South Coast Insider - May 2009

May 2009 / Vol. 13 / No. 5

coastalmags.com

Play ball!

Healthy things to do South Coast goes green May Day, mothers and memorials

Food Discover dining delights Wine Toast Cinco de Mayo Happenings you may enjoy

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May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

MAY 2009

CONTENTS IN EVERY ISSUE

4

From the publisher

8

On my mind: Mickey’s rescue

wine NOTES

THINGS TO DO

36

26

Toasting Cinco de Mayo

by Alton Long

FOOD

May Day and more

by Elizabeth Morse Read

39

Open Studio event returns

by Paul Kandarian

34

Book Picks: A bouquet of suggestions

40

44

Sample South Coast restaurants

Happenings: Spring into fun

by Stacie Charbonneau Hess

by staff of Baker Books

REGIONAL NEWS COVER STORY

12

Solar energy shines

16

Feel better with art

18

Baseball a local hit

30

32

10

Bike paths connect

by Adam Recchia

by H.B. Ussach

by Jason Perry

28

Area digs shovel-ready projects

by H.B. Ussach

by Bob Ekstrom

Dreamers and doers

by Kenneth Sutcliffe

‘Get Moving’ for St. Anne’s

by Michael J. Vieira

On the cover

Start your dining quest... visit www.TheSouthCoastInsider.com/dining

Bernardo Cardines Field in Newport is the home of the Newport Gulls and the George D. Donnelly Sunset League. The league kicks off its 91st season on May 11. For more information on Sunset League baseball, read the article on page 18 or call Newport Recreation at (401) 847-6875 and ask for Ed. For information on the Newport Gulls, visit their website at www. newportgulls.com. Photo by: Jason Perry The South Coast Insider / May 2009

3

FROM THE PUBLISHER May 2009 / Vol. 13 / No. 5 Published by

Coastal Communications Corp.

It’s May— when even the most stuffed of couch potatoes gets the urge to go outside. In this issue, we provide many sugges-

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

Ljiljana Vasiljevic

tions to get you up and out. Don’t delay!

Editors

Help yourself and somebody else by walking in the “Get

Joe Murphy Michael J. Vieira, Ph.D.

Moving” event for Saint Anne’s Hospital. Mike Vieira tells how and why. Want to just feel better? Jason Perry shares the ben-

Contributors

Stacie Charbonneau Hess, Bob Ekstrom, Paul Kandarian, Alton Long, Tom Lopes, Jason Perry, Elizabeth Morse Read, Adam Recchia, Kenneth Sutcliffe, H.B. Ussach and Michael Vieira

The South Coast Insider is published monthly for visitors and residents of the South Coast area.

The Insider is distributed free of charge from Mount Hope Bay to Buzzards Bay. All contents copyright ©2009 Coastal Communications Corp.

Deadline

20 days prior to publication.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any means, without written permission from the Publisher. All information contained herein is believed to be reliable. Coastal Communications Corp. does not assume any financial responsibility for typographical errors in advertisements, but will reprint that portion of an advertisement in which the typographical error occurs.

efits of art and Bob Ekstrom suggests the warmth of a Sunset League baseball game.

It’s also important to keep our energy production healthy. H.B. Ussach visited some South Coast leaders who are capturing the sun’s rays and exploring other alternative fuels. He also shares some resources for those interested in trying.

You can get an update on the bikeways that will soon connect the South Coast, learn about our region’s shovel-ready projects, find wines to toast Cinco de Mayo, and get some tips on dining at interesting local spots. Plus there’s even more to do in our Happenings section.

For even more ways to stay healthy and find things to do, visit www.SouthCoastGo. com, our free online classifieds and www.coastalmags.com to sign up for weekly updates, to discover things made in the South Coast, or to voice your opinion and share your thoughts. We may just use them in a future issue.

Circulation

30,000 Subscriptions

$25 per year

Ljiljana Vasiljevic Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

Mailing Address

The South Coast Insider 144 Purchase Street • PO Box 3493 Fall River, MA 02722 Tel: (508) 677-3000 Fax: (508) 676-7000 Website

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May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

Buy • Sell • Jobs • Real Estate • Arts & Entertainment • & More SouthCoastGo.com is a free service of Coastal Communications Corp., publisher of The South Coast Insider

CONTRIBUTORS STACIE CHARBONNEAU HESS is a mother, a graduate student, and a freelance writer based in New Bedford, Massachsuetts, where she lives with her husband, three children, and too many pets to mention.

BOB EKSTROM escapes corporate America through his family and has shared his experiences with South Coast readers for three years as a columnist for The SCENE Journal. He has also contributed to Metro-Boston, The Providence Journal, Boston.com and several national websites.

Paul Kandarian is a lifelong area resident and has been a professional writer for the past 23 years whose work has appeared in Yankee, Banker and Tradesman, American History, a variety of alumni magazines and many other publications. He writes regularly for The Boston Globe, and is a contributing editor and columnist for Rhode Island Monthly magazine.

Alton L. Long is a freelance writer, educator and event producer specializing in wine, food and travel. He and his wife Dorothy live in Tiverton.

TOM LOPES is a regular c­ ontributor to The South Coast Insider. His work has also appeared in a number of local publications. In addition, he has taught classes and exhibited in various galleries.

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HARVEY B. USSACH is a college writing instructor and freelance journalist with an M.A. in print journalism and communication from American University. He writes often on business issues and worked for many years as a retail manager.

MICHAEL VIEIRA, Ph.D. is the Acting Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Bristol Community College. Mike has written for several newspapers and magazines and is an editor of The South Coast Insider and South Coast Prime Times.

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May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

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7

ON mY MIND

Rescue cat

by Paul Kandarian

Did I tell you I just won the Nobel Prize for animal rescue?

Well, that’s not quite true. I have a new cat. It’s an eight-year old male tabby; we named him Mickey for what reason I do not know, it’s my son’s idea. But he’s orange, he’s a big baby, he’s friendly, he’s gorgeous and he’s ours.

We got him from the Taunton Animal Shelter where we went and saw dozens of mewing, plaintive-eyed caged cats and this one was not in a cage, but lying solo on top of the cages on a cat bed. We’d checked out a bunch of others, and I just happened to notice him way up high, so I walked over, looked up and he looked down, yawned and stretched a long, furry orange-white paw toward me and then curled his head under, as if to say, “Yeah, I’m damned cute, you want me, fine, if not, ‘scuse me, I have some napping to do here.”

Smitten, I was.

I Love cats with attitude even though virtually all come that way, to varying degrees.

May as well call it cattitude.

Anyway, my son, who lives with me, and I had toyed with the idea of a kitten but kittens are like kids, constantly demanding attention and feeding until they grow older and then they’re constantly demanding attention and feeding and money. I can live with the first two.

So we ruled out a kitten, though we’d had one eight or 8

so years ago, Sam, who turned into the cat of a lifetime, the best cat ever. Poor bugger got kidney and liver issues last year; had to put him down, one of the saddest days of my life. Funny how they coat your heart with fur like that and become so much part of your lives you can’t imagine them not being there.

So there was this void the last several months, Sam was a great cat, cuddly, slept like right up against my face at night, curled up next to me on the couch watching TV. I missed that, plus my son was bugging me to get a cat, so we went to the shelter and Mickey let himself be known with the paw stretch, yawn and that alluring cattitude.

He is, I’m told, technically known as a rescue cat. You go to the pound and pick up an adult animal, you’ve rescued him.

From what, I’m not sure, but am reasonably certain they mean death. After x-amount of whatever time they use, they put them down to make room for more. Makes sense, cruel as it sounds. That’s kinda what they do in nursing homes, without the puttingdown part, nature takes care of that.

Everyone I’ve told about this is impressed with my humanitarianism, saying “Great, you got a rescue cat!” as if I’d plucked him out of a burning building. I didn’t really have any concept of the rescue notion until I started the cat search, but I guess it is appropriate and fitting. You are rescuing an animal who is otherwise either doomed to die or worse, doomed to live far too long in a tiny cage cared for by loving people who are doing all they can do to make the lives of these animals as comfortable as possible.

The folks at the shelter and, I suspect, all shelters, are the most passionate, kind people you can imagine. Me, I’m a sucker and would want to take them all home had I the chance, but then in a couple years you’d be reading about me as the crazy cat

May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

guy whose house was condemned when officials found 240 cats living there amid piles of feces and newspapers.

But really, you walk into a shelter and see all those cats and dogs, paws stretched out between the bars of their cages trying to get your attention, it makes it hard not to want to rescue every damn one of them.

It’s really kind of sad how a lot of animals get to the need-rescue stage. In Mickey’s case, an elderly couple owned him and sadly had to go to a nursing home, so they had to give him and his brother up, who with the Mickster was also at the shelter, the two of them being the only ones allowed to roam the room freely.

And some people realize they’re not cut out for pet ownership and just dump them off at the shelter or in the woods and they end up in cages, not knowing why or how they got there. Sometimes, as it’s happened in this wretched economy, people just can’t afford them.

So that’s were we people on the top of the food chain come in. We go to shelters, get smitten by the wide eyes and outstretched paws and cattitude, and take one or more home to give them the only thing they really need, besides food and shelter love. That’s rescue most honorable, I guess, and I don’t mind the label.

Mickey’s meowing now, he’s hungry, as always. If I don’t feed him soon, he’ll jump up on my desk, go nose to nose with me as if to say “Dude, I can’t do this myself, a little help if you don’t mind?” and then stand between my arms as I try to type around him until I give up and he gets his way.

Funny how they get into your head and your heart and at the end of a long, hard day can make you feel so loved just by loving them. At that point, it’s hard to figure out who rescued who.

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REGIONAL NEWS

The South Coast

bikeway Learning from our neighbors

by Adam Recchia

A new bike path runs along South Watuppa Pond.

For a lot of us, cyclists, bikeway planners and forward thinkers, the ultimate goal for bike paths in southeastern Massachusetts is a bike path that would extend from the Rhode Island state line in Swansea to the existing bike path that runs along the Cape Cod Canal.

The South Coast Bikeway has had two exciting additions this year: the Phoenix Bike Trail in Fairhaven, smaller segments in New Bedford and Swansea, and the first segment of both the Mattapoisett and Fall River bike paths are complete.

The new Brightman Street bridge construction is progressing nicely and its completion will bring a long anticipated bicycle and pedestrian connection between Fall River and Somerset. A feasibility study is being conducted in Wareham for their lengthy segment of the path and Marion is steadily nearing the completion to the 10

planning phase for its segment, with only one more small sliver of property to be acquired.

While these small successes are steps in the right direction there are still many hurdles to overcome.

RI inspiration We should look to Rhode Island for inspiration since they are ahead of the game when it comes to bike paths. They have three major paths over 10 miles in length and two shorter ones, with two running alongside active railroads and traversing

May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

dense urban areas. We should pay attention to that particular detail over here in Massachusetts, as our planned bikeways would have to do the same to reach completion.

Trains & bikes Take Wareham, for example. The route recommended by SRPEDD in a 2007 study would have a major segment of the bike path running along the active MassCoastal freight rail line, which runs the infamous “trash train” from the Cape to the SEMASS plant in Rochester. A bike path running next to active trains? Isn’t that crazy, some may ask?

Well Rhode Islanders certainly don’t think so. They’ve got two bike paths running alongside active trains: the Blackstone River Bikeway through Lincoln and Cumberland, and the Ten Mile River Greenway in East Providence. Throw up a fence with some adequate spacing between

track and trail, and you have a facility to serve two needs: a rail-with-trail.

This technique of using extra right-of-way on rail lines for bike paths is one that has spread across the country. Numerous studies have been conducted by the Rails to Trails Conservancy that are very supportive of this very idea. Even MassHighway’s 2006 Project Development & Design Guide has a nifty table listing general standards for a bike path within an active railroad right-of-way.

Okay, so you’re not convinced? “What about bikers and pedestrians getting hit by trains?”

The answer is that people walk along rail lines already, and some walk on the tracks (we see it here in Taunton everyday!), and that’s when they get hit by trains. People will not continue to walk on train tracks if they have a nice walking/biking path to walk on instead. It has been shown in studies that

Southeastern Massachusetts can easily match Rhode Island’s bikefriendliness with some forward thinking and a little bit of courage rails with trails have a lower trespassing rate than those without.

So that takes care of one of our problems; now what about bike paths through dense urban areas? Well, you can toss one in on a freight rail line, or you can do what the Rhode Island Department of Transportation is doing through the dense cities of Pawtucket and Central Falls. Simply narrow an exiting roadway and build a path right next to it, with an ornamental jersey barrier separation. Wouldn’t that be nice in Fall River?

