comedy for publications from the Buffalo News to the Los Angeles Times. In 1998, he started writing about the Boston scene for the Boston Phoenix and Stuff@Night Magazine, and took up the beat for the Boston Globe in 2001. The 100 Years of Boston Comedy lecture series is the basis for the book he is writing, the first comprehensive history of live comedy in New England.
This library program is supported by the Athol Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. Free and open to the public. Registration required.
Register online with the library calendar at https://tinyurl.com/43cwttpy. You will receive an email confirmation, and an email reminder of the event 24 hours before the program. Questions? Please call the library at 978-249-9515.
Petersham Lions Club Prize Calendar
PETERSHAM – The Petersham Lions Club announces the annual April 2026 Prize Calendar Raffle. The Prize Calendar is filled with over $1,800 in prize money, gift cards, and passes to family oriented venues such as the New England Aquarium, The Butterfly Place and The EcoTarium.
For a donation of $ 10, there is the opportunity to have your name drawn on any of the 31 days in April, winning the prize of the day. If you win, your name goes back into the drawing and you can win again. Contact any Petersham Lion Lynne Shaw at Lynneshaw@gmail.com to make a donation for the calendar. Calendars will be sold through March 31 and the first drawing takes place on April 1.
All donations and funds raised go toward the many causes that Lions International is well-known for, as well as local causes. To learn more about membership, reach out to Membership Chair and Past District Governor Denis Legare at hilltopchief@gmail.com or President Jim Regan at Jimregan5@gmail.com. The Petersham Lions Club is always looking for new members. Consider joining the fun of being a Lion while giving back to the community and supporting the mission of Lions International, the largest volunteer service organization in the world.