Warming Centers Save Lives: Local facilities open for protection during extreme cold

Even normal winter conditions can be life-threatening to anyone without proper hats, clothes, and footwear, but extreme conditions are life-threatening for anyone outside of heated shelter. According to the RI Department of Environmental Management, the interior...

Roots Report: Holy daze

Okee dokee folks… People apparently totally gloss over Thanksgiving now, not that I care. I am a vegetarian and the ritual slaughter of turkeys for holidays has always bothered me. The fact that my ears...

In the Stars: What to expect for the 2025 Winter Solstice

You don’t need to be a card reader or clairvoyant to know that the world is in an uproar. When the slower moving outer planets are in play the world moves and changes. And when...

Thank God For Thank God For Science

In an era of content slop, pseudo-art, and AI, Thank God For Science is a breath of fresh air — proof that there are still art-weirdos out there who value creativity over commercial appeal. To...

Resonant Oscillations: Lost in a metaphysical hex with doom pioneers Earth

After paving a distorted pathway in the early ’90s with three albums on Sub Pop Records, the band Earth — bearing a name chosen in homage to Black Sabbath’s original moniker — marked their emergence...

Cool Spots: A map of winter activities!

Icons by Mina Miki LIGHT DISPLAYS Rhode Island Holiday Light Show2150 Scituate Ave, Hope 02831 Slater Park Pawtucket Winter Wonderland401 Newport Ave, Pawtucket 02861401-726-3185 Roger Williams Park Zoo - Holiday Lights Spectacular (Santa M&G)1000 Elmwood Avenue, Providence 02907401-785-3510 Sparkling Lights...

Subterranean Jungle: Your Winter Survival Kit

Six Star General It’s good to have local indie guitar swingers Six Star General back, rocking out after a bit of a hiatus. Both of the bands at this show bring noisy, pre-grunge rock & roll....

Local gift spots

The holidays are near, which means it’s time to go shopping. Here’s an assortment of local spots we visited with something uniquely RI to offer. Taking Stock As a fellow coffee and tea drinker, my eyes were...

How to Pick a Christmas Tree: Advice from the woodcutter’s daughter

Thinking back about trees and the meaning of the holidays, a warm, fuzzy feeling comes over me. I am a woodcutter's daughter, and trees have a special meaning and purpose in our lives. During the...

ICE-proofing Our Courthouses: Open letter advocating virtual court appearances

Over 30 Rhode Island organizations, court workers, and politicians, including the Providence City Council, penned an open letter calling on Governor Daniel McKee, Chief Justice Paul Suttell, and the RI Judiciary to immediately implement virtual...

ON THE COVER: Carey Good

Who spit on our cover? The cover art chose itself for this issue, says photographer and printmaker Carey Good of Providence, who created it.“I started etching on three copper plates. Soon, I discarded the biggest of...

TS 12: The Life of a Showgirl Review For Motif Magazine

If you didn’t stay up until midnight on the night of the TS12 album release, covered in glittery friendship bracelets from the Eras tour and a friend’s small business clinging to both wrists, slightly tipsy...

La Niña Makes Warmer Winter Likely: Precipitation forecast complicated, but overall average expected

Scientific models forecasting the upcoming winter season are driven mostly by observations of such factors as Pacific Ocean temperature, since weather moves from west to east across the continental United States. It has been known...

Frankie and Johnny at Gamm: Passion and confusion in the moonlight

Is it true love or a rewarding romp in the sack? You’ll go back and forth for two hours trying to decide in “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.”  Photo by Cat Laine What’s undisputed...

Thank You to our Patreon Members!

Support SocietyJennifer JolicoeurAmato A DeLucaPaul Rochford You’re On a Lobstah ROLL TierDon RhodesSI RosenbaumDaria Phoebe BrashearJeannine PetersonAlex You’re a Weiner TierHannah ChasonSarah SummersMary Paolino You’re Not So Awful Awful TierVincent FugereMadiganSeeDubs And THANK YOU to our anonymous donors! PATREON ...

