Shepard Fairey, he of the Andre the Giant "Obey" stickers and Obama "Hope" posters, has a mural going up in Downcity on the Pell Chafee Performing Arts Center. Fairey is a RISD graduate with strong ties to Rhode Island, and this is his largest mural to date. It's being painted by Rhode Island muralist Johann Bjurman.



Shots of the mural in progressive states of completion have been posted on local blogs, so we decided to go see it for ourselves.



The mural was commissioned by AS220 to celebrate their 25th anniversary. Fairey and Brandon Edens will both receive the AS220's "Free Culture Award" as well.

We love the mural and are excited to see the finished product. Once it's complete, we'll photo and blog it again.

UPDATE: Fairey was interviewed by offManhattan.

Newport Folk Festival
July 30-August 1
Fort Adams
Newport, Rhode Island


Steve Martin is playing Friday night with the Steep Canyon Rangers. Oh, how I wish I could be there!

Foo Fest
AS220
115 Empire St. (block party)
Providence, Rhode Island

Woolly Fair
July 31, 2010
Providence, Rhode Island

Providence has placed #22 on Forbes Woman's list of the top 50 Cities for Working Mothers. The list used criteria such as Cost of Living, Pediatricians, Unemployment, $ per pupil, Women's Income and Violent Crime to formulate their results.

Other major cities rankings:
New York: #8
Los Angeles: #28
Boston: #3
Chicago: #21

Minneapolis-St. Paul ranked #1.

Looking at how Providence compares to those other cities in the criteria:

• Income for women is higher than Minneapolis-St. Paul and Chicago
• Living Cost ranked higher than Boston and Los Angeles
• Pediatricians ranked lower than all five cities
• Unemployment ranked lower than the other cities (47) and one of the lowest altogether. No surprise there
• Violent Crimes ranked higher than New York,  Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles
• Spending per pupil ranked than Chicago, Los Angeles and Minneapolis-St. Paul

A quick analysis would tell us that we need to improve unemployment, pediatricians, income and cost of living in order to move up in the ranks. Of course, there are also questions about quality vs. quantity, especially when it comes to services like pediatricians and education. It's not a perfect model, but it's a respectable entry.

Can't Stop the Serenity
CinemaWorld
Lincoln, Rhode Island

On Saturday night I attended Can't Stop the Serenity, a fundraising showing of Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog and Serenity. Proceeds benefit "Equality Now."

From the site: "Equality Now was founded in 1992 to work for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women around the world. Working with national human rights organizations and individual activists, Equality Now documents violence and discrimination against women and mobilizes international action to support their efforts to stop these human rights abuses."

The event was hosted by the Rhode Island Science Fiction Club (RISFC), and held at CinemaWorld in Lincoln. The RISFC also accepted food donations for the Rhode Island Food Bank.


It was fun to see the 501st New England Garrison again, along with Captain Hammer, "Corporate Tool."


Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog was shadowcast by RKO Army. For those unfamiliar, shadowcasting is when actors on stage play out the action simultaneously with what is onscreen.

         

A special shout-out to Travis Smith. He had come to the event dressed as Captain Hammer (above), but is not affiliated with RKO Army, and stepped in unrehearsed when RKOA's Captain Hammer broke his ankle early into the performance. The transition was amazingly smooth under the circumstances, and Travis handled the unexpected spotlight with aplomb. The RKO Army team reacted quickly as well, and continued the performance without a pause. And that's why I love live theater.


Chris as Captain Hammer (get well soon!)


Travis as Captain Hammer

I overhead RKO Army asking him to continue to fill in while their regular actor (Chris) recuperates.

Following Dr. Horrible was a midnight showing of Serenity, the film conclusion to the sci fi series Firefly, which was canceled far too early.

Eastside Marketplace
165 Pitman St.
Providence, Rhode Island


Bear and I stopped in at Eastside Marketplace's Grill to Give event last night. Before we went over to the outdoor grill, we decided to check out the market itself.


Bear was impressed with the diversity of the magazine rack. We both loved the layout of the store, with so many specialty areas. The produce looked fresh and of better quality than we see in our local chain store. The prices were comparable to Stop & Shop's regular prices, however very little produce was on sale, which makes S&S more affordable on a regular basis.

                     

We were very impressed by the friendliness of the staff, the cleanliness of the store, and the selection. There also seemed to be plenty of staff available if we needed help. Bear insists that we start doing our weekly grocery shopping here, despite the distance.

The market is local family-owned, and the owner lives in the Providence East Side neighborhood. Eastside is very active in the community, and partners with a long list of organizations as part of its "Friendship Fund." Those organizations are listed around the perimeter of the store as well.

We came for "Grill to Give," a weekly event where you buy a plate of themed barbecue dinner for $4, and the proceeds benefit the Rhode Island Food Bank.


This week's meal was "Mediterranean: Grilled Chicken Kabobs, Watermelon and Cucumber Salad, Ice Cold Beverages & Dessert." There was also dipping sauces includng tahini and cucumber dip. Again, the staff was very friendly, and the food was plentiful and delicious. The $4 price tag is a bargain anyway, and having proceeds benefit the Food Bank makes it a win-win.

Carr House
Benefit St.
Providence, Rhode Island


Coincidental to yesterday's post, and Carolina Arentsen's postcard of Carr House, we drove past the building itself today. It's completely covered in scaffolding and protective mesh. Even the finial on the spire was missing.


As much as it saddens me to see that beautiful building obscured, I hope and expect the renovations will keep it accessible for another 100 years. I can't wait to see the finished project!

It was a perfect storm. The Rhode Island Blood Center's Bloodmobile was at the Providence Children's Museum. To promote the event, Star Wars characters played by members of the 501st New England Garrison attended. Blood donation, happy children and Star Wars characters. I was in geek heaven.


The outside signs didn't quite capture the enormous amount of coolness museum attendees were about to experience.

The arrival of the Star Wars characters elicited gasps of excitement from the crowd - children and parents. Little ones flocked from every direction to get a closer look at Darth Vader as well as the stormtrooper, Imperial officer and bounty hunters.


Along with interacting with the children and exhibits, the 501st also helped to emphasize the importance of both blood donation and fundraising for the museum.



But they also had some fun.


Thanks to all three groups for putting together a fun and effective blood drive!

Providence Sound Session 2010

Carolina Arentsen

We met Carolina at I Heart Providence, back in February. She had a display table of her postcards of local architecture.



Carr House is one of my favorite buildings in Providence. I'm really hoping to get inside one day and look around. RISD has some offices there, and there's a cafe on the first floor, but I've not seen it open.


Another great Providence building, within sight of Carr House. These are part of a series of postcards for sale at RISDworks and the Brown bookstore.


Carolina also does cut paper, commercial and fine design, and book covers.