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CONTENTS
Photo by Matthew Clowney, courtesy of the RISD Nature Lab
East Side Monthly • March 2018
Students up close and personal with the animal world at the RISD Nature Lab, p. 26
This Month 22 CAN MIRIAM HANDLE IT?
10 A new squash club at Moses Brown combines exercise and student empowerment
A look at the new health care landscape on the East Side after Memorial’s closure
14 Emergency kits for the flu-ish student
26 WORLD OF WONDER We find out what goes on inside at the RISD Nature Lab
47 Flavor of the Month: A new, fast-casual vegan eatery opens on Thayer
12 A Brown professor uncovers his family’s past and the worst of human nature
48 On the Menu: Tacos and 60 kinds of mezcal and tequila are now in the Jewelry District
Leading Ladies
50 Restaurant Guide
Every Month
31 Get inspired by these passionate leaders who are making a difference
6 Editorial and Letters
Close to Home
16 In the Know
41 Home: Trinity Rep’s Tom Parrish modernized a mid-century home
18 Neighborhood News
On the Town
57 Calendar: Events you can’t miss this month
East Sider 66 While the rest of us sleep, artist V.F. Wolf has the RISD Museum all to himself
42 Education: The different ways to provide bilingual education – and why it’s effective
Community 9 Immersive theater comes to the Cable Car and Lippitt House
On the Cover:
44 East of Elmgrove: Getting serious about 20 years of stove grime
Inside the RISD Nature Lab. Photo by Matthew Clowney, courtesy of the RISD Nature Lab
East Side Monthly • March 2018 5
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East Side Monthly • March 2018
EDITORIAL
Politicians, Keep Your Paws Off Our Sox As the legislative train heads down the tracks for its always hectic June close, it’s now time for our legislators – we’re talking about you, Mr. Mattiello – to bring closure to whether the PawSox will be staying or going. We concede this is not an easy decision. Clearly we all would love them to stay. Clearly we all wish that the project were self-funded by the wealthy owners. But at some point, we must take a deep breath, accept the economic realities of modern-day sports stadiums, and make the best decision we can. In our minds, as opposed to the 38 Studios debacle, there has been plenty of public input on the framework of the deal. Has it been transparent? Yes. Do the numbers make sense? Are they credible, as compared to the first offer from the owners? Yes. Can the project be done as promised? Given Larry Lucchino’s proven reputation for building beautiful ballparks and the owners’ commitment to picking up any cost overruns, again the answer is yes. As a result, from where we’re sitting – arguably in the cheap seats – there’s plenty to like about the deal. First, it’s a big score
for Pawtucket. After decades of trying to jump-start their downtown, they finally have a shot of succeeding. The owners have promised some collateral construction near the field, it’s a facility that will be used frequently for both sporting and non-sporting events, and quite frankly there aren’t many alternative bidders for the site anyway. Second, it represents a way for local corporations to give back to the community by underwriting ticket prices for their employees or customers, which is win-win for all parties. And finally, baseball is one of those few activities that offer a truly broad base of appeal. It’s family friendly. It’s inexpensive, a fraction of the price of going up north. As a Fenway clone, it will come with additional built-in tourist appeal. And finally, the PawSox themselves have always been one of the most successful, well-run, and respected AAA franchises in the business. The clincher to us: If there were no team here and the state had the opportunity to lure one to some long vacant land in Pawtucket, would we be willing to take the risk? In a heartbeat! In fact, we’d probably call it a home run.
L ET T ERS To the Editor: RE your article “Rosa Park’s House Is Coming to Providence” (January 2018), Brown University’s Center for Slavery and Justice is NOT charged with “unraveling the thorny implications of the Brown family’s involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.” The Center’s mission is to create “a space for the interdisciplinary study of the historical forms of slavery while also examining how these legacies shape our contemporary world,” specifically issues such as contemporary human trafficking; the American criminal justice system; race,
medicine and social justice etc. You should also know that the College of Rhode Island was renamed Brown University 40 years after its founding, to honor Nicholas Brown II who was an abolitionist and philanthropist. You can get all the correct facts in my book Grappling With Legacy: Rhode Island’s Brown Family and the American Philanthropic Impulse (Archway 2017). Sincerely, Sylvia Brown 603-9645
East Side Monthly Publishers Barry Fain Richard Fleischer John Howell
Media Director Jeanette St. Pierre
Executive Editor Barry Fain
City Editor Steve Triedman
Managing Editor Tony Pacitti
Associate Managing Editor Sophie Hagen
Editor Robert Isenberg
Editor at Large Julie Tremaine
Art Director Nick DelGiudice
Graphic Designer Brandon Harmon
Advertising Design Director Layheang Meas Marketing Coordinator Kim Tingle
Staff Photographer Savannah Barkley
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54 HASLEY STREET #4 Classified Advertising Sue Howarth Calendar announcements and news releases should be submitted by the 1st of the preceding month. We reserve the right to omit and edit items. Letters to the editor are welcome. We will not print unsigned letters without exceptional circumstances. East Side Monthly is not responsible for typographical errors. Corrections will be run at discretion of editor.
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SPRING 2018
Brubeck Brothers Quartet Wednesday, March 21, 2018 7:30 p.m. The Forman Theatre Chris and Dan Brubeck, sons of the late jazz great Dave Brubeck, have been making music together practically all their lives. Drummer Dan and bassist, trombonist and composer Chris cut their first record together in 1966. Guitarist Mike DeMicco and pianist Chuck Lamb round out this dynamic quartet. Although the quartet’s style is rooted in traditional jazz, their concerts reveal an ability to explore and play odd time signatures while naturally integrating the influences of funk, blues and world music.
Purchase your tickets at www.ric.edu/pas or (401) 456-8144. 8
East Side Monthly • March 2018
COMMUNITY East Side Stories | Neighborhood News & Notes
East Side News
Art Imitates Life
Two innovative theaters are trading the stage for the Cable Car and Lippitt House By Tony Pacitti
Photo courtesy of Lippitt House
This month, The Wilbury
Group and Strange Attractor Theatre Company will each be moving away from stages in the typical sense. With their respective productions of The Flick and the multisensory experience Back to the Work, these groups will explore the use of space and challenge audiences’ expectations by taking over two nontraditional venues: the Cable Car Cinema and the Lippitt House Museum. The Flick, written by Annie Baker, finds three employees working in a rundown movie house. Rather than create a set, The Wilbury Group turned to the Cable Car. “Turns out they were already big fans of the play and loved the idea,” explains artistic director Josh Short. “The play is set entirely in the movie theater, so to be able to have the set already ‘built’ for us is a wonderful thing.” According to Short, Annie Baker’s writing already demands honesty from actors performing her work, but having the show take place in a functioning movie theater raises those stakes. It also plays with audiences’ expectations and creates a deeper sense of intimacy. Rather than watching the performance from their usual place in the theater, the audience will be seated against the screen, facing the empty seats and watching the three “employees” in their element. Over at the Lippitt House, Back to the Work finds Strange Attractor blurring the lines between history and fiction through a curated, interactive exhibit. Describing it as a “time travel treasure hunt” and “mysterious, multimedia adventure-seeking,” Strange Attractor’s Rebecca Noon explains that the goal of the installation is to explore the lesser known stories of those who have worked – and continue to work – in the historic mansion. “Because there weren’t enough histories taken by the working-class people circa 1880 for us to fill an exhibit with their stories, and
Lippitt House hosts a curated interactive exhibit in March and April about those who have worked in the mansion
partly because our interest is getting the audience to see their world – and all the objects in it – differently, not everything the audience encounters will be an exact replica or 100 percent historically accurate,” Noon explains. “But because we are working from research and with historians, it’s not total artistic invention either.” Their goal is to take advantage of theatrical tools to tell these stories of domestic workers and builders via an interactive
experience rather than a traditional performance. “Working at Lippitt House is really delicious because we know what the basis for the ‘story’ is and we know what the ‘space’ is. We have very firm ground upon which to build themes and create drama.” The Flick will run March 8–12, 15–18, and 22–25. TheWilburyGroup.org, CableCarCinema.com; Back to the Work will run on Tuesday and Sundays in March and April. StrangeAttractor.org, PreserveRI.org
East Side Monthly • March 2018 9
The Place For Sushi
Community East Side News
Squash for the People
A world-class sports facility opens on the East Side By John Taraborelli
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East Side Monthly • March 2018
Providence, are you aware that we have a world-class squash facility right in our own backyard? Also, are you aware that squash is a fun, accessible sport (similar to racquetball) that anyone can play? You could be forgiven for not knowing either because a) there’s a common misconception of squash as an elitist sport played only in expensive private clubs, and b) the new Gorgi Family Squash & Education Center at Moses Brown School only opened last December. The 16,000-square-foot facility, which boasts 12 courts along with classrooms, study space, and a pro shop, is the result of a unique partnership between three organizations: Moses Brown, Nicol Squash Club, and SquashBusters, a sports-based youth development program. Here’s how the pieces fit together. Since 1996, Squashbusters has been using the sport, along with academic support and enrichment, to improve educational outcomes and access to opportunities among underserved students in urban school districts. When the Boston-based program began looking to expand, Providence was a natural fit. SquashBusters found the perfect partner in Moses Brown School, which already boasts a robust squash program with varsity teams. The new facility sits on the school’s campus, and the two organizations share access to the courts for their students. The third piece, Nicol Squash Club, is a community club that offers easy, affordable access to courts, lessons, coaching, and league play for the general public, capitalizing on a facility that dramatically increases the number of squash courts in Rhode Island. For its inaugural class, SquashBusters Providence will provide 28 sixth graders from Del Sesto Middle School with nine hours of tutoring, academic enrichment, and squash training per week for 33 weeks of the school year. The goal is to add one Photography by Wolf Matthewson
grade per year so that by 2023 they will be serving sixth through twelfth grades. Meanwhile, Nicol Squash Club set a goal of 100 members by the end of the year; they got 140 in their first three weeks. With a top-notch facility, world-class coaches, and an educational program that
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Care New England Medical Group Welcomes Rodolfo Galinatti, PA-C, MMS Rodolfo Galinatti, PA-C, MMS, assistant medical director for quality and practice, Internal Medicine Center, Care New England, holds a bachelor’s of science degree with a concentration in biomedical sciences from Bridgewater State College and a master’s in physician assistant studies from the Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University. With a focus on integrative medicine, nutrition, and life expectancy, Mr. Galinatti brings with him experience from Blackstone Valley Community Health Care and the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center. He speaks Portuguese, Spanish, and English. last year sent 98 percent of its graduating seniors to college, there might just be a squash revolution developing on the East Side. Gorgi Family Squash & Education Center, Hope Street. SquashBusters.org, NicolSquashClub.com
Together with Dr. Carolina Fonseca Valencia, Mr. Galinatti is working to provide patients with high quality, culturally sensitive, and compassionate care and he is accepting new patients.
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East Side Monthly • March 2018 11
Community East Side News
Experience. Integrity. Results.
Facing a Difficult History
A Brown professor writes about daily life in the Holocaust By Robert Isenberg
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East Side Monthly • March 2018
One day, when he was 41 years old, Omer Bartov finally asked his mother about her childhood. Their conversation led Bartov to Buczacz, a long-suffering Ukrainian village. The community was a mix of Eastern European peoples, who had lived in relative peace since the Middle Ages. But when the Holocaust came, neighbors turned on each other, and thousands of local Jews were killed. Bartov chronicles these horrors in his latest book, Anatomy of a Genocide: The Life and Death of a Town Called Buczacz. Raised in Israel, Bartov teaches European history at Brown, and he was already an acclaimed Holocaust scholar when he began his research.
“People always say that genocide is indescribable,” Bartov says. “But I never believed that, because people keep finding ways to describe it. I wanted to see what it was like, on the ground, for the people who were there. The best way to examine this is to find the place where it happened. The motivations of everyone can be understood quite easily, when you break it down.” Packed with quotes, anecdotes, and archival photographs, the book is a tapestry of daily life in Buczacz, illustrating how the town’s delicate fabric unraveled. Villagers endure hellish torments at the hands of the Cossacks and Bolsheviks – and then the Nazis show up. Friendly neighbors become
informants and callous killers. In scene after scene, Bartov describes Nazi atrocities, as well as the mind-boggling cruelty of ordinary townsfolk. “In many ways, everyone was expecting that this would happen,” says Bartov. “There was always the talk, even before World War I. Who are the outsiders? Who are the parasites? Who is doing the actual work? There’s a great deal of talking about violence, and of cleansing and removal. But when it happens, everyone is entirely shocked. The violence is so astonishing.” As a Jewish Israeli growing up in the 1950s, Bartov often felt isolated from his forefathers. Survivors never spoke of the Holocaust, except in symbolic terms. Israel was a brand-new state, and Bartov felt a lack of personal history. His mother left Buczocz in 1935, evading the Nazi takeover, and died before she could return. But Bartov plumbed the depths of her hometown, enriching his own understanding of his ancestors’ journey. “For people in my generation, the past was something to get away from,” Bartov asserts. “These were not questions you asked. But we became unhappy, having such a short past. As we grew older, we started asking ourselves, ‘Where did we come from?’”
Tavares Strachan, You Belong Here, 2013. ©Tavares Strachan 2017.
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Community East Side News
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East Side Monthly • March 2018
Across the country, “flu season” took on special meaning this winter. The media described the spread of the H3N2 virus as an “epidemic,” and the flu has wreaked havoc on Rhode Island schools and workplaces since autumn. But students at Brown University have some consolation: “Flu Buddies,” a special program designed by Campus Life and Student Services to help undergrads get better. When students fall ill, they can register on the FluWeb portal, report their missed class time, and request provisions. “The service is intended to reduce the need for students to leave their rooms while contagious,” says Jessie Curran, a registered dietitian at Brown. Once students have registered, they can order special “FluKits,” a package full of water, granola bars, and microwaveable soups, among other helpful items. If they’re healthy enough to walk, they can pick up their FluKits at the dining hall’s cash registers. Bedridden students can ask a trusted friend, or “FluBuddy,” to pick up the kit on their behalf.
The service is free for enrolled students. Occasionally, students are both immobile and unable to conscript a FluBuddy. In that event, Dining Services sends a courier to hand-deliver the package. But even this can be tricky. “We’ve had deliveries to students sick enough that they are quarantined by the university,” says Curran. “In that case, our drivers must get the room numbers to these students, knock on the doors, and leave the food package outside their room so no contact is made.” Despite the epidemiological panic, Brown hasn’t endured the wave of plague that other colleges have reported. “We have had a similar participation rate as last year,” says Curran. “It is completely predictable to us when these requests start to roll in. In fact, our assistant chef, who does a lot of assembling of kits, sent an email the day before our first request came in, saying, ‘It’s that time of year. I’ve stocked the chef’s closet with assembled flu kits.’” Curran expects orders to taper off this month.
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Community In The Know
Ready to Walk a Mile in Their Shoes
Local Nonprofit Returns to Its East Side Roots
The East Side’s newest neighborhood group, the Mile of History Association (MoHA), has officially incorporated and plans to represent the entire length of Benefit Street, portions of the side streets perpendicular to it, and any preservationists who simply care about its historic integrity. Among their initial goals is to create a more stringent and enforceable set of guidelines to insure the upkeep and maintenance along the street. Given the importance of this area as a tourist venue, city officials are exploring whether it can serve as a useful set of standards to supplement existing regulations. For information about joining MoHA or learning more about its activities, contact Getgen@verizon.net.
