Voted RI’s best party, Providence Preservation Society’s Winter Bash is the event of the year. Staged at a new location each year, this fabulously fun event brings attention to new preservation projects and gathers young preservationists from across the city to network and celebrateThis year’s theme is a retro prom. Dress up and party the night away.
When: Saturday, March 29
Where: American Locomotive Works (ALCO), 555 Valley Street, Providence.
For more information: call PPS offices at 831-7440 or visit their website. More
Tonight is the night for holiday cheer and Hope Street hosts its Winter Stroll. The merchants association, which boasts the talent, creativity and dedication of folks like Frog and Toad's Asher Schofield and J. Marcel's Dixie Carroll, has a night of family friendly fun planned, featuring music, a petting zoo, a window decorating contest (we understand Schofield and Carroll will be throwing down in this one), plenty of food and much more. It kicks off tonight at 5pm, so don't miss out. We'll be there judging the window contest. Here's the schedule of events:
5:00PM – Window Contest Judging
5:15PM – Santa Parade
5:00PM-7:00PM – Extraordinary Rendition Marching Band
Petting Zoo at Citizens Bank Parking Lot
5:30PM – Photos with Santa
6:30 – Winner of Window Contest Announced
FOOD TRUCKS
Hewtins All Dogs Mobile
Poco Loco
Sugar Rush
French Fry Guy
Fried Dough & Hot Cider Trucks More
Flaunt Boutique is now the only store in Rhode Island to feature an Alex & Ani "Shop Within A Shop," meaning an entire portion of their store is now dedicated to those irresistible bangles. They also used this event to launch the Peacock Bangle (shown above), designed for Alex & Ani by Flaunt owner Amanda Doumato herself, which is available in gold and silver exclusively at her shop. Providence Monthly was there for the cocktail party to celebrate this charming occasion! A percentage of the sales from the night's festivities were donated to the Providence Animal Rescue League. More
Events this Month:
Fox Point Neighborhood Association (FPNA) Monthly Board Meeting, 7-8 pm, January 9 at the Vartan Gregorian Bath House Library.
FPNA will also hold one of its bi-annual membership meetings in January to address street grid and development issues associated with the Interstate 195 parcels in Fox Point. Other topics will be the proposed on-street overnight parking plan and the many ongoing developments along the Seekonk River shoreline that are listed below. Time and location of the meeting to be announced by FPNA at a later time.
Gano Park to Get Boat Launch
Now that the Coastal Resource Management Council (CRMC) has approved construction of the East Transit Street Boat Launch, Gano Park takes a step closer to becoming an important link to India Point Park and the East Coast Greenway, according to the Fox Point Neighborhood Association (FPNA).
Representatives for FPNA and Friends of India Point Park attended the CRMC meeting in November to support the approval request presented by Robert McMahon, director of the Providence Department of Parks. “We expect the project to begin the construction process in February of 2012,” McMahon said after the meeting.
The proposed boat launch will have a concrete ramp that extends into the Seekonk River accompanied by a floating dock from which boating enthusiasts will be able to board their boats, McMahon explained. The parking lot with an entrance at the bottom of Transit Street will contain 17 parking spaces for vehicles with trailers and five vehicular spaces.
Current design drawings for the facility indicate that an extension of the Blackstone Bikeway that is planned to follow the shoreline along Gano Park will cross the parking lot of the boat launch. Eventually, the area will connect a nexus of bike paths, including the Washington Bridge and East Bay Bike System and India Point Park’s bike path that leads into Providence.
Last year, FPNA received $2,500 from the … More
One restaurant opening I missed a few months back was Coco Pazzo (165 Angell St.) – probably because I try to avoid Thayer Street while school is still in session. However, now that the college crowds are gone, I recently spent a sunny Friday afternoon enjoying a leisurely lunch there and I’m glad I finally stopped in. The menu is eclectic, but mostly centered around modern Italian fare, with lots of easy-to-share plates like appetizers, tapas and pizzas. It’s the kind of casual, European style dining that relies on simple, fresh preparations that let the ingredients shine through. We sampled several small plates perfect for eating al fresco: a Prosciutto and Burrata Board; Grilled Long Stem Artichokes with Olive Salad and Pesto Crostini; Roasted Beets, Goat Cheese and Watercress with Beet Vinaigrette; Wild Roasted Mushrooms; and Seasonal Vegetable Pizza with spicy tomato puree from the restaurant’s wood fired oven. It’s always refreshing to see a restaurant that respects its vegetables instead of treating them as mere accompaniment to meat and pasta, and the artichokes, mushrooms and beet salad really stood out here. I look forward to going back and trying some things I missed the first time around – in particular the Cantaloupe, Prosciutto and Burrata Salad with Ice Wine Vinaigrette and the Branzino in Cartocio steamed in foil. More
Steven McKellar sits on the vintage patterned sofa in Fete’s green room; Civil Twilight’s lead singer looks relaxed, albeit fatigued, as he looks up from his Narragansett Lager. I ask him if he knows he’s drinking Rhode Island-made beer: Narragansett is indeed a real place. “Oh,” he says, examining the can. “This is local?” He hasn’t lived in South Africa for roughly eight years now, but that fact does nothing to quell his distinctive accent, which at times sounds largely British. “I like it,” he says, simply. “It’s really quite good.” In a navy plaid shirt, perfectly faded denim and dark, tousled hair, Steven is the epitomical rocker. Choosing not to employ a stylist, the guys just wear “whatever.” In fact, those faded jeans belong not to him, but to his older brother Andrew, who plays guitar in the band.
