Bizarre Story in Westerly Sun!

This is where the Westerly Sun starts to look more like the Weekly World News. If you'd like to find out about improvised explosive devices, eggs being implanted into Natalie Portman, fighting evil demons by dodging BB pellets, and a plot to kill a stalked woman, well, Look No further!


Natalie Portman, full of eggs or not?

Hear in RI at the Narragansett Towers

Tonight there will be 8 local singer/songwriters performing their own material at the Narragansett Towers , 35 Ocean Road in Narragansett. The show starts at 7:30 pm and tickets are $10.00. Call 782-2597 for more information


It's part of the Hear In RI Festival which is sponsored in part by the Rhode Island Singer/Songwriter Association


Great original music, a great venue, all at a reasonable price. Who can argue with that?


Find out about other events happening at the Towers by viewing their website.


Another much anticipated event at the Towers is Hot Club of Cow Town, an amazing Texas Swing Band. They are at the Towers on Thursday, July 31!

Liberian Community Association of Rhode Island

Rhode Island is home to one of the largest Liberian Communities in the United States. Over 7000 Liberians live in the state-- as you can imagine, the intense violence currently going on in Liberia is top on their minds.

The Liberian Community Association of Rhode Island is a non-profit, non-political and voluntary community-based organization. Their principle mission is to seek and promote the welfare of all with an overriding focus on the promotion of the Liberian and African Culture.

They are planning several events over the next few days to raise awareness. Unfortunately, Their website isn't updated to include what those events are, but check the papers, or give them a call at 401-780-6718


You can also listen to a radio program from Focus RI that is an interview with several prominent Rhode Island Liberian Community Leaders.

Listen to Focus RI interview


Find out more about Liberia (courtesy of the Liberian Adoption Resource Center)

Read articles from The Pepper Bird, a community magazine published 5 times a year. The Pepper Bird is the national bird of Liberia.

Noney: The People's Currency

Noney is a new type of currency that has been going into circulation here in Rhode Island. It's a project of local artist Obadiah Eelcut (a pseudonym if I've ever heard one!)


Currency is basically an abstract concept. Money - in your pocket or your bank account - only has value because everybody believes it does. There is no longer any standard by which money is traded. (Although there have been multiple standards over time and societies)


Instead of metal, tobacco, rum, or clam shells, Noney uses a standard that is the aesthetic value of the note itself. It's an economic system backed by art and the idea of art--art that also serves as the system's currency.


The illustrations on Noney are hand drawn, then hand screenprinted onto sheets of polyethylene fiber, a material that's lighter and tougher than paper. After printing, each note is hand editioned in red ink with a number indicating its print order. Each note is also hand signed in black ink. Noney's total print run is 10,000 notes: 1,000 of each face.



Each Noney note has the same denomination: zero. This doesn't mean each note has no value... just relative value. There's no fixed exchange rate or area of operation. Noney's worth as both art and currency is something to negotiate through each individual transaction - anywhere.


To find out about Noney, check out the Noney website There are stories about how people are spending their Noney (and you can add your own if you like!) You can also make a transaction proposal to get some of your own noney.

Brown Juggling Club

If you are hankering to practice your showers, you want to figure out Mills' Mess, but don't quite know how, or you want to find out that men often make passes at women with glasses (at least when they juggle) then you should check out the Brown Juggling Club.

During the summer, they meet most Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30-6:30 (if the force behind it, Eric Cohen, can get out of the lab, and weather permitting.) During the semester, juggling moves to Saturdays 3-5 pm and possibly another day (along with an alternate indoors location in case of inclemency.)

Even if you don't have your own stuff, or don't know how to juggle, you are welcome to attend-- there's plenty of equipment to practice on, and plenty of people to guide you along the tantalizingly addictive path to juggling.


Check out their website or email Eric to get on the mailing list and find out if there will be juggling this week! (and today, July 24, there will be, weather permitting!)