Now into its 66th year, Rhode Island for Community & Justice (RICJ) has just relocated to the East Side at 271 North Main Street, next door to St. John’s Cathedral. RICJ is a secular nonprofit “dedicated to social justice, with a mission of fighting bias, bigotry and racism by building understanding and respect among all races, cultures and religions.” Many of the organization’s original founders, back when it was called the National Conference for Christians and Jews, were East Side residents. Interestingly, the current director Dr. Toby Ayers is not only a resident here herself, she also serves as the Lead of the popular Nextdoor College Hill listserv. This can only be good for the neighborhood, say we.
No More Getting to the Church on Time?
The Gifts That Keep on Giving
Plans are underway to construct two towers on the corner of Canal and Steeple Streets that will rise 10 and 15 stories respectively and together will offer over 400 rental apartments. Objections were raised over the proposed extra height of the second building, the impact it would have on views from the historic East Side, and how out of scale it is with the existing neighborhood. But what seems to be drawing more heated concern is that the project will eliminate most of the existing parking area, leaving very few spaces for the renters in the building and virtually none for the nearby businesses and residents. Among those most upset over the loss of parking is the iconic First Baptist Church on North Main Street, across the street. In a letter sent to the mayor and the Downtown Design Review Commission, the church complained about how critical the lot was for their Sunday morning worship, since there are so few other options in the vicinity, leaving them feeling “strangled.” Developers have promised to revisit their proposal but as we go to press, no new designs have been made public.
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East Side Monthly • March 2018
As things begin to improve on the economic front, it seems the current largess is extending to our local charitable institutions as well. With assets approaching $1 billion, the Rhode Island Foundation reports that their investments in 2017 earned them an impressive 17.4 percent, which actually outperformed both Brown University (13.4 percent) and the state pension plan (14.5 percent). As always, charity begins at home and it’s nice to see that RIF will be well positioned to address many of the problems that continue to face our community. Keep up the good work.
Tell a Friend to Tell a Friend As the country prepares for the upcoming national census, poor little Rhode Island remains at a little over a million people. We are hanging onto our two seats in the House of Representatives by just a few hundred residents. Is there anything we can do? Sure! Invite a friend to visit, then lock the door. Convince the town fathers in adjoining states that smaller is better in an “I know a guy” state like ours. Tell them that people like Taylor Swift and Jay Leno have found more than enough to like here. Time is running out, so please do your part.
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Community Neighborhood News
Neighborhood News is a space that East Side Monthly makes available to community organizations free of charge. The content does not necessarily reflect the views of the editors of this publication.
Summit Neighborhood Association Members and Neighborhood Journalists As always, we welcome new members who are interested in supporting our neighborhood events, community projects, candidate forums, and advocacy. Memberships are affordable and you can sign up at SummitNeighbors.org. Additionally, SNA is seeking local volunteer writers to provide occasional content for our long-running neighborhood newsletter. Please contact SNAProv@gmail.com for more information.
Residents Invited to Meetings The SNA Board of Directors meets at 7pm on the third Monday of every month in the cafeteria of Summit Commons, 99 Hillside Avenue. The sessions are open and neighborhood residents are encouraged to attend. Summit Neighborhood Association, PO Box 41092, Providence RI 02940. SNA.Providence.RI.us, SNAProv@gmail.com – Ethan Gyles
College Hill Neighborhood Association At this month’s meeting, we heard a presentation from David Riley of Friends of India Point Park about their proposal to bury the power lines along the waterfront gateway to the city. They have raised millions of dollars to help restore the natural beauty of the shoreline and are working to have National Grid bury the lines instead of spending money to replace the outdated overhead lines and towers. Please let National Grid know that you support the Friends of India Point’s efforts and want to see the power lines buried for the future of our city. We also saw a presentation from Ken Iwaoka
18
East Side Monthly • March 2018
and Mayomi Sengoka, owners of Ganko Ittetsu Ramen restaurant coming soon to Thayer Street in the former Better Burger Company location. They have a successful operation in Brookline, MA, and they are seeking a new beer and wine liquor license for the new location on Thayer. They are planning to close at 11pm weeknights and 12am weekends, and have agreed not to pursue entertainment or hookah licenses so CHNA is supportive of their liquor license application. We have cautioned them to take care not to serve underage students. We also had an update about the Brown University Performing Arts Center (PAC) from Providence Preservation Society (PPS) head Brent Runyon. CHNA and PPS have opposed the site selected by Brown for the PAC due to the planned demolition of several historic homes. Brown has deferred their next hearing at the City Plan Commission. CHNA has proposed a committee be formed to sit down with Brown to discuss alternate sites for the project. We also had an update about Club Penthouse, a night club operating in a C-2 zone on Water Street where it was under review for multiple violations and complaints by residents. CHNA and other Neighborhood Associations have worked hard to rally the city and the Board of Licenses to revoke their entertainment license and the club has since been shut down. The owners are now attempting to get a similar license at Café Paragon on Thayer Street,
which CHNA, Brown, and others are fighting to prevent. CHNA welcomes all residents of College Hill to join our efforts to protect the neighborhood. For more information about joining and supporting CHNA and meeting your neighbors, contact: College Hill Neighborhood Association, PO Box 2442, Providence, RI 02906. CHNAProvidence.org, CHNA@CHNAProvidence.org –Josh Eisen
Fox Point Neighborhood Association Wonderland on Wickenden In late December, dozens of neighbors came out for the second-annual Wickenden Wonderland, an evening of holiday caroling and good cheer. The festivities began at The Point Tavern with appetizers from Great Northern Barbeque, special holiday cocktails, craft activities for children, and socializing among friends. Neighbors then put on their winter gear and began to carol, singing “Feliz Navidad” while strolling up Wickenden Street to the guitar accompaniment of local band The Mighty Good Boys. The destination was George M. Cohan Square, located across the street from the Vartan Gregorian Elementary School, where neighbor-carolers surrounded the Hope Tree, a Christmas tree emblazoned with a large sign: “This Tree Is for Everyone.” The large crowd celebrated with gusto. “Our
Photo courtesy of Crystal Carrier Photography
Snow Brigade Our volunteer snow shovelers are in full swing, helping neighbors who are disabled or elderly, and financially unable to afford to pay for snow removal to keep their paths and driveways clear and safe. For more information, email SNASnow@gmail.com.
Wickenden Wonderland, December 2017
second annual Wickenden Wonderland was a great success,” said FPNA board member and event organizer Bruce Millard. “Yuletide caroling brings people together in a way few other things can. To gather your neighbors close together around an illuminated tree and sing with revelry on the night of the winter solstice is a remarkable sight.” The festivities also supported a good cause. Voluntary donations went to Amos House to help those in need. Millard continued, “It makes you proud to be a part of this truly unique Fox Point community.”
RISD AUDITORIUM An ancient epic of Central Asian “girl power” produced in collaboration with the Aga Khan Music Initiative
Events this Month Board Meeting, Monday, March 12 at 7pm. Please join us at our monthly FPNA Board Meeting in the Community Room of the Vartan Gregorian Elementary School, 455 Wickenden Street. The public is welcome. Meet Up With Us! Please join us for drinks and casual conversation at the next FPNA Meet-Up. Check our FPNA News e-newsletter for timing, usually the third Tuesday evening of the month at 7pm at The Point Tavern. All are welcome. The Fox Point Neighborhood Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in Fox Point and protecting its historic integrity and resources. The FPNA speaks out on neighborhood issues and builds community through local events. Our monthly board meetings are open to the public. Please join us! Fox Point Neighborhood Association, PO Box 2315, Providence, RI 02906, FPNA.net, FoxPointNeighborhood@gmail. com –Amy Mendillo
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Mount Hope Neighborhood Association It’s March and spring will be here before you know it. We are looking forward to planting soon in the Sharing Garden and recruiting for summer youth programs, youth garden leadership, and the culinary program, where young gardeners will have more opportunity for hands-on experience. The program also creates a platform for young people to take the lead, learning about food systems and taking more
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East Side Monthly • March 2018 19
Community Neighborhood News
The Sharing Garden at Billy Taylor Park will be ready for planting soon
control and ownership over their food. For the entire family and other community members, our plan is to start Community Harvest Meals from the Sharing Garden harvest combined with some performances in the park. Community outdoors and together, sprouting from our growing urban agriculture venture. Also, we still have open hours on Saturday at the Garden at Billy Taylor Park on Saturdays from 12 to 1 for composting! Other news: Inspired by Grace (IBG) theatre has relocated to the MHNA – operated by playwright Helen Dukes, who was featured in the April 2017 issue of East Side Monthly. Watch for their monthly show, The Living Room Conversation, and other media events such as Ladies Night. MHNA is offering free tax help with the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program. Eligibility is for people who make $54,000 or less, persons with disabilities, and limited English–speaking taxpayers. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals. Walk-in service: Tuesdays 2:30–6pm, Wednesdays 1:30–8:30pm, Fridays 11am–3pm. MHNA is looking for professional volunteers to assist with upcoming financial literacy workshops. If this is you or someone you know, you can email us at MHNAInc@gmail.com. The WIC Program at MHNA provides nutrition counseling, referrals, breastfeeding support, and food vouchers. It serves pregnant, post-partum, and breastfeeding
20
East Side Monthly • March 2018
women, infants, and children up to age five. The WIC office hours: Tuesdays 11am– 3pm, Thursdays 1–7pm, Fridays 11am–5pm, Saturdays 9am–3pm. Call today for an appointment, 521-8830. The EDCA’s (Empowerment Dialogues for Community Action) next meeting will be March 22 at Mount Hope Neighborhood Association (MHNA), 199 Camp Street, at 6pm. The Food Security Coalition meets at the same location and on the same date at 5pm. A newly established group is the Mt. Hope Housing Coalition, which we expect to be meeting on the second Thursday of the month at 5pm. Lastly, remember that you can also attend the MHNA board meetings, which are on the third Thursday of the month at 5pm. Next one on February 21. Stay warm. Mount Hope Neighborhood Association, 199 Camp Street, Providence, RI 02906, 521-8830, Facebook: Mount Hope Neighborhood Association, mhnainc@gmail.com –Courtesy of the EDCA
Blackstone Parks Conservancy Vanishing York Pond, Part One: What Happened? York Pond is just 1.75 acres, and thus easy to manage, or so one might think. But no. The little freshwater haven is silting up again less than two decades after a nearly half-million-dollar rescue effort cleaned it out. What happened? The solution devised to rescue the smelly morass at first seemed straightforward. City agencies, RIDEM, the EPA, and what would become the Blackstone Parks Conservancy planned to dredge the pond and to prevent the
salt and sand spread on city streets every winter from washing into it from its 380-acre watershed. The trash carried down year-round by water would also be trapped. At the pond end of the ravine which starts at Butler Avenue (where underground streams and storm water feed into the pond’s mouth), federal funds would be used to build a concrete barrier – a dissipator – with two compartments, one to trap sand and the other to catch “floatables,” or trash. The Department of Public Works (DPW) would clean it out every month. How the Solution Became a Problem Unfortunately, the contractor failed to fulfill his contract as designed, though later he did partially fix the problem. But shortly after the barrier’s completion, surging storm water carved a channel beside it, allowing some sand and trash to course straight through. Over time, the DPW rarely picked up what sand and trash the dissipator did trap. And soon the silt and floatables began spilling over into the pond – slowly, so that it was barely noticeable for several years. The Beauty That Remains Despite all the hitches, until a few years ago the rescue attempt appeared to be fairly successful. By 2005, with dozens of native plants installed at its edge by BPC volunteers, York Pond had become a lovely spot – and to some extent it still is, despite the silt. People come seeking inspiration or simply to relax. Visitors paint or photograph or look for herons, ducks, turtles, osprey, and red-tailed hawks, not to mention turtles and butterflies. This is a perfect spot to watch migratory birds. York Pond is a valuable place to learn about storm water, swamps, and Providence history, among other things. Schoolchildren still come to study the water and, if they’re lucky, they get to pull on waders and charge straight into the shallow water to capture samples. Next month see Part Two: What Can Be Done? Blackstone Parks Conservancy, PO Box 603141, Providence, RI 02906. BlackstoneParksConservancy.org, JaneAnnPeterson@ gmail.com –Jane Peterson
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East Side Monthly • March 2018 21
its 300 beds, but the Miriam Hospital, a Lifespan facility on the East Side of Providence, is bearing the brunt of the closure. While Memorial’s closing is having immediate effects on Miriam, the recent surge is part of a larger trend at Lifespan facilities. According to Lifespan data, over the last five years, emergency room volume at Miriam has increased by 13 percent, more than double the increase across the entire system. Lifespan officials are noting that in the absence of Memorial, scores of patients from Pawtucket and Central Falls are now turning to Miriam, which is only three miles away. Memorial Hospital was a bulwark in Blackstone Valley for more than a century. Funded by Saylesville Finishing Plant founder Wil-
What’s Up, Doc? Rhode Island lost 300 hospital beds when Memorial closed. Now Miriam is picking up the slack
liam F. Sales after his death in 1894, the hospital was chartered to provide healthcare to Blackstone Valley residents regardless of their ability to pay, long before most hospitals were legally mandated to do so. Over the next century, Memorial expanded from 30 beds to 294 over 13 acres in Pawtucket. The hospital operated a nursing school for 70 years and enjoyed an early affiliation with the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown, housing its Family and Internal Medicine residency programs. Still, Memorial barely stayed afloat. In 2013, CNE acquired the struggling hospital but was unable to alleviate the financial woes; in the last fiscal year alone, the hospital recorded a $23 million loss. Its parent company therefore began searching for parties interested in acquiring Memorial, ultimately entering into negotiations with Partners Healthcare. The largest hospital group in Massachusetts, Partners includes Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Mass General. But
the
fate
of
Memorial
quickly
became
a
controver-
sial issue in the talks. The Pawtucket hospital gradually began winding down services until the board finally voted to allow CNE to close the Emergency Department and shut down inpatient services. At the end of last year, the Department of Health permitted Memorial to cease all operations, provided CNE met a few stipulations. The healthcare giant, second in scale to Lifespan, is required to pay $300,000 to the city of Pawtucket and $200,000 to Central Falls in order to offset the costs of diverting patients to other hospitals. Additionally, CNE established a walk-in clinic in Pawtucket open seven days a week.
• By Kat Simonds •
A
ll of these efforts notwithstanding, the staff of Miriam toil daily to meet massive new demands. Miriam has been a mainstay
in Providence healthcare and has deep roots in the Jewish community of the East Side. Founded in 1907, the Miriam Hospital Associ-
A
ation sought to create a hospital for Jewish immigrants to receive t the height of flu season, a daily surge of patients from Pawtucket and
quality and culturally responsive healthcare. As the hospital grew
Central Falls descends on the Miriam Hospital. But this year the surge has
into a pillar institution serving all Rhode Islanders, it was chartered
been bigger tham usual: after months of painstaking negotiations, the Rhode Is-
22
by the state legislature in 1926.
land Department of Health approved the closure of Memorial Hospital, the cash-
From there, the hospital expanded from a 63-bed building on
strapped Pawtucket facility that contributed heavily to the financial troubles of
Parade Street to its present facility, a bustling complex on Summit
its parent company, Care New England (CNE). The healthcare giant has been
Avenue boasting 247 beds. With a staff of 2,800, Miriam offers
working to ease the burden on Blackstone Valley in the absence of Memorial and
a wide range of primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment in 34
East Side Monthly • March 2018
specialties. The hospital has been recognized nationally for its research on HIV/AIDS, behavioral health, and preventative medicine. The breadth of services and expertise offered at Miriam also figure into the surge of patients from Pawtucket and Central Falls, says Richard Salit, Senior Media Relations Officer at Lifespan. “Clearly, we’ve seen a shift in Pawtucket and Central Falls patients going to The Miriam Hospital from Memorial Hospital,” Salit says. “But this has occurred over many months as Memorial’s services declined and, ultimately, its emergency department closed.” Dr. Paul Larrat, dean of the College of Pharmacy at URI, also underscored that the gradual decrease in operations at Memorial has prompted more and more patients to turn to Miriam. “They were down to providing very little inpatient care,” he says. Perhaps the largest factor, though, is the flu. The closure of Memorial’s emergency room “is also hitting at the time of the biggest flu epidemic in a bunch of years,” says Larrat. “Nationally, emergency rooms have been flooded because of the flu epidemic. A true test of all of this, after flu season is over, is seeing what utilization of the Miriam Hospital Emergency Room in particular looks like.”
