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...
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 ...
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 --...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
“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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
My great, great grandmother was a Ramapough Lenape Indian and one of the only ancestors we have a picture of from that long ago, around the late 1800s. While we may only have an image...
“What’s that saying, ‘We are our ancestors’ wildest dreams’?” (Quote from Blood Sisters by: Vanessa Lillie.) Vanessa Lillie is a best selling author, citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and lives on Narragansett land in RI. Her...
When a whale dies, sometimes the ocean delivers it back to us. Whether it drifts ashore in a quiet cove or crashes onto a crowded beach, its body becomes a stage upon which humans project...
As the Museum Coordinator for the Wampanoag History Museum at the Aquinnah Cultural Center, I have the responsibility of making sure that the belongings in our collection are properly cared for. This work can be...
When I set out to curate this collection of writing on “sovereignty,” I knew it was a mammoth to explore. Among original peoples of the Northeast, the word – the idea – is layered with...
In creating the cover of Motif’s Indigenous Peoples Month issue, artist and visual arts teacher Ella Mahoney took her inspiration from her birthplace, Aquinnah, in Martha’s Vineyard, MA. “Every year, the members of the Aquinnah Wampanoag...
This year’s RI Food Truck & Drink Awards managed to dodge the rain clouds and have a beautiful night by the Pedestrian Bridge, in lovely, view-encrusted District Park in the Guild Garden. We detailed the victorious...
Okee dokee folks… So, I am EXTREMELY angry. This disastrous regime has been assaulting immigrants as well as US citizens and making some disappear. That in itself is disgusting and enraging, as we are a...
On September 9, Motif celebrated the 9th annual RI Food Truck and 4th RI Brewery Awards! No one died, some pink monsters came out to dance, and the sun set on an overall good time...
Silence = Death Under Brian McEleney’s direction, the much-anticipated Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika, wowed audiences just as much as part 1, Millennium Approaches. This continuation revisits the lives of its beloved, memorable characters as...
Okee dokee folks… Parking. That is what is on my mind today. In my opinion, if a venue – or any business for that matter – does not take easy parking access into consideration as...
I don’t think I will ever drink iced coffee. Ever. And I feel very confident about that. It’s not that I’m anti-cold coffee — if that’s your jam, I won’t judge — but my heart...
Illustration by Jade Cannata We reach a point in the Autumn Equinox where the veil is thin and spirits take flight. As we wander this Earth, most of us rarely look for signs of history from...
Opened Apple Cinemas, a small chain of movie theaters, but one with more goodwill and pleasantness than many bigger chains, will be taking over the cinemas at Providence Place Mall. Ultimately, movie junkies only had to sit out for a week between owners, but the deal came together so quickly, employees we interviewed on the […]
Compiled by Bonnie Phillips/ecoRI News McKee, Region’s Governors Seek Environmental Impact Assessment Reforms PROVIDENCE — Is it time to reform how the federal government assesses the environmental impact of energy projects? Gov. Dan McKee apparently thinks so. The National Governors Association recently released a letter sent to Congress outlining a package of desired permitting reforms […]
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 there were a couple of dicey moments. While Mercy was inspired by local folklore, Bread & Circuses is more universal. Consuelo’s Revenge’s calling card […]
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 November as Black Friday is around the corner. If you’re a bookworm like myself, the simple gift of a good […]
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 we encounter day-to-day seems to prove any place not the woods is too spoiled to want to be outdoors […]
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 — just to name a few extraordinary arts events. It is also hard to miss all the movies and television shows […]
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 hit things, I don’t understand what most pedals do, outside of distortion, tuner, and wah-wah pedals; but I’m always impressed […]
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 and recreational users. Tucked between office parks and the constant airport traffic, sits RISE Cannabis. While there is no […]
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 year. Weather at Providence during the potential aurora will be partly cloudy increasing from 40% cloud cover Tue sunset to […]
On Monday night, September 29, Motif celebrated the denizens that keep this city liquored up! Thanks so much to R1 Indoor Karting for hosting and sponsoring us, and for musicians and performers Providence Drum Troupe, Danielle Riley, The Bimbo Factory, and DJ Steeley Chris! Also, big shoutout to O’Brien & Brough for sponsoring our mixology […]
