40 Under Forty: The most Worcester picnic there ever was

Photo | Erika Sidor 40 Under Forty winners Alexis Kelleher, Erin Jansky, Bonnie J. Walker and Tom Lubelczyk at the POW! WOW! Worcester mural at the Worcester Arts Magnet School.

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By Brad Kane

Alexis Kelleher wants you to know there is no one better to take to a picnic than her.

She’s probably right.

As the owner of both Crust Bakeshop and North Main Provisions in Worcester, she has unique access to local foods perfect for spreading out a blanket and devouring some cheese, crackers, honey and locally made adult beverages.

The picnic she had with the rest of her 40 Under Forty photo team – Team Worcester Arts Magnet School: Kelleher, Erin Jansky, Bonnie J. Walker and Tom Lubelczyk – just happened to be in the middle of an empty school parking lot. It also happened to be probably the most Worcester-centric picnic set ever created.

In Team Magnet School’s attempt to win the contest to be on the cover of the most-read WBJ magazine of the year – a feat eventually won by Team WooRides – Jansky, Walker, Lubelczyk and Kelleher took their love of the city to a whole new level. Most of the 10 photo teams brought some degree of prop to their respective photo shoots, but Team Magnet School took their best idea and ran with it.

Individually, each of them represented a burgeoning section of the Worcester economy and community: retail food, arts, higher education and nonprofit advocacy. They all wore different T-shirts highlighting the city. The picnic anchored by Kelleher’s provisions included Polar and Wormtown beverages, a Kelley Square bumper sticker, memorabilia from the Worcester Bravehearts and Railers, and three prominent Worcester publications, including WBJ. Lubelczyk brought one of his student’s guitars emblazoned with the Harvey Ball smiley face.

Moreover, they followed in the footsteps of last year’s public mural team to once again win the title of “The Cool Kids of Worcester” for the 40 Under Forty class. Much like the artists who grace the city with their graffiti, Team Magnet School brought just the right amount of attitude, vision and eagerness to their photo shoot. Jansky became the school kid casually leaning against the graffiti wall. Walker knew just what to do when photographer Erika Sidor called for different poses and facial expressions. Lubelczyk walked like the guitar was a natural extension of his body, which – given his profession – seems quite obvious.

At the end of the shoot on the hot summer morning, Kelleher’s picnic became much more than a prop, as Team Magnet School got to sit around and enjoy the Worcester provisions, officially making it the most Worcester-centric picnic ever (a claim I make even though I have no other point of reference).