INSIDE THIS EDITION:
- LLC SAVE THE DATES
- Cathy Hurst presents PROVIDENCE ON FOOT
- THE CULTURE CORNER: Bristol Historical and Preservation Society STORY BENCHES (Jul 27); ¡ALGUIEN MÁS! Rhode Island Latino Arts w/ Trinity Rep (dates through Aug 2),
- PHILOSOPHY LESSON by Bob Kemp
- A TIME TO TALK by Robert Frost
Click on the links to jump to the article.
LLC Save the Dates
Tuesday, August 6
Jazz Concert at Temple Beth-El
1 – 3 p.m.
Thursday, September 5
Fall Convocation and Coordinators Open House
10 AM – 1 PM
Cathy Hurst presents Providence on Foot
Providence Walking Tour: The River at the Heart of the City
A historical walking tour along both sides of the Providence River, through the downtown area, and across the pedestrian bridge
The river has always been at the heart of Providence but it lost its way (literally and figuratively) in the twentieth century. Work over the past 40 years has restored the river to its rightful place.
This historic tour begins and ends near the east side of the beautiful 2019 Van Leesten Pedestrian Bridge near the corner of James and South Water Streets, across the street from Plant City. The route will take you along the riverfront on its eastern shore (the original seventeenth and eighteenth century settlement), across the river and through the market and customs area downtown, back along the west side of the river, and across the pedestrian bridge to the starting point.
So please join us as we walk in the footsteps of the original residents of the city, and learn about the role rivers have to play in the development and prosperity of a city. We’ll look at historic buildings and compare old photographs and paintings with the current appearance of the city. We’ll learn about the city’s inhabitants over the past 500 years. And we’ll explore how and why the river almost disappeared from view, and what’s been done to bring it back.
The tour is held on a number of Saturdays throughout the summer and fall; dates are currently scheduled through the end of August.
Starts at 10 am; runs 1 3/4 to 2 hours. Along the river (both sides, including the pedestrian bridge) and through the downtown.
Tickets are free but reservations are required. Click here to reserve a tour.
Come join me!
THE CULTURE CORNER
Bristol Historical and Preservation Society Story Benches
July 27, 4-6 pm
At locations to be announced...
Do you like history? Are you going to be in Bristol this summer? Then keep an eye out for our Story Benches!
On select days, the BH&PS will have volunteers set-up on benches throughout town. They will be ready and willing to tell you a story about Bristol’s history. Stop by to learn something you didn’t know about our fascinating town!
The BH&PS Story Benches are free and open to the public. Participants can stop by as many benches as they want.
We will be running this program two more times this season, on August 10th during our Flea and Fair and on September 14th. Visit our website or email [email protected] for more information.
Prepping your next summer picnic? Why not have some lively entertainment with your meal? Presented by Rhode Island Latino Arts in association with Trinity Rep, ¡Alguien Más! tours the state through August 2. Every performance is free and held outdoors in public parks. So join us for dinner and a show this summer – right in your own neighborhood.
Based on "You Never Can Tell" by George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw’s 1897 play You Never Can Tell gets a 2024 telenovela twist! For as long as they can remember, the Calderon siblings’ father has been a mystery … until they unknowingly invite him to lunch. Mistaken identities and miscommunications fly throughout this comedy of errors featuring a colorful cast of characters. A farce about forgiveness and moving forward, ¡Alguien Más! is the ninth production in Trinity Rep and Rhode Island Latino Arts’ bilingual summer theater program, Teatro en El Verano.
Please Note: Teatro en el Verano stages free, English-Spanish bilingual productions at various outside venues in Rhode Island. Both English and Spanish speakers can enjoy and understand the production. All performances are held outdoors and FREE to attend. We encourage you to bring your own chair or blanket to sit on the grass, set up a picnic, and enjoy the show!
Performance Dates
All performances run 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
July 13: Roger Williams Park, Broad Street entrance, Providence [RAIN DATE: July 22]
July 17: Payne Park, Pawtucket [RAIN DATE: July 24]
July 28: Southside Cultural Center, Providence [NO RAIN DATE]
July 29: Great Friends Meeting House, Newport [RAIN DATE: July 30]
Aug 2: Waterplace Park, Downtown Providence [NO RAIN DATE]
Philosophy Lesson
by Bob Kemp
A friend challenged me to write a poem about Cosmology and Ontology for a book group on Jim Holt’s WHY DOES THE WORLD EXIST, AN EXISTENTIAL DETECTIVE STORY, which I haven’t read yet. This was my untutored reaction.
A friend has asked me to distill the essence of ontology.
I panicked, fearing he had said the dreaded word, “oncology.”
But once I got the challenge straight, I Googled Wikipedia.
I could have checked a weighty tome, but this course was much speedia.
I tried to focus on the task but found myself distractable:
“Particulars” and “categories” seemed to me intractable.
Are “universals” real or are they merely thoughts conceptual?
Should I use intuition or techniques that are perceptual?
Is it thought, as Descartes posed, that is the key to being?
Or is it really based upon the actual things I’m seeing?
Philosophers dispute at length these concepts that are thin as air.
So I, to keep my sanity, decided that I do not care.
In pondering cosmology, I feel far less satirical.
I find myself at greater ease with things that are empirical.
Cosmology creation myths are fun and likely to amuse.
Ontology has no good tales; it’s boring and, far worse, abstruse.
Ontology, Cosmology, there’s such a vast disparity.
The Theory of the Big Bang has for me much greater clarity.
A Time to Talk
by Robert Frost
When a friend calls to me from the road
And slows his horse to a meaning walk,
I don’t stand still and look around
On all the hills I haven’t hoed,
And shout from where I am, What is it?
No, not as there is a time to talk.
I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,
Blade-end up and five feet tall,
And plod: I go up to the stone wall
For a friendly visit.