The bottom line is that Southeastern Massachusetts can easily match Rhode Island’s bike-friendliness with some forward thinking and a little bit of courage. By looking to our neighbors and copying what they have done so well, we can achieve our goal of someday completing the South Coast Bikeway with most of the kinks already worked out.

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11

Alternative energy comes to South Coast

The flat roof of Whalers Cove and other South Coast mill buildings make a perfect place for solar panels.

By H.B. Ussach

Renewable wind energy, once the greenest trend, still retains commercial value but the value of residential turbines on house roofs has faded. While tall turbines on sizeable property at Mass Maritime Academy in Bourne, Portsmouth High School, and Portsmouth Abbey School in Rhode Island churn wind into electricity, small turbines have proved inefficient and costly.

Several Westport homeowners have expressed disappointment with the output of Burgee turbines, said Lillian Sherman, a sales manager for Alternate Energy Solutions in Plymouth. Phil Cavallo, president of New Bedford’s Beaumont Sign Company, acknowledges wind’s downside.

“Wind energy is not viable for residences,” he said. “Some turbines are made in China and are not very good.”

Add the fact that a small wind power company in New Bedford had supply problems, faced legal action, and went out of business, and homeowners might rightly be skeptical of wind energy. A niche opportunity has opened.

Solar energy—hot water systems, photovoltaic (PV) panels, tubes, slates—is rushing to fill the void…again.

Here comes the sun Surprisingly, more than a century ago, Clarence Kemp manufactured the first 12

commercial solar water heater. He sold it for $25. It was a big hit. Journalist Scott Gibson talks about it in the May 2008 issue of Fine Homebuilding. He adds that by 1941, half the houses in Florida had solar hot water systems.

In some hot climates all that was needed to generate hot water was a 55-gallon drum painted black. Batch collectors, as they were called, had special coatings like black chrome, black nickel, aluminum oxide with nickel, or titanium nitride oxide. It is hard to keep a good idea down.

Today’s solar hot water systems use heat conductive tubes. SunMaxx tubes consist of a series of six-foot air-tight evacuation tubes that contain copper and aluminum coatings. A rod within the aluminum conducts solar heat up into a manifold where it heats water to a target temperature of 180ºF. Each tube can produce 2 to 21/2 gallons of hot water a day.

The hot water is then transferred to 40-,

May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

80-, or 120-gallon tanks, depending on the size of the household. When manifold water exceeds that temperature and climbs to nearly 220ºF, it is “dumped” into other applications such as hot tubs or radiant floor heat.

Jeff Moran of Westport’s New Environomics raves about these tubes, a technology used in Europe since 1974 and popular in Canada, China and India.

“The round tubes collect up to 96 percent of sunlight from many angles, unlike flat panels that face only one way. They are more stable in the wind too,” he explained.

“An installer colleague of Moran’s added that tubes are 40 percent more efficient than panels and “get going” sooner.

Moran, who also sells wood pellet stoves, explained that a household’s annual heating bill is 40-50 percent hot water and that solar tubes can provide 60-80 percent of a household’s needs.

“Say the bill is $1,800 a year for a family of three (a person uses an average 20 gallons daily). A 40-gallon tank is $2,000 roughly, depending on material. Figure 40 percent of that to install which is $1,400, for a total of $5,000.” The federal government repays 30 percent in tax credit (Rhode Island remits 17%, Massachusetts zero).

Continued on page 14

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The South Coast Insider / May 2009

13

Continued from page 12

Hot coffee and more Moran helped oversee the installation of a system on the roof of a Kingston, Rhode Island restaurant. Taylor’s Landing, about a mile down Rt. 138 from the University of Rhode Island, is a gourmet coffee and tea and sandwich café. Owner Ken Marot is happy with his system.

“Tubes are good,” he said. “Each is replaceable without having to shut down a whole solar panel—and tube angle is an advantage.”

He was trying to scurry away to prepare lunch on this weekday, but said, “We have to explore new ways to save energy now because it costs a lot to run a small business.”

For instance, he said, electricity was $1,000 a month. By adding the solar hot water system, receiving tax credit, and changing electricity providers, he saved a lot of money and reduces carbon by 4,000 pounds a year.

Moran’s installer colleague noted that solar hot water systems offer fast payback on investment; for example, $8,000 for a system and installation then receives tax credits reducing the balance to about $4,000. National Grid customers get an additional 15 percent credit on labor and materials ($1.80 per square foot for commercial application). Payback is about five to seven years.

A downside to this, said the installer, is that banks are reluctant in these tough times to give solar loans.

“They won’t loosen up money,” he said.

Plus customers are a bit hesitant to put down $10,000 to get payback in five to seven years.

Nevertheless, New Environomics is busy doing job estimates for New Bedford and Westport car washes looking to reduce hot water bills by 50 percent, restaurants, and a Tiverton residence.

Lillian Sherman at Alternative Energy Solutions is also busy, reporting that stimulus money has paved the way for an upsurge in commercial projects in 2009 compared to residential jobs—80% of business, compared to 10% in 2008. The company, founded by Steve Pitney, who has worked in the energy business since 1974, has clients in Bristol, Barnstable, Plymouth and Norfolk counties.

14

May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

Finding alternatives Determining a residential customer’s need starts with checking energy efficiency—insulation first around windows and doors, then evaluating appliances. Next the company calculates a year’s usage of energy, creates a system that will produce that much but save the most money. Plus, a south facing roof is preferred but not required for optimal sunlight.

Sherman said a majority of alternative energy residential customers choose “hybrid” systems, combining domestic hot water production and a photovoltaic electrical system. Once permits are in place, it takes just two days or less to install a system using three vendor-certified installers and an electrician.

Like the installer, the only downside Sherman could identify is the price outlay.

A 5 kilowatt installation costs $36,000.

Payback time is at least five years, though federal tax credits help. Massachusetts has scaled back its credits since March due to heavy demand.

Plus, some panels—210W for instance— often have an efficiency rating of just 20 percent. “Lots of folklore is floating around of maybe eighty percent efficiency in a few years, but technology may not get there so fast,” said Sherman.

Technology is changing fast though.

Beaumont Solar, a division of New Bedford’s Beaumont Sign Company, is an authorized SunPower solar panel dealer.

“We went with photovoltaic [panels] because they are more ‘eco-viable’ than hot water [systems],” said president and CEO Phil Cavallo.

He pointed to the structure of the solar cell itself to explain its value. SunPower cells are smaller than industry average but have higher polycrystal density. Plus the way the electrical conductors are welded to the cell yields 17.3 watts per square foot versus the average 13 watts.

Home or work Currently, the number of commercial and residential jobs are split, but he predicts “significantly more” commercial installations.

Cavallo’s company is currently installing a 20KW solar panel system on a banquet hall in Sharon, Mass. that will meet 30-40 percent of its annual electrical consumption.

The company has installed 5KW systems on homes in Dartmouth, Fairhaven and Mattapoisett, and has customers “all over

Southcoast to Buzzards Bay and Falmouth.”

A 10KW system is being installed on a house in Winchester, Mass. It takes a week or less to install the average residential job, some in just one to two days. Installers are vendor-trained and an electrician is present.

Like Alternative Energy Solutions, Beaumont Solar conducts lengthy evaluations of residential property for system installation. Houses must be assessed under $350,000 to qualify, and household income must total less than $96,000.

Based on evaluation, Cavallo has advised households not to go with photovoltaic panels but to choose solar thermal systems instead. Some do both—confirming Lillian Sherman’s observation—in order to be off the national grid.

Residential payback takes six years and commercial payback two years. “Money up front is a heavy burden,” admits Cavallo, although the state and federal governments offer credits.

Solar technology is changing fast Companies like Lowell-based Konarka, with a plant in New Bedford, is experimenting with newer types of roll-on solar film using organic technology but, said Cavallo, dense areas like Southcoast offer no practical places for its application, citing a company like First Solar that has the space to build huge 3 megawatt solar farms.

Keith Middle School in New Bedford currently has a bid out for a solar panel installation on its roof. A few miles away, also in New Bedford, Winn Companies recently installed a 168KW solar photovoltaic system at Whaler’s Place, 75 affordable senior apartments in a historic mill on Riverside Avenue in New Bedford. The installation is part of a Winn program to produce nearly one megawatt of solar power at seven locations in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Bristol Community College in Fall River has a PV panel system up and running and is planning a larger project. The 10KW panel system was installed on the roof of its Engineering classroom building (Building B) in December 2007. Steve Kenyon, BCC vice president for administration and finance, explained the scope of the project.

“It is the equivalent of a system for an average two-story home in Massachusetts.

We installed it basically as a prototype for instructional and community education purposes. The fifty-plus panels don’t significantly meet our demand for 6.7 million

Demo model of solar hot water heating tubes at New Environomics in Westport.

kilowatts per year,” he said.

The school is proud of the system though.

BCC touted it at a February 2008 legislative breakfast at the campus and since then students and business people have examined the “portable” panels and allied electrical equipment inside the building as part of green sustainability courses offered at the college.

Representatives from Munro Electric, a Fall River contractor, toured the installation and Munro has since installed 24KW photovoltaic panels on its own building. In fact, Munro Solar is a new division of Munro Distributing Co., Inc. It seems excitement and opportunity is burgeoning.

Kenyon explained that the panels are not roof anchored, thereby averting the need to drill holes in the roof that can cause problems. They are self-ballasted, can be angled toward the sun, and are protected from strong winds by a specially installed roof lip. This particular school installation does not store energy; it recycles electricity back into the grid. The initial $105,000 cost was cut in half thanks to a funding grant, also cutting in half the payback time to 10 years.

BCC is planning a 100KW installation for the administration and health sciences buildings (C and D) in the next six to 10 months. The $750,000 system will feature new technology on a recently renovated

roof. The new light-colored roof surface will offer better sun reflection into the selfballasted panels.

Having said all this about solar energy, we come back to the start. Bristol Community College has just initiated a feasibility study for a commercial wind turbine on its main campus in Fall River. Wind data will be collected for the next six to 12 months and a variety of payment options explored for the $12 million project.

If the turbine is built, the school will have multiple sources of renewable energy—a “hybrid” system. Perhaps combination systems is the commercial wave of the future.

In the meantime, solar systems are exciting, constantly changing, and worth a look.

More info Courses at Bristol Community College Summer 2009 non-credit courses include Fundamentals of Solar and Hot Water Heat, and Photovoltaic System Design www.bristol.mass.edu

n

n State-by-state database of financial incentives for renewables and efficiency www.dsireusa.org

National Renewable Energy Laboratory www.nrel.gov

n

The South Coast Insider / May 2009

15

Recently, the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery (below) featured the work of young, local photographers. For more information call 508.678.2811, ext. 2439 or visit www.bristolcc.edu/gallery

Desperate times call for art

by Jason Perry

Feels like the world’s crumbling around

New Bedford

us, doesn’t it? Once lively communities are turning into shanty towns, pink slips are being handed out faster than they’re printed, and investment bankers are creeping up to the scum level of sewer rats and ambulance-chasing lawyers. Trust in the average individual is nose-diving into the pits. International relationships are souring like a carton of milk left carelessly sitting in the sun.

Times are tough? That’s an understatement.

Turbulent times call for dialogue and inspiration. Now more than ever, the need to work together as a community to solve local issues by thinking outside of the box is paramount.

Creativity thrives in the darkest hours, and ultimately, will be the helping hand that pulls us up. But where can we go to exercise our imagination?

How about breaking a mental sweat at one of the South Coast’s art galleries or museums, where creativity isn’t a hobby, but a way of life.

“We live in a time with an amazing amount of challenges,” said Irene Buck, executive director for ArtWorks! Community Art Center in New Bedford. “Those challenges will be resolved because people are willing to think creatively, and art is a way to demonstrate you can do that.”

ArtWorks! is just one example of an organization driven to keep inventive minds alive in the South Coast. By conducting in-depth workshops and art education classes, ArtWorks! makes fine art accessible to everyone. It’s not just about marveling at a piece of art, but understanding the lengthy, and sometimes painstaking, creative process behind it. This approach gives a diverse community a chance to unify and share its appreciation for creative art. And when a community gets together, dialogue branches start to sprout.

“The solutions for this country’s problems are going to come when people are willing to talk and work together,” said Mrs. Buck.

“And they will solve them with new ideas.

It’s all about creativity and, really, that’s all about art.”

16

May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

ArtWorks! isn’t alone in its crusade to awaken the region’s artistic spirit. Joining them is an assorted mix of museums and galleries, each possessing a unique approach to promoting the priceless value of art.