Photography by Nick DelGiudice
M
W
emorial’s closing and the accompanying
CNE, Rhode Island’s second largest hospi-
increase in patient volume at Miriam will
tal group, employs more than 7,500 people. Its
invariably have implications for how Rhode Is-
principal facilities are Women & Infants, Kent and
landers access healthcare, but also for the econ-
Butler Hospitals, the Providence Center, and Care
ed unwelcome merger proposals from Lifespan,
omy, as healthcare is one the central industries in
New England Wellness Center in Warwick. None-
which the former declined. As negotiations with
Rhode Island. According to a Department of La-
theless, the healthcare giant has struggled finan-
Partners Healthcare of Massachusetts progressed,
bor and Training study, healthcare was the fastest
cially, which many ascribe to Memorial, whose in-
another major player in Rhode Island entered the
growing industry between 2000 and 2007. In that
patient volume decreased sharply in the last ten
picture: Brown University. Brown President Chris-
same period, more than 18 percent of jobs in the
years.
tina Paxson proposed in January that the univer-
hat is unique is the interplay in Rhode Island between healthcare companies and
institutions. CNE’s financial woes have prompt-
state were healthcare-related. The state’s higher
But Larrat says this is not unusual.
sity acquire CNE with Prospect Medical Holdings,
education institutions contribute to the work-
“There’s been a drop nationally – and state
a for-profit, California-based healthcare company
force, from the highly ranked nursing schools
by state, for that matter – in utilization of hos-
with a checkered history of patient care, accord-
at Rhode Island College and URI, the College of
pital beds,” he says. “People are getting better
ing to the United Nurses and Allied Professionals
Pharmacy at URI, and Brown’s Alpert Medical
and more effective homecare. The VNAs [Visiting
union. Brown’s Alpert Medical School, the only
School. Healthcare is, in short, critically import-
Nurse Associations] of the world are taking care
medical school in the state, has affiliations with
ant to Rhode Island.
of people in their homes, so that’s part of the rea-
both CNE and Lifespan but does not operate its
son for the decline.” Rhode Island, he says, “is just
own hospital. This is unusual for a high-ranked
mirroring that.”
medical school, and particularly an Ivy.
Between Lifespan and Care New England, this industry employs more than 22,000 Rhode Islanders. Lifespan is the largest private employer
Larrat points out, too, that this is not the first
A factor in Paxson’s proposal, undoubted-
in the state with over 14,000 employees. Miriam
time a hospital has closed in the state, referenc-
ly, was Partners Healthcare’s affiliations with
is one of Lifespan’s partners, along with Gate-
ing Notre Dame in Central Falls and Cranston
Harvard Medical School. Paxson cautioned that
way Healthcare and Rhode Island Hospital – the
General. “Utilization of the facilities [at Memori-
the merger would shift the center of Rhode Island
state’s only trauma center – as well as Newport
al] was dropping,” he says. “I don’t think that’s a
healthcare to Boston. As a result, she reasoned, it
and Bradley Hospitals.
unique problem.”
would also encourage healthcare professionals to
East Side Monthly • March 2018 23
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relocate, raising costs for Rhode Islanders and Though state lawmakers, including Governor
only maintain its dominance, but to continue ex-
Raimondo, have welcomed CNE’s merger with
panding as well. Miriam is currently building a
Partners, Paxson raises an important point:
10-bed Clinical Decision Unit in the Emergency
CNE’s position, as evident in Memorial Hospital’s
Department, projected to open in March.
floundering and subsequent closure, created a
“It’s intended to relieve pressure on the de-
vacuum, and in one of the most significant areas
mand for inpatient beds,” says Richard Salit.
of the Rhode Island economy. A large, out-of-
“That, in turn, can help improve emergency de-
state entity becoming a powerhouse in Rhode
partment patient flow.”
Island healthcare will surely have ramifications
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East Side Monthly • March 2018
While the future of Care New England remains unclear, Lifespan appears poised to not
contributing to the “brain drain.”
for CNE and the shifting healthcare landscape.
13
%
And, Salit clarifies, “Patients who arrive at The Miriam Hospital Emergency Department will never be
6 24 300 %
%
Increase in emergency
Increase
Increase in
Number of
room volume at
across the
discharges at
hospital beds lost
Miriam over the last
entire Lifespan
Miriam over the
when Memorial
five years
system
last five years
closed
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out the state – when severely taxed by high patient volume in their ED – will go on ‘diversion.’
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This means that ambulance providers are directed to take patients to other nearby hospitals.” Despite the many uncertainties raised by Memorial’s closing and Care New England’s merger, Miriam, for its part, appears not to be shaken. And though the hospital is adjusting to the surge of new patients on the East Side, the full impact of Memorial’s closure remains to be seen.
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East Side Monthly • March 2018 25
The Art of Science RISD’s Nature Lab continues its founder’s mission to find beauty and design in the natural world
By Amanda M. Grosvenor
H
ave you ever passed the Edna Lawrence Nature Lab on Waterman Street, between North Main and Benefit, and wondered about the items you glimpsed within? Perhaps you spotted taxidermied, antlered animal heads and various potted plants, or small glass boxes full of curious objects and a massive porcupine fish hanging from the ceiling. Perhaps you turned a corner and noticed a tank of swirling live jellyfish, glowing purplish-blue at night. It may surprise you to learn that this assortment of natural artifacts, both living and preserved, in fact comprises a nature lab at the Rhode Island School of Design that just celebrated its 80th anniversary – a lab that also now houses cutting-edge technological
equipment, helping students, researchers, and other innovators to bridge the perceived gap between science and artistic design. The site is home both to art students drawing inspiration from the artifacts to scientific experiments on climate change and the intersections of nature and design. And it’s all thanks to longtime RISD professor and class of 1922 graduate Edna Lawrence.
T
he Waterman Building, constructed in 1893, was the first structure built specifically for RISD (founded 16 years prior); the first floor housed the school’s museum, and drawing studios were up above. When the museum moved out, the first floor became library space available for faculty teaching use,
Photo by Matthew Clowney courtesy of the RISD Nature Lab
where professor Edna Lawrence began teaching “Nature Drawing” in the 1930s. “She started collecting things from her own travels to serve as specimens the students could look at and gain inspiration from,” says Jen Bissonnette, Biological Programs Designer for the lab and one of three full-time scientists on staff there, who supervise students at work in the lab and teach classes and workshops. It was unprecedented for an art school to have a nature lab, and most of the items Lawrence amassed are unlabeled, instead grouped together “according to how Edna thought they made a nice display,” says Bissonnette. Although at times challenging from a forensic standpoint, Bissonnette notes that the lack
Edna Lawrence founded the RISD Nature Lab in 1937 as a place for students to investigate the intersection of art and science
of identification – “we call it direct, unmediated access,” she says – does have its advantages. Rather than feeling educationally onerous to students – “sort of ‘Oh, I guess I’m going to have to learn today’” – the lab instead asks, “‘What do you see that’s appealing and intriguing?’ and invites you to explore that however you want to,’” she says. “It’s about getting inspired by those forms, colors, and patterns.” RISD students and faculty can “check out” many of the lab’s 80,000 specimens – a collection that has grown even after Lawrence’s
retirement in the 1970s thanks largely to donations from alumni and various organizations. Between RISD student and faculty activities, approximately 8,000 “checkouts” every year, classes, and visits from off-campus researchers and other groups, the 5,000-square-foot Nature Lab tends to stay quite busy during the 80 hours it is open weekly. Last year, it provided visits and tours to 62 different organizations and schools.
T
he first-floor collections, including the ornithology “bone room,” make up only one part of the Nature Lab. Before her retirement, Lawrence specified that she wanted the lab to have a microscope and projector so that students could see the world up close. Over
the years, with help from two Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) grants awarded to the state of Rhode Island to research the impacts of climate change on coastal ecosystems (RISD is the only art and design school nationwide to receive such a grant), as well as an EArly-concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER), the lab has been able to purchase high-tech imaging systems, research-grade microscopes, and high-speed camera systems with 3D-scanning technology: “everything to take students from the micro to the macro, to look at the fundamentals of pattern form and structure of ecosystems, or a citywide scale, or a regional scale – all in one place,” says Nature Lab Director Neal Overstrom.
East Side Monthly • March 2018 27
28
East Side Monthly • March 2018
students who might not otherwise engage with them.” Cutting-edge concepts like Biomimicry (emulating nature’s patterns and strategies to find design solutions for human living), Biophilic Design (integrating nature into architecture and industrial design), and Bioremediation (using microorganisms and other life forms to break down environmental pollutants) are all the subjects of experimentation at the Nature Lab.
T
he lab invites work-study students with weekly shifts to curate their own display cabinets from time to time. The lab’s old wood-andglass cabinets and small glass display boxes containing various insects, plant components, and other specimens create “this cabinet of curiosities kind of feel, and it’s very loosely organized – very little if any interpretation,” says Overstrom. Each time a student reorganizes a cabinet, “you juxtapose specimens in a new way, and you create a different narrative.” Such an unstructured
approach invites viewers to think “more holistically about the fundamentals of pattern, form, texture, color structure,” Overstrom says. “All of the things that are as integral to our design education as they are to the sciences.” One room houses a living wall and aquaponic tanks with fish and plants sustaining each other in an integrated system. The room will soon become a biomaker space, Bissonnette says, and this spring, students will actually design the space according to Biophilic principles, which are currently being studied intensively for their potentially positive impacts on health, productivity, focus, and well-being. “To my mind, the Nature Lab becomes this crucible – this space where you can hold the art and science together and have some really interesting reactions and interactions happen,” says Bissonnette. “It’s all transdisciplinary,” Overstrom adds.
Photography by Brad Smith
The bottom floor furthers Lawrence’s original mission to “open students’ eyes to the marvels of beauty in nature… of forms, space, color, texture, design and structure” and complements the collections upstairs by using technology to focus on the inter-connectivity of nature, science, and “emerging areas of evidence-based design.” (The upstairs floors are still used as art studios.) The work of students like Maria Ferreira, who used the inverted compound microscopes to record crystals growing under polarizing filters, and Brown graduate Beatrice Steinert, who used the lab’s technology to study and later create a children’s book about marine plankton, demonstrate the potential for innovative ideas at the intersections of science and art. “It’s not just adding an artistic viewpoint or skills to existing STEM disciplines,” Overstrom says. “It’s really a way of thinking about how art and design study can provide that gateway to
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80,000 specimens give students an up-close opportunity to examine design fundamentals as they occur in nature
“Edna Lawrence said that you can always turn to nature as a source of ideas and invention, and that’s especially true now that we have more people living in urban spaces than ever before – and that trend is going to continue.” By marrying scientific inquiry and artistic innovation, the Nature Lab is the place to examine “living systems in the context of urban spaces.” The lab is a private facility but occasionally holds programming open to the public. From April 6 through June 17, the Providence Athenaeum will host Observing Nature: Edna Lawrence & Cabinets of Curiosities, an exhibit of the Athenaeum’s Natural History Collection displayed with specimens from the Nature Lab.
East Side Monthly • March 2018 29
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East Side Monthly • March 2018
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The Leading Ladies of PROVIDENCE PICTURE FRAME
Photography by Savannah Barkley
Providence Picture Frame started in 1850, and has been helping people making beautiful memories ever since. Over the decades, the store went from a tiny spot in The Arcade to the major art destination that it is now. Today, Providence Picture Frame is housed in a historic mill off North Main Street. They offer framing, and also photo and painting restoration, printing and appraisals, and sell antique maps, framed prints and mirrors. Their Dryden Gallery, with three exhibition spaces that showcase art by local artists, has become a major art destination in the area, and can host events of up to 200 people. It all adds up to a full acre of space devoted to local art and fine craftsmanship, and a staff of people who spend their lives making spaces more beautiful. Meet some of the Leading Ladies who make Providence Picture Frame great.
Providence Picture Frame (left to right) Donna Parsons, Miranda Harreys, Dale Ryan, Theresa Andreason, Diolinda Pereira, Lisa Lagory, Sally Kern, Lisa Bushee, Sarah Gaunt
Donna Parsons has been Gallery Director at Providence Picture Frame & Dryden Gallery for five years, and she has been with the company for over 15. As Gallery Director, Donna is responsible for filling the gallery’s three exhibition rooms: the Red Gallery on the first floor, the Piano Room on the second, and the Grand Gallery upstairs, which is over 3500 square feet and is considered one of the finest galleries in New England.
Lisa Lagory is the head of Providence Picture Frame’s matting and archival treatment department. She is an expert in the ancient art of paper hinges for high value works on paper, and at the same time, she is also recognized as one of North America’s most knowledgeable users of CAD mat cutting machines. Combine this with her design expertise, and she is a triple threat.
Dale Ryan, sales manager, has been with Providence Picture Frame since it was a tiny shop in The Arcade. Her primary role, as she describes it, is meeting new people and improving their spaces, helping them to envision the difference that great framing can make not just to one photo or piece of art, but to a whole room. She works closely with local offices to place artwork that fits their business and their budget.
Sally Kern works with Theresa Andreason to round out the other half of the bookkeeping department. Along with tracking customer invoices, she also manages the payroll, employee medical, dental and retirement plans, and makes sure everyone takes the vacation time they need to stay creative. She and Theresa work extremely well together to manage all of the regulatory and accounting needs, allowing the rest of the staff to focus caring for customers and their artwork.
Theresa Andreason is in charge of paying the bills, tracking the costs of materials and general record keeping that is vital to running any business. This is particularly important to Providence Picture Frame because the business is made up of of mostly artists and creative people. Her input is vital when pulling together reports to help make major business decisions in a very challenging industry. Diolinda Pereira started with the company 17 years ago and quickly demonstrated her skill as a craftsperson with an eye for detail. Once all of the various tasks have been performed on a customer’s project and components produced, she is the one who brings it all together for final assembly and inspection. She’s never afraid to kick something back into production if she is not happy with it. If it’s hanging on your wall, it’s probably because Diolinda said it could.
Now Showing in the Red Gallery Watercolors by Cathy Chin Now Showing in the Grand Gallery Fractals by Steven Sickles, Through March 10 Paintings by Bob Eggleton and Marianne Plumridge Starting March 24
Lisa Bushee is half of the growing digital reproduction and printing department, and the newest member of the team. With years of experience as professional photographer, photo editor and printmaker, she is able work with the most exacting professionals, but her warm personality allows her to also make the least tech-savvy customers feel right at home. In addition to her technical skills, Lisa is also works with customers to help frame anything that they have printed. Sarah Gaunt, Vice President, has been a framer since 1999 and came to Providence Picture Frame in 2004, where she had extensive experience in sales, production and art installation. Since she and her husband Geoff took over Providence Picture Frame in 2010, she has been a champion of design and business changes that have helped make Providence Picture Frame a friendlier, more welcoming and creative space for customers, employees, and the Rhode Island creative community.
