Cool Spots: A map of winter activities!
LIGHT DISPLAYS TREE FARMS SANTA MEET & GREETS ICE SKATING HOT COCOA
You've Still Got a Friend: Theater by the Sea presents a rousing world premiere tribute
Hunter Brown, Allie Seibold, and Seth Eliser in You've Still Got a Friend, playing at Bill Hanney's Theatre By The Sea from August 20 - September 13, 2026. Photo by Michael Derr Okee dokee folks… Tonight, at Theatre By The...
They didn’t strike, they picketed: Local librarians find a new way to educate the public.
Photo by Steve Ahlquist. The unionized workers of the Community Libraries of Providence have been without a contract for two years now. Their patience, which had been wearing thin, was stretched to the breaking point by...
Flickers 44: Celebrating film from around the world and right here in the Ocean State
Photo: L-R: Pénélope Rose, Manya Glassman, Emeline Easton, and K. Elisa Garcia. by Mike Ryan. The Rhode Island International Film Festival, also known as Flickers, took place August 4 through August 9, bringing filmmakers, actors, industry...
Welcome to the Neighborhood: RI’s First Black-Operated Museum
I think museums and the culture around them have historically gotten a bad rap. When you think of museums, you might associate them with classism, inaccessibility, and wealthy donors and patrons. There’s also the issue...
Lawn Beers to Harvest Cheers: Summer's Last Pours to Autumn's Fresh Taps
As the leaves change to amber hues, so do fall beers. Our local brewers are excited about the opportunity to offer these loved styles of craft beer. If you are looking forward to cozy sweaters...
Fall Happenings Map
Illustration by Sadie Levine. 1. Adams Farm (pumpkins, hay rides, corn mazes) Plus: Variety fall farm stand 158 Burnt Swamp Road, Cumberland 401-714-4425 2. Appleland Orchard (apples) Plus: Cider, wine, and donuts 135 Smith Avenue, Greenville 401-949-3690 3. Barden Family Orchard (apples, pumpkins) Plus: Farmers...
Roots Report
Okee dokee folks… I just realized that I have been attending concerts for 50 years now. In that span of time I have seen countless shows. I honestly have no idea how many I have...
YourFriendM00n Wants You to Know You’re Not Alone
Moon Leone didn’t set out to make your run-of-the-mill pop songs. They build whole worlds, embodying different characters and using visuals to tell stories that ultimately help people heal from trauma. Performing as YourFriendM00n, they...
Art Focused Forum
On August 12, Motif cohosted a forum on the Arts in Providence featuring Democratic Primary Mayoral candidates Brett Smiley and David Morales. In Providence, the real election typically happens in the primary. The winner will go...
In Their Own Words: 2026
Every election cycle, Motif brings you the candidates in their own words so you can try to compare apples to apples. It’s our way of contributing to the political process while not having the fact-checking...
ecoRI News Roundup
Environmental Organizations Endorse Foulkes for Governor PROVIDENCE — The Providence Streets Coalition, a grassroots activist organization devoted to increasing funding, safety, and reliability in the state’s transit network, announced July 21 that it is backing former...
ON THE COVER: Nicholas "Niko" Tolentino
For the cover of Motif’s Fall Guide, painter and muralist Nicholas “Niko” Tolentino of Cranston drew inspiration from his childhood days, he relates in an interview at White Electric Coffee Co-Op in Providence. Roger Williams Park...
No Concert is an Island
Centerville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket hosted its first live music event in August. It started big with the Island Roads Fest, featuring popular reggae/ rock bands including Sublime, Slightly Stoopid, Iration, Action Bronson, DENM, Bumpin...
Tatting at the Convention Center
Stepping into a tattoo convention without a tattoo or an array of piercings can be intimidating, like stepping into a gallery show without reading the title first. Aside from a pair of basic ear studs,...
Arts Focus Forum
August 12, 6:30 - 8:30 PM Southside Cultural Center - 393 Broad Street, Providence What do the candidates for Mayor of Providence have in mind for the future of arts engagement in the “Creative Capital”? Find...
Heat Advisory Thu–Fri: Dangerous heat indices up to 100°F expected
Heat Advisory in effect from August 6, 11:00 AM EDT until August 7, 08:00 PM EDT At Providence, a Heat Advisory is effective Thu, Aug 6, 11am, to Fri, Aug 7, 8pm. Afternoon temperatures/heat indices are...
MEOWS, MALTS, DOGS AND DRAFTS: Have a pint to rescue a paw
Can art by Joey Visco Dogs and drafts? Is there any better way to celebrate yappy hour? If you are an animal and craft beer lover, this is an event you do not want to miss!...
NOW IT’S OUR TURN: Local team seeks to keep up positive momentum from World Cup
Photo by Sindayiganza Photography. The FIFA World Cup tournament was full of thrills, drama, chaos, unity, and live television shots of devastated children in tears after their team lost a heartbreaking match. The final whistle brought...