Alternative Rock Providence

A great website dealing with the alternative music scene in Providence is LotsOfNoise.com. They've got listings for venues, show-listings, record stores, bands, gigs, interviews with local musicians, and a relatively new forum that allows people to chat about what they like, different bands, and thoughts about the scene.


So if you are trying to find out what's going on in the alternative scene in Providence, Lots of Noise is a good place to start.

ARTS & CULTURE COUNCIL MEETINGS

The Mayor's Arts, Film, Culture and Tourism Steering Committee (of Providence) will convene four public meetings between July 23 and August 13. The committee, a group of arts, business and community leaders, was created to help develop the City's new Office of Arts, Film, Culture and Tourism, and begin the work of creating a cultural plan for the City of Providence.

Council members include Linda A'vant-Deishini, International Gallery; John Custer, Rhode Island College; Jim DeRentis, BankRI; Claude Elliott, The Rhode Island Foundation; Bob Jaffe, independent artist; Randy Rosenbaum, RI State Council on the Arts; Peter Bramante, Arts and business Council of RI; Tyler Denmead, New Urban Arts; Barbara Dreyer, Capitol Properties, and Tatiana Pina, Sol Gallery Group.

The committee is chaired by Ann Galligan, co-director of the Cultural and Arts Policy Research Institute at Northeastern University in Boston and a former Senior Associate Scholar at the Center for Arts and Culture in Washington, DC.

The hearings will provide an opportunity for the group to report on their progress while allowing artists, residents and the general public to weigh in on the development of the new office.

Hearing Dates and Locations: ( all hearings scheduled from 4 to 6 PM)

July 23 Jewish Community Center--401 Elmgrove Avenue
July 30 West End Community Center--109 Bucklin Street
August 6 DaVinci Center--470 Charles Street
August 13 Elmwood Community Ctr.--155 Niagara Street

If you are a big user of the Providence library system, it would behoove you to attend the Public Hearing for the FY’04 budget for the City of Providence is Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 6:00 pm at Providence City Hall (City Council Chambers, 3rd floor).


This is the third straight year that the Library will be level-funded. While better than cutting the funding, the library is starting to wilt. Expenses go up, but the budget has not. Services will be cut system wide from the library unless they can get some additional funding.

The library is a very important resource for the poor and underprivileged (as well as the privileged and wealthy!) Attend the meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, July 22 and show your support for increased funds for Providence Public Library. (You can also show your support for a myriad of other budget issues then as well!)

Love Thy Job is a new internet company based in Providence that has a mission to support local artists. They do this primarily by offering web services (web page hosting, web page design) and by offering free news, an events calendar, and some classifieds (job listings) As of today they have 17 artists signed up, ranging from Cuban-American visual artist Tamara Diaz to punk and folk singer Jenn Kitten

Love Thy Job Artist Member Tamara Diaz

Love Thy Job Artist Member Ruth Emers

Love Thy Job was started by two graduates of Franklin Pierce College. And while they've got a noble idea (the company motto is "Don't Give Up Your Dream of Being An Artist") I think the business end is going to be a tough row to hoe. Their prices are relatively competitive ($100 a year buys you a website), but the website has a slightly amateurish look ( typos--"Choose A Search Meathod") ; not very complete news and events; seemingly limited web templates, no email or contact info for the artists. All of that takes time and energy and money to do right, and to maintain.


Still, it's a new company, it's got a good and noble idea, and I'm sure that some of these things will be corrected. I'm wishing them the best of luck, and I'll definitely check in with them to see how the company (and community of artists) develops.


Add your event for free to the Love Thy Job Database

Browse the Artists of Love Thy Job

23rd NorthEastern Writer's Conference


July 17-20, 2003
Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI

The NorthEastern Writer's Conference, affectionately known as Camp Necon, is one of the best small fantasy/science fiction/horror conferences around. It takes place July 17-20 right here in Rhode Island at Roger Williams College in Bristol, RI.