27 Dryden Ln. 421-6196 ProvidencePictureFrame.com
LEADING LADIES
The Leading Ladies of
Miranda Harreys came to Providence Picture Frame in 2013 as part of a career change. With some experience from another shop but, more importantly, with a friendly personality and a lifetime of sewing skills, she is now an expert in hand sewing and the archival treatment of everything from fine silk tapestries, to sports jerseys belonging to members of major New England sports clubs.
LEADING LADIES
The Leading Ladies of FACIAL AESTHETICS CENTER Since Dr. Sarah Levy opened Facial Aesthetics Center of RI in 2010, she has quietly established herself as one of the state’s leaders in non-invasive aesthetic procedures. An eye surgeon, a professor at Brown University, and a national trainer for injecting fillers, Botox and Dysport, Dr. Levy is meticulous about ensuring that her treatments are safe, have minimal downtime, and that her patients always look refreshed, but never “done.” When she hired office manager Maria Disimone shortly after opening, the two worked diligently to generate a huge word of mouth following. Since then, Facial Aesthetics Center has grown steadily, and now has three injectors and three medical aestheticians, all who are dedicated to the same original vision of providing optimal patient experience and care. That vision is working. Early this year, the East Greenwich office of Facial Aesthetics Center underwent a massive expansion, growing from three treatment rooms to seven, and adding a large and private waiting room, with a separate reception area, so patients can have as much privacy as they’d like. In addition, the practice was selected to be one of the national SkinCeuticals Advanced Clinical Flagship Offices. “They’re L’Oreal’s medical skincare division,” Dr. Levy explains. “Each flagship is led by a physician, and allows our patients access to the best skin care offered by SkinCeuticals and L’Oreal.” The Facial Aesthetics Center will be the only flagship in all of Rhode Island, as well as parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut. “Our medical aestheticians have always loved the line,” Dr. Levy remarks, and “our patients love it” as well. The practice is planning a spectacular launch party this spring. The practice’s expansion also means more providers on their talented team, Dr. Levy confirms. “Every person on our team comes with many years of experience,” Maria Disimone says. Dr. Helen Livson completed a three-year fellowship at Harvard, and is a member of the American Academy of Facial Aesthetics. She specializes in shaping the perfect lip as well as contouring the lower face. Amy Donaldson, RN, came from a plastic surgery practice in Boston, and has extensive experience with Platelet Rich Plasma (also known as the “vampire facial”), hair restoration, as well as Botox and facial fillers. Licensed Medical Aestheticians Kerri Parks and Jennifer Amaral are experts at laser skin rejuvenation, medical-grade peels, micro-needling, and medical HydraFacials. Patients rave about receptionist Nina and the practice’s medical assistant, Michelle. Behind the scenes two brilliant managers, Maria Disimone and Candy Adams, pull it all together. “From start to finish, we take care of our patients,” Maria
Candy Adams, Nina Kole, Michelle Minicucci, Dr. Sarah Levy, Maria Disimone, Medical Aestheticians Kerri Parks and Jennifer Amaral
Photography by Savannah Barkley
FAC’s expert injectors Dr. Helen Livson, Dr. Sarah Levy and Amy Donaldson, RN
explains. “We take our time to put our patients’ minds at ease and anticipate their needs, and we follow up with all of our patients the next day to ensure their expectations were met.” Facial Aesthetics Center offers the kind of treatments that make a difference, but that don’t look overdone. “My approach has always been to have my patients look more refreshed,” Dr. Levy clarifies. “I don’t want anyone to know that my patient had anything done. If someone asks ‘who does your Botox’, I haven’t done my job.” In addition to Botox and Dysport, the Facial Aesthetics Center offers extensive options to obtain that “refreshed” look. Dr. Levy is one of the top injectors of Sculptra in New England; she and her staff utilize facial fillers such as Juvederm and Restylane, as well as laser resurfacing treatments and intensive facials, to help heal the skin, not just pamper it. “We’ve developed different techniques for minimal bruising and minimal discomfort,” she explains. “I’m coming into this field as a microsurgeon. Everything that I do has to be very precise. Our fillers are almost exclusively injected with mirocannulas instead of needles, which significantly reduces discomfort and recovery time.” All of the staff receives treatments that the practice offers, so that they can give realistic expectations to patients, and share their personal experiences. “I’ve always loved Dr. Levy’s natural-looking Botox and filler technique, but my new favorite treatment is Amy’s PRP,” Maria adds. The FAC staff also understands that undertaking these kinds of treatments, though they have excellent results, can be nerve wracking, especially for new patients. “The first time I had an aggressive laser, I was so nervous,” Dr. Levy says, laughing. “I had it done on a Friday afternoon, and although I thought I looked quite flushed the next morning at my son’s hockey practice, no one noticed!” And the final result of brighter, smoother skin, makes a world of difference in how a person looks and feels.
2730 South County Trl. East Greenwich. 649-0320 DrSarahLevy.com
KATIE MCDONALD Self-Care Strategist
Only the brave and brilliant understand that the only life worth living is the examined one. Small shifts in daily habits lead to dramatic transformation. instructor. Katie is also a Bach Flower Practitioner, a graduate of Leadership Rhode Island and a frequent guest speaker at businesses, helping cultivate wellbeing and balance in work environments. “I help empower people to remember that self care is a vehicle for more creative, more focused, and effective work,” she says.
Clients she’s worked with rave about Katie’s ability to help them balance their lives, and how effective and transformative the work they do together is. People come in knowing they need to make changes, but not knowing how - or, at least, how to sustain positive change in the midst of a hectic life. “People leave confident, informed, resilient, intentional,” Katie says. “They are set free from the shackles of inadequate nutrition, destructively mean spirited self-talk, and suffocatingly chaotic calendars.” Katie is in the process of launching a daily planner an interactive tool on her website that helps people manage their time more effectively. “I’m crafting this with the best research in productivity and time tested strategies for successful life mastery in mind,” she says. Her website also has resources for intentional living that are accessible to everyone, not just clients. The initial 30 minute consultation is free. “Seeking support and craving accountability are not signs of weakness,” Katie says. “In fact, only the brave and brilliant understand that the only life worth living is the examined one. Small shifts in daily habits lead to dramatic transformation.”
Based in Saunderstown 965-4486 bnourished.com
LEADING LADIES
You know the feeling: when something isn’t exactly right, but you can’t put your finger on what’s wrong. Katie McDonald has made a career of helping people find their happier, healthier path in life through bnourished, her holistic wellness coaching business. “I have the honor of partnering with clients who know they need to make changes in their daily habits,” Katie says. “Sometimes it’s a tweak, sometimes a major overhaul. Either way, their lives are no longer working in ways that support their dreams and wellbeing.” At bnourished, Katie works one-on-one with clients on a journey of self-discovery, assessing a person’s habits around food, thinking and time management. “We align daily habits with the lives they say they want, but have not been able to create on their own,” she says. “We close the gap between what we know we need to be doing to be at our best and what we are doing in our daily lives.” The result is different per person, depending on what they’re looking to improve - better life/work balance, better health, better sleep, a better mental outlook - but the common theme is a boosted sense of wellness. “Clients know I have their backs as the keeper of a vibrant, healthy and intentional life,” Katie says. “I am a passionate, resourceful, practical and deeply committed advocate for their wellbeing.” Katie knows the process works because she was her own first client. “For decades, I devoted myself to my career, taking care of business but not taking care of myself,” she says. The cumulative stress added up, and resulted in her being diagnosed with serious illnesses. “I got away with self-neglect until I could not get away with it any longer. The stress, sugar addiction, depression, anxiety, irritable bowel, ulcerative colitis, and insomnia that nearly broke me became the very catalysts for change I desperately needed.” All of the energy she devoted to work became the energy she poured into her recovery. Now, she’s a certified holistic health coach and raw food chef and
DR. DENISE SHAPIRO & DR. DANIKA CRABTREE All Female Periodontal Team
LEADING LADIES
Denise Shapiro, D.D.S.
Danika Crabtree, D.M.D
“Periodontics is a combination of science and art,” says Denise Shapiro, D.D.S.,“and I was always interested in both.” A leading East Side periodontist for over 30 years, Dr. Shapiro was the first female periodontist in Rhode Island. “I have had the pleasure of mentoring dozens of female dentists,” she says. Dr. Shapiro helps patients repair their gums and save their teeth, even in cases that are difficult to diagnose. She is especially well known in Rhode Island and Massachusetts for her gum recontouring and connective tissue
SARAH M. TURNER Admission Director
45 Maxfield Ave., East Providence. 434-3833, GordonSchool.org
grafting. “I love interacting with patients,” she says, “and doing esthetic procedures that change their lives.” Dr. Shapiro has volunteered her services to orphan children in Bolivia, Cambodia and Vietnam, spending time this January in Panama. Staying at the top of her field means staying informed on dental innovations. “I’m always continuing to learn new surgical techniques to bring back to my patients,” Dr. Shapiro says. “We go the extra mile for them.” An important part of the stellar team that Dr. Shapiro has built is Danika Crabtree, D.M.D. Dr. Crabtree has been with the practice for five years. She has extensive training in dental implants, specializing in the esthetics of those procedures, as well as osteotome and lateral wall sinus lifts. As a periodontist, she brings her esthetic eye to the placement of implants, especially in the upper anterior area, which is the most difficult area to treat. Dr. Crabtree also performs extractions, including third molars, and other non-surgical and surgical periodontal therapies. She and Dr. Shapiro also offer Botox and dermal fillers. “We’re a team dedicated to excellence,” Dr. Crabtree says. She is proud of the fact that she can invest so much in caring for her patients, and raise toddler twins with her husband at the same time. As she says, “We love helping and caring for people to be healthier and happier.”
40 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. 421-1717 DeniseShapiroDDS.com
“Everyone who visits Gordon should feel like they were cared for and have an opportunity to be heard,” says Sarah M. Turner, the new Admission Director at Gordon School in East Providence. “I want to know the hopes and dreams that you have for your child and your child’s education.” In her job, she helps families to get to know the school, guiding them from initial inquiry to enrollment. “I’m proud to advance Gordon’s mission of institutional equity, inclusion and diversity, working with families to offer them the opportunities and academic excellence cultivated by this community,” she says. Sarah comes to Gordon at an exciting time, because the school has just launched an innovative new program. Family Individualized Tuition has replaced the traditional financial aid model, and it means that every family who applies is receiving a customized tuition price based on their economic circumstances. “Independent school tuition is an investment,” Sarah says. “There are families who, in the past, may have found a full-price tuition a little out of reach; with FIT that tuition investment is adjusted to take into account a family’s financial situation.” Sarah has dedicated her 15-year career to
affecting change and boosting inclusivity in schools, which is why she’s so energized to be a part of this new program at Gordon. “FIT is transforming the admission process by opening the conversation about economic diversity within independent schools,” she says, “and changing people’s perceptions about who should consider an independent school education.” Sarah has been immersed in education her whole life, growing up with a mother who was a teacher and librarian. “The stories told around the kitchen table impacted my decision to choose education as my career path,” she says. “I love helping families realize the benefit of a Gordon education during these key years of their child’s development.”
ATABEY SÁNCHEZ-HAIMAN Artist & Gallery Owner
Creating Dream Spaces with RI KITCHEN & BATH (Left to Right) Billie Senzek, Prudence Stoddard, Erika Pearson, Tanya Donahue
139 Jefferson Blvd. Warwick. 463-1550 RIKB.com
stantly evolving with new imagery and colors, making each edition unique. In addition to her own studio, her smile-inducing art can be found at local retailers like Stock Culinary Goods, Providence Picture Frame, and West Elm. Her one-of-a-kind commissioned art has also been in demand. “I’ve done custom pieces for boardrooms, schools, residential kitchens and living rooms, nurseries… even bathrooms!,” she says. Atabey collaborates with interior designers, homeowners, and businesses to create large–scale pieces that literally and figuratively brighten up any environment. With a mission to spread joy, Atabey’s simple yet powerful art continues to leave its uniquely positive mark everywhere it goes.
True creativity comes from the collaboration of inspired minds. The design team at Rhode Island Kitchen & Bath, led by President Tanya Donahue and Director of Design Prudence Stoddard, is known all over the state for consistently delivering results that customers rave about. “I am proud of my team here at RIKB and the beautiful projects they design and build for our clients on a daily basis,” Tanya says. “We are remodeling spaces where people raise their families, have friends gather, and celebrate holidays and milestones. I consider it a privilege for them to let us into their homes.” Their 3,000 square foot showroom in Warwick is full of kitchen and bath ideas for your own home. It’s also a space to educate and inspire. They have long hosted design seminars and cooking demonstrations, but this year, design team members Erika Pearson and Billie Senzek are taking those to the next level. On March 24, RIKB will host their first-ever Home Remodeling Fair, which will have five mini-seminars on topics ranging from 10 Steps to a Successful Remodel, to Kitchen and Bathroom Trends, to Top Remodeling Mistakes. More of these events, led by Tanya and Prudence, plus team members Billie Senzec and Erika Pearson, are scheduled
through the spring. Kevin O’Connor from This Old House will give a talk on March 3. “I love developing and conducting new design seminars,” Prudence says. She’s also excited to foster future talent in RIKB’s internship and apprentice programs, Prudence says, by “teaching what I have learned from many years in the industry to design students.” Tanya agrees, saying, “we give young design students the chance to take their first steps in what we hope will be long and successful careers.” Both women have won numerous awards and hold many certifications, like Prudence’s certifications in interior and kitchen design, and as an aging-in-place professional, and Tanya’s Silver Prism Awards. Look for Rhode Island Kitchen and Bath at the RI Home Show at the Convention Center, happening April 5-8. “We’re committed to quality work and dedicated to customer service,” Tanya says. “From our creative designers, to our detail-oriented project managers, to our talented installation crews, we’ve assembled a team that has combined their skills to work together in an environment that fosters creativity and collaboration. Our goal is to help our clients create living spaces they love.”
