Providence Monthly April 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

35

GET INKED IN PVD

Today’s tattoo artists forge a new, inclusive future with a sharp eye on the city’s rough-and-tumble past

NEWS & CITY LIFE

11 Vinyl lovers young and old flock to local record stores this month

14 THE PUBLIC’S RADIO: Remembering theater innovators Adrian Hall and Eugene Lee

16 RHODY GEM: Vintage meets modern in an East Providence shop

18 OP-ED: A call for the mayor to rethink PILOT programs

20 FEATURE: From edibles to entrepreneurship, RI’s cannabis industry hits a high note

28 NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS : Hyper local news and contact listings

On The Cover: (L-R)

FOOD & DRINK

47 Worldwide brews come ashore for a premier beer fest in Pawtucket

48 EXPERIENCE: Antiques and appetizers in the Jewelry District

52 IN THE KITCHEN: A Netflix chef’s Cranston roots

56 FOOD NEWS: New eatery on Broadway, Warren burger joint moves & sweet bread in Riverside

LIFE & STYLE

59 HOME: The home and studio of a fanciful muralist

64 A tour of local lending libraries open 24/7

70 INFLUENCER: A writer’s plans for National Poetry Month

ART & CULTURE

73 A thinker uses a playful medium to call attention to classism

74 MAKER: Art and nature combine in artist’s new oracle deck

76 ON STAGE: Real-life theater couple confronts the end of the world

78 CALENDAR: This month’s must-do’s

80 PIC OF PVD

Maxwell Blackmar, Tina Lugo, Hannah Madeiros photographed at Black Cherry Tattoo Studio by Nick DelGiudice

Photo courtesy of Maxwell Blackmar

Photo courtesy of Andy Grover

Photo by Abigail Brown

Photo courtesy of Liz Kelley

Share your Ocean State photos on Instagram using #HeyRhodyPhotos to be featured here!

Photo by @dwilson7878

“We were lucky to have Rachael in our corner when selling our Providence condo and purchasing our new home. She came highly recommended and we quickly saw how her robust network provided us a critical edge in a competitive market. We were impressed by her negotiating skills and creative social media strategies. From our initial meeting to finalizing the sale, Rachael was always there to provide reassurance when needed and elevated our expectations with our home search. We did not have to settle and bought the home we truly wanted.”

Ryan, Kamaria & Gri

Publishers

Barry Fain

Richard Fleischer

John Howell

Editor in Chief

Elyse Major

Editor Ken Abrams

Advertising Design Director

Layheang Meas

Senior Designer

Taylor Gilbert

Account Managers

Shelley Cavoli

General Manager & Creative Director Nick DelGiudice

Managing Editor Abbie Lahmers

Senior Editorial Designer

Abigail Brown

Louann DiMuccio-Darwich

Ann Gallagher

Kristine Mangan Olf

Lisa Watson

Interested in advertising?

Email Marketing@ProvidenceOnline.com

Contributing Photographers

Savannah Barkley

Justin Files

Ira Garber

Peter Goldberg

Contributing Writers

Dave Fallon

Karen Greco

Robert Isenberg

Rose Kenyon

Interested in writing?

Melissa Jones

Grace Kimmell

Photography

Erin X Smithers

Hugh Minor

Emily Olson

Jenna Pelletier

Steve Triedman

Email Abbie@ProvidenceOnline.com

Interns

Shay Costa Abby Leibowitz

Interested in an internship?

Email Elyse@ProvidenceOnline.com

Distribution Services

Special Delivery

Subscribe Today!

ProvidenceOnline.com/MailToYou

PROVIDENCE MEDIA INC. 1944 Warwick Avenue, Warwick, RI 02889 401-305-3391 • Mail@ProvidenceOnline.com

ProvidenceOnline.com

Copyright ©2023 by Providence Media. All rights reserved.

Proud member of the Rhode Island Press Association

CITY LIFE

April is for Analog Lovers

Annual event features limited releases for vinyl fans of all ages

The fourth Saturday in April is the most wonderful time of the year – for record collectors, that is. Not only is April 22 Earth Day but also Record Store Day (RSD), an annual event for fans of vinyl who hope to find limited releases and more at their local record shop. It’s a day when serious collectors rub shoulders with first-time buyers (thank you Taylor Swift) lining up outside stores for the chance to pick up the latest release from their favorite artist.

“When Record Store Day started, there was a lot of doom and gloom around record stores,” says Carl Mello, director of brand engagement at Newbury Comics, a Boston-based chain with two Rhode Island stores, in Providence and Warwick. “Everyone was suffering with file sharing and illegal downloading in the early 2000s. Stores were closing left and right; a lot of the big chains went away, followed by the little stores… things were in pretty bad shape.”

Photo by Savannah Barkley

Armageddon Shop

LOCAL STORES PARTICIPATING IN RECORD STORE DAY

Armageddon Shop, Providence

Newbury Comics, Providence

Newbury Comics, Warwick

Olympic Records, Providence

Kangaroo CD's & Tapes, North Providence

In Your Ear, Warren

Vinyl Guru Record Shop, Newport

Looney Tunes, Wakefield

The industry responded with what was initially seen as a gimmick, an effort to get customers into stores. “We thought, let’s build a few exclusive titles and see if that gets people to come to the stores,” says Mello. “Each year it’s kind of gone from strength to strength. It’s been transformational for people who sell records, which is not what it set out to do.”

Hundreds of titles are released on RSD, most of them one-time pressings. Many sell out fast and show up on the secondary market before the day is over. The albums range from classic rock acts like Paul

McCartney, The Doors, and Carole King to more contemporary bands like The Magnetic Fields and The 1975. In fact, RI natives The Cowsills are releasing their new album The Rhythm of the World on RSD this year.

In the early years, there were only a couple of dozen releases, a number that has increased dramatically. According to Mello, what set the ball in motion was Metallica. “They were very early in signing on to RSD. They did an in-store performance at an indie record store in San Francisco, Rasputin, that was a really big deal.” Soon, classic rock artists like The Rolling Stones,

Photos by Savannah Barkley

Olympic Records

Bob Dylan, and The Beatles were releasing albums as well.

Although the vinyl industry has grown steadily in recent years, it took the pandemic to spark an even greater interest. “When the pandemic hit, everybody in the world decided that they wanted to start buying vinyl,” laughs Mello. “Our sales went through the roof. Before, we were selling maybe 10 percent more each year. All of the sudden, we’re selling over 100 percent more annually. In 2020 and 2021, vinyl sales nationally were up over 50 percent, although things have cooled since,” he adds.

One highlight this year promises to break all RSD records: “A ‘not so limited’ Taylor Swift album, which by far, will be the biggest release that’s ever come out on Record Store Day,” says Mello. “Taylor Swift saying ‘I validate Record Store Day’ is just another example of what Metallica was thinking. I love the encouragement of younger customers coming out!”

If you’re planning to line up on April 22, remember to get there early – and that not all titles will be available at all locations, but you’ll certainly find something you love. RecordStoreDay.com

Remembering Theater Innovators Adrian Hall and Eugene Lee

A conversation with Trinity Rep’s Artistic Director Curt Columbus

By Dave Fallon

Adrian Hall, the founding artistic director of the Trinity Repertory Company, died Saturday [February 4] at 95 years old. Just a few days later, Eugene Lee, a Tony award-winning set designer and Hall’s longtime collaborator, died at 83. Together, in partnership with the late composer Richard Cummings, they challenged people to rethink the relationship between the theater and its audience. Afternoon host Dave Fallon spoke with Trinity Rep Artistic Director Curt Columbus about their work, and the impact it had on theater in Providence and throughout southern New England. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

DAVE FALLON: Tell us about Adrian Hall’s impact on the theater and the arts in Providence.

CURT COLUMBUS: He was a giant by any measure, Dave, that’s actually how I would describe it. He was a boundary breaker. The very first time that I met him, he kind of swept me o my feet, in terms of the stu that we talked about. You know, every conversation with him was punctuated by, “don’t don’t even think about that, darlin!” You know, I mean, he was – he was just larger than life. And I think the thing that is so remarkable about him is, you had this gargantuan artistic figure – someone who is doing work that would have been outsize on any stage in the world in his time – and he had made a commitment to being here in Providence, Rhode Island; he’d made a commitment to the southern New England community, and he really made a commitment to doing work that spoke to that community about the issues that were that other media didn’t want to talk about. And so that’s, that’s really his genius.

He arrives here in 1964. He’s, you know, there’s a piece called “Eustace Chisholm and the Works.” It had abortion rights in it, it had a gay relationship in it. This is in the early 70s, when these things were not spoken about in public ever, let alone dramatized in the media. So in addition to his aesthetic genius, which was massive and clearly deeply inflected by Eugene Lee’s genius, it was his public – how do we even describe it? You know, he was a public intellectual, in the way that Oscar Wilde was a public intellectual, and he challenged people

to think about the way they saw the world.

FALLON: I remember when things first started at the actual church. Trinity Church on Broad Street. There were not only plays done by the original company, which also kind of cleaned the auditorium and took the tickets and parked the cars, whatever, there were also lectures going on, about plots, about theater, open to anyone who was interested. And then, as they moved to bigger and bigger theaters, RISD theater, and then finally the Lederer Theater – that had to show community support, didn’t it?

COLUMBUS: Yes, he understood that the event of theater extended beyond the events on the stage, right? That if you didn’t have a holistic approach to everything, what you were doing on the stage actually didn’t make a lot of di erence. And, you know, that was so distinct from the way that other theaters thought about, everything was ticket sales, everything was what actor can we get from television, washed-up TV actors to put on stage. And Adrian just thought about it di erently. He thought about the conversation that he was having with his community. So that legacy is one of the things that he left us that is so important to me. And I talk to colleagues around the country all the time and say, you are

so lucky that that’s how your theater started.

FALLON: Project Discovery opened up the world to thousands of high school students.

