Campaign for Size Freedom Worcester Hangouts
Sunday, November 23, 2025
2:00-3:00pm - Mix and Mingle at The Thicket (3 Brussels Street, Worcester, MA)
3:00-5:00pm - Hangout at nearby coffee shop (register for address)
Attention fat folks and friends in Worcester, Massachusetts!
Join the Campaign for Size Freedom in Worcester, MA this weekend as we build support for Tuesday’s hearing on Massachusetts’ size discrimination bill! First up, @naafaofficial executive director @iofthetigress will be at The Thicket @thethicketworcester from 2-3pm for an informal mix and mingle with shoppers. The Thicket features hand-picked second-hand fashions for fat people, and is a hub for fat community in the Worcester area.
Then from 3-5pm, fat people and friends of fats are invited to a community hangout at a (very) nearby coffee shop (register to receive the name/address). We’ll write postcards to MA representatives and make signs for the hearing. All ages welcome. The coffee shop is open until 4pm for you to purchase coffee, tea, and treats. From 4-5pm it will just be us. We ask that everyone mask during the private hour from 4-5pm, please, so those who are unable to be in unmasked spaces can join us once the public leaves. We’ll have KN94 masks available. Note: No registration required for dropping by the Thicket. Registration is required to receive name and address of coffee shop.
Accessibility info:
The Thicket is a small 2nd floor shop. The building has an ADA-accessible elevator. This is an informal mingling time during regular business hours. Seating is not available. Masks will be available but not required at The Thicket.
The coffee shop is a first-floor business with accessible parking nearby, but Sundays are busy so may require additional time to access disability-placard parking spaces. There is an accessible bathroom on the first floor. The shop has numerous sturdy armless chairs, as well as some other seating. The first hour (3-4pm) of the hangout time is during the shop’s regular business hours, and patrons will be unmasked and eating. When the shop closes at 4pm, we will ask everyone to mask for the duration of the event so those who only socialize in masked spaces can join us at that time.
This is a free event for fat and fat-positive folks of all ages. See you there!
Please reach out to us at naafa.org/contact if you need any accessibility accommodations no later than Saturday 11/22!
BIOS:
[Accessibility Description: Headshot of Tigress Osborn]
Tigress Osborn (she/her) is the Executive Director of NAAFA. She previously volunteered as NAAFA’s Board Chair and Director of Community Outreach. In addition to overseeing NAAFA’s day-to-day operations, Tigress hosts and produces the NAAFA Webinar Series, which features a wide variety of activists, scholars, and artists from fat community. Tigress has been featured on CNN, ABC News, and NPR. She is the co-editor of Weight and Wisdom: Reflections on Decades of Working for Body Liberation. In 2024, Tigress was named to the Time Health100 list for her civil rights work with NAAFA and the Campaign for Size Freedom. Prior to working with NAAFA, Tigress founded Full Figure Entertainment in Oakland, CA, and co-founded the PHX Fat Force in Arizona. She is a two-time women's college graduate with degrees from Smith College and Mills College. She lives near Phoenix with her awesome mom. Follow Tigress @iofthetigress on your favorite social media.
[Accessibility Description: Logo for The Thicket]
Leigh started The Thicket with an aim to create a safe space that helps empower fat folks. We should be changing the narrative around fat bodies, self-love, body-love & acceptance for all by living outloud and making our own wishes come true. How we feel in our skin allows for us to do this AND conquer all kinds of challenges, including changing the status quo!! I hope to both facilitate community and provide a comfortable, accessible place for my fellow fatties to find clothes that help them feel most themselves & ready to take on the world to make it better for everybody.
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