The New Bedford Art Museum (NBAM), a fixture downtown since 1996, offers immersion through contemporary and historic art from all over the world. Become engulfed in eclectic works by strolling through the NBAM’s Skylight Gallery; where dynamic pieces rich in culture and diversity are promptly displayed for visual consumption. The Skylight Gallery currently features “...Alive and Moving!” a collection of rare prints from John James Audubon’s The Birds of America and highlights from the Cape Cod Museum of Art, in this collaborative effort showcasing the region’s time-honored artistic heritage.

A few blocks up the road on Purchase Street is the Star Store; where talented UMass Dartmouth students receive a chance in the spotlight. From ceramics to sculptures, printmaking to painting, the Star Store represents young visionaries

on the brink of mastering their respective crafts. Currently, the Star Store is in the midst of the 2009 MFA Thesis Exhibition; a collection of unique works from students finishing up UMass Dartmouth’s Master of Fine Arts program. The exhibit ends May 12th, so don’t dawdle and miss out on a truly invigorating experience.

At the intersection of 8th and Williams Street is the always cutting-edge, and highly controversial, Gallery X. Back in 2008, Gallery X riled up emotions with Sex at the X: a provocative show centralized around human sexuality. The artists of Gallery X aren’t afraid to express their feelings, popular or not, on taboo subjects, and that’s part of the gallery’s charm. Art knows no limitations and neither does Gallery X. Those with an open-mind need only apply.

Fall River Cherry & Webb (C&W), an old department store turned art gallery, fosters ingenious talent that bring a whole new meaning to the phrase “think big.” UMass Dartmouth, Bristol Community College (BCC), Boston University, and Bridgewater State all hold classes at C&W, honing the artistic skills of students both young and old. The C&W provides an outlet for local artists to promote the South Coast’s historic past while, simultaneously, encouraging its future. Starting May 1st, vivid photography from the Fall River Camera Club (FRCC) will take over the main gallery, celebrating the awe-inspiring shutter eyes of FRCC members.

Speaking of BCC, the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery, located inside BCC’s Jackson Arts Center, cultivates Fall River’s fine arts community with works from students and established artists alike. Free and open to the public, a Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery exhibit is guaranteed to challenge conventional thought. In May, the annual Juried Student Exhibition returns, where students enrolled in BCC’s art and design programs dive head first into the practice of preparing works for an exhibition.

Cape Cod The Cape Cod Museum of Art (CCMA) is full of captivating art displayed in seven unique galleries. There’s something for everyone: pottery, photography, painting, and even a magnificent sculpture garden. The CCMA even dabbles in film, running new

local independent flicks in The Screening Room; perfect for those wanting a break from the latest romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey.

For the month of May, the CCMA is packed to the brim with enthralling exhibits.

Jennifer Day, a Bowdoin College and UPenn graduate, shows off her large monochromatic paintings of the seas in Air & Ocean; the Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod brings together its highly-decorated pastelists for Signature 2009; and RISD Alumnus Robert Cipriani’ award-winning paintings will be on hand for I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.

Newport and Bristol Located on the grounds of the historic Linden Place mansion on Hope Street, the Bristol Art Museum (BAM) has recognized all forms of artistic media since its inception in 1954. Needless to say, it’s the seasoned veteran of Bristol’s art scene. The BAM holds joint exhibits with the Rogers Free Library and Roger Williams University Law School Gallery, in addition to housing free lectures hosted by the area’s brightest fine arts contributors.

But the BAM isn’t the only art venue on Hope Street. The Hope Gallery is a stone’s throw away, specializing in fine arts and crafts under the experienced eye of Anita Trezvant. Local and regional artists regularly contribute to the Hope Gallery, all with the intention of enhancing the growth of art in Bristol, Rhode Island. The Hope Gallery allows visitors to purchase works featured in select exhibits, so those looking to bring inspiration home better have their checkbook handy.

Seen all there is to see on Hope Street?

Then make the 30-minute drive to Newport. While Newport’s mansions, docks, and street shops get all the fanfare, the town’s art community adds to its elegance.

A stop at the Newport Art Museum (NAM) should be at the top of any Newport day trip itinerary. Past and present collide at the NAM, located inside the Griswold House; a National Historic Landmark and official project of Save America’s Treasures. Three eye-opening exhibits will run through the month of May including Irvin Haynes’ Abstractions and the powerful photographs of Africa In Rhode Island by Kerry Stuart Coppin.

MAY EVENTS Poverty Point Walking Tour Saturday, May 9, 2 p.m.

Begins at Old Stone Schoolhouse, 40 North St. Learn about the oldest village area in Fairhaven and hear about Joshua Slocum, Joseph Bates, Manjiro Nakahama and more.

Tour lasts 90 minutes. Free.

Fairhaven Center Walking Tour Saturday, May 23, 2 p.m.

Begins at Leonard Pierce Park, Fort & South streets. Learn the history of the beautiful center of Fairhaven and its people, including the Delano family and H.H. Rogers Tour lasts 90 minutes. Free.

River-Side Cemetery Tour Sunday, May 24, 2 p.m.

River-Side Cemetery, 274 Main St. Tour this lovely rural-style cemetery created in 1850 by Warren Delano II, grandfather of F.D.R. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Free.

Fort Phoenix Minuteman Tour Saturday May 30, 2 p.m.

River-Side Cemetery, 274 Main St. Learn about Fort Phoenix history and life in the 1770s. Includes a musket firing demonstration.

Tour lasts 75 minutes. Free.

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The South Coast Insider / May 2009

17

COVER STORY

Take me out to the ballgame

by Bob Ekstrom

Everybody has their warm, safe place, somewhere just beyond the veil that separates waking world from daydream, a spot to wait out the storm. Some conjure it for pleasure while others retreat only as a survival reflex, but it’s there for all of us just the same.

For me, it’s the Sunset League of my youth, where I’d spend nights watching baseball games from the bleachers of Bernardo Cardines Field in Newport.

Over the years, I’ve found my disembodied self there many times. One moment I’m stuck in traffic or another dull meeting; the next, I’m sitting on a wooden bench where the fog rolling off Newport Harbor is dragged through the neon of America’s Cup Avenue making an incandescent soup that paints the periphery of my conscience. Like the real world I’ve escaped, it presses but I keep it at arm’s length and let the field’s contours speak to me of remembered plays and forgotten days.

This is baseball waged the way Alexander Doubleday intended: embryonic skills, grassroots enthusiasm, wide-eyed wonder.

This is the George D. Donnelly Sunset

18

League, one of the premier adult leagues along the South Coast. And on May 11, as the gates open on its 91st season, it will retain its standing as both the oldest and longest continually-running amateur baseball league in the United States.

From basins to baseballs The league took roots back in August of 1919, when locals and Naval Torpedo Station officials—along with an insurance policy taken out by the City—persuaded the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad to allow baseball play on a field abutting its tracks.

As recently as the 1880s, that field had

May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

been part of Newport Harbor. Subsequent extensions of both Long Wharf and Washington Street would encase this niche and create an inland pool providing water to steam locomotives. Neighbors soon complained of the stagnant water and the site was eventually filled in, but it remained swampy until the turn of the century. In fact, one written account had the water occasionally deep enough for locals to paddle about in household washtubs, thus earning it the nickname ‘The Basin.’

Baseball at The Basin actually dates back to 1908, when a group of boilermakers from the railroad spruced up the backfilled field and formed a six-team Newport City League. However, the railroad disbanded play after only one season due to the number of broken windows on its property, leaving only a backstop as testament to that season. Thirty years later, the backstop was incorporated into the grandstands of Cardines Field, providing the chain of continuity fueling assertions that Cardines Field is the oldest ballpark in the country.

Continued on page 20

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Continued from page 18

Oldest league & park That the oldest amateur league in the nation should play in its oldest park seems poetic. Indeed, the two are inseparable and have aged well together through good times and bad.

The footprint of today’s park took shape in the late 1930s when grandstands were built and fences erected. This provided a permanence and legitimacy to the league, one it would soon leverage. Less than a decade later, communities around the country were forced to disband grassroots leagues as players went off to war, but their loss proved Newport’s gain. The large Naval installation that still commands a considerable presence along Narragansett Bay stocked the town with ample talent, and the Sunset League gave servicemen an athletic outlet.

Lighting was installed in 1938 but sunset would still have the final say until after World War II for fear that lights would attract the attention of passing German U-boats.

In those years, a common practice evolved to adjudicate suspensions so that when, years later, fog replaced darkness as the chief impediment to play, league officials had a time-worn litmus test: “The umpires would make a guy hit a fungo bat fly ball,” recalls Charlie Kaull, who played on three different Sunset teams from 1958-1980 and is its all-time winningest pitcher with a 116-42 record. “If the guy could see it in center field, they’d continue the game. So, if you were behind, you wouldn’t see it.”

Surviving the lean times The intervening years brought challenges more threatening than darkness. When waterfront redevelopment that began in the 1970s reached The Basin, Cardines Field was nearly claimed as a parking garage. The field was saved by broad citizen support led by local businessman Ron MacDonald, who today sponsors two Sunset teams. And while the field fought for survival, so too did the league.

“Near the end of the seventies, the talent started to dry up a little,” recalls Kaull, who played with or pitched against several major leaguers in his Sunset prime, including Bob 20

Lipski, later of the Cleveland Indians, and Billy Almon, the first player picked in 1974’s MLB amateur draft and a career .254 hitter in 15 big-league seasons.

The talent deficit was prelude to the malaise that has now become endemic with America’s pastime. A recent study by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, a widely-recognized authority on sporting trends, showed an 8% drop in amateur baseball participation among players aged seven and older from 1998 to 2006.

Similarly, Little League International, a leading indicator of the game’s future, reported a 14% drop in participation over the tenyear period between 1997 and 2007.

“All you have to do today is drive by any

All you have to do today is drive by any playground in the summertime and it’s empty.

Years ago, when I was a kid, we would be up there all day long. playground in the summertime and it’s empty,” says Kaull. “Years ago, when I was a kid, we would be up there all day long.”

But of all the challenges faced by the league throughout the seventies and eighties, perhaps none was as great as the loss of its patriarch.

One of a kind George Donnelly was a deeply impassioned man. Quiet, spiritual, the father of four, he devoted himself to family and Sunset League. He was involved with the latter for 69 of his 87 years—as a player from 1922-1937, then as its official scorer and statistician until his death in 1991. To

May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

this day, there have been but three Sunset seasons in which Donnelly has not made his mark; the league was renamed in his memory upon his passing.

“He lived for the Sunset League,” recalls daughter Judy Souza of Newport. “From April until September, that was his total life.

And it was way before computers, so my father kept notebooks and [computed] everything by hand.”

As a stringer for the Newport Herald, Newport Daily News, and Providence Journal, Donnelly kept the Sunset League in the sports pages every day. As Director of the Recreation Department, he would also be its principal caregiver. The City purchased the field in 1936 and for many years funded league operations net of gate receipts and concessions.

“He was one of a kind. He just lived for it,” said Souza, who recalls her father writing his final sports column on the day he died.

“I’ve seen too many old-timers just fade away with nothing else to do,” Donnelly told Yankee Magazine in a 1988 interview. “I’ll stay around until I’m not able to see.”

New lifeblood Like The Basin neighborhood in which it plays, Donnelly’s Sunset League has survived by avoiding stagnation. Each year brings with it a new crop of players drawing heavily from the New England college ranks. The search for collegiate athletes pits it squarely against its Cardines co-tenants, the Newport Gulls of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. The Gulls have been in town since 2001, yet the Sunset League still manages to recruit effectively.

“There’s quite a bit of interest in the league,” says first-year commissioner Bob Lendrum, who is adding a sixth team this year sponsored by Roba!Dolce Gelatoria, which opened a Newport café last July.

The extra team created an opening for another coach, and that’s when Fall River’s Mark Ferreira got involved. Ferreira will steer R & R Legion, one of the two teams sponsored by Ron MacDonald, the man who had rescued Cardines from a parking garage fate.

“We field our own team,” says Ferreira.

“Each coach goes out and gets players Continued on page 22

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On May 11, the George D. Donnelly Sunset League kicks off its 91st season at Bernardo Cardines Field in Newport, preserving its billing as the oldest amateur baseball league in the United States.

The league started in 1919 and took its full name after the passing of George Donnelly in 1991.

Donnelly committed his life to the Sunset League, starring as a player from 1922-1937, then becoming its official scorer and reporter until the day he died.

“He banged away at an old Royal typewriter,” recalls his daughter, Judy Souza of Newport. “I can see him in the backroom when I was a little girl. The world stopped.

