Can’t Afford Progressives
Long overdue for new eye glasses, I went to one of those one-hour places to exercise a $99 frame-and-lens coupon. Not naïve enough to believe anyone walks out of there […]
ON THE COVER: Mina Miki
Cover artist Mina Miki of Providence calls her baby blanket her longest friend. “His name is Blankie, but now he looks less like a blanket and more like a piece of tangled silk,” she says....
ecoRI News Roundup
McKee’s Budget Includes Rollbacks for State’s Renewable Energy Programs PROVIDENCE — Five years after lawmakers passed the state’s first firm climate mandates, the historic Act on Climate law is in danger of getting rolled back by...
Bridge Over Troubled Maintenance: The sudden closure of the Washington Bridge has caused immense damage for local businesses. However, a few have managed to profit.
The closure of the westbound section of the Washington Bridge that occurred in December of 2023 has inspired major grievances within the greater Providence metropolitan area. Traffic within the city limits has become unbearable, especially...
American Horror Story
Graphic by Eric Barao When the US Congress allowed the Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire on Dec. 31, 2025, they created a health insurance crisis that could have inspired a plot line for “American Horror...
Melt ICE: Ways to Join the Fight Against ICE
On January 30, 2026, an estimated 5,000 Rhode Islanders – including students and numerous local businesses – participated in a historic, nationwide strike in an effort to get the tyranny of Immigration and Customs Enforcement...
Roots Report
Okee dokee folks… “Art is fucking political. Always has been, always will be.” I looked for a source to attribute this to but there doesn’t seem to be a definitive person who said it. Doesn’t...
Lighting Isakov: Illuminating the music of Gregory Alan Isakov and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra
Gregory Alan Isakov and band, with support from the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra at PPAC on Thursday, January 29, 2026. Photo by Gregory Alan Isakov’s tour photographer, Kenzi Everitt, @kenzieveritt. As the house lights dimmed on...
BTS with DMK: The Kinnane Brothers
From left to right: Brendan, Charles, Peter, Wil, John, Daniel, Patrick Kinnane, and Jeffrey Azize. I am a hopeful romantic and a huge fan of romcoms. The films often have a woman in the lead navigating...
The Future of Flowers: A Garden of Paradise, Printed
I’ve never known much about growing flowers. The few gardens I’ve started in my life ended all too unceremoniously, in death. And I’ve never known much about 3-D printing, either. In fact, probably attributed to...
Blizzard Shatters All-Time Snowfall Record with 37.9 Inches at TF Green Airport: Surpasses Blizzard of 1978
Snow accumulation at TF Green Airport reached 37.9 inches, shattering the all-time record of 28.6 inches set during the legendary Blizzard of 1978. 07:01 pm EST - 2/23/2026TF Green AP, RI37.903:10 pm EST - 2/23/20261 SE...
THE ROOMMATE
Photo: Jackie Davis as Robyn and Kortney Adams as Sharon, by Mark Turek. Not since Oscar and Felix – or Laverne and Shirley – have we cackled so hard at the antics of mismatched roommates bumbling...
RHODE ISLAND MUSIC AWARDS 2026 NOMINATIONS
The 2026 Motif Rhode Island Music Awards are here! We are so proud to announce this year’s nominees. Rhode Island might be small, but our music community is mighty, and it is such an honor...
THE MEMORY OF WATER: Some Things Stay In Your Bones
Photo by Jesse Dufault. Picture this: grief and laughter, absurdity and tenderness coexisting cohesively. Not easy to do, yet Burbage Theatre Company’s production of The Memory of Water adeptly captures this ephemeral equilibrium. Under the expert...
Aura’s Chocolate Bar: Sometimes, It is Love at Second Sight
Aura never planned to fall in love with chocolate. Chocolate may not have been her first choice, but it became the obvious one for her pastry adventures. When she enrolled at Johnson & Wales University, her...
Beer Booty Calls: Single, Situationships, or True Love
Does true love exist or is this something found only on the Hallmark Channel? If you aren’t familiar with this network, it usually involves a baker, country music singer, hockey player, or a prince who...
Roots Report
Okee dokee folks… “Sto lat, sto lat.” It’s a traditional Polish song that is meant to wish a long life to a person. “Sto lat” roughly translates to “100 years” and is a common Polish...
Down with the Boyfriends: Celibacy as a Form of Modern Feminism
Illustration by Maddy Bormes Valentine’s Day is on its way, and so is the heteronormativity that accompanies it. From the popular rom-coms we guiltily indulge in to the traditionalist ideals that have a grip on many,...
Who said romance was dead?: Here’s some ways you can treat yourself for Valentine's Day.
It’s that time of year again, where love is in the air and the stores are filled with as much chocolate as the eye can see. Typically it’s considered a holiday where you spend time...