COLUMBUS: Absolutely. Well, you know, there’s a famous story. And it has some salty language in it, so I’ll try to edit it for radio. But the famous story is, Adrian, one of the first shows that he did for Project Discovery, right? They got a million dollars from the NEA and Adrian was like, “I’m not making plays for children. I’m going to show the children the plays that the adults are seeing.” And so he brought them to see an adaptation of Herman Melville’s Billy Budd. And so they, you know, you’re showing this to high school students. Billy Budd, which is a rough sled for us as adults. And so the kids were talking and talking, and Barbara Meek, bless her beautiful soul, was out there doing the first monologue in the play, and they weren’t paying any attention. They were talking and shouting and laughing. And after the first audience of children, Adrian said, you know, “I’m gonna make those little jerks listen to” – he didn’t use jerks, but – “listen to what she’s saying. Bring, roll a cannon out and fire it at ‘em. And then they’ll shut up.” And he rolled the cannon out. The kids screamed, and then they shut up and listened. And that again, that was his

Adrian Hall and Eugene Lee. The Providence arts community is mourning the loss of the two local theater giants, who passed away last month just days apart.

genius, right? He would take the situation, he understood that the audience was part of the event. And he took the situation and made an aesthetic choice based around that.

FALLON: As we unfortunately mentioned, Hall’s friend and longtime collaborator Eugene Lee passed away just a few days after Adrian Hall. Beyond Lee’s impact on the local theater scene, he was also known for his work nationally – the Tonight Show, SNL Some memories of Eugene Lee?

COLUMBUS: Oh, gosh, this one’s going to be a little harder to talk about. Eugene and I were working on a set design together for “Sweeney Todd,” the upcoming production that we’re going to be doing. We’ll be able to implement his design because we got far enough. You know, that design is particularly inflicted by, my 17-year-old self saw “Sweeney Todd” when it was on Broadway in the original incarnation. And, you know, Eugene’s design for that changed my, the course of my entire life aesthetically. I saw that and went, I want to make theater like that. And so over the years, it was just such a privilege and an honor to have him as a collaborator and as a friend, you know, later in my life to be able to work with him on so many projects. And he always made my work richer, more true. I think that’s the phrase that I would use. I mean, he made theatrical imagining happen with almost nothing. He could take a pen and make you imagine a spacecraft, and that was his genius. Eugene was very much about – I remember him once saying, “less is more until more is better.” And he loved just having one element that dictated so many things on stage, and to be able to use it in many, many surprising ways.

Richard Jenkins will talk about Ethan Frome, which he did with Adrian and Eugene, and there’s a whole sequence where Ethan Frome goes sled riding. And they took a couple of pieces from the set, held it up into the air and they did a sled ride. And Richard said, “and in that moment, I realized this was greater than anything that movies could ever imagine because it all happened in the audience’s mind.” And that was his genius.

FALLON: Hall, Lee, also composer Richard Cumming, they were quite the force, even when things were just beginning.

COLUMBUS: Yes, yeah. And Deedee [Richard Cumming] was the sweet wonderful heart. You know, you would always go to him for a smile and a laugh, was the sweetest, kindest man. And I had, you know, I was very upset when I heard about Eugene. And a friend said, you know, I just don’t think Adrian could imagine going on to his work in the next world without his designer. And so, you know, maybe that’s the good news, is that they’ll do that forever together.

FALLON: You personally – not only agreeing with their approach, but perhaps sometimes disagreeing.

COLUMBUS: Yeah, I think that the main, there are two main inflection points. The first and most important is this notion of the theater as a public square. Right? You referenced that, Dave, when you’re talking about the lectures, the conversations, and not just the events on stage. Adrian and Gene were all about the life that happens at a theater. And that it is truly one of the last places in our culture where we can come together around ideas and have disagreement and conversation. So that’s one important thing. The second is that their aesthetic was always challenging, and it was never the same twice. And so I’ve actually learned to embrace that in my own work. I try to not do the same things over and over again, it’s easy for theater artists to go, “Oh, I know how to do that. I’m going to do that.” But both Adrian and especially Eugene, were just constantly challenging. “What can I do now? What’s my aesthetic now? Today’s Tuesday. My aesthetic is di erent than it was on Friday, and it’s di erent than it will be next Friday.” So that’s, that’s the great challenge and the great gift that I hope I’ve gained from both of them.

This article was originally posted on February 9, 2023. Dave Fallon can be reached at ThePublicsRadio.org/sta /dave-fallon

By Elyse Major

Tall Tumbleweed Modern + Vintage Clothing Boutique

We’re on the hunt for Rhody Gems! Every neighborhood has that secret, hidden, cool and unusual, or hole-in-the-wall spot that locals love. Email or tag us on social media using #RhodyGem to suggest yours, and we might just feature it!

What it is:

A brick-and-mortar shop stocked with clothing and accessories, locally made jewelry, and beauty products.

Where to find it:

Over the bridge in the Riverside section of East Providence, housed inside the first floor of a long two-level mixed-use building. Look for the wood front door!

What makes it a Rhody Gem?

Owner Amelia Olson describes her shop “as a patchwork quilt of small treasures,” with a constant rotation of vintage and modern size-inclusive clothing. “With a magpie’s eye, we make gift buying and personal style cohesive in a warm, welcoming, and vibrant space. We think getting dressed can be a fun, radical act of political expression and self love! If you’ve ever felt like a misfit in a traditional boutique setting, you’ll feel loved and at home in our Riverside shop,” says Olson. “Getting dressed is a feeling, and we are reimagining the experience of shopping by encouraging folks to try on clothing they’ve been told wasn’t for them or their body type, profession, or lifestyle. Clients quickly become friends, and we know that when we serve the community we’re in, we all feel and look more beautiful, empowered, and liberated.”

Tall Tumbleweed Modern + Vintage

279 Bullocks Point Avenue, Riverside 401-903-2869

TallTumbleweed.com; @ShopTallTumbleweed

Photography by Grace Kimmell Photography, courtesy of Tall Tumbleweed To

Time to Turn Up the PILOT Light

A call for Mayor Smiley to renegotiate Payments in Lieu of Taxes programs with taxpayers in mind

MEMO TO: Mayor Smiley

SUBJECT: PILOT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes)

PURPOSE: Put the City and Taxpayers First

Your honeymoon is barely over and one of the most pivotal issues for your administration is already on the table. After 20 years, it’s finally time to renegotiate the PILOT programs between the city and our nonprofits.

Our Capital city is unique in the disproportionate amount of real estate (about 40 percent) that is owned by our nonprofits and hence provides no tax income for the city. The annual budget for the city is $568,000,000, while the annual property tax revenue is $275,939,855. Therein lies the problem.

Brown University, Providence College (PC), Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Lifespan, and other nonprofits are great assets for the city. They’ve grown, expanded, and created great new opportunities for both themselves and for the people who work for them. They are also able to use the value of their nonprofit campuses as a tax shelter for profitable research and private investors. As the knowledge economy enjoys meteoric growth, it’s quite likely Brown and Lifespan will become the financial titans in the Jewelry District, as well, and will in large part determine the future of our city.

But by the same token, it is also clear that the nonprofits directly benefit from the public services provided from the city police and fire protection, snow and trash removal, maintenance of roads, electrical grid, and municipal services while the cost of their property tax exemption is borne by the tax-paying residents of Providence. A robust PILOT program is essential to o set some of these costs. It’s di cult for many city residents to see how Brown’s not paying taxes on over $1.4 billion worth of real estate or holding an almost $7 billion endowment helps the average Providence resident make ends meet.

In addition, as some of the nonprofits grow, they also put pressure on their immediate neighborhoods. Additional student housing can create stress points, of course, but even around the hospitals, as our medical

institutions buy up physician practices, they change the nature of the neighborhood.

All of the nonprofits do good things for the city – or parts of the city. However, a working class, tax-paying family living in the Manton or Silver Lake neighborhoods

(and probably eight of 15 Wards) don’t see the “contributions” of Brown, RISD, PC, or Lifespan. The majority of taxpayers don’t see the benefits of these institutions.

Brown president Christina Paxson has expressed all sorts of optimism about what

Photo by Savannah Barkley

she hopes to do to help the city. Recently, the school offered to provide free tuition for Providence public school children to attend their on-campus summer program regardless of family finances. It was a nice way for any academically oriented students to add some tangible academic buzz to their resume – but will there be more?

The good news is that at least verbally, the nonprofits acknowledge they need to play a larger role in the process. All have expressed a willingness to come to the table. We implore Mayor Smiley to set the table – he can even have it catered. But all the guests must realize that he is the host, and while we expect him to be gracious, this time he must be firm. Smiley got elected in part by touting experience with big-number negotiating. And it certainly is time for strong leadership and possibly some new approaches.

Dartmouth College pays about $8 million annually in real estate taxes to the town. Even though it is a nonprofit educational institution, under New Hampshire state law it is required to pay local property taxes on dorms, office, commercial buildings, and rental properties. Classroom buildings and public spaces are exempted. Harvard and Yale have sweetened their payments to their host cities recently as well.

Previous mayors have been out-negotiated by the nonprofits with “give-gets” that have devalued the PILOTs. Brown and RISD got over $1 million in free parking on city streets among other givebacks in the last PILOT, proving a point made by the late Bob Reichley, Brown’s senior community representative, who for many decades was the university’s point person and observed on an issue, “if the city wants to negotiate about garbage, we’ll find a way to turn it into gold.”

And, we don’t have a problem with thinking outside the box and expanding the PILOTs to other nonprofits. Mr. Mayor, this is a shot in the city’s treasury our city could use right now.

Turning a New Leaf

Rhode Island’s budding recreational cannabis industry and how dispensaries are setting themselves apart

With Rhode Island cannabis laws now allowing recreational sale and use as of December 2022, purchasing marijuana today is as easy as grabbing a bottle of wine in a liquor store – but the landscape was much different a generation ago.

“A stigma was born when cannabis was

prohibited in 1937 and matured through the war on drugs,” says Katherine Fotiades, who, with partner Mark Phillips, owns Scituate’s Skydog Farm, a community gathering spot that devotes a corner of its land to medical marijuana cultivation. “People who lived under the stigma still have a lot of

fear associated with cannabis even though the laws are changing.

“And when I think about how many people – particularly Black men – went to jail because of a joint,” Fotiades continues, lamenting the racial injustices the stigma has also historically borne.

Photo courtesy of Skydog Farm

Blake Costa is the COO of Sweetspot, a recreational and medical dispensary in Exeter, and every day he meets people peripherally damaged by the war on drugs. “Our average customer is 41 years old,” says Costa. “They want to explore cannabis, but grew up in a world that stigmatized it.”

