While at first glace, the area doesn’t seem conducive to raising a yard full of fresh vegetables, the Regional Environmental Council’s YouthGROW program has turned an empty lot into a budding oasis for both plants and youth.

Ralph’s Chadwick Square Diner Dirty Gerund Poetry Night on Mondays offers up some eclectic entertainment along with the venue’s usual drinks and delicious burgers.

WPI Professor Douglas Weeks and other visiting instructors teach Western classical music to students at the Al Kamandjâti Association in Palestine, while local instructors share their knowledge of Palestinian music with the students.

The Main South Farmers Market, located at the Central Community Branch YWCA, 766 Main St., starts this Saturday and will run every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Oct. 29.

Going on four years, Paulie’s NOLA Jazz & Blues Festival is growing and this year adds a lineup of bands and musicians straight from New Orleans.

They’ve made a splash on South Main Street with their Sunday waffle brunch and community-minded business model, but the owners of WooDaddy Waffles haven’t stopped there. Sarah Herold and Zali Zalkind are setting the table for dinner. It’s free. Oh, and bring a dish along if you like.

The promise of music and dancing draws people of varying backgrounds and interests to the Worcester Contra Dance at the Wesley Methodist Church on Main Street, but it is the vibrant, friendly community that quickly turns first-time dancers into regulars.

If it’s Friday in the summer, it’s Jazz at Sunset. The unique Jazz at Sunset outdoor concert series — now in its 21st year — is one of Central Massachusetts’ most popular summer events.