We could get no phone calls, because a score might get called in. My dad would be available every night, and people would give him all the information about the game.

He would quickly type up the story and run over to the Daily News.

“He was one of a kind. He just lived for it.”

Opening Night action is slated for 6:30. The traditional Saturday afternoon doubleheaders begin on May 16 with games at 4 PM and 7 PM. And for more baseball, the Newport Gulls open their New England Collegiate Baseball League home schedule on Friday, June 5.

Cardines Field is located on the corners of America’s Cup Avenue and West Marlborough Streets, right across from the Newport Visitor Information Center. For more information on Sunset League baseball, call Newport Recreation at (401) 847-6875 and ask for Ed. For information on the Newport Gulls, visit their website at www.newportgulls.com.

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Continued from page 20

that he knows. Like me, I’ve got my sons. They play in the Fall River adult league and they play in Sunset.”

Ferreira’s oldest son Jacob is a senior catcher for the Ravens of Franklin Pierce University, while younger son Josh is a freshman outfielder for Massasoit Community College. And when they come home this summer, they’ll bring along some teammates. Franklin Pierce’s Robbie Beaudoin, a Somerset native, and Massasoit’s Cory Batista, who graduated from Bishop Connelly, will both play for R & R Legion.

Ferreira has also recruited some MLB talent. Thirty year-old Allen Levrault of Westport, who last pitched for the Florida Marlins and made 19 appearances for its 2003 World Series championship team, will pitch and serve as pitching coach. A major concern to both Ferreira and Levrault will be in monitoring the workload of their staff, many of whom have logged considerable innings by the end of the college season. They will also serve as liaisons with their players’ collegiate coaches.

According to new commissioner Lendrum, this year’s rosters will have quite a few college players, particularly from Salve Regina University, but will also have players with minor league experience such as Brandon Pico and Dante Blancarte, who played on the Chicago Cubs’ and Minnesota Twins’ farms, respectively.

History runs through it

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May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

There is new, and there is established. And when it comes to the Donnelly Sunset League, The Paddock was as interwoven with its history as the pub’s façade continues to be with Cardines Field.

Now the Mudville Pub, the West Marlborough Street establishment stands adjacent to the first base grandstands with a patio looking out into right field. In its former incarnation, The Paddock

was the league’s unofficial tenth inning, where players, umpires, and fans would fraternize after the game and—with a former entrance opening onto the field—sometimes during.

“I knew a couple of umpires that would go down there and have a quick one [between innings],” says Kaull, who remembers many other baseball traditions celebrated in the old pub. “You’d get a case of Schaefer beer for a no-hitter or a grand slam.”

But times have changed, even around the oldest ballpark in the country.

“All those traditions are illegal now. That was the old wild, wild west,” points out Kevin Stacom, the former Boston Celtic who purchased the vacant site in 1986 and reopened it as today’s Mudville Pub. He may not be able to give away booze, but Stacom can offer a number of entrees and more than a dozen beers on tap to make the Mudville a post-game must.

“We’re famous for our burgers,” he brags. “It’s a full 8-ounce burger, hand-crafted. I also have one of the best bartenders in town, this guy Louie from Limerick [Ireland]. He’s very fussy about the way he serves his Guinness.”

Dry opening night But if you’re coming down for Opening Night, you’ll have to wait to taste Louie’s stout. The Mudville won’t reopen until late May, courtesy of damage caused by a broken sprinkler pipe. And Stacom’s partner, Mike Cheney, vows to return better than ever, along with a special present for baseball fans.

“I’m paying homage to Cardines Field because I’m a baseball fanatic,” Cheney reveals. “I’m going to take a small room and turn it into a museum dedicated to Cardines. And a large percentage is going to be [devoted to] the Sunset League.”

The way things are going, Stacom and Cheney may need to put an addition on. Ninety-one years makes a lot of history to tell.

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Mayday, May Day? Mayday!

by Elizabeth Morse Read

Okay. To most South Coasters, May is the month of Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, but there are a lot more interesting facts about this balmy month and its many curious celebrations and traditions than what’s printed on your kitchen calendar…

I have vague and muddled memories of the month of May from my very IrishCatholic childhood in New Bedford. Mary, Queen of May, processions. First Communion. May baskets with Mass cards.

Kneeling at the couch to say the rosary after dinner. Carnations for the May shrine.

I neither understood nor questioned the monthly rituals.

May was the month of celebrating flowers, as far as I could figure. Remember the old riddle, “If April showers bring May flowers, what does the May flower bring? Answer: “Pilgrims.” (It’s one of those local jokes that only someone from the South Coast would appreciate.

But what’s really curious is that the month of May is drenched in ancient cultural and religious traditions that have been blended and adapted over the millennia around

the world. What we now think of as the month of Mother’s Day and Memorial Day in America has a far deeper history and significance, even here on the South Coast.

May 1 – May Day Although it’s not a major public holiday here in the US, May 1st “May Day” celebrations have profoundly influenced our current observances throughout the month.

In the Pre-Roman corners of Great Britain (Druids, Celts, Germanic tribes), the first day of May was their beginning of summer, celebrating the fertility of trees, crops, and animals (including humans – things got pretty rowdy). The Roman occupiers grafted their celebrations of “Flora,” the goddess of flowers, onto the local holidays, to match with the Germanic “Walpurgis” and the Celtic “Beltane” holidays.

When Christianity arrived in the British Isles in the early Middle Ages, the fertility/sexuality elements of the observance were downplayed, but the pagan custom of “may flower baskets” and the Maypoles with intertwined ribbons, flowers and Morris

dancers (with bells strapped to their legs) continue to this day in English-speaking countries.

But when the Puritans came into power in England in the 17th century (the time when English settlers were emigrating here to the New World), May Day celebrations were severely restricted, which explains why those rowdy May Day customs never really caught on here.

But, meanwhile, the Catholic culture of the later Mediterranean immigrants had long-before adopted the customs and traditions of pagan mother/goddess/fertility-worship and hence the month of May evolved into the religious “Month of Mary, Mother of Jesus,” complete with flower processions, crowning the May Queen festivals, and blessing of the crops and prayers for good weather ceremonies.

In the Old Testament “Song of Songs,” the blessed virgin Mary was supposedly predicted as the “rose of Sharon, the lily-ofthe-valleys,” so Catholic/Christian devotion to her in May justified flowery shrines, rosaries and processions dedicated to her.

May is the month of… What?

What’s in a Name?

If you think Groundhog Day and April’s Fool Day are goofy celebrations, the month of May has goofy observances galore—put these on your calendar:

The word “May” is derived from the name of Maia, the Roman fertility-Earthspringtime goddess, daughter of Atlas, sometimes wife of the fire-god Vulcan, and mother of Mercury by the Roman god Jupiter. Despite her messy personal relationships, she got this month named after her, willy-nilly, which was a lot better than the Anglo-Saxon “three-milking month” name given by the locals back in the bad old days when the Romans occupied the British Isles almost 2,000 years ago. But “May” also became a popular name or nickname at various times in history. In the Middle Ages, it was a popular nickname for boys named Matthew (Mayhew). During the Victorian era, May was the pet-name for girls named Mary, Mathilda or other names beginning with M.

1 3 4 5 6 8

Save the Rhino Day Lumpy Rug Day Candied Orange Peel Day Oyster Day No Diet Day International Tuba Day

9 Lost Sock Memorial Day 10 Clean Your Room Day 11 Eat What You Want Day 12 Fatigue Syndrome Day 13 Frog Jumping Day 15 Chocolate Chip Day

16 Wear Purple for Peace Day 18 No Dirty Dishes Day 20 Pick Strawberries Day 22 Buy a Musical Instrument Day 24 Escargot Day 30 Hug Your Cat Day 31 Macaroon Day

May is also National BBQ, Hamburger and Salad Month, as well as National Blood Pressure, Bike and Date-Your-Mate Month. The astrological sign is Taurus until May 21, when it becomes Gemini. The birthstone for May is the emerald and the month flower is lily-of-the-valley.

26

May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

Throughout history, conquering nations/ religions tried to absorb local customs into the new regime’s celebrations. For instance, Easter, the Christian celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the grave, became associated with Easter bunnies and eggs—ancient Germanic fertility/rebirth symbols.

(In France, chocolates are left for children on Easter morning by the bells of Roman churches which conveniently flew over the continent a few days before, sort of like the American Santa Claus who delivers gifts on Christmas Day, whether you have a chimney or not.).

Ironically, May 1st is also the Christian feast day of Sts. Philip and James, the patron saints of workers. So, in the secular tradition, May 1 is the international day of celebrating workers, labor movements and socialist/communist goals, complete with bristling parades of military might in Moscow’s Red Square before the fall of the Soviet empire.

But what’s really intriguing is that the Haymarket Square Riot, or Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886 was the inspiration for this global celebration of worker’s rights (especially immigrants), which resulted in the establishment of the 40-hour work week and improved working conditions decades later. Our country’s early September Labor Day was specifically created to counteract the confrontational aspects of the original May Day and to defuse the growing labor/union movements of the early 20th century. (Think of Jacob Riis’ photographs, Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle.)What goes ‘round, comes ‘round.

Today’s May celebrations are the end-result of ancient traditions, politics and religious beliefs. Enjoy them all. Happy May, wherever you are or wherever your grandparents hailed from.

Mayday, May Day, Mayday!!

Although English is the accepted language for international transportation, the French expression m’aider (help me!), repeated three times is the still-accepted radio/voice distress signal for navigators, pilots and firstresponder emergency services world-wide.

Life-threatening crises of any kind—land, sea or air—will activate total emergency response when a triple “Mayday!” call is received, and severe penalties and fines will result from false or frivolous alarms.

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The South Coast Insider / May 2009

27

Shovel-ready projects Where do we dig?

By H.B. Ussach

We have read, heard and talked about them. We can probably list the region’s shovel-ready projects in our sleep: Route 6 repaving in Swansea, Route 6 repaving in Westport, the Route 24 interchange in Freetown, the 195/140 interchange in Dartmouth. But who earmarks what projects? Who gives the go-ahead?

We decided to find out; we wanted to give our readers a glimpse into the economic development process.

Just what does “shovel-ready” mean?

“The emphasis is on transportation, providing access to sites,”said Matthew Morrissey, director of the New Bedford Economic Development Council. “Roads provide access which generates opportunity and interest in a site.”

An example is Fairhaven Mills on Coggeshall Street in New Bedford, just off 195. Target of a long ongoing fight between those who want to preserve the complex of red-brick structures as part of the city’s historic textile past and others who want them demolished to erect stores, restaurants and a marina, the mill once could only be accessed by foot. This is no longer the case.

“These projects are important for import and export of materials with the greatest ease of transportation…permitting must be in place before funds are allocated, and then ‘shovel ready’ means there is a 90-day window for projects to begin,” Morrissey explained.

Build a road and they will come Isn’t that a famous saying? No? Anyway, jobs would be created on the site, first in construction, then on property and finally in sales, all leading to tax payment and new revenue streams for local government.

In economic development language, Morrissey said, “direct temporary work” is that done on roads by trades workers. “Direct jobs by sector” come next; retail, for example. Then come the “induced development jobs.” For example, the development of the Fairhaven Mills site leads to other related projects like a marina, services, etc. Or in another example, the new Konarka photovoltaic energy plant in the New Bedford Business Park, on the site of the former Polaroid facility, has a chain of suppliers, which in turn leads to a host of indirect vendors, and so on down the chain of employers.

New Bedford and the rest of the South Coast have plenty of “shovel-ready” projects.

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May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

Jason Perry

This sounds good on paper Washington estimated that 79,000 jobs would be saved or created in Massachusetts in the wake of the $787 billion federal economic stimulus program, which authorizes the state to spend almost $438 million on highway projects. Besides new paving and markings here

and elsewhere around the state, road projects include putting in guard rail ends, sidewalks and wheelchair ramps. State officials are skeptical about the jobs figure but hope for the best.

Across the state line in Rhode Island, much shovel-ready work is earmarked, though “the stimulus is just another component of our economic development and putting people to work,” said Heidi Cote, Department of Transportation spokesperson. For instance, a new steel Sakonnet River Bridge connecting Tiverton and Portsmouth has special funding in place aside from the stimulus and recently received a lowest bid from Cardi Bros. contractors.

On March 4, 2009, Governor Donald Carcieri, the DOT director, and legislative leaders announced details of the nearly $138 million funding received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The money will support 50 “shovel ready” transportation and infrastructure projects across Rhode Island.

“The state has a backlog of projects that can now go forward,” said the state’s Deputy Chief Engineer Robert Smith. One already scheduled project has been the replacement of the Pawtucket River Bridge.