LEADING LADIES
1005 Main St., Studio 2219 Pawtucket. 347-ROBOTS1 GiraffesAndRobots.com
Atabey Sánchez-Haiman is an artist with a simple, yet meaningful vision. “I make art that makes people smile,” she says. “My art’s purpose is to make people happy.” Bright and colorful – with a signature palette of yellow, orange, and red – her art is instantly recognizable as a Giraffes and Robots original. Originally from Puerto Rico, the Brown graduate has made a significant impact on the local art scene in the last few years, from showcasing her work at artisan fairs to opening her own gallery. The Giraffes and Robots Studio, located at Hope Artiste Village, is an immersive experience like no other. “I want people to feel like they are stepping into one of my paintings or illustrations.” The studio features her seemingly endless collection of fun and motivational art. From affordable unframed and framed prints to large-scale artwork, each piece is created to bring a pop of positivity to any space. In the great tradition of pop art, her work is designed to be approachable. And like notable pop artists, her work has become quite popular in Rhode Island and beyond. Her iconic Rhode Island Red and Superman Building series, to name just a few, offer an unexpected twist on the familiar. These popular works are also con-
BLYTHE PENNA Owner, Ruffin’ Wranglers®
KRISTEN MOONAN & AMY STRATTON
LEADING LADIES
Estate Planning & Business Attorneys
Blythe Penna started Ruffin’ Wranglers® in 2007 and RW has done over 140,000 dog excursions since! “We provide an exclusive outdoor experience for your dog,” Blythe says. RW excursions are so much more than a leash walk. “If your dog is full of energy, tends to prefer the company of other canines, and loves being outside running off-leash, then this is the perfect choice!” Ruffin’ Wranglers® has a private ranch, solely for their RW dogs, located in Rehoboth, MA – about 20 minutes from most of their clients’ homes. The professional “wranglers” take care of pick-up, drop-off, and the fun time your dog has at the RW Ranch. These unique adventures provide your dog the space they need to safely run free, play, and socialize with their best pals. “Our ranch is about seven acres of fenced, beautiful land,” she says. “Come rain, shine, sleet, or snow… our wranglers are always there for your dogs.” In 2014, The Rhode Island Small Business Journal recognized Blythe as one of the seven Entrepreneurial Women to Watch in Rhode Island. “I am extremely proud of the company that my Wranglers and I have built,” Blythe says. “We deliver canine nirvana on a daily basis, which in turn gives us immense joy.” Visit their website for videos and a virtual tour of the expansive RW Ranch. “There is nothing like connecting with an animal’s spirit,” Blythe says. “They are pure love and they teach us lessons in love every day.” Photography by Colin Carlton; jacket by CorkysReflectiveWear.com
401-419-4318 RuffinWranglers.com
“We guide our clients through the maze of life, business and beyond, and we do it with compassion and respect,“ say Kristen Moonan and Amy Stratton, partners at Moonan, Stratton & Waldman, LLP, a third generation law firm in Richmond Square. The firm is a boutique practice focused on estate planning and administration, and business law. “We listen to our clients and take a collaborative approach to resolving an issue,” they say. “As a women-managed firm, we offer a unique perspective to our clients. We are creative and craft customized solutions for our clients, whether in the business world or on the personal planning level.” The firm has a long history of helping the community with various business and personal matters. “We are proud to offer a full spectrum of transactional services for our clients, from wills and trusts to business contracts to complex estate and trust administration, and even real estate closings,”
they say. Despite its small size, the firm offers decades of combined experience and is uniquely able to offer big firm service in a comfortable, accessible and personalized setting. “We are proud to have our clients refer to us as their ‘family lawyer.’”
4 Richmond Sq., Suite 150 272-6300 MSWRI.com
SISTER MARYBETH BERETTA President A lifelong educator, Sister Marybeth Beretta is the new president of St. Mary Academy Bay View, an all-girls Catholic school in Riverside. A Rhode Island native, Sr. Marybeth joined the school at the beginning of this academic year, and brings with her a wealth of educational knowledge and 28 years of experience in Catholic education. Before joining Bay View, Sr. Marybeth worked at La Salle Academy in Providence for over 20 years, and as the Dean of Students at Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School in Pennsylvania. Sr. Marybeth has also served as a board member for organizations like the Special Olympics of Rhode Island. As a Sister of Mercy, Sr. Marybeth has devoted herself to Catholic education. She’s an experienced leader with exceptional skills in the areas of strategic planning, finance, facilities management and school operations, and will continue to lead Bay View forward as it promotes academic excellence and empowers young women. Since 1874, St. Mary Academy - Bay View has fostered independence, compassion,
global responsibility, spiritual growth, and academic excellence in generations of young women. Sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, it is an independent, Catholic school serving a diverse population of girls from pre-school through grade twelve. Its distinctiveness as an all-girls school offers the benefits of personalized attention and encouragement in all phases of the student experience. 3070 Pawtucket Ave. Riverside. 424-0113 BayViewAcademy.org
SALLY LAPIDES President and CEO
The Lady Project (LPO) started out as a small group of women looking to connect with each other, share ideas, network their talents and support like-minded people. Sierra Barter, a social media coordinator at Johnson & Wales University, and Julie Sygiel, founder of lingerie company Dear Kate, started the Lady Project in 2011. “Our vision was an ‘Old Boy’s Club’ for fabulous women in The Creative Capital to network, connect with other like-minded ladies and to do so over a glass of champagne,” Sierra says. It turns out they were onto something. From those first few networking events, The Lady Project has grown into a huge, vital force. Now, there are over 1,500 members of the non-profit, 600 of them in Providence, and another 900 across the country in other Lady Project branches. Albany, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Raleigh, Boston, Nashua, Boulder, Philadelphia, New Haven, New York, San Diego, Seattle, Washington D.C., Dallas, Tampa and Portland, Maine all have their own groups, dedicated to bringing women together to share ideas and resources. “It’s an incredible feeling to be able to impact so many women’s lives,” Sierra says. “I love meeting our amazing members and traveling around the country to our different launches.” And, her work isn’t done. “We want to double our current member base,” Sierra says. “It’s our goal to give women around the country a national network of likeminded ladies.” Every month, The Lady Project hosts fun, inspiring events for women to meet and connect. Think book clubs to discuss important, relevant current releases; exercise classes to get women moving on a Sunday morning; after-work networking events to bring together
140 Wickenden St., Providence. 553-6309 ResidentialProperties.com
tional Lady Summit at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence. The highly anticipated event sells out every year, and has garnered the attention of national media outlets, including Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls at the Party. Workshops cover topics as diverse as how to turn your side hustle into your dream job, how to negotiate in the workplace and taking charge of your financial future. Beyond that, it’s a fun day designed to connect smart, engaged women to other women, and to inspire them to make positive changes in their lives, in and out of the workplace. Before and after the summit, there are lots of ways to connect and be inspired by Lady Project members. Their monthly newsletter goes out to all members of all branches, and includes short, inspiring stories about the great work women are doing in their communities. Each chapter has a Facebook group where women share their successes, promote their good work and ask others for help and recommendations. They recently launched a members-only portal on their website, full of exclusive resources and benefits. “It’s been so wonderful to connect with so many talented, creative, and entrepreneurial ladies who are passionate about their interests and supportive of each others’ growth,” says LPO member Carole Ann Penney. “Lady Project is for anyone who identifies as a female and is amazing,” Sierra says. “I’m honored to be able to impact so many women’s lives.” East Side Monthly readers can use the code “PVDMonthly” for $20 off a business membership. Join at LadyProject.org/Join.
LadyProject.org
women looking to empower other women. In October, the Lady Project will host their na-
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The first name in real estate in Providence is Sally Lapides, President and Chief Executive Officer of Residential Properties Ltd, the #1 firm in Rhode Island for three years running with $795M in sales in 2017. Sally co-founded the firm in 1981 and has grown it into the thriving business it is today, offering real estate services for residential, commercial, and rental properties. Residential Properties has five offices statewide - Providence, Barrington, Cumberland, East Greenwich and Narragansett - as well as a relocation division for people coming into or leaving Rhode Island. Sally provides energetic leadership and vision for the company, which includes 180 agents and a large support staff. For Sally, the key to success in business is relationships: both with clients and with the top professionals she hires at Residential Properties, who, she says, inspire her to do her best work every day. A founding member of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, which is the country’s largest network of independent real estate firms, Sally is nationally recognized as an expert on the local real estate market. She is often quoted on television, radio and in print, in publications as prestigious as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. But it’s not all about business: Sally has served as trustee of the RISD Museum, Trinity Repertory Company, Year Up, The Gordon School, the RI Foundation Equity Action Campaign Committee and many other worthy causes.
SIERRA BARTER Co-founder
LEADING LADIES
DR. KATHLEEN KROESSLER Neurologist and Acupuncturist
PATRICIA RASKIN Media Producer/Host
In the office of Dr. Kathleen Kroessler, Eastern alternative therapies meet Western medicine practices. A practicing neurologist who specializes in alleviating headache pain, Dr. Kroessler uses acupuncture and other alternative therapies to aid in the treatment of her patients. “The ideas of health and wellness used in Eastern medicine treat the whole patient, and naturally complement the Western approaches to treating symptoms and diseases,” she says. “Acupuncture and other alternative modalities can be very effective for treating pain and the stress associated with chronic pain.” “I focus on treating headaches and other causes of neuromuscular and neuropathic pain,” she says. In addition to acupuncture, she can employ cupping, therapeutic dry needling and trigger point injections, which can alleviate neck and shoulder tension, plus back and joint pain, when they’re appropriate to a patient’s treatment. Dr. Kroessler started exploring alternative therapies as an option for helping patients who could not tolerate conventional medications or had incomplete relief of symptoms. Through
Patricia Raskin is an award-winning radio producer and business owner whose platform has been positive lifestyle and inspiration for three decades. Patricia promotes entrepreneurs, businesses, and non-profit organizations through radio programs, podcasts, and seminars. The Patricia Raskin Show is in its eleventh year on WPRO AM630/99.7FM at 3pm on Saturdays. She is heard on VoiceAmerica.com on Mondays at 2pm. 440-6299, PatriciaRaskin.com
her blend of holistic practices and medical science, Dr. Kroessler treats conditions like neuralgia, migraine headaches, whiplash injuries, chronic pain and post-concussive headaches. She is also fellowship trained in EMGs, which are diagnostic tests for nerve and muscle problems. “It is quite gratifying to help patients with pain, integrating the Eastern and Western approaches.” she says. “I had no idea when I first took the acupuncture training course that it would be such a powerful tool. Our bodies have an amazing capacity to heal when the energy of chronic strain/pain patterns are released.”
407 East Ave., Suite 110, Pawtucket. 305-3322, KKroesslerMD.com
KIMBERLY J. POLAND President, Full Service Advertising, Creative Services & Public Relations Agency “When a client tells me that what we have put together has turned into true results to grow their business - that’s what I am most proud of,” says Kimberly Poland, founder of Poland Media Group, a full service advertising, creative and public relations agency. Kimberly can create a top-to-bottom marketing campaign, including social media management, public relations and media planning and buying, or can do one part of that job, like building a website. She helps people make decisions to help their businesses thrive, working on their marketing needs as if she’s working on her own business. She prides herself on finding the best return on investment, and can make any budget work. Kimberly launched Poland Media Group after working at WPRI for 12 years, where she helped clients plan television and digital marketing campaigns. “I started Poland Media Group so I could work 100% with and for my clients to focus on their needs and what
HEATHER PALIOTTA Executive Director “I enjoy meeting with people every day,” says Heather Paliotta. Born and raised in South County, Heather has been with the Charlestown Chamber of Commerce for 16 years. Her accomplishments include recruiting volunteers, growing the membership and tripling the size of the Charlestown Seafood Festival, the Chamber’s largest fundraiser. “We are strong advocates for our members, and strong ambassadors for preserving our coastal heritage.” 4945 Old Post Rd., Charlestown. 364-3878, CharlestownRIChamber.com
NATALIA PAIVA-NEVES Restaurateur would be best for their businesses,” she says. “Before working in television I owned and operated my own business, so I understand how business owners think and feel, and can put myself in their shoes.” In what can be a confusing and overwhelming decision process, Kimberly is an expert who easily simplifies the decision making for clients. “Business owners get hit up with so many options for their advertising,” she says. “I help them find their balance.” 743-7272 PolandMediaGroup.com
“I was basically raised in a kitchen,” says Natalia Paiva-Neves of O Dinis Restaurant. “I have a passion for food and entertaining.” The Portuguese restaurant is widely recognized as one of the best in Rhode Island, and has been featured on Bizarre Foods on The Travel Channel. “Small, family-owned restaurants really are the heartbeat of Rhode Island,” she says. “Many guests have become part of our family.” 579 Warren Ave., East Providence. 438-3769
CLOSE TO HOME Home and Family | Education
At Home on the East Side
Repping Retro Style
Trinity Rep’s Tom Parrish found a piece of the 1960s off Blackstone Boulevard By Julie Tremaine
When Tom Parrish moved to Providence two years ago to take over as executive director of Trinity Repertory Company, he had a specific vision for where he wanted to live. “We love contemporary and modern design,” Parrish says. “There weren’t a lot of options for that style on the East Side. We found this beautiful mid-century home and we’ve spent the last two years brightening it up.” That includes adding hardwood floors to this room but not much
else, in an effort to preserve original features from the 1960s. “The great thing about the home’s design is that it’s all floor-to-ceiling windows on the back and front of the house,” Parrish says. “In the spring and the fall it’s like having the outdoors in.” It’s a cozy room in winter, too, and in a pinch it’s been the setting for various significant moments for Trinity Rep. “Last spring during the winter storm, we couldn’t do our season announcement from
the theater as planned, so Curt Columbus and I did the announcement from here on Facebook Live,” Parrish explains. “We had thousands of people watch us from this room.” That season included the production of A Christmas Carol that broke the theater’s record for highest-grossing show by 10 percent, and the current production of Othello. Parrish and Columbus will announce the next season on March 20 – but, weather permitting, maybe not from this room.
Photography by Mike Braca East Side Monthly • March 2018 41
Close to Home Education
A Bilingual Boost
TH E PE R FECT SOLUTION
Multilingual early childhood education is in demand By Jim Pierce
102 Waterman St., Providence, RI 02906 print@allegraprovidence.com www.allegraprovidence.com
The French American School of Rhode Island teaches bilingualism through project-based learning to “rewire” children’s brains
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East Side Monthly • March 2018
Despite being built by immigrants, the United States has a long and complicated relationship with languages other than English (and sometimes with English, too). Modern education, however, has always placed value on studying the world’s languages. Just ask any high school freshman trying to make the grade in a Spanish I class. Currently, more and more private and charter schools are offering dual lingual education as early as preschool. These are not simply classes taught once a day. Instead, some schools offer a full immersion curriculum that, in many cases, mirrors the immigrant experience of speaking one language at home and another at school. Others offer a fifty-fifty split between English and a second language. During a presentation in January on reading in a bilingual environment, Christophe Bonnet, head of school at the French American School of Rhode Island (FASRI), spoke about the benefits of “re-wiring” a child’s brain prior to first grade so that a second language becomes intuitive and he or she doesn’t recognize any transition. “We teach the skills, not in isolation, but in project-based learning,” Bonnet says. In preschool and kindergarten, this cross-lingual skill transfer takes place before students even
learn to read. At Pawtucket’s International Charter School, students are offered either a Spanish or Portuguese curriculum track. The school practices a “week-to-week” model, alternating between a week of English and a week of a second language. Although this differs from FASRI’s practices, the goals and outcomes are the same: problem-solving skills are enhanced, and students gain an increased awareness of other cultures and points of view. The benefits of bilingualism don’t stop at graduation. The Washington Post, in an article published in December titled “The Surprising Thing Google Learned About Its Employees – and What It Means for Today’s Students,” outlined the results of Google’s Project Oxygen on employee success. While the study did not directly reference a second language as a necessary trait, the skills acquired through early-childhood bilingualism – problem solving and an increased awareness of others – were highlighted as crucial to the company. The results of Google’s study also happen to uphold the long-standing research from The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages on the benefits of bilingualism. Corporate interest from companies like
Photo courtesy of Josephine Sittenfeld
M
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AI
Google could actually be favorable for early-childhood multilingual education. Knowing that those skills are valued in the technological marketplace alongside STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) could mean greater enrollment, and an increase in funding for public school programs like Providence’s Leviton Dual Language School, which uses the fifty-fifty approach, and where over 80 percent of students come from homes in which Spanish is the primary language. In any case, to recognize the successful pedagogy of multilingual education is to recognize the importance of language, both native and acquired.