Drummer Richard Wouters is in stark contrast to Steven, with his fair skin, long limbs and blush-colored button-up. While Steven speaks deliberately, Richard’s words are free-flowing and airy: “We did a show on the river here [in Providence] once,” he tells me. “It’s really cool down there.” He’s speaking of their June 2010 appearance at Waterplace Park; the band played as part of WBRU’s Summer Concert Series, which is – ironically – happening as we speak, on the other side of town. Civil Twilight have been brought in again by the radio station to headline that show’s after party, which apparently they hadn’t yet realized. It’s three hours until show time, their third show in as many nights. One evening prior, they performed at Mohegan Sun, and the day before that, the band gigged at Brooklyn’s famous Knitting Factory.
Regarding their heavy touring schedule, Steven reveals, “It’s all a bit of a blur, though I remember a thing above Hell – that was Providence, I think.” I figure that he’s referring to the now-defunct Jerky’s. (The band played a show there in early 2010.) The two friends … More
Gracie’s continues its monthly Star Chef Series, this time with world-renowned bread baker and Johnson & Wales instructor Ciril Hitz returning for his fourth appearance. As always, the series pairs the guest chef with Executive Chef Matthew Varga to collaborate on a five-course meal with pairings. This month’s pairings come courtesy of Peter Egelston, founder of New Hampshire’s Smutty Nose Brewery. The dinners are $100 per person and usually sell out. Call 272-7811 to make a reservation. More
The recent controversy over the NSA listening to pretty much everything everyone is saying or doing over phone, email and the internet raises an important issue – well, actually it raises a lot of important issues, but one in particular stands out to me. Our government is compiling billions of records on millions of people and in the process endangering our privacy just on the off chance that some terrorist might be planning to attack us and might use one of the channels the government is monitoring to communicate something about it and the NSA might pick up on it. Maybe. Now I’m all for keeping abreast of what Al-Qaeda plans to do with its summer vacation and all, but doesn’t a massive, privacy invading domestic spying program that is rife with the potential for abuse and – if whistleblower Edward Snowden is any indicator – run by marginally qualified temps seem a bit overwrought given the situation?
My point here isn’t to debate the intricacies of national security, but rather to illustrate the point that so much of our society – our thoughts, our habits, our policies and laws, our actions, our everyday life – is based on the concept of “What if the worst case scenario happens?” We are constantly regulating, insulating, mitigating and inoculating so many aspects of what we say, do, think and, perhaps most importantly, allow against the mathematically tiny possibility that maybe, possibly, theoretically something bad could happen to someone somewhere, and if it does, somebody might get sued over it. Because that’s what it all comes down to isn’t it? We’re just making sure our own asses are covered – just in case. Because what if today is the day the s--t hits the fan?
This is not to advocate for some libertarian fantasy world in which every man and woman is an island, free from rules and regulations, reliant only on him or herself with no safety net, no oppressive … More
Events this Month:
If it’s cold outside, there is probably skating at Brown Street Park. Please check our website for updates as we can’t predict the condition of the ice. The new rink is open from dusk to dawn everyday. We still need volunteers to help clear and maintain the ice. Please email wendy@friendsofbrownstreetpark.org if you can help, or would like to donate shovels or even a snow blower to help the cause.
Special thanks to our friends at Pease Awning in East Providence for repairing our shade sail that was damaged by the early October snow.
Thanks to Kaboom for our grant to improve park grounds. We are so grateful.