Costa finds that those customers crave one-on-one education. “A lot of dispensaries are like deli counters,” he says. “You’re a number.” But Costa went a different route, catering as much to customers who want expert, individual guidance as to those who want to get in and get out.

Sweetspot’s vibe is that of an upscale apothecary – minimalist and clean, and not a bit intimidating. Shades of soothing green are accented by brightly lit display cases and blond wood shelving filled with display packages. The walls are printed with educational information about the types of products for sale and their effects, and easy-to-read symbols denoting product strength.

Magnus Thorsson, who developed the cannabis entrepreneurship program at Johnson & Wales University, says an entrepreneur like Costa is on the right track. “Recreational legalization in Rhode Island is so new,” says Thorsson, “and competition is going to tighten.”

Thorsson says that competing on price is a race to the bottom that forces dispensaries to sell product at cost, a phenomenon seen in states that legalized recreational marijuana years ago. “I teach my students to compete on service and experience,” he says. “When you provide education to customers, they’re going to return for reasons other than price.”

Sweetspot customers have access to about 60 different products, curated largely by demand. “I like to diversify our products and let customers decide what we keep in stock,” says Costa, gesturing to Sweetspot’s merchandise wall that

displays information about their consumption options: flower, distillate, edible, topical, and tincture.

As recreational consumer demand rises, both Costa and Fotiades stress the importance of policies that protect the patient channel. “If we carry the same product for medical patients and recreational customers, and we run out of the product allocated to recreational users, we can’t give them the product reserved for patients,” Costa says.

DISPENSARY CRAWL

Aura of Rhode Island, Central Falls

Greenleaf Compassionate Care Center, Portsmouth

Mother Earth Wellness, Pawtucket

RISE Dispensary, Warwick

Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center, Providence

Sweetspot Medical and Recreational Dispensary, Exeter

“It can take a lot of trial and error for a patient to find a strain that works for them, and we have a responsibility to make sure that they have what they need,” says Fotiades, who for years has been a caregiver for medical patients and cherishes the close relationships forged between grower and patient. However, the direct-to-consumer relationship is not allowed by laws governing recreational use. The next best thing? “Know your dispensary,” Fotiades

recommends. “Ask about their inventory. Ask them how their growers operate” – exactly the kinds of questions that a dispensary like Sweetspot welcomes.

But beyond knowing your dispensary, Fotiades recommends consumers get to know the plant. “People who consume marijuana should at least try to grow it. But if you can’t grow it, visit it and get to know that plant when it’s alive. You’ll approach your use of it differently,” she says. “I consider

Photo (top) courtesy of Skydog Farm, (bottom) courtesy of Sweetspot

ABOVE: Katherine Fotiades of Skydog Farm

BELOW: A look inside Exeter dispensary Sweetspot

people who grow cannabis because they’ve learned to appreciate the plant herbalists and masters of their craft.”

This spring, Fotiades and Phillips are launching a series of programming called Conscious Cannabis, which will be held in their botanical oasis, an enchanting greenhouse flooded with sunlight, soothing music, and heady fragrance. “Without proper

knowledge, anything can be misused,” Fotiades says. “We teach people how to use the plant in a conscious, respectful way.”

The Conscious Cannabis programming at Skydog Farm will include free community discussions, medicine making, and growing workshops, along with a six-month intensive that invites participants to witness the plant’s entire growing cycle. “We also plan

to host BYO elevate-and-create events,” says Fotiades.

Skydog Farm offers consultations for home growers and for people navigating the medical application process. During COVID, they launched a grow-your-ownat-home program. “Mark will come to your home and make site and greenhouse recommendations; then he’ll teach you how

Photo courtesy of Sweetspot

From flower to distillate, Sweetspot carries a range of cannabis products

SEASON HAS ARRIVED

Now is the ideal time to start looking for that perfect home, or to plan a winning marketing strategy for the sale of your property!

Ramiro Encizo, Realtor ®

SERVICE & DEDICATION THAT NEEDS NO RANKING.

Expert counsel on all real estate matters, including unparalleled seller representation and guiding first time homebuyers through their first purchase, to securing lucrative rental properties for seasoned investors throughout The Creative Capital. ¡Hablo Español!

CANNABIS COLLOQUIAL

While dispensaries like Sweetspot and others are happy to talk you through the terms, here’s a cheat sheet of the types of cannabis consumption available and other vocabulary you might hear.

FLOWER: The “flower” of the plant is the traditional form of consumption, which is ground and smoked.

DISTILLATE: A pure, distilled extract known for its potency that’s often consumed via a vaporizer.

EDIBLE: In the form of gummies, teas, and more. “Low and slow is the way to go with edibles,” cautions Sweetspot’s Blake Costa.

TOPICAL: These come in the form of lotions or salves and are commonly used by arthritis su erers.

TINCTURE: “A new generation of users aren’t interested in smoking, but they don’t want to wait for an edible’s e ects,” says Costa. “A tincture acts faster. It also won’t upset the stomach of, for example, a cancer patient.”

STRAINS: A term that refers to the di erent types of cannabis you’ll find that yield di erent e ects, whether relaxing or energizing, including indica, sativa, and hybrids.

CANNABINOIDS: You’ve likely heard THC and CBD used when talking about cannabis – the former is the cannabinoid, or group of compounds, that produce the psychoactive e ects, whereas CBD, when extracted from the plant and used on its own, doesn’t produce a high.

TERPENES: The chemical compound found in cannabis responsible for the aromas and flavors of di erent strains.

Sweetspot aims to create a comfortable, boutique atmosphere

Photo (L) courtesy of Skydog Farm, (R) courtesy of Sweetspot

to up-pot and feed the plants. Mid-season, he’ll make new feeding recommendations as the plants mature. And he’ll teach you how to harvest, dry, and store the flower when the season ends.”

The winter skeleton of an accidental cannabis plant rises from the center of Fotiades’ medicinal herb garden, situated in plain sight, next to the road. Cannabis plants are bred not to have seeds, yet improbably, last spring a seed found its way to the carefully tended, fertile soil and sprouted. “She popped up out in the open,” Fotiades says of the plant.

“She wants to be seen.” And Fotiades took its growth as a sign that it was time for her to openly embrace her role as an activist and educator.

In Buddhist tradition, bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who delay their entry into paradise in order to show others the way. And Fotiades sees parallels between that teaching and her own life. She believes, like the bodhisattva, her role is to educate and guide others on their path. “I help people climb the wall and show them the possibilities on the other side,” she says.

Neighborhood News

A space made available to Providence’s neighborhood associations free of charge.

HOT TOPICS

An overview of what’s happening around the city right now

Observatory Neighborhood Association welcomes new City Councilor

The Observatory Neighborhood Association joined with the Ward 3 Democratic Committee and new Councilwoman Sue AnderBois in a community meeting on February 6. Held in the community room of the Rochambeau Library, there was a standing room only crowd. AnderBois introduced herself, discussed her priorities for the year, and then answered questions from the audience. Joint meetings will continue throughout the year.

Neighbors took part in winter cleanup challenge to nip waste in the bud

Elmwood Neighborhood Association and other Providence volunteers took to the streets collecting littered bottles as part of the Great Nip Pickup Challenge put on by Save The Bay and Friends of the Saugatucket. The collection effort kicked off December 27 and ran through March 27. Neighbors brought discarded nips to Save The Bay’s headquarters in Providence to keep tally of this year’s impact. At press, the challenge is still underway, but last year, around 20 volunteers collected over 21,000 50mL plastic nips off the streets and out of Rhode Island waterways, all within 90 days. This quantity was instrumental in bringing the nip conversation to the forefront of local and statewide policy.

Though the challenge has ended, there are still ways to get involved in local cleanups via Save The Bay by becoming a cleanup leader. Enroll in the upcoming training seminar via Zoom on April 5 to go over the nuts and bolts of leading and organizing a cleanup in your neighborhood, and sign up to be an assistant leader at a spring event to complete your training. Visit online to learn more at Volunteer.SaveBay.org.

Final link connects Providence River Walkway in the Jewelry District

At the end of January, two large trailer trucks from Pickens, SC pulled slowly toward the river end of South Street. Their arrival signaled the end of a years-long e ort to create a pedestrian path from Waterplace Park to the Point Street Bridge. The next day at low tide, after the two halves of the bridge were permanently joined together, a crane hoisted the 25,000-piece walking bridge into place. At time of press, Jewelry District Association (JDA) expects to see construction begin in March, with railings, planting, lighting, and other final touches to be installed. By mid-June the bridge will be open to the public. The JDA extends thanks to Wexford Science & Technology, the company that rescued a Providence landmark by turning it into South Street Landing. Now, the city will have another delightful amenity. (Eyewitnesses report that rabbits are already using the bridge to reach new feeding grounds.)

Mile of History Association announces events, new street lights on Benefit

The Mile of History Association (MoHA) is planning a complimentary spring outdoor block party for members and prospective new members, with more details to come. Looking ahead to this summer, MoHA will again be the major supporter of the Concerts in the Garden program at Shakespeare’s Head in collaboration with the Providence Preservation Society. The monthly concerts of the 2023 season will run from May through September. The restoration of the streetlights along Benefit Street has begun. The first ones are installed towards the southern end of Benefit Street. We expect that more will be in place by the time you read this. MoHA has arranged major funding for this project. For more information and to join MoHA’s ongoing preservation e orts, visit MileOfHistory.org.

Call for board members ahead of Summit Neighborhood Association meeting

Are you new to Summit and looking to meet new people and get more involved in the community? Are you a long-time Summit resident with a great idea for improving the neighborhood? Do you have a passion project in mind that you’d like help and support bringing to life? Are you looking to connect with others to work on grass-roots projects? If you answer yes to any of these questions, consider joining the Summit Neighborhood Association (SNA) board. Becoming a member is a great way to get to know the community and your neighbors, while volunteering on projects like the Hope Street Mural, food pantry deliveries, tree planting, street improvements, park development, and more. The SNA’s Annual Meeting will be held on Monday, April 24 in the Sopkin Auditorium of Miriam Hospital. They will hold elections for board o cers and members. Contact us at SNAProv@gmail.com for more information.