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Smart News Hope High School Teacher Campaigns for Calculators Derek LaBrie, a math teacher at Hope High School, realizes that his students come from a variety of backgrounds, which too frequently means that many cannot afford materials for class and are falling into a widening skills gap. In an attempt to level out the inequities, LaBrie began Graphing Calculators for Hope on Donors Choose.org. The campaign’s goal is to raise $2,366 before the March 14 deadline. a goal they must reach or surrender all funds.
ADLER’S Design Center & Hardware 173 WICKENDEN PROV. 401.421.5157 M-F 7:30-6 PM SAT 8-5 PM
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UPDATE: Governor Raimondo Discusses School Infrastructure in State of the State Address This is a follow-up to February’s column on Rhode Island’s commitment to repairing and updating its schools. Governor Gina Raimondo’s January 16 State of the State Address reinforced the urgency of investing in our schools. The governor called for an investment of $1 billion over the next five years in the state’s public schools. “We have a detailed plan that outlines how we can invest more and do it smarter so that we protect taxpayers at the same time,” she announced. The plan is based on the findings of the Rhode Island School Building Task Force that the governor convened last fall to investigate safety and repair needs in public schools. “Every year we wait,” she continued, “we waste millions of dollars putting Band-Aids on our crumbling schools.”
East Side Monthly • March 2018 43
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East Side Monthly • March 2018
I cleaned my stove the other day. I got up early on a Saturday and was making a cup of coffee when I noticed a dusting of flour on top of the FiveStar. My husband had cooked beef stroganoff the previous evening, and some of the flour in the sauce recipe hadn’t made it into the pan. This came as no surprise. My husband is a great cook, but not a tidy cook. “Serious cooks make a mess,” he says. Based on my limited knowledge of cooking, which mostly involves TV shows with hipster chefs traveling the world, I submit that he is wrong. The kitchens on the telly are always spotless, but heck, he cooks so I let it be. I wet a paper towel and got to work, first wiping down the sides, then making my way to the burners and, finally, to the heavy cast-iron grates. I should’ve stopped there – I usually stop there – but for some reason on that morning I didn’t. I lifted up the black enamel top and came
face-to-face with twenty years of grease, grime, and food that had fallen through openings around the burners: shriveled chili beans, warped wagon wheels, curled bits of ground beef. I had to sit down to catch my breath. Cleaning is not something I enjoy. There are people, mostly women, I’m afraid, who keep a clean house. I am not one of them. Clutter offends me, and I routinely pitch or give away stuff that my family has outgrown, but I am not a Scrubby Dutch. I walk by a cobweb for weeks before I whack it with a broom. Dust bunnies are as cute in real life as they are in Japanese anime. I don’t care about the mold on the bathroom window. But grease and food crumbs are different. They attract undesirables, and I need to get a good night’s sleep. Everyone was sleeping at my house, and that was a good thing. I could work in secrecy. I don’t like my two sons to see me cleaning. I don’t want
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them to think cleaning is a woman’s job even though it is in our house. The division of labor has been clear from the start of the union: I clean; my husband cooks. I accept this. Still, that doesn’t mean I have to take center stage with a mop or, to steal from Joni Mitchell, give my sons the impression that “Papa’s faith is people/Mama believes in cleaning.” Preemptive strike to letter writers: the boys clean their rooms, take out the trash, and sweep. Cleaning in the cold weather wreaks havoc on bare skin. Hands exposed to sub-zero temps get razor cuts by the fingernails that make picking up a pen painful. I did not want dishpan hands, so I walked a few blocks to the corner convenience store, Eastside Mart. I bought a pair of yellow rubber gloves, the kind women wore in the 1950s to keep their hands lovely as they did their daily chores. Back home, I put the gloves on – curved fingers for comfort, non-slip grip – and attacked the stove with the ferocity of a bucking bull. It quickly became apparent that the person who designed the stove was a man whose mother followed him around the house picking up after him during his boyhood and who, as an adult, coupled with a woman who did the same. Under the stove top was a maze of pipes, arranged so close together it was impossible for me to reach in and do an easy wipe-down. I dabbed here and there, but finally gave up and retrieved the vacuum cleaner, equipped with a long, thin hose that managed to suck up a few pitiful scraps. Still unhappy with the results, I attached a balled-up rag to the end of an Apsara chopstick and maneuvered around the pipes, removing as much as I could. Then, I removed the knobs and put them in a pot of hot water. I wiped down the stove’s doors, oven, broiler, and backsplash. I sprayed Easy-Off on the interior and waited. Toxic fumes wafted through the kitchen, up my nose, and into my brain. I nearly passed out. I worked on the FiveStar for three hours. Looked dirty as ever. Thankless task, this cleaning business. I’m going to learn how to cook.
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“If you need help with finding or selling a place here in Providence, Kevin’s a serious, no-nonsense, very professional broker. I recommend him.” – Regards
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46
East Side Monthly • March 2018
ON THE TOWN Restaurant and Food | Restaurant Guide | Calendar of Events
Flavor of the Month
No Beef With Vegan Flavors
by CHLOE arrives in Providence with a scrumptious, plant-based menu
Photo courtesy of by CHLOE
By Robert Isenberg
On paper, by CHLOE is an up-market vegan restaurant. The genre is known as “fast-casual,” but by CHLOE is no suburban drive-through: the eatery debuted only three years ago in Manhattan, and it’s already won a voracious fan base, popping up in fashionable parts of Boston, Los Angeles, and even London. This January, Thayer Street joined the list of by CHLOE’s hip locations.
What’s the draw? Brilliantly textured salads, burgers that taste better than meat, plant-based ice creams, and a flair for millennial culture. All by CHLOE restaurants have funky decor and a row of peppy cashiers, but each has unique elements as well. In Providence, it’s the seating: two bamboo chairs are suspended from the ceiling, beckoning passersby with their playful tie-dye cushions.
“Our chefs worked for over a year to create a diverse menu of delicious plant-based fare,” says Samantha Wasser, founder of by CHLOE. “We thought about everything from how to make our food delicious for everyone, to how each dish would photograph on the table surfaces, to the graphic wallpaper in the bathrooms that would make the perfect selfie.” Thayer Street. EatByChloe.com
East Side Monthly • March 2018 47
On the Town On the Menu
Something to Taco ‘Bout 10,000 SQUARE FEET OF INDOOR PLAY SPACE!
Xaco Taco brings Mexican regional food to the Jewelry District By Erin Belknap
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Stepping into Xaco Taco is like entering a Mexican street fair, complete with the smell of fresh corn tortillas and – get this – a fully operational 1972 Volkswagen van converted into a taco truck. Replacing Rick’s Roadhouse, Xaco Taco is the most recent restaurant to come from John Elkhay and Chow Fun Food Group. After nearly two years of planning, the highly anticipated Jewelry District taco joint opened in January. “I’ve always loved Mexican and Central American food, and I traveled there often,” says Elkhay. “Our executive chef Andy Pyle moved here
Casual Dining Added to the University Club
BASED ON THE BOOK BY
PUMLA GOBODO-MADIKIZELA
48
East Side Monthly • March 2018
and was passionate about Mexican regional farm-to-table, so it was a perfect fit.” Elkhay points out that the tortillas mimic a 5,000-year-old Aztec recipe, using lime, water, and organic white corn. Popular menu items include the Carne Asada and the Baja Fish Tacos, but many vegan and vegetarian options are available as well. Each taco sells for $3.50 to $4.25, except for weekdays from 3 to 5pm and late night when tacos are just $2. The bar also stocks 60 varieties of mezcal and tequila to cap off your meal. Richmond Street, XacoTacoRI.com
January 9 marked the grand opening of The Providence Room, a new dining venue within the University Club. The Providence Room will serve as a casual dining space for club members as well as a venue for special events including banquets, parties, and fundraisers. The restaurant features a rotating menu with daily lunch and dinner specials and will offer beer and wine pairings from their newly appointed head chef. The modern aesthetic of the restaurant contrasts with the traditional decor of the rest of the club and the standard Club dress code will not be enforced there; the venue will offer a more relaxed environment. Non-members can rent the space provided that they are sponsored by a club member. Benefit Street, UClubProv.com
It’s the same Geoff’s that we know and love, just a little farther south. After nearly 40 years in the same spot on Benefit Street, Geoff’s Superlative Sandwiches encountered some unexpected leasing issues, and had to move to South Main Street. But the staff is glad to remain in the same vicinity, less than a mile away from their previous location. “We still want to keep our same atmosphere,” says Geoff’s general manager Myles Cox. And so far, it looks like they’ve been successful: the space is bright and open, with colorful handwritten menus and the traditional pickle barrel. “Tuesdays are buy one get one free and there’s been a line out the door,” adds Cox. Now that they’ve settled into their new location, they plan to increase their social media presence and employ online order platforms like Grubhub and Eat24. South Main Street, Facebook: Geoff’s Superlative Sandwiches
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East Side Monthly • March 2018 49
RESTAURANT GUIDE Key: B breakfast Br brunch L lunch D dinner $ under 10 $$ 10–20 $$$ 20+
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list complements the mix of European, Asian, and New England flavors. The beloved, one-of-a-kind restaurant has been featured in the New York Times, Bon Appetit, Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels, and the Providence & Rhode Island Chef’s Table. A recipient of TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence, the restaurant is a must.
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331-2020 • AdvancedEyeCareRI.com 780 North Main Street, Providence Pawtucket Red Sox and Providence Bruins Official Eye Care Provider 50
East Side Monthly • March 2018
PROVIDENCE AREA 10 Prime Steak & Sushi Fashionable prime steakhouse with award-winning sushi. 55 Pine St, Providence, 453-2333. LD $$$ Blake’s Tavern Premier Irish pub with two event rooms in the heart of downtown Providence. 122 Washington St, Providence. 274-1230. LD $$ CAV Eclectic cuisine and art in a historic setting. 14 Imperial Pl, Providence, 751-9164. BrLD $$-$$$
Chapel Grille Gourmet food overlooking the Providence skyline. 3000 Chapel View Blvd, Cranston, 944-4900. BrLD $$$ Character’s Cafe & Theatre 82 Hybrid art space with all-day breakfast, coffee, and theaterinspired entrees. 82 Rolfe Sq, Cranston, 4909475. BL $ Harry’s Bar & Burger Called the “Best Burger in America” by CNN. Over 50 craft beers. 121 N Main St, Providence, 228-7437; 301 Atwells Ave, 228-3336. LD $-$$
Learn to swim at the JCC! Haruki Japanese cuisine and a la carte selections with casual ambience. Locations in Cranston and Providence, HarukiSushi.com. LD $-$$ Heng Authentic Thai street food served – including noodles and rotisserie chicken – in Providence’s College Hill neighborhood. 165 Angell St, Providence. LD $ Iron Works Tavern A wide variety of signature American dishes in the historic Thomas Jefferson Hill Mill. 697 Jefferson Blvd, Warwick, 739-5111. LD $-$$$ Julian’s A must-taste Providence staple celebrating more than 20 years. 318 Broadway, Providence, 861-1770. BBrLD $$ LaMei Hot Pot Authentic Chinese cuisine in a unique, casual setting. 256 Broadway, Providence, 831-7555. LD $$
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In the heart of Providence’s East Side: 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence
Luigi’s Restaurant & Gourmet Express Handmade Italian classics and prepared foods to go. 1457 Hartford Ave, Johnston. 455-0045, LuigisGourmet.com. LD $$ Luxe Burger Bar Build Your Own Burger: You dream it, we build it! 5 Memorial Blvd, Providence, 621-5893. LD $ McBride’s Pub Traditional Irish pub fare in Wayland Square. 161 Wayland Ave, Providence, 751-3000. LD $$ McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood & Steak Mixed grill selections and signature fish dishes sourced locally and seasonally. 11 Dorrance St, Providence, 351-4500. BLD $$-$$$ Meeting Street Cafe BYOB eatery with large menu of breakfast, lunch, and dinner served all day. 220 Meeting St, Providence, 273-1066. BLD $-$$ Mill’s Tavern Historic setting for New American gourmet. 101 N Main St, Providence, 272-3331. D $$$
East Side Monthly • March 2018 51
MARCH SALE
RESTAURANT GUIDE For full restaurant profiles, go to ProvidenceOnline.com
Ocean State Craft sandwiches Westminster St, BL $-$$
Sandwich and hearty Providence,
Company sides. 155 282-6772.
Parkside Rotisserie & Bar American bistro specializing in rotisserie meats. 76 South Main St, Providence, 331-0003. LD $-$$ Pat’s Italian Fine Italian favorites, natural steaks and handcrafted cocktails. 1200 Hartford Ave, Johnston, 273-1444. LD $-$$$
•
SINCE 1948
•
Fine Custom Upholstery & Slip Covers Custom Window Treatments Headboards • Bedspreads & Shams Upholstered Antique Restoration Blinds & Shades • Area Rugs & Wall To Wall 2179 Mineral Spring Avenue, North Providence 401-231-1660 • www.bobfrances.com
VIETNAMESE ENTRÉES & PHO FAVORITES!