Love Songs from the Ocean State: 7 RI Artists Laying All Their Cards on the Table
If you’re as chronically online as I am, you might have caught wind of the way people from in and out of state romanticize a Rhode Island summer and share the nostalgia of having fallen...
The Blood of Kings: How the Pitts-Wileys of Mixed Magic Theatre build love into every aspect of their art
Ricardo and Bernadet Pitts-Wiley of the Mixed Magic Theatre in Pawtucket have been married for 48 years, and have been colleagues in the theatre space for 26. Over the last few years, I’ve noticed how...
Telling Stories: A collection of profiles of local Black artists
While gathering profiles of local Black artists, We had far more suggestions from our guest editor and advisors than we could ever hope to cover. Kelly Marino interviewed three RI makers who are making waves...
The Poet of our Times
The Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading is returning for its 31st consecutive year, to begin black history month. The annual free event will celebrate the powerful work of poet Langston Hughes with community poetry readings...
Black Excellence in Rhode Island: Support Black-owned businesses throughout Black History Month and every other day
Sarcastic Sweets Black excellence is something that should be celebrated every day. Black History Month not only honors that excellence but places it front and center. In that spirit, I invite you to visit one or...
Serve the song, enrich the community: The Proving Ground is a studio with a vision
You know how when you talk to people about something or someone they love they suddenly sit up straighter, remember things they thought they’d forgotten, and share their experiences with a sparkle in their eyes?...
BTS with DMK: An interview with storyteller Kim Fuller
Rhode Island is bursting with creative energy. Providence calls itself the Creative Capital but that concept doesn’t stick to the confines of the city’s boundaries. The creatives that help make the Ocean State one helluva...
The Sandwich Hut: A Sammy Slam Dunk
There are some places in RI that feel less like a business and more like a trip back home. The Sandwich Hut is one of them. It all began in 1963, when Joe Tatulli, a World...
Parent Support Network for Beauty Health
Give and you shall receive! The time of year for giving is upon us, and the Parent Support Network of Rhode Island (PSN) continuously provides care and services to the community for those in need....
HELP IS A PHONE CALL AWAY: No one deserves to be abused
Abuse is an experience that many individuals have unfortunately lived through, but it is a topic that doesn’t get the coverage it deserves. There is a stigma, along with the plethora of other emotions a...
New Year, New Beers, New Rear: The Balance of Craft Consumption and Staying in Shape
Resolutions are great if they are realistic. However, isn’t resolving to always or never do something setting one up for failure? The best advice that I have is to set some goals that are achievable,...
Murmur Hi-Fi Revives the Ritual Nature of Experiencing Music
On a chilly December morning, Robert recounts to me the time he played his mother's favorite song, Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" through his hi-fi system. After the cumbersome time spent lugging the equipment and then...
Stuff to Do
The Court: Art in Play
September 24, 2025 - April 26, 2026The Flower, The Labor, and The Sea
September 27, 2025 - June 28, 2026
O’Nan’s ‘The Odds’ Rolls Double or Nothing
Two books take place simultaneously within the slim confines of Stewart O’Nan’s new novel The Odds. One tells the story of a failed marriage, its two unhappy principals not filled […]
Tartuffe
There are likely hundreds of colleges and universities with theater programs in the United States. One has to wonder if locally,University of Rhode Island is at a slight disadvantage. It’s […]
A Few Good Men
It is perhaps one of the most familiar movie catchphrases in recent history. Jack Nicholson, in full military regalia, sitting in a courtroom, shouting at Tom Cruise. “You can’t handle […]
Sparrow Grass
Trinity Repertory Company has a penchant for thinking outside of the box, for trying things that are new or unexpected. The folks at Trinity seem to like to shake things […]
Avenue Q
To say that puppetry as a theatrical art has a long history would be an understatement. An ancient art form, it is believed to have its origins some 30,000 years […]
Battle for the Bay
Save the Bay’s Jonathan Stone turns up heat on polluter The mission seemed pretty straightforward. Three years ago, a new company called Rhode Island Recycled Metals set up shop on […]
Genny Don’t Lose That Number
’Gansett releases a lovely cream ale One problem with big mainstream beers is that people expect me to know everything about every new release, and have completely analyzed it within […]
TRIST provides belly laughs with weekend performances of Twelfth Night
If you’re looking for a little comical pre-game in your weekend romp downtown, allow us to suggest Twelfth Night, produced by the The Rhode Island Shakespeare Theater (TRIST). Directed by […]
Benefit for the Louvers Frontman at Social Club
In Memory of Edward Henry Andrews of {Eddie and the Louvers} Eddie passed away on December 10th two days after his 29th birthday. Eddie was a Renaissance man in the […]