Progress on the Providence River Walkway in the Jewelry District

Photo by Ira Garber, courtesy of Jewelry District Association

Providence Neighborhood Associations

Blackstone Parks Conservancy

Jane Peterson

P.O. Box 603141

Providence, RI 02906

401-270-3014

BlackstoneParks@gmail.com

BlackstoneParksConservancy.org

College Hill Neighborhood Association

Rick Champagne

P.O. Box 2442

Providence, RI 02906

CHNA@chnaprovidence.org

CHNAProvidence.org

Downtown Neighborhood Association

DNAPVD@gmail.com

DNAPVD.com

Facebook: Providence Downtown Neighborhood Association, DNA

Elmwood Neighborhood Association

Karen Hlynsky

ENA-PVD.org

Facebook: Elmwood Neighborhood Association PVD

Fox Point Neighborhood Association

Amy Mendillo

P.O. Box 2315

Providence, RI 02906

FoxPointNeighborhood@gmail.com

FPNA.net

Jewelry District Association

Sharon Steele

Sharon@sharonsteele.com

JewelryDistrict.org

Facebook: Jewelry District Association

Providence, RI

Mile of History Association

Wendy Marcus

c/o Providence Preservation Society

24 Meeting Street

Providence, RI 02903

MileOfHistory@gmail.com

MileOfHistory.org

Mount Hope Community Center

401-521-8830

MHNAInc@gmail.com

Facebook: Mount Hope Neighborhood Association, Inc.

Olneyville Neighborhood Association

Eduardo Sandoval

122 Manton Avenue, Box 8 Providence, RI 02909

ONAProvidence@gmail.com

Facebook: Olneyville Library

Providence Coalition of Neighborhood Associations

Info@provcna.org

ProvCNA.org

Reservoir Triangle

Neighborhood Association

David Talan

25 Santiago St.

Providence, RI 02907

401-941-3662

DaveTalan@aol.com

Smith Hill Partners’ Initiative

Wole Akinbi

400 Smith Street

Providence, RI 02908 Suite #1

AAkinbi@half-full.com

Facebook: Smith Hill Partners’ Initiative

South Providence Neighborhood Association

c/o Dwayne Keys

P.O. Box 5653

Providence, RI 02903

401-369-1334

SouthProvNeighbors@gmail.com

Facebook: South Providence Neighborhood Association

Summit Neighborhood Association

Meeting date: April 17

P.O. Box 41092

Providence, RI 02940

401-400-0986

SNAProv@gmail.com

SummitNeighbors.org

Washington Park Neighborhood Association

237 Washington Avenue

Providence, RI 02905

BettyLinda@aol.com

Facebook: Washington Park Association

Wayland Square Neighborhood Association

Katherine Touafek

Facebook: Wayland Square Neighborhood Association

WaylandSquareNeighbors@gmail.com

West Broadway Neighborhood Association

1560 Westminster Street

Providence, RI 02909

401-831-9344

WBNA@wbna.org

WBNA.org

The new riverwalk is scheduled to be complete by this June

Photo by Ira Garber, courtesy of Jewelry District Association

Katherine Bickford. Photo by Ian Travis Barnard.

T.F. Morra Tackles

Beech Leaf Disease and More This Season

First observed in RI in 2020, Beech Leaf Disease (BLD) is set to make its mark in spectacular fashion again this year, decimating beech forests and landscape trees throughout the state. BLD a ects the leaves of the tree and is thought to be spread by or directly caused by nematodes that are active inside buds prior to bud break. Early signs include dark striping on the leaves, which will then wither and yellow, leading to leaf-loss. Over time, this can send the tree into decline and potentially be fatal.

“There is a lot that we do not know about BLD yet – as far as we can see, it impacts all varieties of beech regardless of age or size,” explains Tom Morra, owner of T.F. MORRA TREE CARE, INC. “We are monitoring the spread and progression of the disease closely, and are working with our product developers on treatment options to combat the damage.” Treatment season begins in the spring, so now is the time to come up with a plant health care plan for your landscape using the options available at T.F. Morra.

T.F. Morra also o ers low-impact, ecologically sound treatment options for a variety of other plant health care issues, including but not limited to Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, Emerald Ash Borer, mosquitoes and ticks, and fungal pathogens, as well as fine pruning, tree preservation, and, if necessary, removal services. Please contact Stephanie via email at stephanie@tfmorra.com to set up your consultation today.

AUDIO/VIDEO HELP

Home theater, TV or stereo? Jon Bell, Simply Sight & Sound, 401-749-8283. Reasonable rates. 30+ yrs exp.

BEYOND THE PALE

Quality interior painting, color consulting, lead certified, green products. Lic. #15914. Call Mike 401-573-4498.

EAST SIDE HANDYMAN

Carpentry, painting and repairs. Small jobs welcome. References, insured. 401-524-6421. Reg. #3052.

MALIN PAINTING

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.

USED MUSIC WANTED!

Round Again Records needs your used CDs and records. Cash paid. Call 351-6292.

A NEW GENERATION OF TATTOO ARTISTS EMBRACES ITS ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE PAST WHILE FORGING A NEW, INCLUSIVE FUTURE

BY KAREN GRECO

“I like doing sick tats.”

Artist Maxwell Blackmar’s grin radiates across a tattoo bed covered in portfolios of carefully preserved flash (pre-designed) tattoos that go back over 70 years.

Blackmar is the accidental, unofficial historian of Rhode Island tattoo history. In 2017, the 32-year-old self-described history nerd unexpectedly landed at the helm of Ronnie’s Tattoo Studio on Eddy Street, the oldest tattoo studio in Providence.

Artist Ronnie Daigle opened the shop in 1959 after an apprenticeship with Sailor West, the nom de plume for Rhode Island tattoo artist Anthony D’Ambra, a nearly forgotten legend in the business. The history is murky, but West reportedly learned the trade from Charlie Wagner, a famous artist who opened a tattoo shop in NYC’s

rough-and-tumble Bowery neighborhood in 1899. West tattooed in traveling circuses and carnivals before setting up storefronts in Providence and Los Angeles, where he partnered with fellow artist Ernie Sutton.

A young Daigle became besotted by a piece of flash (of a pin-up girl) in the window of West’s Federal Hill storefront. With his interest sparked, he learned the trade from West before striking out on his own.

Back then, you couldn’t just open a shop because the mob owned the town. This kept the competition at bay, leaving Daigle with just two competitors in the city. But it was Ronnie’s – with its chain-link fence protected building and colorful cast of characters – that stood the test of time. It became more than a Providence legend, but an integral part of tattoo culture. Celebrity tattoo artist Mark Mahoney,

Photo courtesy of Black Cherry Studio

Tina Lugo of Black Cherry Tattoo in Olneyville

whose clients include Adele and Rihanna, brought a camera crew to the South Providence storefront to film a documentary.

When Daigle opened, tattoos were far from mainstream: visible ones adorned the arms of sailors and outlaws. The rough and rowdy South Providence neighborhood only added to the mystique. There was an artist who went by the moniker Dead Eye Pete; the Ronnie’s crew nicknamed a regular client “Uncle Scary” – “But not to his face,” Blackmar’s quick to add.

Indeed, Ronnie’s was a home for misfits, renegades, and rehabilitating hooligans. Daigle took young talent under his wing and taught them how to ink on a flesh canvas. One of those misfits was Victor Morales, Daigle’s last

tat fact:

apprentice. Morales, about to become a teen father, was seeking a steady career to provide for his new family. Daigle saw promise in the fledgling artist and brought him into the fold.

When Daigle passed away in 2013, Morales took the helm of the storied tattoo shop. Blackmar, already a licensed tattoo artist, was a regular fixture there, even though he inked elsewhere. So Morales invited him to take a chair and help run the shop.

When Morales died in a motorcycle accident in 2017, a grieving Blackmar found himself alone at the helm. The Ronnie’s crew rallied around the young artist. Blackmar’s friend and fellow artist A.J. Williams took a chair, just like Blackmar did with Morales four years prior.

Grief shades Blackmar’s face as he recalls explaining to Morales’ clients that he had passed. Because Blackmar knew his friend’s style so well — both were self-taught artists, and the pair worked on many collaborative projects — clients with tattoos in progress turned to Blackmar to finish the work, providing an unexpected source of comfort. “It was great,” says Blackmar. “Now I’m working with my buddy again.”

Ronnie’s made it through race riots, outlaw biker gangs, the mob, and COVID. But it couldn’t survive the building inspector. Last year, the city condemned the building, shutting down a tattoo institution and closing a long chapter in the industry’s storied history.

With tattoos illegal in neighboring Massachusetts, Steven Tyler from Aerosmith got his famous Ma Kin tattoo, for their first album Mama Kin, at Ronnie’s.

Photos courtesy of Maxwell Blackmar

Maxwell Blackmar works his artistry at Ronnie’s Tattoo Studio

“Artists on the West Coast, in Chicago, they were doing di erent stu in the early ‘90s, not as old school,” says Donald Lussier, who opened Art Freek Tattoo on Steeple Street, now on Wickenden, in 1994.

Lussier, part of the then-flourishing music scene in Providence, had fortuitous timing. A Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) trial weakened the mob’s stranglehold on the city, which meant Lussier could hang out a shingle without a hitch.

“At first, there was no one to tattoo but the skinheads,” Lussier says with a chuckle. But once Art Freek became a Providence fixture, “we’d be open all night, tattooing anyone for $10.” He’d meet people at music venues like Club Babyhead and Lupo’s and invite them to get inked after the show. Because of his presence in the music scene, bands began coming in for tattoos. He rolls up his pants to show o a wonky-looking hot dog on his calf, the location he lets non-artists try their hand with the tattoo gun, inked by J.D. Pinkus from the Butthole Surfers.

“Our tattoos were so much di erent from the other styles,” Lussier continues. Tattoo inks began getting better, with manufacturers carrying more than just primary colors. “Then the tattoo magazines hit, and they were really focused on the artwork,” he says. When the ‘90s counterculture movement exploded, tattoos became part of that narrative.

Lussier and his crew captured the aesthetic on T-shirts with slogans like “your mom’s gonna kill us” and “creating tomorrow’s unemployed today.” Anyone coming of age in the ‘90s remembers the teeth gnashing around young adults – especially women – with visible tattoos entering the workforce.

That’s no longer the case. According to a recent poll from market research company Ipsos, 30 percent of Americans have a tattoo, up from 21 percent in 2012. Unsurprisingly, body art is popular among younger generations, with 76 percent of tattoos adorning the bodies of GenX or younger.