Our Road Race has been moved to the spring. Details are on the website. More
Method Fitness instructor Brandon Dupont leads a weekly boxing and conditioning class that includes the fundamentals of the “sweet science,” including punching, footwork and body mechanics. The calorie-burning class includes work on the heavy bag, pads and shadow boxing. 755 Westminster Street. 274-6384.
Gold’s Gym offers Group Kick classes inspired by mixed martial arts (MMA), including high-energy routines incorporating boxing, kicking and karate. 550 Pawtucket Avenue, Pawtucket. 722-6600.
SYNRGY Health & Fitness features interval-training based INSANITY classes plus boot camp and circuit training Revolution sessions. 3 Davol Square. 519-6555.
The Body Complete Fitness Center for Women offers Booty Barre, Sculpt Barre and a variety of TRX-based training classes designed for women. 1375 Park Avenue, Cranston. 946-0378.
American Health Fitness Center has plyometric classes utilizing the mini trampoline as well as TRX, kickboxing and boot camp sessions. 555 Quaker Lane, West Warwick. 828-3458. More
So, you’ve got stuff to consign? You’ve got options. While some shops buy entirely from private collectors, estate sales or wholesalers (Hall’s on Broadway is one of these shops, as is Foreign Affair), others buy resale outright or offer consignment routes.
At hope returns, customers can come into the store with their items, fill out paperwork and leave the merchandise for one week. After that week, the customer returns and is given a percentage of the resale value. Any items that were not bought within the seven days are returned to the consignor or are donated in-store to the Rhode Island Foster Parent’s Association.
Ana-Lia’s offers a 90-day consignment cycle (which then can be rolled over to one more 90-day cycle), after which items are returned to the consignor or donated to a local charity. Ana-Lia’s and the consignor split the proceeds.
At Blackbird’s, make an appointment before bringing in your gently loved items (they are usually booked three weeks out). The merchandise will stay in-store for 60 days, taking gradual markdowns, and remaining items are returned to the consignor.
Glitz offers a no-appointment-necessary consignment method. Simply bring your merchandise into the store and give it a second chance.
Events this Month:
MONTHLY MEETINGS: Wednesday, December 28, 2011 and Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 7pm, Books on the Square, 471 Angell Street. Free and open to all.
The Fox Point and West Broadway Neighborhood Associations will be holding big public general meetings, with many guest speakers on local issues, in January. Check their web sites and this month’s Fox Point column for details. The Summit Neighborhood Association plans to hold its annual membership meeting next month (February).
Transitions on The Square
Susan Gill permanently closed The Edge coffee shop on Wayland Avenue (opposite Rufful’s, between Comina’s old and new sites) on October 17 so she could attend to personal matters. The premises are now listed as available for rent.
In a farewell message in The Edge’s window, she wrote “It has been my pleasure serving you and sharing in a part of your day. I have met so many great people over the last five years. I will miss you and wish you all good health and success.” She also posted farewell recipes for pumpkin muffins and dog treats.
Plaid & Stripe has now moved two blocks from its old home on Wayland Avenue to more spacious quarters, where they can now offer both pet accessories and pet grooming, at 17 South Angell Street. More
This morning at 8am sharp I walked into lobby of the Gamm Theatre to find an interesting mix of people chatting, smiling, drinking coffee and eating breakfast pastries. I pushed them all out of my way and ran straight for the coffee urn. After a bit of networking and socializing, we moved into the theatre where we filled the seats in preparation for a panel discussion, for which the topic was “Being Creative and Thinking Outside the Box.”
The panel consisted of Tony Estrella (Artistic Director of the Gamm), Jason Yoon (Executive Director of New Urban Arts) and Bronwyn Dannenfelser (Director of Development for WaterFire). The discussion was facilitated by Mary-Kim Arnold, the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. There was so much brain power up on that stage that I sat in the second row to avoid injury in case the set exploded.
Art is a vital part of creating a healthy neighborhood in which people will want to live, but Bronwyn spoke the truth: “We need boots on the ground.” Volunteer at a Waterfire; catch 1984 at the Gamm; donate supplies to after-school arts programs that are helping our teens get prepared for college. The ever-articulate Tony borrowed from an Oppenheim poem — “Hearts starve as well as bodies: Give us Bread, but give us Roses!”
United Way of Rhode Island’s Young Leaders Circle (YLC) invites all forward-thinking individuals to learn from and connect with government, business and nonprofit leaders. Recent guest speakers include Mayor Angel Taveras and PC Friars coach Ed Cooley. Discussion topics range in discipline and have tackled such subject matter as “Five Rules for Achieving Greater Work-Life Balance” and “Empowering Others to Lead.”
