Victor D. Infante

Comedian Jon Stewart presided over what many consider the heyday of Comedy Central's " The Daily Show," transforming it from a lightly funny send-up of the nightly news to a must-see satirical force, balancing out jokes with serious discussions with world leaders, intellectuals and authors, along with the usual array of actors and musicians.

It's not often a bank commercial on YouTube catches my attention, but I was struck by a recent one by Whitinsville-based UniBank that I saw over the weekend, between videos. As it goes, it's fairly innocuous: UniBank's chief executive officer, Mike Welch, standing in the Canal District, announcing the bank's new branch at Polar Park. As he talks, a number of familiar sights flash by. It's a bit by-the-basics, but after catching it a couple times, I began to look closely at which Worcester sights the commercial was showing.

This will be the last installment of Frank Virzi's local crossword puzzle, for the foreseeable future. Virzi, who grew up in Worcester and now lives in Holden, has had puzzles published in the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe and more.

A few things to do in the Worcester area in the week ahead ...

“You belong here.” The words, freshly emblazoned along the Salem Street side of the Worcester Public Library, are part of an art and light installation created by Worcester artist Sharinna Travieso, developed over three years by The Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District and it’s easily the nonprofit organization’s most ambitious public art project to date. The project was officially unveiled Oct. 5 at the "You Belong Here" festival at the library.

"Dracula," "Dr. Jekyll" and more macabre merriment are coming your way in this week's list of things to do.

New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston will be transformed as " Fairy Fest " casts its magic Oct. 12 to 14. The weekend features entertainment for all ages, crafts, workshops, brews and local fare at the Beer Garden, a fairyland market, face painting, and discovering hidden fairy houses along the way. The festival complements the Garden's ongoing exhibit Enchanted Forest, Nature-Inspired Fairy Houses by Sally J. Smith which runs through Oct. 31. Come dressed up as your favorite magical being. (RD)

From a haunting at Ralph's to Poe at the BrickBox, a guide to Halloween events in Worcester that skew a bit more toward the adult set.

Halloween one of those holidays you can enjoy both as a kid and as an adult, albeit a little differently. When you're a kid, it's all about the costumes, candy and trick-or-treating. As an adult, it might be parties, movies, theater and a lot of very loud rock'n' roll. Here is a list of Halloween events in Worcester that skew a bit more toward the adult set. Although a few are family friendly, assume anything in a bar will be for ages 21 and older.

WORCESTER — One Wednesday afternoon, on the third floor of Bay State Savings Bank on Franklin Street, Jackson Restrepo calls the small group gathered there to attention. Restrepo seems relaxed in front of the small group seated at tables or, in a couple pf cases, Zooming in from elsewhere. Only a dozen people or so people are present, and there’s a sense of ease and goodwill in the room, balanced out by an odd sense of formality. The occasion? The weekly meeting of the Paul Revere Toastmasters Club #4495, a Worcester branch of Toastmasters International that’s been meeting regularly since April 1981. But while the Toastmasters organization is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year — and the local chapter is holding a celebration at its regular meeting space beginning at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 23 — and its name rings with familiarity to many ears, many are hard-pressed to explain what the organization is. “A toastmaster,” said chapter President Cheri Carty, is a member of a group “that comes together to be able to learn to become better speakers, better leaders.” She explains that a toastmaster should be someone who can confidently get up and give a speech or comfortably lead a presentation. "That development of a person as they come into our Toastmasters club is what we aim to do.”