In addition, the state DOT expects to receive a $25.9 million authorization from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to fund 15 projects starting in April when construction season starts.

The 50 transportation projects are expected to create 1,500 direct jobs and 3,500 indirect jobs, according to the Governor’s office.

From roadwork, to landscaping, to overhead signing, “all parts of the construction industry get work,” said Smith.

Planning difficult For a construction project to be on the stimulus list it must have all of its right-of-way completed, all of its permits in place, all of the planning, specifications and estimates done and approved by Rhode Island’s division of the FHWA. “Planning has been difficult,” said engineer Smith.

Fifty percent of the almost $138 million must be committed within 120 days, starting 21 days after the signing of the federal stimulus bill. That makes July the deadline for this group of projects. The 120-day requirement was “to get people to work immediately.”

Money not used could be reallocated to other states.

Examples of projects of particular interest to The South Coast Insider readers include road resurfacing in Tiverton; many traffic signal projects; Rt. 138 sidewalks that comply with the American Disabilities Act; resurfacing, curbs, sidewalks, timed lights and striping along two miles of West Main Road in Middletown.

DOT tries to do preventive maintenance on roadways to extend their life before they reach a critical point and suddenly “drop off in quality.” Added Smith, “We try to catch roads in the middle of the curve to be proactive but sometimes we’re reactive. We do our best to fund these projects even in hard times.”

Cole Brook Road in Little Compton will receive resurfacing and minor drainage repairs. ADA-approved sidewalks will be installed on a portion of Bristol Ferry Road in Portsmouth, and on Child Street (Rt. 103) in downtown Warren, an area “with a lot of walkers,” DOT is concerned with bicyclists and walkers, as well as motorists.

It is easy to see after reviewing the shovel-ready construction process how difficult and challenging it is to plan and schedule all these projects, to coordinate state and federal agencies, and meet stringent deadlines, administrative criteria, and tough political pressure to do the right thing and make the stimulus meaningful for constituents.

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Jim LaBelle is ready to Race Across America.

Achieving a dream

by Kenneth Sutcliffe

We’ve all heard the old cliché, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” It may be overused, but the statement is still true. I know. I’ve seen people who dream and achieve.

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owner of Village Bicycle, is one of these people. Late this June, Jim will compete in what is billed as “The Toughest Endurance Race in the World,” the Race Across America. The RAAM, as it is known, is a bike race that passes through valleys, farms, deserts, plains and over mountains along the way.

Racers face a journey that pits them against time, the elements, other racers, and their own physical and mental endurance.

The route will take many teams, at the most, nine days to complete. The fastest teams will finish in less than six. Jim’s team of four will take turns pedaling non-stop to achieve their goal: winning.

May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

There is a time for everything, and that time is always right now when it comes to reaching for our dreams. Someone once said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way you are right.”

A Zen koan I’ve always thought of this as a sort of modern Zen koan. It seems paradoxical, but it does contain a truth. The truth is that we can do what we dream we can do. I used to believe that people were born lucky, that chance and success were close pals.

Now, I have come to believe that people are born with power, power to achieve amazing things which will enrich our lives.

I believe that chance plays a role, but that it is what we do with the chances we are given that makes the greatest difference in the direction of our lives. I am consistently awed by the opportunities that we get. I’m also fascinated by the way our minds store inspiration from our pasts as inspiration for our futures.

Jim LaBelle’s desire to compete in the RAAM came at the age of 19, when he found himself, both literally and figuratively, working at a bike shop in Maryland. A man he knew was training for the RAAM, and Jim decided right then and there that he would someday compete in the race.

It’s been 17 years since then, but the dream has been alive all this time, and it’s finally coming true.

It’s not easy

had been sliding because of the economic downturn. He almost decided not to compete in the race. He thought he might have to give up on a dream.

A wife’s support Then, his wife began to recuperate, and she encouraged him to continue his quest, telling him she would be more disappointed in him if he decided not to go, after how far he had come. After all, qualifying for a race like this is not something that is easy, not by a long shot.

Then, something remarkable happened.

The race started to be about more than just the race. It took on a symbolic, metaphorical existence. The race began to represent the struggles and desire to achieve that is an essential part of the human spirit. It was not about the individual potential for fame or glory, but about the desire to live life to the fullest, and, as Jim says, “To prove to my children that anything is possible.”

This desire to realize the basic and fundamental fact that humanity has enormous potential clearly sits at the core of Jim’s life. There are endless opportunities, and once one goal is achieved, another, larger one must take its place.

This desire to realize the basic and fundamental fact that humanity has enormous potential clearly sits at the core of Jim’s life. There are endless opportunities, and once one goal is achieved, another, larger one must take its place.

The preparation for the race hasn’t been easy. It really hasn’t. Jim’s weekly training includes around 35 hours of solid riding.

That’s on top of his work running Village Bicycle.

He practices yoga several times a week, focusing on muscle groups that will help him with this type of long distance, ultra-marathon type cycling.

But Jim seems to take all this in stride, and he seems acutely aware that every journey has setbacks, that overcoming the difficulties sometimes creates the ultimate meaning that one can take from an experience. It’s true that the difficulties along the way often become the most meaningful and interesting portion of a person’s journey. It’s just that sometimes this becomes clear only in hindsight.

Many setbacks When I first spoke with Jim about the race, it was clear that he had already had more than his fair share of setbacks.

His wife had recently had a stroke and subsequent heart surgery, and his business

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Telling others that anything is possible isn’t enough. We must achieve and we must live out our desires and our dreams.

The South Coast Insider / May 2009

31

Among the many walkers who will Get Moving are Stepahnie Mellor (left) and her sister and survivor Rebecca Mellor.

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by Michael J. Vieira

Again this year, South Coast residents will Get Moving to benefit Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Care Program. So far, Fall River’s Anthony F. Cordeiro will be leading the walk as it begins its 11th walk for cancer care.

Anthony F. Cordeiro Insurance Agency, of Fall River, has been named the title sponsor of the 11th Annual “Get Moving” community fundraising walk on May 16 at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, 251 Stonehaven Road, Fall River. The agency’s $10,000 investment the largest in support of this year’s walk “The Anthony F. Cordeiro Insurance Agency has been a proud sponsor of the Get Moving walk since its inception,” said Cordeiro, of Fall River, agency owner and president. “This year, we are especially excited and proud of assuming the position of title sponsor.”

But Tony’s not alone. Get Moving is a

May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

grassroots, community fundraising effort founded in 1999 by community members, hospital employees and patients to help advance world-class cancer care in this region. In ten years, the walk has raised more than $780,000.

Why walk?

Francine Arruda is a survivor and a walker sponsor from Fall River. She participates to give back for the care received by her mother and father-in-law and herself.

“I will always be so grateful for the help I received from the Saint Anne’s staff. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful

facility available to us locally. I had to drive myself for treatments 5 times a week for 6 weeks, and would never have been able to travel long distances,” she said, “Because I can,” Elizabeth Codega stressed. She’s a survivor from Berkley who will be walking this year.

“This is a way to give back to Hudner where I receive treatment for breast cancer. It isn’t just about that, it’s the community coming together for such a great cause, and family and friends being supportive in a fun, healthy, giving and loving way. Everyone is there for the best reason: they care!” she said.

For many, it’s an annual tradition. Fall River’s Andrea Manning has walked every year since the event began in 1999.

A member of the Get Moving Walker Honor Roll and one of the walk’s top fundraisers, she began because a friend believed it was important.

“I remember walking across the Brightman Street Bridge with the Sisters always ahead of us! It’s wonderful to see how it has grown over time, and to realize how truly generous people are; not just financially, but in spirit and in their hearts as well. It is a small thing I do by supporting the walk, and I gladly do so!” Andrea noted.

Many of the walkers are employees of Saint Anne’s Hospital. Like Swansea’s Marge Dubé, they have seen first hand how the proceeds make a difference.

“Simply said, funds are used for direct patient care. There is no doubt that we all know someone who is or has been afflicted with the dreadful disease, and also how devastating it can be for the patient and those close to them,” she said, adding: “The Saint Anne’s oncology program stands ready to serve the needs of the community with the utmost compassion

at such a difficult time in one’s life. So, giving either financially or of my time, for me there is no better reward than to see people walk away from Hudner cancerfree. Kudos to the physicians, staff and volunteers who share their expertise and time for this cause!”

Funding an investment According to a Get Walking release, funds raised through this year’s walk will support the hospital’s $5 million investment in technology and facility enhancements at the Hudner Oncology Center in Fall River, and $21 million investment in the construction of a state-of-the-art radiation center on Faunce Corner Road in Dartmouth.

These investments will enable Saint Anne’s Hospital to continue its commitment to providing the region with the same level of care found at major academic cancer centers in Boston and provided locally by radiation and medical oncology experts, including radiation oncologists who are members of the faculty at Harvard Medical School and affiliated with the DanaFarber Cancer Institute/ Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston.

This year’s Get Moving committee has great enthusiasm for expanding the walk to benefit the latest expansion of the hospital’s cancer care program in Dartmouth.

Co-chaired by Karyl Benoit, of Swansea, and Kyra Cordeiro, of Fall River, the committee includes hospital employees, employees of the Cordeiro Insurance Agency, members of the business community, and other interested members of the community.

Get Moving NOW! Visit getmovingwalk. org to create a walker web page, download a pledge form and watch a Get Moving video.

The Saint Anne’s oncology program stands ready to serve the needs of the community with the utmost compassion at such a difficult time in one’s life.

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33

BOOK PICKS BY BAKER Courtesy of Baker Books – www.bakerbooks.net

At last spring is in the air again, so who can concentrate? The birds are singing, the flowers are beginning to poke through the mud, and it’s hard to decide what to read next! The staff of Baker Books have wide ranging tastes so there is something for everyone in this random compilation of some of our favorite books at prices everyone can afford.

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Concord, Massachusetts in the mid-1800s was home to an astonishing collection of authors. Cheever gives us a view into the interconnected lives of Lousia May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and Henry David Thoreau. They were the bohemians of their day and began the Transcendentalist Movement. This is a fascinating look at the ways in which these writers received financial support and how the characters in their famous classics were drawn from members of the group.

Welcome to the nursing home and assisted living facility Mission Pescadero, later renamed Pepper Land by its inhabitants. The care center has mainly 1960s ex-hippies from the Haight and Berkeley.

Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty pokes fun at the caregivers, ex-flower children and the sons and daughters who put their parents in the long term facility. Do you remember the song “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”

Well, the people who put them in their hair in the sixties have just taken over Mission Pescadero and they have a great house band called Acid Reflux. A comic, insightful and satirical look at the aged in America.

Hanna Heath is a rare book conservator from Australia who is summoned to Sarajevo to analyze a recently discovered fifteenth century Hebrew manuscript. Through small bits of things (an insect wing, wine crystals) she begins to trace the history of the book, moving back and forth between her present day life and her work as the history of the Book unravels. Extraordinary illumination marks the Book as one of a kind and the reason for its existence takes us back to 1480 Seville. I loved the historical background juxtaposed against present day Sarajevo and the drama and intrigue of Hanna’s personal life.

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by Linda Greenlaw try to guess along with the heroine just who has done what to whom. The heroine in question, and always full of questions herself, is Jane Bunker, marine insurance Harper Collins investigator with just as much charm in her character as the author herself. Every $7 paperback word of this engaging whodunit is laced with Greenlaw’s inimitably witty style.

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—Magoo Gelehrter

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May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

WILD ONES #1

by Kiyo Fujiwara Simon & Schuster $9 paperback A young girl named Sachie loses her mother and ends up living with her grandfather, the Yakuza gang leader. To make things more interesting she starts to fall in love with her bodyguard. The first time I read it I just laughed at the irony of it all. It was just a fun and lovable read. The artwork is both beautiful and genuine. On this journey you will meet tragedy, love, loneliness, and action, all with a touch of humor.

—Jackie Moujabber

ANATOMY OF THE SPIRIT

by Caroline Myss Random House $17 paperback Myss astounds the reader with her ability to bring into focus the commonality of many facets of the worlds’ faiths with the power and healing energy we all possess.

This is a book of life-altering empowerment!

Learn to focus your energy on the areas of life that need to be mended in order for you to heal on every level. Mind expanding and soul reaching, Anatomy of the Spirit is the perfect book to enhance your well being or the perfect gift for a friend, family member or loved one who wants to begin the journey.

—Mark Demoranville The South Coast Insider / May 2009

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Wine NOTES Welcome

TO

— Warm, friendly atmosphere — “The Roasted Pig is where I bring my family and business contacts.”