To learn more about upcoming YLC events, check out their website. More
A Bee’s Buzz: A marketplace of creative goods all under one roof, A Bee’s Buzz offers crafts and antiques of all kinds. With a diverse group of vendors, you are sure to find gifts and décor for all occasions. 114 Danielson Pike, Foster. 647-4483.
Alfred’s Consignments: As a local consigner with two locations, Alfred’s sells antiques of all sorts – art, furniture, dishes and the like – but makes sure they are in pristine condition. Here you won’t have to wipe off dust to look at detail. 331 Hope Street, Bristol. 253-3465; 18 Maple Road, Warren. 245-3101.
Circa Vintage Wear: Carrying racks of vintage clothing and reminiscent jewelry dating back to the 1900s, Circa offers items for sale or rent for all occasions. Whether you are looking for a costume or an addition to your wardrobe, Circa offers you (and even their celebrity clients) items that you won’t be able to find anywhere else. 73 Cove Street, New Bedford, MA. 508-997-9390.
Into The Wardrobe: In business for a decade, this consignment shop isn’t your typical resale store. Not only does this fashionable boutique hold local items from Rhode Island, but with its wide span of connections, it is constantly shelving items from around the country. 17 Brook Street. 427-1147.
NAVA: An acronym for “new and vintage apparel,” NAVA offers just that. Whether you are interested in old-fashioned goods or you prefer a more modernized style, this location has items that are both fashionable and affordable. 281 Thayer Street. 453-6282.
Rhode Island Antiques Mall: No matter what you’re looking for, this antique-focused mall likely has it. With over 20,000 square feet of mini-shops holding items from 200 dealers, expect to find a variety of antique items from art to home décor. 345 Fountain Street, Pawtucket. 475-3400.
Rocket to Mars: This vintage boutique carries unique antiques of all kinds, dating from the roaring ‘20s to the disco-themed ‘70s. Here you will find a variety of … More
The Internet is a very powerful tool and Alexis Ohanian has discovered a way to harness that power. He is the co-founder of Reddit, the widely popular social media site where members post and share a variety of material from all over the Internet.
Ohanian has also founded other successful sites such as Hipmunk and Breadpig and has been voted to Forbes "30 under 30" list twice. He just recently published his first book, Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed, which took up the fourth spot on the New York Times bestseller list for business. He represents the "dorm room start-up" dream and has a lot of valuable insight about how to use the Internet as a tool.
RISD welcomes Ohanian this Friday for a discussion with Walker Williams (Co-Founder of Teespring). He will speak at the MacMillan Hall Auditorium at Brown University and sign his book from 6:30-8:30pm. Visit RISD's web site for more info. More
Get a worldly workout with one of the international-inspired dance classes at The Rhody Center for World Music and Dance. From Belly Dancing, African Dancing and Bollywood Dancing classes, you’ll add some multicultural kick to your exercise routine. 172 Exchange Street, Unit 201, Pawtucket. 475-5955.
If you march to the beat of your own drum, The Movement Exchange’s contemporary classes might be just your style. From live music accompanying their improvisational dancing classes, breakdancing sessions with the Project 401 crew, modern dance that explores the link between movement, memory and meditation and options for all ages and even couples, the classes all celebrate creativity and individual expression. 545 Pawtucket Avenue, Pawtucket.
What do you get when you add some serious cardio kick to your salsa moves? You’ll be on the stopwatch at Krissy’s Dance and Fitness Studio’s special Zumba classes, mixed with spurts of circuit training. The Latin American inspired dance class will keep your heart rate up and your hips moving while the circuits target and tone key areas. 834 Admiral Street. 369-9092.
Are you a fan of the stage? Tapper, flapper and founder of Providence’s own Chifferobe cabaret, Kristen Minsky’s Theatrical Dance class at AS220 will not only bring out your inner star, it will bring your skinny jeans back out too. Minsky’s Tuesday night classes run the gamut of decades and dance styles, keeping each week fresh and fun. 95 Empire Street. 831-9327.
If you fancy yourself more of a ballerina, but want to reap the benefits of dance-fitness fusion, Barre classes may be your best bet, mixing arm toning moves with ballet inspired legwork and core strengthening. At Momentum Fitness you’ll be in good hands as co-owner, trainer and dancer Michelle Struckholz shows you the steps to a dancer’s physique. 222 South Water Street. 272-8900. More
How ‘Bout Them Apples?
What appeared to be an ordinary pie, but hid a kick of jalapeno pepper, was voted the best-tasting example of an apple-based culinary concoction at an SNA-sponsored competition held Oct. 27 at Seven Stars bakery.