Hannah Medeiros and Tina Lugo opened Black Cherry Tattoo, a spa-like private studio in Olneyville, in 2021. Natural light pours in from the windows and green plant tendrils snake down the exposed brick walls. This serene space is worlds away from the

Art Freek Tattoo’s Donald Lussier

chaotic storefront scene. Both are trained artists — native Rhode Islander Medeiros attended Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and New York City transplant Lugo has a degree from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.

“I was always fascinated by tattoos,” says Medeiros, calling them the “forbidden fruit.” When they finished art school, the former oil painting major began a two-year apprenticeship at Brilliance Tattoo in Boston (Massachusetts legalized tattooing in 2000).

For Lugo, tattooing was a happy accident. After graduation, they did illustration and streetwear work and showed in some galleries. “I knew a lot of tattooers, I had friends who were tattooers, I got tattooed a lot,” she says. While they were living in Portland, Oregon, their tattoo artist suggested they apprentice with him. “I lucked out that it was the right place at the right time,” they continued, explaining that apprenticeships can be scarce.

Lugo and Medeiros met in New York City when they both worked at Black Iris in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood. When COVID hit, Medeiros returned home to Rhody. Lugo, who noticed an exodus

Think Ink

Cool things to know before your first visit to the tattoo studio.

AMERICAN TRADITIONAL: When you think of tattoos, this is likely what springs to mind: black outlines, a limited palette of bold colors, and recognizable shapes (roses, anchors, and more).

COSMETIC: Tattoos where pigmentation is added to the skin to help conceal or act as permanent makeup.

FLASH: A collection of predesigned artwork.

NEW SCHOOL: This type of ink is characterized by fanciful subjects, heavy outlines, and vivid hues.

ORNAMENTAL: Tattoos of symbols and geometric shapes, often large and intricate.

SAILOR JERRY: AKA Norman Keith Collins, one of the most iconic tattooists, known for his sailor tattoos in the 1920s and 1930s.

SLEEVE: When an arm or leg is covered in tattoos.

TRAMP STAMP: Slang for a lower back tattoo.

AT FIRST, THERE WAS NO ONE TO TATTOO BUT THE SKINHEADS.

DONALD LUSSIER

Photos courtesy of Don Lussier

of NYC artists to New England in search of more a ordable cities, joined so the pair could open a private studio.

Private studios operate more like speakeasies than storefronts. Black Cherry has no website. They work mostly through referrals, although both artists maintain a healthy presence on Instagram, where they reach a wider audience, including clients willing to travel to PVD to get inked. Both require an intake process, and even then, there is no guarantee they will agree to do the job. If it’s not their aesthetic, they will refer interested clients to better suited artists.

“There’s no signage. We are not on Google, we’re not on Yelp,” says Medeiros. “We don’t share our address unless you have an

appointment.” This allows them to create a very catered experience for their clients, the bulk of whom are professional women and men.

“We wanted to create an environment that kind of felt like home,” Medeiros continues. “A lot of younger folks feel more comfortable in the studio setting. There’s less stu going on, less people coming in and out. It’s just a more private, intimate experience.”

“It’s really nice to bring them into a space that’s pretty chill. It eases them into the appointment, especially if it’s their first time,” says Lugo. “Even if we’re both here, it’s still manageable, and it’s not so overwhelming.”

The private experience is crucial to people who are seeking tattoos to cover over scars, which can be from mastectomies, top

surgery, or self-harm. Lugo is one of the rare artists that takes on scar work.

“It’s so personal, so intimate,” Lugo explains, noting that the act of covering over these scars can be trauma inducing. “They can come to a gentle place. There’s not a bunch of people staring at them or asking them what they’re getting tattooed. It’s just a calm setting to have that one-on-one experience.”

The pair says tattoos often mark certain milestones or significant changes in their clients’ lives, making their private studio a space for reflection and healing. Medeiros mentions a client going through a really bad divorce. “He came in every week for two months,” she says. “The emotional pain was so intense, the tattoos were an outlet. It’s cathartic.”

THEY CAN COME TO A GENTLE PLACE. THERE’S NOT A BUNCH OF PEOPLE STARING AT THEM OR ASKING THEM WHAT THEY’RE GETTING TATTOOED.

TINA LUGO

Photo (top) courtesy of Tina Lugo, Photos (bottom L+R) courtesy of Hannah Medeiros

Lugo is one of the few artists o ering scar services

Black Cherry co-owner Hannah Medeiros at work

These elegant 1-4 bedroom, 1-2 bath lofts have it all: style, location, comfort, and convenience!

Everything you want, rolled into a chic, animal-friendly apartment community you’ll love coming home to! Residents also enjoy access to an assortment of tastefully appointed on-site amenities including fitness center, theatre room, indoor putting green & basketball court, pet washing station, game room, rooftop deck and outdoor patio. Convenient on-site storage and garage parking are also available!

401.204.1603 | 12 Eagle Street, Providence, RI | usrubberlofts.com

Connect

with the artists in this story on Instagram:

MAXWELL BLACKMAR @Maxwell_rts

LITTANY “BIG LIT” BLAIS @Littany

JESSA CABRAL @TwoConesTattoo

TINA LUGO @Tina_Lugo13

DON LUSSIER @ArtFreekDon

HANNAH MEDEIROS @SadGirl_Tattoos

A.J. WILLIAMS @AJWilliamsArt

“I love traditional tattoos so much,” says Littany “Big Lit” Blais, the last apprentice to come out of Ronnie’s. Old-school tattoos, with their thick lines and riot of primary colors, “hold well and look good,” she continues. “Plus, it comes with all that history.”

A self-taught artist, Blais bought a stick-andpoke kit (a non-electronic method of tattooing) out of curiosity. She began inking herself and willing friends, posting the results on Reddit. Her work gained a following, and she soon operated a small business out of her home. She met Blackmar on the internet, where a teasing back and forth between the two — stick and poke vs. machine — turned into an apprenticeship o er.

Blais relished her time at Ronnie’s, with its fun-loving, anarchic atmosphere. “I feel lucky I got to work there. To be part of that history is something so special,” she says. “But after Vic died, it was getting more difficult. It took its toll on the boys.”

Blais left Ronnie’s and opened the private studio Angels Collective, an inclusive tattoo studio featuring queer and non-binary artists, with Jessa Cabral. However, her heart remained with the traditional style, and that clientele is easier to reach through the storefront shops. So, she left the collective and joined Wild Card Tattoo on Gano Street. With its two levels, it’s a perfect blend of the two. “I like working in a space with more people,” she says, explaining that interacting with a multitude of artists sparks her creativity.

“Max and A.J. were like family,” she says of her time at Ronnie’s. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.”

The feeling is mutual, with pages of “Big Lit” art beside work from Daigle, Morales, and West on the flash wall at Classic Tattoo RI, Blackmar and Williams’ just-opened storefront on Plainfield Street in Cranston.

While firmly grounded in the 21st century, their new shop pays homage to the rebellious spirit of Ronnie’s. The antique flash that Blackmar lovingly maintains may seem primitive compared to some of the rich colors and detailed work of contemporary tattoo artists, but as Blackmar astutely points out, old-school ink is a form of folk art.

People like Sailor West and Ronnie Daigle, “laid a foundation for artists today,” he says. “They paved the way for us.”

Photos courtesy of Littany

Littany “Big Lit” Blais at Angels Collective

Thank You!

PRESENTED BY Bryant University

Thanks to your support, the 26th annual Women’s Summit continued the tradition of empowering, supporting, and encouraging women to excel professionally, personally, and financially. Thank you to our esteemed speakers and all who attended for your participation and perspective.

A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR LOYAL AND VALUED SPONSORS

Platinum Sponsor: Amica Insurance

Diamond Sponsors: Bank of America, Fidelity Investments

Gold Sponsor: PwC

Silver Sponsors: BankRI, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Brown Medicine, FM Global, Hasbro, IGT, Navigant Credit Union, Providence Journal, TIAA, The TJX Companies Inc., Washington Trust

Bronze Sponsors: AAA Northeast, BankNewport, BD, Bristol County Savings Bank, Centerville Bank, Dassault Systemes, Diego’s Newport, EY, Gilbane Building Company, Hope Global, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., JF Moran, Marcum, LLP, Meeting Street, Ocean State Job Lot, Providence College, Robinson+Cole, Sodexo, Target, The Beacon Mutual Insurance Co., The Women’s Advisory Group

Media Sponsors: Providence Business News, Providence Media, Rhode Island Monthly, WSBE RI PBS

Other Supporters: Residential Properties

Women’s Summit® is a registered trademark of Bryant University.

SALLY HELGESEN Premier expert on women’s leadership, internationally bestselling author, and speaker.

DR. DARRIA LONG Harvard and Yale trained Emergency physician, national television contributor, and TEDx speaker.

KATHLEEN C. OROVITZ ‘04 CEO, Navigant Credit Union Kati Machtley Woman of the Year awardee.

BEVERLY JOHNSON First African-American supermodel. Founder, Chairwoman, and CEO of Beverly Johnson Enterprises, LLC. Sponsor list as of March 1, 2023.

& FOOD

DRINK

Beer Breach

Pawtucket welcomes a pod of breweries from across the globe

Though Pawtucket isn’t exactly synonymous with aquatic animal sightings, a different kind of Whale Watching is surfacing at 249 Roosevelt Avenue this spring. With a name that cheekily refers to limited-edition brews known as “whales” in the craft beer industry, the premier New England festival returns to Rhode Island for its second year.

Hosted by Finback Brewery, based in Queens, NYC, Whale Watching invites beer lovers on a voyage of sipping brews from over 60 worldwide producers – from San Diego to Dublin, Ireland, along with a handful of regional favorites; Buttonwoods, Origin, Narragansett, Tilted Barn, Moniker, Long Live Beerworks, Proclamation, and Shaidzon will all represent the Ocean State. Whale Sightings – a series of small releases during the festival – offer rare and refined sips from select breweries. And pours are best paired with bites from local food vendors on site, like Masa Taqueria and Ming’s Asian Street Food, along with Providence-based DJ Audiofields adding to the ambiance.

“Rhode Island is my home state and where I first fell in love with craft beer, so it feels exciting and inspiring to once again hold Whale Watching here in the Ocean State,” says Basil Lee, co-founder of Finback. “We’re thankful for the support and good energy from last year’s festival and can’t wait to enjoy a fun day overlooking the Blackstone River with attendees and friends from breweries, including those who are pouring their beers in the area for the first time.”

