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Millbury Street bar for sale as it celebrates 13th anniversary


  • Electric Haze on Millbury Street (Facebook)

    WORCESTER — Electric Haze is celebrating its 13th anniversary Saturday as the owner of the Worcester live music venue announced that the business is for sale and she plans to step down at the end of the year.

    Victoria Mariano, co-founder of the Haze brand, announced the plans in a social media post ahead of Saturday's anniversary events. Mariano said she is accepting offers for Electric Haze through the end of September and is talking with several people and groups interested in taking over the space.

    "I am working with some amazing people/groups to see who might be able to take on this incredible space, and continue to bring the community together through their own vision and passion of what the space should and could be," Mariano wrote.

    Mariano said no formal announcement about the venue's future will be made until a new owner or ownership group is ready. She indicated that the space could take on a new identity in 2027.

    The Millbury Street venue opened its stage on September 5th, 2013. Mariano said Consider the Source was the first band to perform on the stage. In a fitting coincidence, the band is scheduled to return for Mariano's final show on New Year's Eve, December 31st.

    Mariano's involvement with the Haze brand stretches back even further. She said Spiritual Haze, the predecessor to Electric Haze, was conceived in 2006.

    She encouraged customers, musicians and others who have been part of the venue's community to return during her final 4 months.

    "I feel incredibly grateful and proud to have been a part of this hazey community since Spiritual Haze was conceived back in 2006, and the memories, experiences, and life changing introductions will last a lifetime," Mariano wrote.

    She thanked those who have attended, worked, performed, danced and created at the venues over the years, saying they brought "a level of diversity, creativity, and community that was truly priceless."

    The 13th anniversary celebration Saturday includes Centra, a new ecstatic dance event, at 12:30 p.m., followed at 8 p.m. by Cabarestle, a production combining wrestling, burlesque and live music.

    For now, Electric Haze will continue operating as Mariano and prospective buyers work to determine what comes next for the venue in 2027.

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