RISE Medical & Recreational Cannabis Dispensary Warwick: Where regulars feel at home 

While built for quick, seamless visits, this dispensary does it without losing its sense of community. What used to be known as Agaves Mexican Grill on Jefferson Boulevard has now become a community-driven dispensary for medicinal...

IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME FOR A BEER!

Does the holiday season stress you out? Are you doing last minute shopping? No one needs a coffee mug, crappy smelling candles or a pot holder from a discount dollar store. It is not the...

The Gift of Pedals

Guitarists love their gadgets. A quick look at most pedalboards will show the time that they put into fine-tuning their sound to get the coveted perfect tone. As a drummer that does nothing more than...

Subterranean Jungle

Consuelo's Revenge. Photo by Asim Barakzai Consuelo’s Revenge – Bread & Circuses A lot has gone down in the 10 years since the last Consuelo’s Revenge album, Mercy, to say the least. The world didn’t end although...

Roots Report

Adam Sherman Okee dokee folks… This issue is the Motif Gift Guide. If you have read this column for any of the past twenty years, you surely know that I don’t do Christmas but I WILL...

2 Feet 2 Bucks to Bristol

The fall colors linger longest near the sea.  When you hear, “Let’s take a hike,” you probably picture an uninhabited area. There’s nothing like a walk in the woods, the more unspoiled the better. The landscape...

Outside the Gift Box: The gift of experience teaches us to gift experiences.

Over the years we’ve all accumulated stuff, material goods (and bads) that engulf the homestead, sometimes overwhelming the dwellers. Some of us do not know how to declutter and reorganize. Things just pile up over...

Dear Creativity Lovers: “Treat yo self” to a Gift

It’s that time of the year to “Treat yo self” — a line from one of my favorite shows, “Parks & Recreation.” Like Tom and Donna, don’t just buy gifts for others: Reward yourself this...

Give Local Art as a Gift

Do you hate the hustle and bustle at the stores around December? Do you resort to asking Google what to get for a gift? Instead, read about local artists and look for the perfect gift...

ON THE COVER: Daniel Smelansky

“I’ve leveled up,” illustrator Daniel Smelansky of Providence says with a chuckle of his latest gig: creating the cover of Motif’s Gift Guide. That’s because he made a word-and-image collage about the lack of nonbinary...

BTS with DMK: Behind The Scenes with filmmaker Kristen Falso-Capaldi

If you haven’t noticed yet, Rhode Island is bursting with endless creative energy. Providence has named itself the Creative Capital and is the home of the Rhode Island School of Design, WaterFire, and PVDFest --...

Solar Aurora Possible Tue Night: Flares and CME may cause G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm

At Providence, solar aurora may be visible overnight Tue into Wed and, to a lesser extent, Wed into Thu. Aurora is unusual at latitudes this far south, but it typically happens a few times every...

Full SNAP Benefits Must be Paid by Fri, Nov 7, Court Orders: Judge seems incredulous that partial payments resulted in delays; government appeals

Michael Bilow of Motif attended the 3:30pm court hearing and is reporting based on his personal observations. At a hearing in US District Court in Providence on the afternoon of Thu, Nov 6, Judge John J....

SNAP Benefits Must Be Paid, PVD Federal Court Rules: Contingency funds must be used despite government objections

Michael Bilow of Motif attended the 1:00pm court hearing and is reporting based on his personal observations. In a case with national significance and effect, Judge John J. McConnell Jr of the US District Court in...

SNAP (Food Stamps) Emergency: RI announces support during federal shutdown

RI SNAP support poster (Source: https://dhs.ri.gov/programs-and-services/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap/supplemental-nutrition-hold ) The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known by its old name, “food stamps,” is funded primarily by the federal government but run by state governments. The money ordinarily placed...

Stuff to Do

Find Us

To change the map, directions, phone number and business hours of this page visit the SmallBiz Options Panel. This Page uses a WordPress Page Template. You can edit the code […]

Read More