Whale Watching makes a splash May 20, but if the inaugural 2022 event is any indication of this year’s success, tickets will sell out quickly. WhaleWatching2023.eventbrite.com | By Abbie Lahmers

Photo by Melissa Jones, courtesy of Finback Brewery

Antiques Over Easy

A brunch retreat in the Jewelry District with a menu as eclectic as its atmosphere

If you’re doing brunch right, it should feel like vacation: a slow wake-up, leisurely 11am arrival, and enough food and drink to carry you through breakfast, lunch…maybe even dinner. Off the beaten path in Providence’s Jewelry District, CAV is the perfect staycation destination to check all these boxes.

Arriving via Bassett Street, you’ll get a sneak peak inside the windows of the ornate lamps, cheeky sculptures, and flickering lanterns filling the interior. Circling around the corner onto Imperial Place, you’ll find a stone courtyard, the patio adorned with trees, plants, and string lights, even in chillier weather. The entrance is marked by a three-foot-tall metal tiger and reads “CAV: Restaurant, Antiques.”

CAV was opened in 1989 by Sylvia Moubayed. Born in Egypt, Moubayed was a world-traveler and antique collector. To culminate her passions, Moubayed opened a restaurant and co ee house where she could also sell and share her love for antiques with patrons. Seeing the loft space for the first time with its tall ceilings and brick walls, Moubayed almost named the business Cavè, an ode to the caves she once visited in France. Instead, she chose “CAV,” an acronym for cocktails, antiques, victuals. Today, five years after her passing, the restaurant is run by her son, John Moubayed.

A friend and I visited CAV on a Sunday for a mid-morning brunch. We were seated in the corner next to a display case full of textiles, with a beautifully beaded bull on the wall behind us, beneath a series of glass orbs and chandeliers. We delighted in the full cafe menu, ordering a latte and cappuccino to start. Soon after, we indulged in pomegranate mimosas from their full bar.

Exploring the rest of the restaurant, we glimpsed gatherings ranging from intimate tables of two to lively parties of 14, each

CUISINE: Global-inspired contemporary dining and brunch

PRICES: $10-$35

ATMOSPHERE: Boho-eclectic

Photos by Abigail Brown

The interior of CAV delights the senses with dazzling sights and delicious smells

French toast soaked in butterscotch maple sauce

tucked away into their own bohemian, maximalist backdrops. Everywhere you look there are beautiful antique carpets, windowed paneling, and large hanging glass mirrors.

At our waiter Vinny’s recommendation, we ordered the omelet, crab cake, and French toast, all to share. The omelet was prepared with fresh, sauteed spinach, balsamic caramelized onions, goat cheese, and tomatoes. On the side was herb-roasted, red bliss potatoes and French bread. For two people with a craving for sweet and salty, this was the perfect dish. The sweetness of the caramelized onion and goat cheese popped alongside the savory eggs and potatoes.

While crab isn’t my typical go-to for brunch, it’s the dish that’s been on my

mind since we left. The Maryland jumbo super lump crab cake was encrusted with pistachio and served alongside a perfectly poached egg. The kicker? The zesty sriracha aioli. The dish was full of flavor and texture.

Last, but certainly not least, was the brioche French toast “a la CAV,” which was a classic French toast topped with sauteed apples, raisins, and walnuts. There was no need to add butter or syrup, as it was paired with a perfectly sweet and complementary butterscotch maple sauce.

As we closed our meal, Vinny, who has been working at CAV for 22 years, shared a few memories about Sylvia, who he said always made people feel welcome and at home. After just a few hours of dining, it’s obvious Sylvia’s legacy lives on.

Must-Try Items

Brioche French Toast a la CAV ($14)

Thick slices of brioche bread French toast with sauteed apples, raisins, and walnuts in a butterscotch maple sauce

Pistachio Encrusted Maryland ($19)

Jumbo super lump blue crab cake, poached egg, zesty sriracha aioli, and grilled brioche bread

14 Imperial Place • 751-9164

CAVRestaurant.com

Experience | By Rose Kenyon

Photos by Abigail Brown

A brunch crab cake served with a poached egg on brioche

From Cranston Cucina to Celebrity Status

A TV appearance put this small-town chef and his Italian eatery on the map

Back in January, Cranston-based chef Brian Nadeau made his national TV debut as a competitor on the Netflix reality cooking show Pressure Cooker. “I never thought I would do anything like this,” Nadeau says on the first of eight episodes. “I’m a street chef. I didn’t go to school for any cooking whatsoever.”

Nadeau filmed the show, during which he competed with 10 other chefs for a $100,000 prize, in Los Angeles last winter. Looking back on the experience now, Nadeau says he probably fit the producers’ desire to cast a tattooed, self-taught chef. “When I first got there, I admit, I was intimidated,” Nadeau says. “I was like, what did I sign up for?’ I started seeing these young chefs, fresh out of school, and some of them had worked for superstar chefs. I was worried about having a challenge I had not trained for.”

Starting in high school with a job at a now-closed pizza restaurant in Pawtucket, Nadeau, 42, learned how to cook through various front- and back-of-house jobs. For the past seven years, he has owned Italian-American restaurant Cucina Rustica in Cranston with his wife, Gina. He describes his menu as “comfort food-forward” and “feeling like you’re at grandma’s house on a Sunday.” Dishes include classics like linguine alle vongole, escarole and beans, and veal marsala. He also offers a popular takeout-only, three-course chicken parmesan meal called Bomb Chicken Parm”

Now that Pressure Cooker has been streaming for a few months, Nadeau has been pleasantly surprised to see the positive reaction to his participation on the show, which he had to keep a secret for almost a year. “We have been so busy,” he says. “Since the show dropped my business has increased by 35 percent, and the winter is normally our slow time. I’m flattered and humbled to have people driving far distances just to meet me.”

He adds that people now often recognize him around Rhode Island, including at the gym and supermarket, which is a new experience. “It’s a bizarre and surreal feeling,”

Photo courtesy of Brian Nadeau

Chef Brian Nadeau recently competed on Pressure Cooker

he says. “I’m just a kid from Cranston.”

Nadeau never sought out the type of fame that comes with appearing on a popular TV program. In fact, when producers first reached out to him about the opportunity through Instagram, he thought it was a joke or a scam. “To make a long story short, direct messages turned to emails, emails turned to phone calls, phone calls turned to Zoom meetings, and eventually I’m in the

Zoom meetings with producers from Netflix,” he says. “But I didn’t even know it was for Netflix at first.”

Nadeau says he’s happy with how he performed in the competition, which involves the chefs judging each other’s cooking, but he wishes he “wasn’t so nervous. At some points I was really in my head,” he says. “My nerves got the best of me.”

He adds that the experience, including

becoming friends with talented chefs from all over the country, has “lit a fire” in him. “It gave me an extra boost of motivation,” Nadeau says. “I came home and ripped up my menu. Now, I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

Cucina Rustica

Photo courtesy of Brian Nadeau

Passersby have long been speculating on the fate of the former Grange, which will soon be home to the second iteration of East Greenwich eatery The Patio on Main. “We’ve been thinking about expanding our brand and when we saw this opportunity in a historic urban neighborhood, we were eager to pursue it,” says Patio owner Jason Winpenny.

Known for outdoor dining in EG, Winpenny expects to open the new Patio on Broadway up to the surrounding neighborhood. “People enjoy dining al fresco more than ever before,” he says. “We are excited to be located in an area with natural surroundings, the perfect way to enjoy everything the city o ers. We’re working to provide a unique ambiance with expanding windows to get an outdoor feel while dining inside and enjoying an innovative and exciting culinary experience.” Expect a similar menu at the Broadway location, with tasty salads, sandwiches, burgers, and bowls leading the way, plus craft beers and cocktails. Providence, ThePatioRI.com –

By Ken Abrams

Known for slinging some of the best burgers in Warren, Chomp is moving to a new location at 279 Water Street. Co-owner Tanner Larkin, who promises water views from every seat, envisions Chomp becoming part of an emerging bar crawl scene in the town. “We’re really excited to be able to move into the heart of Warren. There are so many awesome small businesses from one end of Water Street to the other. Between us and The Guild, it’s going to be a great strip.”

With Easter just around the corner, bakeshop display cases are turning pastel-hued with festive treats, and also beloved sweet bread, a soft brioche delicacy with whole eggs nestled in the middle. Though it’s often a Portuguese tradition, Scialo’s County Bakery in Riverside and Seekonk, MA crafts the Italian version.

“We add an interesting twist by braiding this slightly sweet and flavorful bread and then we finish it o with a few hardboiled eggs,” explains Ethan Scialo.

By Ken Abrams

Chomp’s menu won’t be a ected much by the move. “Right now our menu changes seasonally and we run weekend specials,” says Larkin. “We can kind of do whatever we want as long as it fits between two buns or some sort of sandwich concept.” Chomp o ers an extensive selection of craft beers, including favorites from local brewers Buttonwoods and Proclamation. Larkin expects to o er more bar snacks and shared plates. “Sometimes people just want to come in for a beer and a snack, rather than having to sit down for a full tray of wings or a whole burger.” Warren, ChompRI.com –

The family-owned and -operated bakery has been around since 1974, so they’re no stranger to being a part of traditions big and small. “Our goal is to be a bakery customers can trust and rely on for any holiday, event, or just a simple breakfast. We do our best to ensure that every product is as fresh and delicious as possible when it is in our customers’ hands,” says Scialo. For April, Scialo’s County Bakery will also be offering their signature Ricotta Pie and may still have zeppole available. Riverside, ScialosCountyBakery.com – By

Abbie Lahmers

Photos courtesy of The Patio

Burger joint on the move in Warren

Stock up on sweet bread in Riverside

An EG fave opens second location “where The Grange used to be”

& LIFE

STYLE

Colorful Outlook

Inside the home and studio of the illustrator behind familiar murals around the state

Bobby Souza and Liz Kelley were happy living the newlywed life in Providence. For four years they rented an apartment but as time went on and thoughts turned to starting a family, the pair decided to embark on the search for a house. Both found themselves drawn to East Greenwich, a town known for its stellar public school system, vibrant downtown, and mix of historic and pastoral spaces. This was the winter of 2018 and the couple was feeling discouraged by a lack of listings until a small house caught their attention. What sealed the deal was a 1,000-square-foot outbuilding that would make an ideal studio for Kelley, a working illustrator, muralist, and interior designer.