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50 Ann Mary Street, Pawtucket 401-365-6278 • PhoHorns.com On Providence/Pawtucket line behind LA Fitness 52
East Side Monthly • March 2018
Pizza J A fun, upbeat atmosphere with thincrust pizza, pub fare, and gluten-free options. 967 Westminster St, Providence, 632-0555. LD $-$$ Public Kitchen & Bar American food with changing daily specials. 120 Francis St, Providence, 919-5050. BrLD $-$$ Red Stripe Casual French-American bistro. 465 Angell St, Providence, 437-6950; 455 Main St, East Greenwich, 398-2900. BrLD $$
and late-night menus. 186 Fountain Street, Providence, 453-2337. LD $-$$ Twin Oaks Family restaurant serving an extensive selection of Italian and American staples. 100 Sabra St, Cranston, 781-9693. LD $-$$$ XO Cafe Acclaimed farm-to-table cuisine with a fantastic Sunday #PajamaBrunch. 125 N Main St, Providence, 273-9090. BrD $$
SOUTHERN RI Breachway Grill Classic New England fare, plus NY-style pizza. 1 Charlestown Beach Rd, Charlestown, 213-6615. LD $$ Celestial Cafe Fresh, locally sourced ingredients from farms and fisheries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 567 South County Trail, Exeter, 295-5559. BLD $$
Siena Impeccable Italian cuisine. Locations in Providence, East Greenwich, and Smithfield, 521-3311. D $$-$$$
Chair 5 Locally sourced and seasonally inspired menus with a main restaurant and rooftop lounge. 1208 Ocean Rd, Narragansett, 363-9820. BrLD $-$$$
Tavolo Wine Bar and Tuscan Grille Classic Italian cuisine with an extensive wine and beer list. 970 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, 349-4979. LD $-$$
Champlin’s Seafood Dockside fresh seafood serving easy breezy cocktails. 256 Great Island Rd, Narragansett, 783-3152. LD $-$$
The Grange Vegetarian restaurant serving seasonal dishes with a juice bar, vegan bakery, and cocktail bar. 166 Broadway, Providence, 831-0600. BrLD $-$$
Coast Guard House A new American menu with a seafood emphasis and extensive wine list, open seven days a week. 40 Ocean Rd, Narragansett, 789-0700. BrLD $$$
The Salted Slate An agri-driven American restaurant with global influences. 186 Wayland Ave, Providence, 270-3737. BrLD $$-$$$
Colvitto’s Pizza & Bakery Pizza Calzones and baked goods made fresh daily. 91 Point Judith Rd, Narragansett, 783-8086. BrLD $
Tortilla Flats Fresh Mexican, Cajun, and Southwestern fare, cocktails, and over 70 tequilas. 355 Hope St, Providence, 751-6777. LD $-$$
Dante’s Kitchen American food with Southern flair. 315 Main St, East Greenwich, 398-7798. BL $-$$
Trinity Brewhouse American pub fare and craft beer in a downtown setting, with lunch, dinner,
Eleven Forty Nine City sophistication in the suburbs. 1149 Division St, Warwick, 8841149. LD $$$
Frankie’s Italian Bistro Fine dining with imported wines from around the world. 1051 Ten Rod Rd, North Kingstown, 295-2500. D $-$$$ Fresco Italian American comfort food with international inspirations. 301 Main St, East Greenwich, 398-0027; 140 Comstock Pkwy, Cranston, 228-3901. D $-$$ George’s of Galilee Fresh caught seafood in an upscale pub atmosphere. 250 Sand Hill Cove Rd, Narragansett, 783-2306. LD $-$$ Jigger’s Diner Classic ‘50s diner serving breakfast all day. 145 Main St, East Greenwich, 884-6060. BL $-$$ Maharaja Indian Restaurant Indian cuisine and traditional curries in a warm setting. 1 Beach St, Narragansett, 363-9988. LD $-$$ Mariner Grille Seafood, steaks, and pasta in a fun setting, with live entertainment. 140 Point Judith Rd, Narragansett, 284-3282. LD $$ Pasquale’s Pizzeria Napoletana Authentic Neapolitan wood-fired pizza with exclusive ingredients imported from Naples. 60 S County Commons Way, South Kingstown, 783-2900. LD $-$$ Phil’s Main Street Grille Classic comfort food with a great rooftop patio. 323 Main St, Wakefield, 783-4073. BBrLD $ Red Stripe Casual French-American bistro. 465 Angell St, Providence, 4376950; 455 Main St, East Greenwich, 398-2900. BrLD $$ Siena Impeccable Italian cuisine. Locations in Providence, East Greenwich, and Smithfield, 521-3311. D $$-$$$ T’s Restaurant Plentiful breakfast and lunch. Locations in Cranston, East Greenwich, and Narragansett, TsRestaurantRI.com. BL $ Tavern by the Sea Waterfront European/
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1195 North Main Street, Providence • 340-1000 East Side Monthly • March 2018 53
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Fabulous end unit with 3 levels of living. Granite and stainless kitchen with sliders to a nice deck. Bamboo floors. 3 bedrooms 2 1/5 baths. Central Air. Master with bath. Laundry in the unit. Patio. $419,000
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Multi-unit Building. First floor zoned professional office space plus 3 residential units. Replacement windows throughout, hardwood floors, skylight, fireplace, vinyl siding, new roof, 6 parking spaces. $599,900
6 CORA AVENUE, EAST PROVIDENCE
Clean Two-Family home in the center of East Providence. Two bedrooms in each unit. (up/down). Updated electric, windows and heating. Large one car garage. Fenced yard. $ 259,900
355 BLACKSTONE BLVD. EAST SIDE
Laurelmead Condominium. Bright and sunny living room. Dining area. Den. Fully equipped kitchen. Master bedroom w/ lovely view of water & grounds. Laundry. Garage. Monthly Fee includes taxes, utilities, cable, meals, housekeeping. $227,500
117 WYNDHAM AVE., PROVIDENCE
Elmhurst Arboretum Townhouse. Two bedrooms, two baths. Recently painted exterior. New roof. New windows. Enclosed 3 season room. Updated kitchen. Fireplace. Priced to sell. $187,000
Providence • (401) 351-2017 ColdwellBankerHomes.com
© 2018 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker® and the Coldwell Banker logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. 79427 9/15
54
East Side Monthly • March 2018
amsonRealty.com S 401-454-5454
Walk-In Welcomes
5 Years 2 r o f s t Tenan & s d r o l g Land Matchin
Spring Is In The Air Are You Ready? List To Do
Call S am s o n To d ay !
When It Has To Get Rented! RESTAURANT GUIDE
American bistro. 16 W Main St, Wickford, 2945771. LD $$ The Cove A traditional bar and grill serving burgers, sandwiches, and classic New England seafood favorites. 3963 Old Post Rd, Charlestown, 364-9222. LD $$ Twin Willows Fresh seafood and water views in a family-friendly atmosphere. 865 Boston Neck Rd, Narragansett, 789-8153. LD $-$$ Tong-D Fine Thai cuisine in a casual setting. 156 County Rd, Barrington, 289-2998; 50 South County Common Way, South Kingstown, 7834445. LD $-$$
EAST BAY / NEWPORT Aviary Creative, locally sourced menu featuring
rotating craft beers and from-scratch cocktails. 2229 GAR Highway, Swansea, 508-379-6007. BrLD $$ Black Bass Grille Classic seafood, historic waterfront setting. 3 Water St, South Dartmouth, 508-999-6975. LD $$ Blount Market & Kitchen Traditional New England seafood summer favorites offered year-round for dine-in and takeout. 406 Water St, Warren, 245-1800. LD $$ Bluewater Bar and Grill Casual restaurant with modern seafood dishes, patio seating, and live music. 32 Barton Ave, Barrington, 247-0017. LD $$-$$$ Chomp Upscale comfort food featuring awardwinning burgers and sandwiches. 440 Child St, Warren, 289-2324. D $$
East Bay Oyster Bar Local seafood meets innovative preparation in a rustic setting. 308 County Rd, Barrington, 247-0303. LD $$ Ichigo Ichie Traditional Japanese cuisine, creative sushi, and hibachi. 5 Catamore Blvd, East Providence, 435-5511. LD $-$$$ Redlefsen’s European-style dining with a waterfront view focusing on traditional German foods. 444 Thames St, Bristol, 2541188. LD $$ Tav Vino Waterfront dining with an Italian and seafood focus. 267 Water St, Warren, 245-0231. D $$ The Old Grist Mill Tavern Fine dining located over the Runnins River. 390 Fall River Ave, Seekonk, 508-336-8460. LD $-$$$
East Side Monthly • March 2018 55
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March music | performance | social happenings | galleries | sports
THE TOP OF OUR LIST:
10 events you can’t miss this month
March 8: That’s My Story and I’m Sticking to It at the Providence Athenaeum
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March 8: Talk things through at That’s My Story, and I’m Sticking To It at the Providence Athenaeum, when attendees can share their stories for a future RI NPR broadcast. Benefit Street, ProvAth.org
March 11, 25: Spend Sunday morning at The Providence Flea, which hosts a winter market at Hope High School on the East Side. Everything from Pinterest-worthy refinished furniture to vintage pop culture kitsch will be up for grabs. Hope Street, ProvidenceFlea.com
March 8–25: The Wilbury Group stages The Flick at Cable Car Cinema, a site-specific performance about working at one of the last movie theaters with an old-school film projector. South Main Street, TheWilburyGroup.org
March 13–18: Feel like An American in Paris when the musical comes to PPAC, in the first national tour of a new staging of the classic, featuring songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Weybosset Street, PPACRI.com
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March 8–April 1: Examine the nature of justice at A Human Being Died That Night at The Gamm. Based on real events during apartheid-era South Africa, this play is an exchange between a white man who tortured and murdered freedom fighters and the black female psychologist who worked on his case. Pawtucket, TheGammTheatre.org
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March 14: Experience Central Asian girl power at Qyrq Qyz/ Forty Girls, part of FirstWorks’ Frontier Series. The ancient epic about 40 women warriors is told through live music and poetry, set against a contemporary film, at the RISD Auditorium. First-Works.org
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March 9–11: Brace yourself, because things are going to get loud at Monster Jam when monster ATVs, speedsters, and iconic monster trucks fill The Dunk with daring motorsports. Downtown, DunkinDonutsCenter.com
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March 9-11, 16-18: The Barker Playhouse – “America’s Oldest Little Theater” – is putting on the tense courtroom drama Twelve Angry Jurors. Watch as 12 strangers test their own values as they argue over sentencing a man to death. Benefit Street, PlayersRI.org
March 16: Don’t be that guy at Colin Quinn – One in Every Crowd at The Columbus Theatre. The Saturday Night Live alum will be in town for one night of stand-up. Broadway, ColumbusTheatre.com
March 18: Expect to be rocked – by bagpipes – at The Red Hot Chili Pipers at The Vets. This nine-piece Scottish band plays their signature “bagrock” versions of Scottish classics and classic rock. Avenue of the Arts, TheVetsRI.com
East Side Monthly • March 2018 57
INCOME TAXES Proudly serving the East Side For Over Thirty Years
Fiore & Asmussen Certified Public Accountants Individuals, Partnerships (A Pass Thru) “C” Corp, “S” Corp (A Pass Thru) Estates, Trusts (A Pass Thru) Are you ready for 2018? We are!
125 Wayland Ave., Providence • 351-7000
Authentic
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On the Town Calendar
MUSIC
arena & club | classical ARENA & CLUB COLUMBUS THEATRE March 2: Shopping, French Vanilla, Le Neve. March 3: The Z-Boys, Julie Rhodes, Matthew Stubbs and the Antiguas. March 4: Adranne Lenker (of Big Thief), Henry Jamison. March 9: Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Tashi Dorji. March 23: Vudu Sister, Damian and Chelsea of Tall Teenagers, Rachel Rosencrantz. 270 Broadway, Providence. 6219660, ColumbusTheatre.com
FETE MUSIC HALL March 3: Wyclef Jean with JeanLou; Zig Zag Power Trio. March 8: The Quins with SixForWhiskey, Today Junior, and Bruvs. March 10: Terrapin. March 11: Parsinsfield. March 24: DJ Dymand, DJ Gurdy, DJ Swaggerlish. March 30: The Providence Tattoo and Music Festival. March 31: Mayhem, Incantation, Cloak. 103 Dike Street, Providence. 383-1112, FeteMusic.com
Plus Traditional AMERICAN BREAKFAST & LUNCH
GLUTEN-FREE & VEGAN OPTIONS
Race to the Pot O’Gold Get your Irish on for the Tour De Patrick 5k
Francesca s Restaurant 526 Pawtucket Avenue, Pawtucket • 724-9900 Open until 3pm daily • FrancescasOnPawtucket.com
HUGE CARD SELECTION
The Camera Werks
766 Hope Street, Providence • thecamerawerks.com 401.273.5367 • Tues-Sat 10-5:30, Closed Sun-Mon
Where you’ll always find
the brightest SMILES! • Veneers • Crowns • Dentures • Family Dentistry • Tooth Whitening
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58
East Side Monthly • March 2018
There’s a lot of Irish pride happening this month. Things kick off in Pawtucket on March 3 with the first of the Tour De Patrick (TourDePatrick.com) 5k races, followed by the March 10 race in Providence before the Providence St. Patrick’s Day Parade (Facebook: Providence St. Patrick’s Day Parade). The parade steps off at noon and heads down Smith Street towards the State House.
THE MET March 1: Lucero, Jake La Botz. March 3: Jonathan Richman. March 4: Violin River – RI’s Premier Grateful Dead Tribute Band. March 6: J Boog, Jesse Royal, Etana. March 7: Cupcake. March 8: Allison Rose. March 9: Wicked Petty. March 11: The Senders. March 16: Young Rust. 1005 Main Street, Pawtucket. 729-1005, TheMetRI.com THE STRAND March 1: Jeezy. March 2: Frank Reyes. March 4: Motionless In White, Everytime I Die, Chelsea Grin, Ice Nine Kills. March 8: Disco Biscuits. March 10: Mura Masa. March 16: Indigo Girls. March 17: Miguel. March 18: Dragathon: All Stars Live. March 23: Circa Survive. March 24: Bodega Boys featuring Desus Nice and The Kid Mero. March 30: Lil Durk and Guest. March 31: Bleachers, Charlie Bliss. 79 Washington Street, Providence. TheStrandRI.com
Pay less on your student loans Refinance at low fixed rates and save up to thousands of dollars in interest charges. risla.com | 866-268-9419
PERFORMANCE
comedy | dance | theatre COMEDY COMEDY CONNECTION March 2-3: Hodge Twins Live. March 9-10: Rory Albanese. March 15-17: Alice Wetterlund. March 23-24: Sean Donnelly. March 30-31: Jimmy Pardo. 39 Warren Avenue, East Providence. 438-8383, RIComedyConnection.com THEATRE TRINITY REP Through March 18: Othello. 201 Washington Street, Providence. 351-4242, TrinityRep.com THE GAMM THEATRE March 8-April 1: A Human Being Died That Night. 172 Exchange Street, Pawtucket. 7234266, GammTheatre.org WILBURY THEATRE GROUP March 8-24: The Flick. 40 Sonoma Court, Providence. 400-7100, TheWilburyGroup.org
East Side Monthly • March 2018 59
On the Town Calendar Rhode Island’s Premiere Piano Care Specialists
We Do Tunings • Repairs • Restoration And Whole Lot More!
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discussion | instruction | tour
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MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AND PLANETARIUM Saturdays and Sundays: Public Planetarium Shows. 1000 Elmwood Avenue, Providence. 785-9457, ProvidenceRI.gov/Museum
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PROVIDENCE COMMUNITY LIBRARY March 1, 8, 15, 22: Learn to Speak Spanish Intermediate. March 6, 13, 20, 27: Babybooks. March 7, 14, 21: Learn to Speak Spanish Beginner. March 5, 12, 19, 26: Girls Who Code. March 12: RI Coalition Against Gun Violence partner/member meeting. March 17: Community Restorative Yoga. March 26: East Side Cinema Night. March 30: La Leche League of Providence. Rochambeau Library, 708 Hope Street, Providence. 272-3780, ProvComLib.org
SOCIAL HAPPENINGS
expos | fundraisers | seasonal FOR FOODIES BOTTLES Thursdays 5–7pm: Spirit tasting. Fridays 4–7pm: Beer tasting. Saturdays 4–7pm: Wine tasting. 141 Pitman Street. 372-2030, BottlesFineWine.com
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East Side Monthly • March 2018
FARM FRESH RHODE ISLAND Saturdays 9am–1pm: Pawtucket Wintertime Farmers Market at Hope Artiste Village. 1005 Main Street, Pawtucket. FarmFreshRI.org
GALLERIES RISD MUSEUM From the Loom of a Goddess: Reverberations of Guatemalan Maya Weaving. 20 North Main Street, Providence. 454-6530, RISDMuseum.org
GALLERY Z Reception held every third Thursday of the month. Free and open to the public 5–9pm. 259 Atwells Avenue, Providence. 454-8844, GalleryZProv.com CHAZAN GALLERY AT WHEELER Through March 7: Wanders; Serge Marchetta; Masha Ryskin. 228 Angell Street, Providence. 421-9230, ChazanGallery.org DAVID WINTON BELL GALLERY Through March 11: Brown University 38th Annual Student Exhibition. 64 College Street, Providence. 863-2932, Brown.edu DRYDEN GALLERY Through March 10: “Fractals” by Steve Sickles. 27 Dryden Lane, Providence. 421-6196, ProvidencePictureFrame.com
SPORTS BROWN UNIVERSITY March 2: Men’s Basketball vs. Princeton. March 3: Women’s Lacrosse vs. Princeton; Men’s Lacrosse vs. Rutgers; Men’s Basketball vs. Penn. March 10: Women’s Lacrosse vs. Monmouth. March 17: Women’s Tennic vs Stony Brook. March 18: Men’s Tennis vs. Connecticut; Women’s Lacrosse vs. Iona; Men’s Tennis vs. St. John’s. March 24: Men’s Lacrosse vs. Massachusetts. March 31: Men’s Lacrosse vs. Princeton. Various venues, BrownBears.com PROVIDENCE BRUINS March 2: vs. Charlotte Checkers. March 4: vs. Springfield Thunderbirds. March 16: vs. Rochester Americans. March 18: vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers. March 23: vs. Lehigh Valley Phantoms. March 24: vs. Lehigh Valley Phantoms. 1 LaSalle Square, Providence. 3310700, ProvidenceBruins.com PROVIDENCE COLLEGE March 3: Men’s Basketball vs. St. John’s. 1 LaSalle Square, Providence, Friars.com
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Business Spotlight
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
T.F. Morra Tree Care, Inc.
