GoggleWorks Center for the Arts cut the ribbon on Thorn Alley, a new open-air performance stage tucked inside the nonprofit’s expanding Art Park campus, marking a fresh chapter for live music and community events in the city’s core. The unveiling comes amid GoggleWorks’ 20th-anniversary festivities and follows last year’s Art Park preview and ribbon cutting.
Billed as a flexible outdoor venue, Thorn Alley features a state-of-the-art production system, new greenspace, and direct connections to indoor amenities—including galleries, studios, and a full bar—designed to let audiences flow between performances and GoggleWorks’ maker spaces.
The stage opened with an inaugural concert headlined by SNACKTIME with local favorite Soul Papi, kicking off a slate of free or low-cost programs planned for the fall. Later this month, the campus hosts a Free IX Concert on the Thorn Alley Stage, continuing a schedule intended to keep the courtyard activated well into the season.
Thorn Alley is part of Phase 1 of the GoggleWorks Art Park, a multi-year effort to transform underused spaces around the former Willson Goggle factory into a welcoming cultural corridor. That phase introduced The Courtyard and other outdoor gathering areas; leaders say future phases will continue knitting the campus into surrounding streets to support daily activity and special events.
Located at 201 Washington St., Reading, GoggleWorks houses studios, galleries, a film theater, and resident creative businesses. Admission—and on-site parking—are typically free, aligning with the center’s mission to expand access to the arts.
Leave A Comment