Photo courtesy of Liz Kelley

The house, a modest ranch built in 1956, sits on three acres and in addition to the studio, boasts a two-horse barn. “It’s small but we don’t mind that – it’s so cozy. It has a fireplace and a wood burning stove in the basement,” says Kelley. “The prior owner was a boat-builder – hence the studio.”

Kelley notes that they are slowly renovating, with plans to open up the first floor and build a carport. Design-wise, both the home and studio share the sensibilities found in Kelley’s work, a growing portfolio that includes murals at Nitro Bar and The Floral Reserve’s new space. Her colors are muted and chic, many landing someplace in the fawn colorway. “I keep the palette calm and tend to lean more towards gray, cream, and black as a base for any part of our home, and add color through textiles: green drapes in [son] Luke’s room, bedding in our room, blues speckled throughout.”

In describing her aesthetic, Kelley uses words like relaxed and modern. “I like to mix old and new – and have a weird obsession with chairs and can’t have enough of them! I use velvet pillows pretty much year-round because they make me happy.” Artfully placed objects and furniture layout reveal that Kelley is a recovering West Elm visual manager who likens decorating to storytelling.

Favorite things in the home are pieces that the couple has constructed or refreshed themselves. “The raw poplar floating desk in the living room was built by my husband

Photo courtesy of Liz Kelley

A floating desk made of raw poplar turns unused space in the living room into a sunny spot to work

The couple refreshed the kitchen by removing most of the cabinetry and then refacing and painting the shelves

PROVIDENCE MONTHLY PRESENTS

“Shifting with the seasons makes decorating a hobby; it can be really refreshing,” says Kelley, who cites velvet pillow covers as a go-to

and his father; it fills dead space and works as a catchall.” Another prized project is refurbished kitchen cabinetry; however their son’s bed, built by Souza in the woodshop part of the studio, “takes the cake!” says Kelley.

“I think that it’s important to show who you are through art, furniture, or anything you have in your home. Trends come and go, but finding timeless pieces that are good quality will go a long way.”

GET RHODY STYLE

BLUES CLUES

“I think just having a nice coastal feeling by adding blues, wood elements, and gray undertones is a failsafe approach – like you’re on a boat without being on a boat,” says Kelley.

SENSE OF PLACE

Wall art includes a map of Providence found in Kelley’s mother’s home and framed by her father, and signal flags handmade by Laura Seita, an Exeter-based floral designer, and owner of Fig & Squill (@figandsquill). “She originally made them for an event at Marble House in Newport. This brings in a nautical touch, and gives a nod to our love of the water – we have boaters in our family on both sides!” Kelley shares.

WALLFLOWER POWER

Kelley’s murals can be found all over Little Rhody. Here’s a handful of spots in Providence: Barre & Soul, Lululemon, Hometown Poke, Love Culture Salon, Nitro Bar, Pretty Things PVD, The Floral Reserve, West Elm. Learn more at HelloLizKelley.com

learn more

Photo courtesy of Liz Kelley

Ideas and resources for making the most of living in the Ocean State.

A prized DIY project is the bed built by Souza for the couple’s young son.

Open

Book Spring is the perfect time to discover Little Free Libraries near you

It’s a birdhouse, it’s a mailbox, it’s a Little Free Library! You may have seen them popping up on front lawns like spring flowers. Colorful containers in various shapes and sizes decorated to their owner’s liking, sometimes designed to match their home. Little Free Libraries were created to share and spread the love of reading while building a sense of community.

In Providence’s Summit neighborhood, Anne Holland’s Little Free Library has become something of a landmark. “I get a ton of Sunday afternoon walkers in family or friend groups,” she begins. “Some people

even show my library to their out-of-town visitors as one of the things you go see on a scenic view of the area.”

The idea is simple: Owners, called stewards, place a public bookcase on their front lawn full of books they’re willing to share. Neighbors peruse the selections and take the books that they want to read; they may also add to the collection so there are even more options for avid readers.

“Editing the inventory daily has proven so important that my neighbor takes over when I’m away. Seeing what sorts of books come and go is a cool way to learn more about

Photo (top) by Justin Files, (below) by Hugh Minor

Of her illuminated Little Free Library, Holland says, “It’s so important for evenings when people are out walking.”

A refurbished newspaper box was gifted to Hugh Minor who fills it with Rhody Reads

what my neighbors want to read, and thus who they are,” says the community-minded Holland, founder of 189 Development, a mission-driven organization that focuses support on women’s issues, parks and flowers, livable cities, and the literary arts.

Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that promotes book exchanges. Stewards register their sites so that seekers can find them on the official app available through Apple and Google Play. Globally,

150,000 libraries are listed.

“Our free library helps us meet new people and stay in touch with our neighbors,” claims Robin Dionne, co-founder of Ampersand Creative (the curators behind events like The Good Trade Makers Market and RI

Katrinkles founder Katy Westcott has a Little Free Craft Library in the Elmhurst neighborhood

In the walkable East Side, Holland is sure to keep her Little Free Library stocked

Dionne says neighbors take and leave books, and even FedEx and UPS workers take a peek

Sometimes you can’t tell the house apart from the library, like this Providence pair

Photos (R) by Hugh Minor

Photo by Elyse Major

Photo courtesy of Katy Westcott

Veg Fest), about being a Little Free Libraries steward in the Auburn neighborhood of Cranston. “It is a conversation starter. Everyone wants to ask questions. People seem really excited to learn that they can take books – especially kids!”

At last count, there are 99 locations in the Providence area with new ones being added often . They’re stocked with something for everyone, from bestsellers to coloring books, even puzzles and craft supplies.

Dionne adds, “It took a while for the library to catch on, but now we see repeat visitors. We live on a popular dog-walking route, so there is some foot traffic. Even the UPS and FedEx drivers get out and take a look.” Learn more at LittleFreeLibrary.org

This floral print library on Elmwood Avenue brightens up the neighborhood all year

The Little Red Library is a familiar site to residents of Wayland Square

One home on the East Side took a unique approach by o ering free puzzles

With its woodsy look and feel, this library near Miriam Hospital blends in with the surroundings

Photos by Hugh Minor

Meet Sussy Santana

The Rhode Island Latino Arts Poet-in-Residence has much going on during National Poetry Month and beyond

Photo by Erin X Smithers, courtesy of Sussy Santana

A PVD FOOD TOUR WITH SUSSY SANTANA

EL VALLE RESTAURANT: If I have to bring food somewhere I always order their rotisserie chicken. It smells incredible and everyone loves it. 235 Manton

Avenue

LOS PRIMOS MEAT MARKET: Walking in feels like being in the D.R. In the Dominican, it’s very common to call everyone primo or prima (cousin) and the sta does that to everyone who walks in. It always reminds me of how welcoming we are as a culture; everyone is immediately elevated to family. 221 Academy Avenue

MAYA BAKERY: The best queso fresco. 113 Valley Street

NUÑEZ FRUIT MARKET: When I first moved to Providence, it’s where I did all my shopping. I still go when I’m in the neighborhood; it’s like seeing family members. 1427 Broad Street

LOS ANDES: My family and I enjoy going here and Machupicchu Restaurant; it’s in our neighborhood and the food is just delicious. 903 Chalkstone Avenue

What kinds of projects will you focus on as the Rhode Island Latino Arts Poet-in-Residence?

I will be working on Las Abuelas Nos Cuentan, a bilingual, multigenerational, oral history project focusing on the personal narratives of our community elders. In the context of a global pandemic, it felt more necessary than ever to honor the wisdom of our grandpar

ents. I wanted to reflect on what they consider essential, how they view legacy, and what experiences have shaped them into who they are.

What is your favorite type of poetry to write and why?

I love poetry that is accessible and luminous, that invites reflection without complication. I’m inspired by the Nuyorican poets (a Puerto Rican NYC-based arts movement). I remember the first time I read “Puerto Rican Obituary” by Pedro Pietri; it really changed the way I saw poetry forever. It showed me how poetry could be used as a tool for change. It was also the first time I read about a reality that was familiar to me. Right now, I’m exploring writing as a form of medicine and poetry is a public bus to healing. I also love epics – the human spirit never disappoints.

Do you write your poems in both Spanish and English? Is it difficult to translate the meaning across cultures?

Spanish is my preferred language for writing but being bicultural and bilingual gives me the freedom to express myself in both languages equally, so I’m not translating. I either write in Spanish, English, or Spanglish. I love exploring the rhythms and moods of both languages because they really do reflect how I exist in the world.

Is there anything special going on in April for National Poetry Month?

I will continue to host Café Recuerdos (a storytelling and coffee event) on third Thursdays at La Galería in Central Falls. For April, we are asking community members to bring a poem that has special meaning to them. I’m also hosting a series of poetry workshops (RILatinoArts.org). Other happenings include Poetry Out Loud at the Athenæum (April 28), and What Cheer Writers Club is hosting virtual events (WhatCheerClub.org/events). I’m sure there’s plenty more; we have a thriving community of poets in RI!

Where are your favorite small businesses in Providence?

My preference is to buy art from local artists directly, but if I’m looking to gift anything with a Providence theme, I love Bad Taste (BadTasteStore.com); they always have quirky things that are fun and showcase local talent.

& ART

CULTURE

Building Blocks

With LEGO renderings, Andy Grover toys with long standing perceptions of which buildings are deemed worthy of reverence

Andy Grover has been getting a lot of buzz as the Rhode Island LEGO artist and for good reason. The Providence born-and-bred resident’s constructs in interlocking plastic bricks have garnered publicity, commission work, and grants, but there’s a strong message behind his playful medium: layers of classism and racism revealed in which structures are revered or neglected by the powers that be.

“Public school buildings are the most underrated part of our cultural fabric,” he says. “Why aren’t places like Cranston East considered to be landmark structures when The Breakers is?” he says. “I don’t think that question is as clear cut as it might seem. They’re both beautiful and historic. Did somebody rich have to live there, is that what you mean?”