Wines for Mayo Cinco

98 Nash Road • New Bedford, MA

by Alton Long

International Cuisine

508-992-8267 • www.theroastedpig.com

The celebration of Cinco de Mayo has become a special event for all of us who have an attraction for Mexican food and fun. But wine lovers are challenged to find wines that pair with spicy chili dishes like enchiladas and even tacos.

Before we get into the wines, lets take a look at what Cinco de Mayo is all about. It is not Mexico’s Independence Day as many folks think. Mexico’s Independence Day took place on September 15, 1810. But like the U.S.’s July 4th, it took a while to convince the Spanish to give up that beautiful land. Actually it was a long while, for it was 11 years before the last Spanish soldiers left Mexico for home.

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Cinco de Mayo, the fifth of May, is a special commemoration of the Mexican victory over a French invasion that took place on that date in 1862. The French figured (correctly) that the U.S. was too busy in its own Civil War to try to enforce the Monroe doctrine. Fortunately, a small Mexican Army of about 4,000 soldiers, including a decent sized cavalry unit, defeated the French army of 8,000 just 100 miles outside of Mexico City. Every one in Mexico was jubilant and had such a good time they continue to celebrate on this date, to this day.

The French eventually were able to take over Mexico, but with U.S. help, providing arms, ammunition and volunteers, the French were quickly displaced and Mexico became an independent nation again. So now, when you go out to celebrate, you can tell you friends why this is a very special date for all of Mexico.

One of the best ways to celebrate is to go to a good local

May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

Mexican restaurant that often has a special menu for Cinco de Mayo. There are at least a half a dozen in the South Coast region.

Of course, most people will select a good beer or a great Margherita. But there are many dishes that actually go better with wine. One of my favorites is a rich voluptuous jammy Zinfandel with a medium rare carne asada (steak). This wine also works with beef fajitas and good beef enchiladas.

Try a Zinfandel At el Parque, a relatively new Mexican restaurant in Portsmouth, an Australian Shiraz went very well with their carni asada, and a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc was perfect with grilled scallops with a tomatillo-chili sauce. El Parque has great plans for Cinco de Mayo, beginning on May 1st, as will most of the local Mexican restaurants.

With Mexican food that is made very spicy with the typical chili sauces or even the green tomatillo-chili sauce, it is best to select a high acid white like a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or a crisp Pinot Grigio.

There are a few high acid young Spanish red wines like the young Rioja most are made from the Tempranillo that also go with these spicy foods. A good example is Marques de Caceres Crianza 2004 Rioja available locally at $12.

Crianza is the youngest level of the aging process for making classic Rioja. The good news is they are also the least expensive of the Rioja.

There are two other levels of Rioja, Reserva and Gran Reserva, which are aged in the barrels for one and two years longer respectively. They are also held at the winery in the bottle for

another one and two years. So when the annual release is made the Reserva is at least two years older than the Crianza and the Gran Reserva at least four years older.

The prices are higher too; for example, the Marques de Caceres Reserva 2000 Rioja is $15 and the Gran Reserva 1998 is $28 (if you can find it.) These wines are more suitable for the steak cani or beef frijatas.

A fruity Beaujolais or a Pinot Noir is another popular choice for both the meats and the cheese based Mexican dishes. But don’t plan to use a great aged red Burgundy for this kind of pairing, though this might be a good use of one from a lesser vintage, or one that has almost gone over the hill.

While they are not common in this area, there are actually some excellent wines being made in Mexico that could be used for this Mexican wine and food celebration.

There are some good wines originating in the regions around and north of Mexico City.

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But some of the most interesting are those that come from the coastal and mountainous regions of Baja California. A bottle of Nebbiola produced by L.A. Cetto, was a real fooler when it was recently presented blind at an Italian restaurant.

It went quite well with a veal scaloppini.

Most dinners thought it was a wine from northern Italy. This winery is located in the Valle de Guadelupe, Baja California, just a few dozen miles south of San Diego. This wine would have worked just as fine with the steak carni.

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What to avoid We need to realize that many good wines will go well with Mexican food. There are a couple of rules that you might observe: watch out for high alcohol and high tannin wines. Both of these attributes can exacerbate the intensity of the hotness in chili.

Delicate wines can easily be over powered.

Good Chardonnays are often overpowered and become bitter.

But white wines that are slightly sweet and very fruity, or floral, like Muscat, Gewurztraminer, and even a good German Riesling Spatlese, can work very well with good Mexican food.

So watch for the ads for Cinco de Mayo celebrations at some of the better local Mexican restaurants. You can have a great time and still enjoy your wine.

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508-636-0550

The South Coast Insider / May 2009

37

B U S INE S S

F O C U S

•

T O

A D V E R T I S E

Be a Foster Parent…

If you have a passion to help children, foster parenting at Boys Town can be the career of a lifetime.

Family opens home to all Boys Town New England foster parents Paul and Michelle Higgins see their home as a diverse place where everyone’s kids belong: his, hers, theirs and someone else’s.

“We’re truly a blended family,” Michelle says of her son Nicholas, Paul’s daughter Marisa, their son Paul, Jr. and at any given time, one or two foster children. Some come for several months, others more than a year, but they are always a welcome part of the family until it’s time for them to return home.

Michelle said she had always been interested in foster parenting but naturally, had questions, and in some cases, misconceptions. Once they became foster parents, the Higgins’ were pleasantly surprised at the level of support received from Boys Town.

“It matters to them that the placement is right,” Paul said.

The Higgins’ firmly believe in the Boys Town teaching model, with the positive reinforcement it utilizes. It’s their hope that the foster children they care for will want to feel good inside about their accomplishments and take that with them throughout life.

Foster parenting is not for everyone, the couple says. Having foster children naturally brings new responsibilities and can be challenging, but for the Higgins family, the rewards are clearly worth it. “If you have the room in your heart, it’s a great experience,” Michelle said, “It’s wonderful to see the changes you can make in a child’s life.

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C A L L

May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

Chiropractic Care

Carl J. Ferreira ND, CHNP, AMP

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Naturopathic & Alternative Health Consultant

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Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis

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Gluten Sensitivity Analysis

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Fibromyalgia Pain Management Stress Reduction Nutritional Support

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Saliva Testing / Metabolic Analysis Adrenal Stress / Adrenal Fatigue Analysis Individualized Nutrition & Supplement Counseling Food Allergen Testing Hypothyroid Evaluations

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THINGS TO DO

Fall River Artists Open Studios Discover what local artists are creating at the Fall River Open Studios event on Saturday, May 9, from 11a.m. to 4 p.m. Expect to see oil painting, textile art, drawing, woodworking, metalsmithing, jewelry making, ceramics, sculpture, basketwork and other art.

“Artists have been joining forces in Fall River, and here’s a chance to see them in their element, behind the scenes,” said Jeff Carpenter, an oil painter and President of Arts United/Fall River, an organization dedicated to promoting the arts in the city.

Among the diverse group of artists who have moved into Fall River in search of safe, affordable studio space is a group that has colonized the whole third floor of 1 West Street in what were the Border City Mills. Another group has just opened a high-end woodworking studio in the old mill building at 18 Pocasset Street, and more artists are scattered around the city.

The event is open to the public and trolleys will shuttle visitors from one point to another in a continuous loop all day. A map will be available at each of the locations. These include: 192 Anawan St. (behind the WOW building) — Smokestack Studios & Page-B Studio

n

16 Anawan St. — Narrows Center for the Arts

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1 West St. — Border City Studios

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371 South Main St. — Michael Close

A Google map of the locations with directions is available online, with an up-to-date list of the studios, artists, and the artists’ websites, at www.artsexpressfallriver.com.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Fall River Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

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The South Coast Insider / May 2009

39

FOOD

eXplOre LOCaL CUISINE

by Stacie Charbonneau Hess

The weather’s getting nicer, so pull off that high-speed highway and take a ride along a rural South Coast road. discover some of dining treasures that are located off the beaten path, as they say. These are worth taking the “road less traveled,” as Robert Frost would suggest.

Westporter There are people who do things for the money, and there are people who do things for love. Janice dey, chef/owner of the Westporter, has loving intentions indeed. although the Westporter has been open for over a decade, Janice has never advertised.

“It’s all been word of mouth,” she says.

She likes it that way, neighbor telling neighbor telling neighbor. Still, many Friday and Saturday evenings (the only evenings the restaurant is open for dinner in the spring), every seat in the warm, fire-placed room is filled. Reservations are recommended, but often locals will call an hour or so before they arrive to see if there are seats available.

When there is a seat, a South Coast diner can be assured of this: the finest, most organic, localas-possible food will be served. Janice and the Westporter were “green” and “sustainable” long 40 38

before the terms came into fashion. She chooses the best local scallops and oysters, and serves Westport-grown salad greens, for example.

I think of the Berkeley, California restaurant, Chez Panisse. This restaurant has become famous by preparing dishes using whatever is most fresh and available. dey shares Chez Panisse’s “seasonal” philosophy.

To reach the Westporter, at 1031 Main Road, go on Main Road past Hixbridge Road, keep going and look for the white house on the right. Park in the dirt driveway, and welcome to South Coast foodie paradise. Catering available, too. Their phone is 508-636-9000.

Bayside The Bayside restaurant is so far off the beaten path it’s almost ridiculous. But when the name is mentioned to anyone who remotely considers him or herself a foodie, eyes light up. “The

May May 2009 2009 // The The South South Coast Coast Insider Insider

Baysiiiide…” the foodie says, eyes looking off, as if the name itself conjures up images of steamed mussels and seafood freshly plucked from the sea. another Westport gem, the Bayside is actually a lot easier to find if you just get a map and look for allen’s Pond. It’s right across the street from this lovely bit of New England coastline. and like the Westporter, Bayside chooses locally grown, organic foods as part of its modus operandi, and not just because it’s fashionable now.

The Bayside is tiny, and looks more like a little truck stop (albeit a truck stop along the ocean’s edge) than the culinary wonder it seems to be.

Besides great food, the Bayside has made a commitment to the environment and local businesses. “you won’t find Budweiser,” says manager Cat, “No Coors. We have a great brewery down the street, and a great winery around the corner.”

The Bayside was the state’s first certified “Green” restaurant, too, an example many others have followed since then. “We were the first, but now there are more, and that’s a good thing,” says Cat. She jokes that although the Bayside is a small restaurant, they appear to be world famous. There are online reviews from all over the United States, and when her father, Bob, goes on vacation in

Portugal or anywhere in the world, someone always seems to know the Bayside. a fan, Gerry K. from Los angeles writes online in his unsolicited review: Gorgeous natural surroundings. Some of the best sunsets you’ll see. Frequent hot-air balloon sightings. delectable food. Minutes from the beach. Farm fresh. Go. Now just to find the darn place.

No problem… It’s at 1253 Horseneck Rd., Westport. Give them a call at 508-636-5882.

Virginia’s Virginia’s is similar to the Bayside in that it’s definitely off the beaten path. Unless you know it’s there, you could easily pass it by; but then, if you did, you’d be missing the ample selection of breakfast food served all day long. Virginia’s does a hearty lunch, too, with burgers and sandwiches all made to order. The prices are reasonable in this no-frills restaurant: $5.95 for any sandwich with chips and a pickle. They are open seven days from 7 a.m. To find Virginia’s, look for the little naturalshingled style house on 140 Charlotte White Road Ext. (drift Road side), Westport. Owner is Virginia allen. Call 508-636-0550

Harriet’s Outback Though not officially a restaurant, since there is no waitstaff, Harriet Outback’s food is so good, and the location so lovely, it’s include in this article anyway. Harriet’s Outback provides freshly prepared take-out lunch and dinners in the seaside town of Marion.

In the height of the season, Harriet’s Outback is frequented by summer people, locals and sailors who stumble in salty from a day at sea. Summer brings a verdant garden that hugs the property, providing many of the ingredients for the owner, Patty Nicholson, to include in her menu. Take food home or enjoy al fresco dining at one of the tables on the lawn or under the tent.

Harriet’s Outback is casual, with a focus on highquality food. The menu is fresh and simple, such as the Euell Gibbons salad, which features, “… nice lettuces, seeds, sprouts. It’s very healthy and absolutely delicious,” assures Nicholson.

In season, she says, “We just can’t make those fast enough.” This year, the garden is growing with the addition of raised beds where customers can find “an ever-changing rainbow of beautiful lettuces, chard, kale and edible flowers.”

Find Harriet’s Outback by going on 105 (also known as Front Street) toward the water. Keep going and when you see the Marion Music Hall, take

a right onto Cottage Street, and stop at 9 Rear Cottage Street. Their phone is 508-748-2053.