This year the guests of honor include artists Gahan Wilson and Omar Rayyan, writers T.M. Wright, Elizabeth Hand, and James Moore, and editor Richard Chizmar. The schedule includes miniature golf, colloquys on various aspects of horror writing, A Saugie roast (with Ghost stories), a "Long Goodbye Barbecue", a talent show, and unscheduled debauchery at your own convenience.


Attendance is limited to 200, and it sells out early, so if you want to go to NECOM 2004, you should get on their mailing list NOW!

Visit their website to find out more.

Driving down Bellevue Avenue the other day, I noticed a new museum that I hadn' t seen before -- The National Museum of American Illustration. Nestled in one of the Newport Cottages (Vernon Court), The NMAI exhibits original artworks from the "Golden Age of American Illustration" (1870-1965). Artists exhibited include Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish, Howard Pyle, and J.M. Flagg, to name a few of the illustrious (pun intended!) names that grace the museum's walls.


The museum grounds are quite lush-- the mansion was designed by Carrére & Hastings, an architectural firm that also designed the Frick Collection and the New York Public Library in NYC, the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, and the Dupont mansion in Wilmington, Delaware. Right next to the grounds are a recently restored park that was designed by premiere landscape architect (and Central Park designer) Frederick Law Olmsted.

Admission is a little pricey: $15 per person for a Self-Guided Tour, $25 per person for Guided Tour, and $100 for a VIP Tour (minimum 4 people) There are discounts for groups of 20 or more, and some package deals with other museums, so check around for the best price!


The museum is located at 492 Bellevue Avenue in Newport. Admission is by advance registration only (or when they are flying an Open Flag) To ensure your reservation, give them a call at 401-851-8949 extension 16 or email them at art@americanillustration.org

Take the virtual tour!

Summer Walks with

If you'd like to experience Benefit Street's Mile of History for yourself, you can take a walking tour of Providence. Sponsored by the Rhode Island Historical Society, these walks are a great way to get your bearings in the city, and to experience some of the amazing architecture and history that Providence has to offer.

The walks are all 90 minutes long, and will run through October 15, 2003. Unless otherwise noted, Ticket prices are as follows: Adults, $10; Children, $5
 
Benefit Street: A Mile of History

Tuesdays through Saturdays at 11:00 A.M,Sundays at Noon.
Begins at the Rhode Island Historical Society's John Brown House, 52 Power Street, corner of Benefit and Power. Free parking in the lot at the corner of Charlesfield and Benefit Streets.


 
Roger Williams in God's Providence

Celebrating the 400th birthday of Roger Williams.
Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays at 10:00 A.M.
Begins at Roger Williams National Memorial, 282 North Main Street. Free parking on site; entrance on Canal Street.



Providence Riverwalk Walking Tour & Boat Ride

Saturdays at 1:00 P.M., 1:30 P.M. and 2:00 P.M.
Reservations a must!
Begins at the Visitor Information Center in the RI Convention Center.

Tickets: $25 per person; $45 for 2 people
 
For more information, visit the website or call (401) 438-0463 or (401) 331-8575 x111

Smirkopolis 2003: The Legion of Laughter

Circus Smirkus is an award winning international youth circus based in Greensboro, VT. Every summer they hold a circus camp, and kids from around the nation come to take classes with circus coaches in clowning, tumbling, juggling, hand-balancing, trapeze, acro, and just about everything else. By the middle of the summer, they take a tour of the kids out and about.. They've been coming to Rhode Island for about 3 or 4 years, and some Rhode Island kids have attended the camp and even gone on to perform with them!


This year the theme is Superheroes. Think Supervillains, phonebooths, Metropolis, and the Decaffeinator! It's usually a fabulous show and I'm sure that the new artistic directors Jeff Jenkins and Julie Greenberg (of the Midnight Circus in Chicago) won't disappoint. Jeff was my teacher when I went to Ringling's Clown College)


Best of all, there's a real community feeling to the shows, and amazement at how much these kids can learn to do. t's just like going to a dance recital, with all the pride and wonderful feelings and all that, but it's a circus!