When Alice Briney-Rockswold, literacy coach at Carl G. Lauro Elementary School, approached Grover to realize her workplace in LEGOs, it aligned with his mission perfectly. As with all projects, Grover spent much time at the expansive 1927-built school originally named Kenyon Street School, taking many dozens of photographs from each angle. “You have to decide what makes this building a building; the rest is gesture,” he explains about his process.

Grover was also treated to a tour of the school by children and notes experiencing “lovely engaged students, a school with order, and for teachers – pedagogy 101 being done at a masterful level. There was life in the building.” Sadly, honoring the building in LEGOs and even getting media attention was not enough to save the elementary school, slated to close after its funding was dramatically cut. “Part of this message is to stop looking at these buildings with classist eyes.” |

By Elyse Major

Photo courtesy of Andy Grover

Carl G. Lauro Elementary School in LEGOs

With the Emergence Oracle Deck, artist Joanna Read transforms paintings into a spiritual journey

At first, Joanna Read had modest aspirations for her Oracle Deck. “I thought maybe I’d just print 10 copies at Staples,” she remembers. “But it took on a consciousness of its own. So I went all out.”

The Emergence Oracle Deck has been a kind of spiritual apogee for Read, an artist and wellness consultant based in East Providence. Like a tarot deck, the cards bear symbolic images, which guide the user through soul-searching exercises. Unlike the 78-card tarot, Emergence contains 63 cards, which depict a wide range of living organisms, mythic creatures, and natural artifacts. There’s also no established protocol for using the Oracle Deck.

“I’ve laid out a few suggestions,” says Read. “The ultimate invitation is for these suggestions to be starting points. Go ahead

and make your own! Let it be fun!”

Read grew up on a bucolic farm in Essex, Massachusetts, where she interacted daily with her family’s animals, such as peacocks and donkeys. She loved drawing and journaling, and her natural creativity led to a BFA in studio arts at UMASS Amherst. She interned at a gallery in Rockport and fell in love with silk painting, which she regularly practiced for more than 10 years. “It was more craft to me than fine art,” she says.

Since then, there have been many chapters to Read’s life: She served as a publicist for the Rockport Art Association. She worked as a membership assistant for the Providence Children’s Museum. She was a program coordinator for the Rhode Island Foundation. She managed a coworking space. She learned to rock climb and now

Read in her studio

teaches others to ascend cliffs. She’s been a prolific yoga instructor since 2016.

But through it all, Read continued to paint, and her paintings gradually took on personal significance. She created a multi-hued phoenix flying overhead. During COVID, she painted a sea turtle encircled by schools of fish, then an owl, a bull, and a photorealistic hawk. Each image was saturated in color and texture, even as she expanded to mandalas, landscapes, and cosmic abstractions.

“I wanted to get back to my time in art school,” she says. “I had no idea how much I was doing things for approval. Now I was making symbols that people could relate to on a transpersonal level.”

When Read started her Kickstarter campaign, it became clear just how many people related to her Emergence project. She busted

Maker

By Robert Isenberg

her $7,000 fundraising goal, for a total of $8,772. Now she had the capital to print and package the Oracle Deck on a large scale.

Read received her shipment of printed decks in mid-December, which she now vends from her longstanding Etsy shop as well as in local stores. Read won’t prescribe meaning to her icons; it’s up to the user to decipher the three mountain cards, the four cards of butterflies pushing out of their chrysalises, or the 26 cards showing birds in flight. Cosmology aside, Emergence is like a portable art portfolio, showcasing the full breadth of Read’s vision.

“The Oracle Deck was a reawakening for me,” says Read. “It’s like you marry different parts of your brain. I just knew that there was something ready to emerge.” Learn more at JoannaRead.com

Apocalypse Now

Real-life theatrical couple confronts the end of the world in The Children at The Gamm

Phyllis Kay and Richard Donelly, two living legends of Rhode Island’s small but mighty theater scene, have been married for over 20 years, together for over 30. But the theatrical power couple never had the opportunity to do a pax de deux on stage until The Gamm’s artistic director Tony Estrella called on them to portray old friends and former colleagues Rose and Robin in the Warwick theater’s upcoming production of The Children by Lucy Kirkwood.

Over the course of their storied careers, Kay and Donelly shared the stage in only seven productions. Of those, they had scenes together in just two. “When we did Dead Man’s Cell Phone , I saw you in the car on the way home,” Donelly quips to his wife.

The pair had a theatrical meet-cute during a production of Hamlet at the Rhode Island

Shakespeare Theatre directed by Bob Colonna, himself a titan of the Rhode Island theater scene. “Bob said, ‘I have an actor coming in from New York.’ And we were like, oh, New York,” says Donelly, his eyes rolling up to the ceiling in The Gamm’s lobby. “Then this woman came to the first meeting, and I said, ‘who the hell is that?’” He flashes Kay a flirtatious smile. “We became friends and then she went back to New York.”

The friendship remained, but the romance didn’t begin until several years later, after Donelly split from his second wife and Kay returned to Rhode Island to join Trinity Rep as a company member. They married on a Monday — known in the industry as the actors’ day off. “It was snowing,” Kay recalls. “He said, ‘do you want to go down to

city hall and just do it?’ And I said, ‘okay.’”

They celebrated their impromptu marriage, witnessed by two administrative assistants, with lunch and then a movie. “Maybe it’s because we make spectacles of ourselves for our living, but the privacy of that marriage was beautiful,” says Kay.

Now, after over 30 years, the couple who have performed in just a handful of scenes together on stage, star in this intimate three-hander at The Gamm.

Lucy Kirkwood’s post-apocalyptic play The Children, which was nominated for a Tony Award when it premiered on Broadway in 2017, imagines an England on the other side of a nuclear disaster. Married couple Hazel and Robin are scientists who retired from the nuclear plant before it melted down close to

Photo courtesy of Gamm Theatre

Kay and Donelly

their home. Having retreated to a summer cottage just outside the contamination zone, they spend their days rationing electricity, tending to their cows, and practicing yoga, attempting to live as normal a life as possible. Their not-quite-idyllic retirement turns into a tailspin when their former coworker Rose arrives unexpectedly at their door.

It’s surprising Kay is not playing Hazel, Robin’s wife, but Rose, the interloper. “Casting her as Rose was a completely intuitive agreement between Phyllis and me. We never really even talked about it,” says artistic director Estrella. “Some of the best decisions are the unspoken ones. And I think the real-life married couple exploring a very di erent kind of long-term relationship on stage will be exciting for them, for the wonderful Candice Brown who is playing

Hazel, and the audience.”

While the play uses a post-apocalyptic framework, it is ultimately a relationship play. “The nuclear Armageddon reveals who these people are,” says Kay. “It’s surprising because people possess qualities that on the face of it you don’t expect them to possess.”

It wasn’t just the opportunity to share the stage that drew both of them to Kirkwood’s play. In an industry obsessed with youth, finding a play with three meaty roles for older actors was an anomaly. “There aren’t a lot of plays for older people,” says Kay. “[Playwrights] just don’t write them.”

“We once found a book, and the title was something like Plays for Older People,” Donelly says. “The oldest character was 45.” The pair chuckle at the absurdity.

“But don’t we all feel like we don’t measure up?” Kay asks, her rhetorical question capturing a universal truth at the heart of the play. “When you ask yourself, why do these characters make the choices they make? Is it their one last glory to indicate their lives meant something?” Kay shrugs. “That’s the element of selfishness in their sacrifice. But the idea that my life meant something….yeah, I hope it did.”

Doing a play like The Children together, with both of them on stage interacting for almost the full 90 minutes, “feels a little private,” concedes Kay. “It’s a good play and I’m working with a very good actor,” says Donelly. “What could be better?”

The Children runs April 27-May 14. GammTheatre.org

Photo by Peter Goldberg, courtesy of The Gamm Theatre

Donelly with Steve Kidd in The Gamm’s production of True West

The Must List

10 essential events this month

April 1-2:

The Bloom Flower and Home Market at WaterFire Arts Center is your opportunity to shop from over 85 of the best sellers of indoor and outdoor plants, flowers, home decor, art, apothecary products, jewelry, and more. BloomFlowerAndHome.com

Opening April 7:

Immersive experience Dinosaurs Among Us featuring 60 life-size animatronic dinosaurs takes over Roger Williams Park Zoo with rides, selfie stations, meet-and-greets, and more through summer. RWPZoo.org

April 11-23:

PPAC presents two weeks of SIX , the Broadway and London musical sensation that chronicles the trials and tribulations, conflicts, and eventual sisterhood of the six wives of Henry VIII. PPACRI.org

April 13-May 7:

Indecent, from Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel, tells the story of a group of courageous artists who in 1923 risked their careers and lives to perform the Yiddish drama God of Vengeance. TheWilburyGroup.org

April 15:

Guest conductor Sascha Goetzel leads the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra in The Rite of Spring featuring violinist James Ehnes on works of Adams, Britten, and Stravinsky. TheVetsRI.com

April 18:

Join us for our annual Who to Watch party, sponsored by Papitto Opportunity Connection at the Rooftop at Providence G! Celebrate nine city changemakers while sipping drinks and dancing to DJ music. ProvidenceOnline.com

Photo by Nick DelGiudice

April 21:

Returning for its 23rd year, Rhode Island PBS hosts Uncorked! A Food & Wine Event at the WaterFire Arts Center with celebrity guest Chef Ming Tsai, a slew of locally made food and drink samples, auctions, and more. RIPBS.org

April 22:

Roz Raskin leads Providence-based alt-rock band Nova One, concluding a tour of the Northeast with an album release party celebrating Create Myself. Boyscott and Lady Pills open the show. ColumbusTheatre.com

April 28-30:

Pure Dance is a new performance from The Festival Ballet, featuring Princess Grace award winner Chanel DaSilva performing George Balanchine’s bright and brilliant Concerto Barocco at the Moses Brown School. FestivalBalletProvidence.org

April 29:

Burlesque n’ Roll promises to be a night of high energy rock and roll, along with burlesque dancing, featuring local bands Epochsis, The Hammer Party, Vague Perception, and more. It’s gonna get loud! DuskProvidence.com

Who to Watch Class of 2022 is all smiles at last year’s party at Narragansett Brewery

Pic of PVD

A sunset reflecting in PVD windows

Photocourtesy of David

ABOUT DAVID

@runofthemillshop

David Lawlor is an avid filmmaker and documentarian who lives in Providence, with an interest in telling the stories of places undergoing transformation and historic mill buildings.