MEMORY CARE
Protector of Your Trees
ASSISTED LIVING RESIDENCE
Ornamental and Shade Tree Specialists • fine hand pruning • tree preservation • hazard tree removal • tree evaluation & diagnosis • tree planting consultation 331-8527 • tfmorra.com
Call 401.944.2450 to schedule a personal tour
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New Showroom with Over 400 Scratch & Dent Appliances!
299 Walcott Street, Pawtucket 723.0500 • www.KitchenGuys.com
The Dwares JCC is
YOUR Community Center. Membership is open to EVERYone regardless of age, race, gender, religion, sexuality, ethnic background or family constellation.
R OU N! T OFSIG BU DE D E DEAN : TH E US SIZ PL W NE
EST 1975
MONT
MONTH
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EST 1975
East Side MONTHLY
Merry and Bright Holiday Festivities Around Town In Conversation with Wheeler’s New Head of School
s Big IdFuea ture for the
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Fitness Center, Indoor Pool, Gymnasium, Early Childhood Center, After School Program, Family Programming, Cultural Arts and more!
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401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI 02906 401.421.4111 | jewishallianceri.org 62
East Side Monthly • March 2018
OCTOBER
East Si de EST 1975
ide East S
EastSideMon 2017 •
Bye Bye Benny’s
What the closure chain mean of the belov s for local ed retail
thly.com
NOVEMBER
1
Monthly East Side
• Month
20xx
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Inside Artist Howard BenTré’s College Hill Home Blogger Johanna Harris Is Taking City to the Task
2017 • EastSideMont
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Looking Back at the East Side’s Biggest Stories DECEMBER 2017 • EastSideMonthly.com
Apply For Our Internship Programs
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ow is the time to prepare for the approach of spring and contact T. F. MORRA TREE CARE for a consultation. The living assets in your yard need to be tended to and the professionals led by business owner Tom Morra will take on a stewardship role of protecting your leafy friends. “I feel that when we leave a person’s property, it should be more valuable than when we got there,” Tom explains. They are booked until April, so make that appointment now to secure your time slot for a comprehensive analysis. T. F. Morra provides full-service tree care including pruning, cabling, plant health care treatments, fertilization, and soil aeration. They also handle the removal of all hazardous, invasive, and nonviable trees. Spring’s return means it’s time to protect your trees from invasive pests like winter moths, gypsy moths, hemlock woolly adelgids, and fungal pathogens like anthracnose, which are pervasive throughout New England. No need to fear, though, as T. F. Morra will only apply treatments when necessary and, when they do, they always use organic or the lowest impact substances available. Why T. F Morra? “We have a small company and we’re going to stay that way,” Tom says. “We don’t have turnover with our employees and there is attention to detail.” His team really gets to know your trees and they become trusted advisors, helping to maintain your trees’ health and your overall property value. Call today.
Writing • Marketing Social Media • Photography Graphic Design
T. F. Morra Tree Care 331-8527 TFMorra.com
Business Spotlight
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Luxury Cars Aren’t as Daunting as You Think
FIND A WORRYFREE PRE-OWNED EUROPEAN CAR? Sure! Choose color, features, mileage & your budget up front. Your dream car is hand-selected, vetted & warrantied. Plus expert service, free pick-up & delivery. Call for a Free Consultation
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any people think purchasing a luxury car is a reach – the “safe choice” being a practical new vehicle – but that’s not actually the smart move. You are missing out on more than comfort in a luxury car; you are depriving yourself of extra safety features like all-wheel drive, better braking, etc. The informed buy is a low mileage luxury vehicle. By sidestepping the initial depreciation on a high-end car, the price becomes comparable to the new “lesser brand” you were settling for. The other piece of the financial puzzle? Luxury cars depreciate at a slower rate, so when it’s time to sell, you recoup more toward your next purchase. What stops people from doing this is fear of dealer repairs and fear of buying a car with history. Enter Bob Moreau of AUTOWERKS. Bob has decades in the business and access to literally thousands of pre-loved cars. After a free consultation where you agree on a price, make, and model and choose your desired options, Bob finds you a dream car that beats all expectations. Those pricey repairs that may require the dealer? AutoWerks will pick up and deliver your car free of charge and handle service and repairs, all for less than the dealer charges. Bob Moreau of AutoWerks will help you navigate your way to a better, safer car. Treat yourself with some affordable luxury!
AutoWerks 474-1300 WerksWell.com
ALSO OFFERING THE IDEAL PROTEIN WEIGHT LOSS METHOD “After a week of treatment, all the pain was gone... I recommend Dr. Tom to everyone I know.” – J.T.
Northeast Chiropractic DR. THOMAS MORISON Chiropractic Physician
401-861-1300 • 187 Waterman Street www.wickedgoodposture.com
BEAUTIFUL PRE-OWNED JEWELRY
1271 North Main Street, Providence 437-8421 358 Broad Street, Providence 273-7050
Auto IASIMONE Tomasso Swedish Motors PLUMBING HEATING & DRAIN CLEANING, INC.
INSTALLATIONS REPAIRS • REPLACEMENTS We are always providing a Free Estimate
WINNER OF THE SUPER SERVICE AWARD FROM ANGIE’S LIST FOUR YEARS IN A ROW! We Can Do Anything With Water Except Walk On It Servicing all of RI & nearby Mass. for over 35 years
Monday - Friday 7:00am to 6:00pm
27 Allen Avenue, North Providence (401) 300-9761 • iasimonephdc.com
With Winter’s End Check Suspension & A/C
We service and repair ALL foreign and domestic models • ASE Certified • RI inspection and repair station #27b
Mon-Fri 8am-5pm
729 East Avenue • 401-723-1111 (Top of the East Side, next door to Rite Aid)
East Side Monthly • March 2018 63
SERVICE
DIRECTORY
Spring Residential Paiting & Exterior Touch-ups!
PIONEER BASEMENT
The healthy choice for wet basements, crawl spaces, moisture & air quality control. Foundation repair. Certified. Insured. Reg. #3934. Cell 401215-7985 or 1-800-649-6140.
Painting Light Carpentry Work
Staining of all wood surfaces ~ Decks Fences Sheds & more! Power Washing Driveways Pools Aprons Cement Patios Window Re-glazing Gutter Cleaning Epoxy Floors Single & Multi-Family Free Estimates East Side References
SUPERB HOUSEPAINTING
High end workmanship. Small jobs a specialty. Call Ron 7513242. Reg. #18128.
MALIN PAINTING
HOME & BUSINESS SERVICES
Most ceiling & wall repairs, wallpaper removal, oil-based & latex finishes, staining, varnishing. Fully insured, Many local references. Safe, secure, fast service. 226-8332. Reg. #19226.
HANDYMAN
Repair & small job specialist. clearproppvd@gmail.com. Reg. 40738
HOUSE CLEANING Experienced. Local references. Free estimates. Call Lilly, 401-419-2933.
Quality interior painting, color consulting, lead certified, green products. Lic. #15914. Call Mike 573-4498
EAST SIDE HANDYMAN
Repairs, upgrades & renovations. Small jobs welcome. Many East Side references. Insured. Call 524-6421. Reg. #3052
INTERIOR DECORATING NE
C.M. HOUSE CLEANING
Professional, reliable, experienced. Excellent local references. Affordable. Marilyn at 497-8770.
Reasonable rates Refernce on request
785-1230 64
Interior/Exterior
723-0560
Carpentry Renovations Gutter Cleaning Chimney Pointing Roof Leaks Repaired
Repairing all types of Lamps Vintage Lighting Specialist
Reg. #1903
Insured
248-5248
DavidOkenPainting.com
$250/cord $175/half (Free Delivery)
Free Estimates
Vinny’s Landscaping
401-831-8693
www.ChrisLampRepair.com
House Cleaning If you need a house cleaner who is organized, with good prices and excellent references, call
401-475-3283 954-709-6713
We Specialize in painting & carpentry
Experts in Water Problems
From Roofs, Gutters & Basements Over 20 years of experience on historical homes Certified Lead Renovated LRM #0514 RI Reg #7320 • Fully insured GEt it donE! Call today! Call Al Medina (401) 438-8771 or (401) 323-8252
Seasoned The Finest in New England Craftmanship Firewood Boreal Remodeling
Chandelier Repairs 21 Years
East Side Monthly • March 2018
Lead Certified
Serving the East Side for Fully Insured
ask for Lee. Please leave a messgae
David Onken Painting
Complete Plumbing & Heating Service
CHRIS’ LAMP REPAIR We Make Housecalls!!!
CLeaning
Over 20 yrs. in business
R.I. Lic 7140 Liab/ Work Comp Insured
ri Contr 937 MP #1578 MPF 1355
Lees’s House Basic cleaning
Call T & T Painting anytime 944-0336
LiCenSed • Bonded • inSured
Exquisite decor. Comfortable prices. Interior decorating. Spatial organization & decluttering. Home staging. Serving RI, MA & CT. Call Kate. 529-9334.
Interior, Exterior, Residential/Commercial Wallpaper Hanging, Power Washing, Staining 25 Years Experience (401) 885-1580 • (401) 323-6100 cell
Providence
BEYOND THE PALE
Levine Painting Co., Inc.
Reg. #3469 Fully Insured 30 yrs. in business
R.W. Desrosiers Inc.
DOROTHY’S CLEANING We clean your home as our own! References & free estimates. 401-524-7453 or 401-228-6273.
Prompt, Reliable Quality Work
General Home Repair, including Kitchens,Baths, Decks & Additions Reg. # 22013
& BOBCAT SERVICE Call 497-1461
Michael Packard • (401) 441-7303
Serving the East Side for over 20 years!
Retirement Medicare 101
JOBS BY JIM Cellars & Attics Cleaned Unwanted Removed Estate Cleaning
Call cell 401-742-7258 Reg. #4614
Finding the Right Medicare Option for You
Jeffrey G. Brier CLU, ChFC, CASL
Brier & Brier Insurance & Employee Benefits 81 S. Angell Street • Providence • 02906 751.2990 • jbrier@brier-brier.com
The East Side’s Home Entertainment Expert! REAL ESTATE
Leasing J Sales
Enjoy movies and music in every room with great picture, sound, and style…
www.PilotRI.us info@PilotRI.us (401) 527-4690
…Call Jon Bell, a lifelong East Side resident with 30 years of experience, for a free in-home consultation. I will design a superb system with fantastic performance that looks great in your home and is totally easy to use.
Professional • Reliable
simplysas. com
Pet Care
.
401. 74 9.8 2 83
MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES
• Dog Walking • Cat Sitting Insured & Bonded PawsNClawsRI.com
401-369-9000 PROPERTY MANAGER
Available. On call 24/7. Rent collection. Rentals, evictions, maintenance. 421-0092.
KIND CARE ~ SENIORS
Appointments, errands, shopping, cleaning & maint. Refs. Safety bars installed. Reg #3052. 559-0848.
The Pet Friendly Realtor
DEDICATION
AUDIO/VIDEO HELP
...is a word that is both used and abused these days. But I want you to know that I really am dedicated to my customers and to my profession. If a real estate transaction is in your future, let’s talk. Then you can decide for yourself if you really believe that I am...
INCOME TAXES
Dedicated… to serving YOU! Call me today!
PARKING
Benefit St. @ north end, Burrs Ln., $115/mo. Considerable discount for 1 yr. commitment. Call Roger, 339-4068. rogernc@mac.com If you need help with your TV, home theater or stereo, call Jon Bell, 383-4102. Simply Sight & Sound. Reasonable rates. 30 years experience.
Fiore &Asussion, Inc. C.P.A. 40 Years of Experience. Located at 125 Wayland Avenue. Call 351-7000.
USED MUSIC WANTED!
WANTED
ELISE PENN PANSEY
Round Again Records needs your used CDs and records. Cash paid. 351-6292.
I BUY BOOKS
Old, used and almost new. Also photography, art, etc. jcminich1@gmail.com 286-9329.
401.455.1625 www.elisepennpansey.com 401.521.9490 x22 Butterman & Kryston, Inc. • 749 East Avenue, Pawtucket • @ Blackstone Blvd East Side Monthly • March 2018 65
EAST SIDER By Amanda M. Grosvenor V. F. Wolf spends his nights as a watchman at the RISD Museum, then heads to his studio at 4am
Art All Night
Artist V.F. Wolf sees the East Side through a different lens than most. As a night security guard at the RISD Museum, he spends the hours when most of us are asleep keeping watch over the building’s many galleries and the precious artwork and objects stored within. His favorite area is the antiquities section: the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman galleries. He views his own art making process as an excavation of the psyche, a process he compares to the ways in which ancient artifacts are dug up to reveal secrets of past civilizations. “Like antiquity, the paintings might be archaeological artifacts whose mysteries are still hidden.” A veteran who served time overseas, Wolf considers the military to be “my first art school, because it taught me discipline and humility: two traits I consider essential to making art.” His interest in art started earlier in life, however, with a weekly cartoon strip at 10 years old. During junior high and high school, he took several
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East Side Monthly • March 2018
painting and drawing classes, and would spend even his free time “hanging out in art classes.” Wolf describes his approach to art making as “fragmented,” incorporating an assortment of different mediums and subjects. Often the trajectory of the painting itself will change as new strokes are applied. But his passion and dedication to painting are unwavering. “Being in the military forced me to grow up quickly, and I realized that life is short, and if you want something, just go out there and get it.” This positive attitude and perseverance served Wolf well when applying to his position at RISD, which he did three times before getting an interview. Inspired by modern painters like Picasso, Matisse, and Munch, Wolf would often visit the museum as a child. By working there now, he feels that he has “gone full circle.” Although he works on the East Side, Wolf lives just across the border in Pawtucket, up
the street from his studio at the Pawtucket Armory, which once held many artist studios but is now mostly home to performance venues and groups. “I think I’m the only painter now, the last of them,” he muses. His small space is full of paintings of all different sizes, colors, and subject matter – some quite dark, and some more humorous or satirical riffs on pop culture themes. “If you haven’t noticed, I love clutter,” Wolf admits. “For me, chaos breeds ideas.” Wolf is represented by ArtProv Gallery on Chestnut Street, where his work is available for purchase and will be featured in a show from June 6 to July 21 of this year. He hopes to someday become a full-time artist, but for now he’s enjoying both his job at RISD and the time he spends in his studio three to four days a week after he gets out of work at 4am. “The beauty of the East Side gives me lots of inspiration to take back to the studio,” he says. ArtProvidence.com/Artists/VF-Wolf
Photography by Wolf Matthewson
Security guard V.F. Wolf patrols the RISD Museum while the city sleeps – then he paints
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