Shows are Tuesday and Wednesday July 15 and 16 at Fort Adams State Park in Newport. Tickets are $15 for adults, and $12 kids (12 & under) and seniors. Group rates for non-profit organizations: kid's tickets $10 each for 20 or more kids.
Advance ticket outlets: Fort Adams State Park Visitor Center until 3 PM on Monday, July 14 (cash or check only), or call 800-532-7443 ( VISA, MasterCard).

Click Here For Directions


Find out more about Smirkus

Rhode Island's Online Magazine

Check out FindRI, Rhode Island's Online Magazine. It's undergone a complete web overhaul, and has articles, features, reviews, a career-finder, and much more. They've also got forums, and columns by Rhode Island celebrities. The magazine was started by a childhood friend, and perhaps the most entrepreneurial guy I know. Alan Rudolph. It's a good idea, and the more people who read the magazine, the better it will get!

The Wickford Art Festival is a fine arts juried show featuring over 250 artists from around the country and around the world. This year it's the 41st edition of the show that has been ranked the 12th best fine arts festival in the country by Sunshine Artist, and the #1 Arts Festival in New England.  Stroll the historic streets of Wickford, meet artists, drink lemonade, and prepare for the inevitable parking and traffic nightmares.


For more information, call 401-294-6840  (Sadly, their website seems to be down. You can try it yourself, and maybe you'll have better luck than I did! (I get some kind of chicken hosting site?)
http://www.wickfordart.org

See you at the Circus!

The Big Apple Circus is back in town! This New York based circus is presented annually in Little Rhody by the Charlestown Chamber of Commerce The shows are at Ninigret Park. This year, the theme of the show is immigration. Set in New York City at the turn of the Twentieth Century - a period of great changes and massive immigration, influencing everything - the Irish, Italians, Jews, Chinese and others brought to the city their dreams, their energy, and their cultural diversity -- all elements that are found in a good circus performance! So by celebrating New York's storied melting pot, the Big Apple Circus also celebrates ... the Circus!


Shows are July 8-14 and tickets cost between $14 and $33 . For more information or for tickets call Ticketmaster (401) 331-2211 or the Charlestown Chamber of Commerce. 401-364-0890

Sharks spotted at Narragansett Town Beach

Six sharks were spotted swimming about 100 yards off the coast of Narragansett Town Beach on Monday afternoon. Hundreds of swimmers were called in and although no one was injured (and it wasn't a true panic) for the forseeable future, swimming has been prohibited at the town beach. The beach itself will remain open, but swimming is a big no-no. Town officials will make determinations later today as to allowing swimming.


UPDATE: (7/8/03--11:30 am) Narragansett officials are now allowing ankle-wading, and will be updating the situation every couple of hours.

If you'd like to find out about other things going on on Narragansett's Beach, check out the official website

Makeshift Patriot

Download Makeshift Patriot Visit the Sage Francis website Read an interview with Sage Francis Buy Sage's album Personal Journals on Amazon.com

Heard a great song on the radio the other day, and decided I wanted to buy it. Lo and behold, doing some research, it turns out that the artist is from Rhode Island!

The song was Makeshift Patriot, the artist was Sage Francis, and it
was released 1 month after 9/11. The lyrics are very intense, and I feel the lyrics are right on the money. Here's a sample:

Makeshift Patriot 

The Flag Shop is Out of Stock 

I hang myself...via live telecast. 



Coming live from my own funeral...the beautiful weather offered a nice shine, 

Which is suitable for a full view of a forever altered skyline. 

It's times like these I freestyle biased opinions every other sentence. 

My journalistic ethics slip when I pass them off as objective. 

         Wondering how after it settles we'll

         find who provided power to radical rebels. 