Seraphim The most elegant of these restaurants, Seraphim is another newcomer to the South Coast restaurant scene, having its official ribbon cutting ceremony on december 2nd of last year.

Seraphim serves a traditional afternoon tea, a high tea (with a 24 hour notice reservation), lunch, a Sunday Brunch and breakfast all day, in addition to its eclectic and “experiential” menu. Owners Linda diFazio and Cheryl Laverty are two South Coast foodies; Cheryl graduated from Johnson & Wales and worked at Panera Bread before opening her own place.

In addition to being a relaxing place to dine, Seraphim also supports local artists by carrying their wares in the adjacent retail shop. The restaurant gets its name because, according to diFazio, “Seraphim is the highest order or angels, and my partner Cheryl has always felt that there are many angels on earth helping us through this process.” as if illustrating this point, the restaurant itself may be an angel to the local artists whose work debuts in the shop.

Find Seraphim from 95 North, exit 2a, to Route 152 North, to 195 Central avenue, Seekonk.

Seraphim’s interesting website (seraphimteaandmore.com) touts all the health benefits of tea… check it out. Call Seraphim at 508-915-4832 or visit www.seraphimteaandmore.com

Coming soon

Native Asparagus and Rhubarb Annuals Annuals –– Perennials Perennials Herbs Herbs & vegetable plants Geraniums Geraniums & & hanging hanging baskets baskets Custom Custom designed designed window window boxes boxes & & containers containers — — Open Open daily daily at at 9am 9am — —

90 90 George George Street Street Seekonk Seekonk MA MA 508-336-5587 508-336-5587

www.FourTownFarm.com

Partners Village Store and Kitchen Partners is an eclectic mix of gift shop, book store and café. after their 30th year in business, Partners moved to a new location at 865 Main Road, Westport. Their kitchen is expanded to accommodate more baked-from-scratch muffins, desserts, soups and sandwiches. “Everything is bigger and brighter,” says owner, Jan Hall. Eat inside the shop, out on the gorgeous new patio in the sun, or buy goodies to bring on a picnic. It’s easy to stop here on your way to Horseneck Beach!

Locally prepared ingredients are used whenever possible. “We belong to an organization called Semap that helps us find what we need locally,” says Susie White, long-time cook. Find Partners on Main Road in Westport, past Lees Market on the right-hand side. Call 508-636-2572 or visit www. partnersvillagestore.com Owners: Nancy Crosby, Jan Hall, Lisa Cusick

Join us for European hospitality, eclectic bistro fare and seasonal specials at Bristol’s favorite rotisserie Special SPECIAL offer OFFER $10 off OFF lunch or dinner entrée One One coupon coupon per per table, table, not not valid valid with with other other discounts. discounts.

Minimum Minimum order order two two entrees entrees per per table. table.

Open 7 days a week Serving lunch Serving lunch and dinner

The The South South Coast Coast Insider Insider // May May 2009 2009

41 39

Execu-Maid, inc.

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The premier cleaning service of the Southcoast

Mother’s Day Sale 50% OF F DI A MON D J E W E L RY

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When you schedule a Spring Cleaning or Home opening at the same time expires 6/1/09

ONE CALL DOES IT ALL! 1-800-464-8887 New construction cleanups Floor care ( stripping & waxing ) n Saturday rental turnovers n Call for complete turnkey rental program brochure n Window washing n n

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Daily janitorial services

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Fire restoration services

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Give the Gift of Time…

GIFT CERTIFICATES for Mother’s & Father’s Day available online at execumaid.com

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Offer valid while supplies last.

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Call ahead for refills 508-672-6911 • Easy Prescription Transfers • Delivery Service • Blood Pressure Monitoring • Flu Vaccine Clinics • Most Insurance Plans Accepted

• Specialty Packaging • 24 hour Refill Line • Utility Payments • Money Orders • Postage Stamps • Massachusetts State Lottery

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May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

free admission one Child With one paid adUlt Present this coupon to receive one free child’s general admission with one paid adult admission to Battleship Cove. Restrictions may apply. Expires 7/1/09. SCI

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508-673-4329 401-849-3791 The South Coast Insider / May 2009

43

HAPPENINGS Art /Film MAY 4 – Movie Night at the Millicent Library. This month’s movie is Albert Brook’s Lost in America (1985). Brooks stars with Julie Hagerty as David and Linda Howard, yuppies who are fed up with their lifestyle. They take their savings and head out to see the country in a Winnebago, but Linda loses everything playing roulette in Las Vegas.

This film is rated R for language. 45 Center Street, Fairhaven. 7pm. For more information call 508992-5342.

MAY 15 – Spring Gallery Night. Galleries include Hope Gallery, Bristol Looms, Bristol Workshops in Photography, The Paint Studio, and Gallery 297.

Located in downtown historic Bristol and within walking distance of each other. 5-9pm. Free. 401396-9117

MAY 24 – Riverside Cemetery Tour. Created in 1850 by Warren Delano II, the grandfather of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, this is one of the most beautiful rural-style cemeteries in Massachusetts. The tour visits the final resting places of some of the town’s most prominent people. You’ll also see lovely examples of early tombstone art as you walk along the beautifully landscaped paths. Tour includes walking on uneven ground. Wear comfortable shoes. Riverside Cemetery, 274 Main Street, Fairhaven. 2pm. Free.

For more information call 508-979-4085.

Events MAY 1-3 – Friends of the Somerset Library Annual Book and Bake Sale. All types of books sold by the pound. 1464 County Street, Somerset. Fri. 2-5pm , Sat. 10am-3pm, Sun. 2-4pm. 508-6462829 or visit www.somersetpubliclibrary.org

invited to create a floral arrangement and card just in time for Mother’s Day gift giving. RotchJones-Duff House & Garden Museum, 396 County Street, New Bedford. 9am to 10:30am.

At the Coachman’s House behind the Museum on 7th Street. $7 per arrangement. For more information call 508-997-1401 or visit www.rjdmuseum.org

MAY 10 – Hats Off to Moms: A Women’s Hat Show. Harbour House presents its 2nd annual friend raiser and fundraiser to benefit the Harbour House Family Shelter. Hats modeled by prominent community members including designer hats from Celia’s Boutique. Includes light hors d’ouevres, cash bar, dancing and featuring the music of Nave Soul with Evan Cole and Joaquin Santos, Jr. Hawthorne Country Club, 970 Tucker Street, North Dartmouth. 1-5pm. $20 adults, $10 children 12 and up, Free for children under 12.

For more information call 774-628-1007.

Education MAY 9 – Poverty Point Walking Tour. Take a guided, ninety-minute walk through what was one of the earliest village settlements in Fairhaven. Learn about Manjiro Nakahama, Capt. Joshua Slocum, Elder Joseph Bates and more. The Old Stone Schoolhouse will be open for viewing before the tour. Begins at Old Stone Schoolhouse, 40 North Street, Fairhaven. 2pm. Free. For more information call 508-979-4085.

MAY 9 – Taunton River Watershed Alliance Annual Environmental Conference. This exciting conference will include a wide range of workshops including land protection options, endangered species, invasives, organic farming and integrated pest management, CPA, starting a farmers market, CSAs, and the Wild and Scenic designation.FREE includes complimentary morning refreshments and lunch. Bristol County Agricultural School,135 Center Street, Dighton.

9am-12pm. For more information call 508-8281101 or visit www.savethetaunton.org MAY 14 – Audubon Spring Lecture Series. Our Changing Environment: Yesterday and Today.

Crucial Waters. Presented by National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry. Audubon Society Environmental Education Center, 1401 Hope Street, Bristol. 7pm. $10 members, $12 nonmembers. For more information or to register call 401-949-5454, ext. 3041 or visit www.asri.org

May 1-3 - Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.® Step into the most magical and action-packed Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® imaginable!

This all-new Ringling Bros.® circus is guaranteed to have kids (and their parents) jumping out of their seats and into the circus action from the very start. Death-defying stunts. High-wire high jinx. Adrenaline-pounding trapeze. And animals, animals and more animals. From the grace and majesty of our world-famous Asian elephants to the unique bond and energy one man shares with his Bengal Tigers, audiences will be captivated.

Friday, May 1 @ 10:30am & 7pm, Saturday, May 2 @ 11am, 3pm, & 7pm,Sunday, May 3 @ 11am, 3pm, & 7pm. $15, $20, $35, $55, $80.

Ticketmaster.com MAY 9 – 2nd Annual Spring Scrabble Scrimmage.

Calling all wordsmiths. Literacy Volunteers of East Bay fundraiser. Enjoy a night of fun, friends and food. Kickemuit Middle School, 525 Child Street, Warren. 5-8pm. $10 person, $35 per team of four. Pizza, refreshments, prizes. 401-247-2177 or visit www.lveastbay.org

MAY 14 – Transforming New Bedford: The story of WHALE. An AHA night lecture at the Corson Maritime Learning Center Theater (adjacent to Visitor Center), 33 William St., New Bedford.

Review of how WHALE’s preservation’s over the past 47 years have transformed the way New Bedford looks forever. 6pm. Free. 508-997-1776 or visit www.waterfrontleague.org MAY 16 – Fairhaven Center Walking Tour.

Highlights the histories of some of the homes and buildings dating from the 1830s to the beginning of the 20th Century. Begins at Leonard E. Pierce Memorial Park, corner of South and Fort streets, Fairhaven. 2pm. Free. For more information call 508-979-4085.

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MAY 15-17 – Newport Spring Boat Show. Fri. & Sat. 10am-6pm. Sun: 10am-5pm. $5. Children under 12 free. Newport Yachting Center, Newport. 401-846-1115 or visit www.newportspringboatshow.com

MAY 16 – Get Moving Walk a 3.5 mile walk to benefit the Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Care Program. Registration at 8am at Diman School, 251 Stonehaven Rd., Fall River. For more information visit www.getmovingwalk.org MAY 16 – Celebrate Dartmouth Day. The Southworth Library is the first stop to access information and maps for the days activities and programs throughout the town. Light refreshments served. 732 Dartmouth Street, Dartmouth.

10am-3pm. 508-997-4303.

MAY 9 – Mother’s Day Flower Workshop for Children. What better way to say “I love you” on Mother’s Day than an arrangement created by a child for their mother or grandmother. Children ages 4 to 10, accompanied by an adult, are

May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

MAY 16 – Swansea Public Library Annual Plant and Art Sale. Sponsored by the Friends of the Swansea Public Library. Enjoy a lovely day in Swansea Village. 69 Main Street, Swansea. 9am12pm. For more information call 508-674-9609 or visit www.swansealibrary.org

MAY 17 – 10th Annual Pet Fest and Walk for Animals. Enjoy a fun filled day with animal lovers and their wonderful companion animals, entertainment and many other events including Carabiner’s Portable Rock Climbing Tower, and the “Doggie Fashion Show” sponsored by Starbarks and Pooch Parlor Pet Salon. There will be other demonstrations by the K-9 Police Unit and the Animal Rescue League of Boston, along with Marla Issacs’ phenomenal Birds of Prey show. It’s a great way to celebrate the animals in your life. Sponsored by the Coalition for Animals.

Buttonwood Park, 425 Hawthorn Street, New Bedford. 11am-3pm. For more information call 508-509-2203 or visit www.coalitionforanimals. com MAY 20 – “Spring Bling” Fashion Presentation, Luncheon & Trunk Show at the Rotch-JonesDuff House and Garden Museum. Learn how to accessorize your current wardrobe and give it a whole new look! 396 County Street, New Bedford.

12 noon. $40 members, $45 non-members.

Advanced reservations required. 508-997-1401 visit www.rjdmuseum.org MAY 25 – Memorial Day Parade. Units will march from Center and Main streets north to Riverside Cemetery. There will be a pause at Fairhaven High School for the raising of the “Big Flag,” accompanied by Fairhaven High School music students. At Riverside Cemetery there will be a ceremony at the Civil War monument, followed by a cannon salute. Main Street from South Street to Riverside Cemetery, Fairhaven. 8:30am. For more information call 508-979-4085.

MAY 30 – Memorial Day at Battleship Cove.

Honor and commemorate the men and women who gave their lives for freedom. Experience a traditional military observance at 12:00 PM with the raising of the American flag from half-staff and a 21-gun salute, firing one shot each minute.

The ceremony is open to the public. For more information call 508-678-1100 or visit www. battleshipcove.org MAY 31 – Ospreyfest. Join Allens Pond for an afternoon of exhibits, activities and games to celebrate the launching of the Osprey Transmitter Project by Westport River Watershed Alliance and Mass Audubon’s Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary.

