Movie Screening with Director
January 26, 2009 by Mike Ritz
Filed under Art & Culture, Events
Screening & Discussion
Thursday, Jan. 29th
6:30pm-8:30pm
Center for Integrative Technology -169 Weybosset
Cost: FREE
Join us as we view this 55-minute documentary portrait of the Hmong community from 1982 followed by a talk and discussion with co-director Peter O’Neil as he explains his recent work documenting his subjects over 20 years later.
The film explores the challenges of several Hmong individuals and shows some of their involvement with the local community.
It documents how weddings, funerals, shamanic ceremonies, rock bands and soccer games were done during the early phase of Hmong settlement in the United States.
This is week two of a four-week series called, “Common Threads: From Vietnam to Iraq”, co-sponsored by The Office of Public Engagement of RISD and The Swearer Center of Brown University. Event is hosted by The Genesis Center. Click HERE to see photos from last week’s pandau exhibit at RISD.
Question? Concerns?
Contact Mike Ritz at mike@gencenter.org
NewBCamp
January 26, 2009 by Owen Johnson
Filed under Events, Organizations
What’s NewBCamp? It’s an unconference, and while you have likely gone to a conference where the real conversations happen around the water cooler, at an unconference the conversation IS the main event.
Attend NewBCamp on February 8, 2009, and you’ll not only be attending an unconference, you’ll be making one happen. Small break-out sessions on topics such as what is social media, which software solution should I use, and how do I buy a quality laptop make NewBCamp informative and relevant. NewBCamp is also interactive to such a degree that you may find yourself answering questions as much as finding answers.
In today’s rough economy and particularly in the technology sector, when we share knowledge we help ourselves and we help each other. That’s why NewBCamp is free to attend with a suggested donation of ten dollars and more to be recognized as a sponsor.
Pepsi Forum
8 Abbott Place Park
Johnson & Wales University
Providence, RI 02903
Sunday February 8, 2009
9am-2pm
On Being Outdoors in Wintry Providence
January 25, 2009 by Susan Korte
Filed under Environment
January 20, 2009, more than two million people spent the day in 20-degree weather and lived to tell the tale ~ and what a tale! What a day! What a sight, to see about twice the population of the state of Rhode Island standing on or near the National Mall during the inauguration of President Obama. No one minded, or at least, folks put the cold out of mind and let their hearts and bodies be warmed by the day’s events. Did anyone get frostbite? Aren’t they glad they were there? Isn’t the memory of that day and their presence in Washington, DC, worth standing for hours in the cold? Two million people would say yes.
So what are we doing inside TODAY? We don’t need a special event or invitation to get outside and enjoy the day. It may even be a bit warmer than yesterday in DC. Are you going for a walk? I’m reluctant to get out there when it’s so icy on the city sidewalks, but the roads in the parks are clear and not too distant. Why don’t I just go over to Roger Willliams Park and take a walk? There are 10 miles of roads there. North Burial Ground is a Providence Parks Department responsibility and it’s closer to me. I can walk there, and it also has 10 miles of roads within it. Cemeteries often have cleared their roads of snow and are beautiful places to walk.
By the way, THANK YOU to all my wonderful neighbors who help me shovel the snow and who shovel their own walks! Way to Go!
And with all this snow there’s sledding! We have lots more snow today than when I took this photo of sledders in Roger Williams Park last week, so it could be even more fun than these folks were having. Make your own memories and have a great time! There’s cross-country skiing, there’s ice skating if the ponds freeze hard enough. RI DEM provides ice safety information for Lincoln Woods, Goddard and Meshanticut State Parks on its 24-hour Ice Information telephone line, 222-2632. They advise us to contact local recreation departments for skating opportunities and conditions in individual communities since DEM does not monitor ice conditions in local communities.
If you do want an invitation to the outdoors, though, check the Outdoors Calendar on the unfinished redesign of What Grows On in Rhode Island! I have been working on a reorganization of the information in The Providential Gardener and What Grows On in Rhode Island to make them more useful, but there’s still a lot to do. It’s keeping me from writing posts for the Providential Gardener. Other Rhode Islanders are writing on other websites, though. You can see there are some news feeds on my test website from various local and national environmental groups…. This aggregated set of feeds is incomplete, to say the least, but it gives a taste of what’s to come.
[Originally published on The Providential Gardener]
Mayor Cicilline Invited by President-elect Obama
January 8, 2009 by Mike Ritz
Filed under Government, People
Cross Posted from Providence City News
Cicilline among 12 mayors attending speech as part of USCM delegation
Mayor David N. Cicilline is among a delegation of 12 mayors from across the country invited by President-elect Barack Obama to George Mason University in Virginia today as the President-elect unveils his economic stimulus plan for America.
I Heart Providence
January 2, 2009 by Owen Johnson
Filed under Connect Providence Announcements, Government
Mayor David N. Cicilline, Connect Providence, and Get RI Magazine invite you to gather at Providence City Hall (25 Dorrance St) from 6:00-8:00pm on February 10, 2009, for the first annual Valentine’s Day social celebration of Rhode Island’s capitol.
I HEART PROVIDENCE is a free event featuring complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cash bar by Trinity Brewhouse, chocolate truffles by Sin (www.eatwicked.com) and heart-shaped pies by Cutie Pies. Attendees are encouraged to bring poems, songs, and/or stories dedicated to Providence.
“After living in nearly every region of the U.S. and even outside of the country, I chose Providence as my home. This culturally diverse city is filled with such amazing and interesting talent that I’m encouraging everyone to pop the big February question –‘Providence, will you be my Valentine?’”, exclaimed event creator and West Side resident, Mike Ritz.
Attendees may share why they “Heart Providence” by participating in one of two video confession booths during the event, courtesy of Vision Wink Productions (www.visionwink.com). Testimonials from I HEART PROVIDENCE will be remixed and distributed online through YouTube, Facebook, and other online social media mechanisms to promote the city inside and outside of Rhode Island’s borders.