Boatload of music: Titanic drama
Matthew Provençal as Thomas Andrews in ‘Titanic: The Broadway Musical’ at Bill Hanney's Theatre By The Sea July 23 – August 15, 2026. Photo by Mark Turek. The challenge to staging a production of “Titanic: The...
2026 Tattoo Awards Gallery Wall
The Tattoo Awards featured a gallery wall populated by local artists. Here is a selection of the artwork on display! By Brianne Elizabeth @foxhallowart By Victori Leo Riel Grab Your Heart & Go by Allie Boyer @peaceflowercreations MONSTROELIZASUE by...
BTS with DMK: Lily Spencer
Photo by Jess Lee Images. I met Lily Spencer in an acting class taught by Eric Lutes, whom many television fans will remember from the 1990s sitcom “Caroline in the City.” Eric, who now lives in...
2026 Tattoo Award Winners
Rachel WS. Favorite Animal/ Favorite Floral Tara D’Agostino – Iron Lion Tattoo By the numbers, Tara D’Agostino got her first tattoo at the age of 15, picked up her own tattoo machine at the age of 19, opened...
The Long Game: River Shook Arrives Home
Photo by Jillian Clark. There’s no feeling quite like finally being able to fully step into your own, to truly embrace your whole self and carry yourself through the world with that mentality. Not an identity...
Roots Report
Kai Nanfelt. Okee dokee folks… Last weekend I went on a ten-hour, each way, road trip to play a show. The drive wasn’t so bad, but the music was horrible. As I have mentioned before, I...
The Butterfly’s Shadow
Photo by Isaac Laliberte Wards 2, 9 and 12 all report the same. Mendez wins in each! It appeared that Providence was perfectly poised to usher-in its first female mayor in history. The polls were closed and...
A Flicker of Flame
“You’re late, Brother,” she said, hovering outside the weathered cottage near a pebbly beach, indistinguishable from the shadows cast by moonlight that hit the thick hydrangeas. It was late in the evening of a seawind-chilled...
NecronomiCon Comes to Providence
The NecronomiCon is a biennial celebration of the works of HP Lovecraft and beyond, and throughout the genre of “weird fiction.” Centered in downtown Providence, it boasts four days of literary panels, readings from various...
American Caesar Salad
It’s almost Cthulhu – pardon my hiccup, I meant, “election” – season again. And if the tactics of these times don’t make your head swim and your bowls ache, as if you were being eviscerated...
ON THE COVER: Bob Eggleton
When cover artist Bob Eggleton of Warwick first got interested in art and started sketching nightmarish creatures, he recalls, an aunt asked him, “What’s drawing a monster gonna get you in life?” He’s spent the last...
GREASE
Skyler Shields (Kenickie) and the cast of the Theatre By The Sea (Wakefield, RI) production of “Grease” running thru July 18, 2026. Photo by Mark Turek. “A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop! A-wop-bam-boom!” BY ALISON O’DONNELL ON JUNE 27, 2026 Grease is the...
Stuff to Do
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. This is for fans of the ’80s SST Records catalog, which inspires both of these great bands. Six Star […]
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 glued to the shelf of tea kettles and coffee pots. The shop sells kitchen supplies and ingredients, including […]
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 busy hustle and bustle of the holiday season we forget the true meaning of the Christmas tree. A Christmas tree […]
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 court hearings in response to the brutal kidnappings of immigrants by ICE at RI courthouses. These organizations and individuals have […]
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 the three. The second plate had a woodsy and pondish feel to it. But with the third scratch plate, […]
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 after just having lost Taylor Swift trivia night at Trident Books, freshly listening to The Manuscript-and for some reason, ‘I […]
Kamala Harris: 107 Days Event in Medford MA Recap
The atmosphere in the room is teemantalizing with excitement. People whisper to their seat neighbors as the lights dim. It’s 30 minutes after 2 pm, the scheduled time of the event’s start, and they’re *still* letting people in as the line curved around the block. I should know, I had to pass through it twice […]
Kickin’ it with the RI Football Club
I missed Rhode Island Football Club’s (RIFC) Eastern Conference quarter final game the previous week because I was hosting Punk Rock Marketplace at the Ramada Inn all weekend. I sensed that they had lost after speaking to a bartender wearing an RIFC hoodie. Amid talking about the team and their home games at Centreville Bank […]
Led Zeppelin Experience: Jason Bonham bangers
Okee dokee folks… “You should never give a drummer a microphone.” This was spoken by drummer Jason Bonham, son of the late John Bonham of Led Zeppelin. Bonham brought his Led Zeppelin Experience to Veterans Auditorium in Providence tonight. But it was a good thing he had a microphone. The show was much more than […]