2031 and 2037 Main Rd , Westport Point. 3-5pm.

Free. For more information call 508-636-2437.

Food & Drink MAY 1 – Hidden Kitchens of Portsmouth Tour.

Seven unique Portsmouth kitchens open to the public, 11 a.m to 7:00 p.m. Tastings from local restaurants, caterers and merchants. $25. 800929-1738 or visit www.portsmouthkitchentour.org MAY 2 – 20th Anniversary Founders Day Dinner.

Westport Rivers Vineyard & Winery is proud to announce the start of another season of regularly scheduled wine dinners. Celebrate 20 years of wine making at New England’s largest vineyard!

Event begins at 5:30pm with a private tour of the vineyard followed by a four course meal paired with Westport Rivers’ world-class wines. $75.

Advanced sales only. Seating is limited. Rain or shine, 21+ event. Long Acre House Wine & Food Education Center, 417 Hixbridge Road, Westport.

For more information call 508-636-3423 ext.2 or visit www.westportrivers.com

MAY 9 – Savoring Bristol: A culinary and historical tour. 300 years of history, 3 hours of discovery. A fabulous three-hour walking & food tour of historic Bristol. The food discoveries range from how to make Jonnycakes over an open hearth to how to cook in a Tandoor oven. Tour starts at Coggeshall Farm, Poppasquash Road, Bristol. 9am-12pm. $50. For more information call 401-934-2149 or visit www.rimarkettours.com/savoringbristol.htm

Live Music MAY 2 – 1st Annual Celtic Invitational Pipe and Drum Exhibition. On Parade Field at Fort Adams, Newport. Additional entertainment and activities will include live musical entertainment, Irish Step Dance Groups, Rugby Demonstration, Irish Soda Bread Competition, and display booths.

Food and beverage will be available for purchase throughout the day. $5 Individual, $15 Family; Free 12 and Under. 11am-5pm. Tours of Historic Fort Adams will be given throughout the day (fee applies). This event will benefit the Fort Adams Trust, The Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Museum of Newport Irish History. For more information call 401-8410-0707.

MAY 2 – New Bedford Symphony Orchestra Season Finale, “Effervescent Artistry”. Zeiterion Performing Arts Center. 684 Purchase Street, New Bedford. 8pm. $20, $30, $40, $50. For more information call 508-994-2900 or visit www.zeiterion.org

Broadway show tunes and contemporary favorites. He will be joined by Diane Gualtieri on keyboards and vocals and Karen Mellor on percussion. A wine reception to greet the artists will follow the performance. Ballroom of Linden Place, 500 Hope Street, Bristol. 7:30pm. $15 for general public,$12 for members of Linden Place and students with a valid ID. For more information call 401-253-0390 or visit www.lindenplace.org

MAY 8-9 – The Sippican Choral Society pays tribute to the music of the Civil War Era in its 2009 Spring Concert, Days of Blue and Gray. Under the direction of Brian Roderick and accompanied by Michelle Gordon, eighty plus voices will perform selections by the great Stephen Foster, Civil War songs, folk hymns and spirituals such as Oh! Susanna, Shenandoah, Dixie, and Kumbaya. St. Gabriel’s Church, 124 Front Street, Marion. 8pm. $6, $12. For more information call 508-758-2282.

MAY 9 – Cheryl Wheeler in concert. Singer, songwriter Mary Day opening. Nothing you read and nothing you hear prepares you for how good a performer Cheryl Wheeler is. She has to be seen to be appreciated. Common Fence Point, 933 Anthony Road, Portsmouth. 8pm. $28. Call for more information 401-683-5085 or visit www. commonfencemusic.org MAY 15 – George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic. Lengedary master of funk performs classic hits. Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel. 79 Washington Street, Providence, RI. $23.50 adv. $25 day of show. 8pm. For more information, visit www.lupos.com

MAY 2 – Dixie Die Hards at the Marion Art Center.

The Bay State’s hottest Dixieland and classic jazz band, will be cooking up a smorgasbord of hot jazz, blues and gospel music for a one night cabaret show. Corner of Main and Pleasant Street, Marion. 7:30pm. $10 for MAC members, $12.50 for non-members. Reservations recommended.

For more information call 508- 748-1266 or visit www.marionartcenter.org MAY 2 – Greg Trooper. Alternative Country and Folk singer, Trooper’s music feels equally informed by Memphis soul, Greenwich Village folk and Nashville twang. “Billboard magazine has called him “an artist of considerable insight and passion.” Nashville music critic Robert K. Oermann has said Trooper’s “songs and delivery grab you by the throat. Common Fence Point, 933 Anthony Road, Portsmouth. 8pm. $20. Call for more information 401-683-5085 or visit www. commonfencemusic.org MAY 3 – An Afternoon with the Great American Songbook Jack Cook, organist in residence at the Stadium Performing Arts Center in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and an array of talented vocalists present a wide variety of familiar melodies from Broadway, the movies, and other timeless popular music from the Great American Songbook. This program offers something for every musical taste.

Featuring vocalists Auray Doiron, Greg Geer, Louise Tetreault, and Chantel Ventakaraman.

Zeiterion Performing Arts Center. 684 Purchase Street, New Bedford. 2:30pm. $5. For more information call 508-994-2900 or visit www. zeiterion.org MAY 8 – Linden Place Mansion kicks off the season with a concert by Michael DiMucci and Friends as they present Songs from Stage and Screen. Michael will perform a selection of classic songs and standards, including movie themes,

MAY 15 – Ain’t Misbehavin. Starring 2003 “American Idol” winner and recording artist Ruben Studdard along with Frenchie Davis, American Idol contestant and star of Rent on Broadway, this 30th anniversary tour of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical is a rollicking, swinging, finger-snapping revue of one of Broadway’s most well-crafted shows of all time.

Zeiterion Performing Arts Center. 684 Purchase Street, New Bedford. 8pm. $48, $52, $58, $62.

For more information call 508-994-2900 or visit www.zeiterion.org MAY 24 – World Premier Band. Incorporating musicians with endless imaginations and seeding the music of the 90’s and today with funk, dance, originals, and R&B. Newport Blues Cafe. 286 Thames Street, Newport, RI. Go to www.newportblues.com for more information.

Continued on next page

The South Coast Insider / May 2009

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begins. Margaret L. Jackson Performing Arts Center at BCC. Elsbree Street, Fall River, MA. Visit www.littletheatre.net for more information.

MAY 27 – Gregory Isaacs & The Live WYA Band.

Described as “the most exquisite vocalist in reggae” by The New York Times, reggae artist Gregory Isaacs takes over the stage live at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel. 79 Washington Street, Providence, RI. $20 adv. $25 day of show. 8pm.

For more information, visit www.lupos.com

Sports MAY 18 – Taunton Area Chamber of Commerce 23rd Annual Golf Tournament. Proceeds support the Charles E. Volkmann Scholarship Fund and the Taunton Area Chamber of Commerce.

Segregansett Country Club, 85 Gulliver Street, Taunton. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m., followed by lunch. Shotgun start is at 12:30 p.m.

Single golfer $165 or $650 for a foursome.

Non-Members are $200 for single and $800 for foursome. Cost includes green fees, a shared cart, lunch, and a steak dinner. Hole sponsorship is available for $150. For more information or to register call 508-824-4068 or visit www.tauntonareachamber.org

Theatre MAY 1 – Victorian Murder Mystery. Play whodunit in this fast-paced interactive murder mystery with the Beechwood Theatre Company. New plot every six weeks. 7pm. Astor’s Beechwood Mansion. 580 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI. 401 846-3772 MAY 1-3 – Annie. The timeless tale of Little Orphan Annie is back, giving a whole new generation the chance to experience this classic musical about never giving up hope. Providence Performing Arts Theater, 220 Weybosset Street, Providence. $33-$60. For performance schedule and ticket information call 401-421-2787 or visit www.ppacri.org MAY 1-3 – Beauty & The Beast. Step into the enchanted world of Broadway’s modern classic, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Based on the Academy Award winning animated feature, the stage version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast includes all of the wonderful songs from the film, written by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, (the team responsible for Little Shop of Horrors), plus new songs written especially for the Broadway version by Mr. Menken and Tim Rice (Aladdin, Aida). Your audiences will be transported to a lovely French provincial town where the beautiful Belle lives with her father, a dotty inventor. When her father doesn’t return from a trip to the local fair, Belle rushes off to find him. To her dismay, she discovers he is being held captive in an old castle by a horrible beast. She trades her freedom for his and the “tale as old as time” 46

MAY 2 – Locally Grown. Fusionworks Dance Company spotlights local dancers, choreographers, musicians, technicians and costume designers in this concert of the best professional and pre-professional modern dance from Rhode Island. Carriage House Stage, 7 Duncan Avenue, Providence. 2pm and 8pm. $18, $15 seniors and college students with id.For more information call 401-946-0607 or visit www.fusionworksdance. org MAY 5-6 – Lord of the Dance. A mesmerizing blend of traditional and modern Celtic music and dance. Played out over 21 scenes on a grand scale of precision dancing, dramatic music, colorful costumes and state-of-the-art staging and lighting. Providence Performing Arts Theater, 220 Weybosset Street, Providence. $33, $43, $48, $55. Tues. 7pm, Wed. 7:30pm. For ticket information call 401-421-2787 or visit www.ppacri.org MAY 7 - June 7 - The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne’s classic exploration of sin, hypocrisy and society is vividly re-imagined in this sexually charged and psychologically complex tale of obsession and revenge. In 17th-century Puritan Boston, Hester Prynne has been branded an adulteress and sentenced to wear the scarlet letter A on her dress. But she turns the mark of her shame into a badge of beauty and refuses to name her lover, the father of her daughter, Pearl. When Hester’s long-lost husband unexpectedly reappears, however, he will stop at nothing to uncover the truth.

Narrated by the spirited Pearl, this stripped-bare stage version of the “greatest American novel” makes for a raw and exhilarating theatrical experience. The Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange Street, Pawtucket, RI. $24 - $32. 401-723-4266.

MAY 17 – Jungle Jack Hanna. Bringing his familyfriendly animal show on the road animal expert Jack Hanna has become a household name.

Jungle Jack’s live show features many of his favorite animal friends, as well as fascinating and humorous stories and footage from his adventures around the world. Zeiterion Performing Arts Center. 684 Purchase Street, New Bedford. 3pm. $25, $32.50. For more information call 508-9942900 or visit www.zeiterion.org MAY 26-31 – The Color Purple. Oprah Winfrey Presents this soul-stirring musical based on the classic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker and the Oscar-nominated film by Steven Spielberg. It is the unforgettable and inspiring story of a woman named Celie, who triumphs over tremendous odds to find joy in life, and her true inner beauty. Providence Performing Arts Theater, 220 Weybosset Street, Providence. $46$73. For performance schedule and ticket information call 401-421-2787 or visit www.ppacri.org

MAY 8 - Violet. Set in 1964 in the Deep South during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement, Violet follows the growth and enlightenment of a bitter young woman accidentally scarred by her father. In hopes that a TV evangelist can cure her, she embarks on a journey by bus from her sleepy North Carolina town to Oklahoma. Along the way, she meets a young black soldier who teaches her about beauty, love, courage and what it means to be an outsider.

Courthouse Center for the Arts, 3481 Kingston Road, Kingston, RI. $20 - $27. 401-782-1018 or visit www.courthousearts.org MAY 9 – Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal. The BJM dancers hit the stage full-on, like a fresh northern wind wowing audiences with their sassy, innovative and easy-to-love programs. Zeiterion Performing Arts Center. 684 Purchase Street, New Bedford. 8pm. $34, $36. For more information call 508-994-2900 or visit www.zeiterion.org MAY 10 - The Importance of Being Earnest.

Gwendolen loves Ernest, and so does Cecily.

But wait, Cecily’s intended husband is actually Algernon. And Gwendolen’s fiancé is really Jack.

So who is Ernest? In Wilde’s best-loved comedy of manners, mistaken identities backfire and Lady Bracknell is not amused. Location: Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington Street, Providence, RI. $10 - $60. 401-351-4242 or visit www.trinityrep.com.

May 2009 / The South Coast Insider

MAY 31 – Charlotte’s Webb. Beloved by generations, Charlotte’s Web is one of the most cherished stories of all time. E.B. White’s story of the friendship between a pig named Wilbur and a little gray spider named Charlotte comes alive with Theatreworks production of Charlotte’s Web. Zeiterion Performing Arts Center. 684 Purchase Street, New Bedford. 3pm. $10, $15. For more information call 508-994-2900 or visit www. zeiterion.org

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