         The Melting Pot seems to be calling the kettle

         black when it boils over, But only on our own soil 

         so the little boy holds a toy soldier... And waits 

         for the suit and tie to come home. We won't wait

        'til he's older, Before we destroy hopes for a

         colder war to end. "Now get a close up of his head..."



Makeshift Patriot 

The Flag Shop Is Out Of Stock 

Hang Myself...Half Mast

That's just a sample of some of the lyrics. Great stuff,eh?

Sage Francis is on Records.

NYPD BLUE MARATHON TOMORROW!

Tomorrow from 9 am onward, Court TV is showing the Whole First Season of NYPD Blue. Get out your VCR-- these are classic episodes featuring David Caruso, Sharon Lawrence, and the rise of young Nick Turturro. You also get to see Dennis Franz start his meteoric rise and fall and rise.

Much Ado About Nothing

Trinity Repertory Company presents a classic Shakespeare Comedy. The war is over and the boys are heading home. They only have one thing on their minds: love…the young, bright-eyed Claudio and the Duke’s daughter Hero are already head over heels for each other. But the hot-headed, avowed bachelor Benedick and the sharp-tongued Beatrice need a little help from their friends to set aside their quarrels and embrace their romance. With unexpected plot twists (how does a vengeful evil brother sound?), through laughter and tears, Much Ado About Nothing is a passionate masterpiece about love.



Shows are free! July 5- August 17, 2003.
Need more information? Call Trinity at 401-521-1100.

July 6 - 6:00 pm Foster Town Hall, Foster
July 8 - 6:00 pm Moses Brown School, Providence
July 9 - 6:00 pm Warwick Museum of Art
July 10 - 6:00 pm Louttit Library, West Greenwich
July 11 - 6:00 pm Town Common, Sturbridge, MA
July 12 - 6:00 pm Waterplace Park, Providence
July 13 - 6:00 pm Onatru Farm Park, South Salem, NY
July 15 - 6:00 pm Menotomy Rocks Park, Arlington, MA
July 16 - 6:00 pm Governor Notte Park, N. Providence
July 17 - 6:00 pm White Mill Park, Pascoag
July 19 - 6:00 pm Waterplace Park, Providence
July 22 - 6:00 pm Mashpee Commons, Mashpee, MA
July 23 - 6:00 pm Veterans Square, Jamestown
July 24 - 6:00 pm Four Corners Arts Ctr, Tiverton
July 25 - 6:00 pm Town Beach, N. Kingstown
July 26 - 6:00 pm Waterplace Park, Providence
July 27 - 6:00 pm Children’s Beach, Nantucket, MA
July 30 - 6:00 pm Glocester Manton Library, Chepachet
July 31 - 6:00 pm Academy Field, E. Greenwich
August 2 - 6:00 pm George Hail Library, Warren
August 3 - 6:00 pm Coventry Public Library, Coventry
August 5 - 6:00 pm E. Providence Library, E. Providence
August 6 - 6:00 pm Clark Memorial Library, Carolina
August 7 - 6:00 pm Queen Anne’s Square, Newport
August 10 - 5:00 pm Norman Bird Sanctuary, Middletown
August 12 - 6:00 pm Arctic Center Gazebo, W. Warwick
August 13 - 6:00 pm Goddard State Park, Warwick
August 15 - 5:30 pm N. Scituate Library, N. Scituate
August 16 - 4:00 pm Onset Bandshell, Onset, MA
August 17 - 6:00 pm Hanneford Park, Winthrop, MA

Mrs. Campbell! Mr. Shaw!

A new play adapted by Sandra Laub based on the correspondence of George Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Patrick Campbell.

The play is at the Firehouse Theater, 4 Equality Park Place Newport, RI 02840
July 6 and July 7 (Sundays) at 7 pm.

All seats are $15.00

For reservations, call: 401-849-FIRE (3473)

To get $5.00 OFF all tickets mention: Providence Phoenix.com

Picture of Anna Brooke Gertsacov, age 3 days!