About 40 neighbors gathered starting at 6:30pm, after regular business hours, in the popular Hope Street fixture to taste and compare 11 offerings brought by people who had been alerted to the event by the SNA blog and posters displayed by businesses.
The convivial group ranged from retirees to babies barely able to crawl. The available fare included traditional pies, cakes and muffins, but also offered a purple apple-cabbage mixture, an apple-celery gazpacho, a quinoa-apple dish and cider cookie bars. The bakery also contributed cookies, danish and other tidbits. Adding to the festivities, Swan Liquors, from just a few doors down on Hope, hosted a beer and wine tasting, staffed by several of its personnel.
Ballots were distributed and the count produced a four-way tie for most delectable. A second round of voting yielded the jalapeno-apple pie the winner, with the quinoa dish and cider bars in a dead-heat for second. All three winners received gift certificates to area businesses.
By 8:30 pm, with most of the candidate dishes consumed, voters headed out into the rainy – and snowy – night, but more information and winning recipes are still available on the SNA website.
Survey of Neighborhood Concerns
According to a recent informal poll taken by SNA, the top concern of people in the community is, in the words of one respondent, the “safety of the neighborhood and the people in it.” During the Hope Street Festival on Oct. 2, the SNA asked people to rank nine areas of concern set out on a questionnaire that also had room to add subjects not included.
Of the questionnaires completed, most ranked safety as the number-one issue. That was followed by quality-of-life projects, such as … More
Providence Monthly is proud to once again be a sponsor of StyleWeek Providence, which returns to Downtown from January 22-28. The twice-yearly event provides a showcase for local, regional and national designers, and puts the spotlight on our fair city as an innovative place for fashion. This installment returns to the grand Biltmore Hotel and we'll be there all week to see what our designers have come up with this year. Check back for updates and blog posts throughout the week, but for now, take a look back at the August 2011 StyleWeek.
Quick Look: Behind the Scenes at Style Week Providence from Ryan Hughes on Vimeo. More
Providence Media, the leader in local lifestyle and the publisher of your favorite (right?) local magazine(s), is looking for an Internet Ninja to join our team. (No, that won’t be the actual job title.) This person will be responsible for managing our total online presence, including four websites corresponding to each of our magazines (you can name them all, right?) and various social media presences, including Facebook and Twitter.
What you would be doing…
-Posting all content from our magazines to the web.
-Creating original, web-only content.
-Managing social media for all four publications on Facebook and Twitter.
-Expanding our social media presence into new platforms.
-Selling and managing web advertising.
-Creating newsletters and e-blasts.
-Devising and executing an overall online presence with an eye toward both the editorial and the marketing/PR sides of things.
-Spending a lot of time on the Internet.
-Staying up on the latest trends and developments in online media; determining which ones are worthwhile and which ones are little better than cat memes.
-Learning lots of industry jargon and buzzwords, then trying not to confuse us with them.
What you should know/be able to do…
-Construct a halfway decent sentence.
-GET PEOPLE’S ATTENTION!!! in a more effective and less obnoxious manner than that.
-Distract our audience from getting actual work done through strategic deployment of status updates, tweets, blog posts and other Internet ephemera.
-Care about the communities and cultures of Rhode Island. Get interested in them, develop relationships with them and spotlight the most interesting parts.
-SEO. What is it? How do you do it? We’re not entirely sure either, but if you don’t already know it we’re going to send you to a class to learn it.
-Sell advertising. (Duh.)
-Graphic design, photography, Photoshop, HTML, etc. – those kinds of skills … More
Looking to get in a quickie at lunch? Eyes of the World offers a 45-minute Short Form Vinyasa class on Wednesdays at 12:15pm. All of a sudden the rest of the workday won’t look so daunting after some grounding in tree pose. 1 Park Row. 499-4942.
There is no shortcut to enlightenment, but Transformation yoga at Breathing Time Yoga will start you on the way. This class focuses on calming the nervous system and teaching yourself to be more mindful through stretch. Various classes throughout the week. 541 Pawtucket Avenue, Pawtucket. 421-9876.
When a hot yoga studio promises you’re going to SWEAT, you’d better believe them. Now Yoga and Fitness offers this class for devotees of heated yoga who are looking for more of a challenge. 286 Thayer Street. 273-3100.
The Heart Spot offers Rainbow Vinyasa Shanti yoga, a challenging practice meant to detoxify the body and relieve stress... probably through sweat. Check it out every Wednesday. 700 Greenville Avenue, Johnston. 231-008. More