WaterFire volunteers will be illuminating the bridge with the glow of five braziers “Thanks to the generous sponsorship from the Providence Tourism Council we are thrilled to bring back Starts at Sunset for a second year,” said Ed Cabral “Support from our sponsors is essential especially as WaterFire continues to seek additional funding to host community events Their contributions ensure we can provide enriching experiences and significantly impact the local economy by bringing visitors to the city of Providence.” The First Starts at Sunset event will take place on Thursday June 20 with programming beginning at 8:00 PM including live music and art activations along the bridge The five braziers will be lit at 8:41 PM and burn until 10:00 PM June 20 marks the date of the Summer Solstice Providence residents are encouraged to join in celebrating as the longest day of the year transitions into a beautiful full-moon sunset Enjoy the magical combination of city views and the wonder of the natural world from the Providence Pedestrian Bridge.  Thursday, June 20Summer Solstice Celebration7:30 – 10:00 pmFeaturing: Providence Drum Troop, Olivia Dolphin, @BubbleManRI – Matthew Peterson and (Bar)re Bell and Yoga (from 6-7 pm in 195 District Park) Thursday, July 257:30 – 10:00 pmFeaturing: Mel, a rock n’ roll and soul singer-songwriter will be taking the stage to perform at 7:30 PM. Local poet, Charlene D’Sao Nicolau will be sharing their works and creativity on the stage throughout the evening as well “The Providence Tourism Council is thrilled to once again sponsor the Starts with Sunset series as we activate our Providence River and the 195 District Park in new ways We are excited to see this program grow in bringing artists and visitors together for programming around the Pedestrian Bridge,” says Alexis Gorriaran Chair and Commissioner of the Providence Tourism Council I've worked at WaterFire Providence since 2003 I worked in the Production Shop learning all of the details that go into the physical production of the event In 2012 transitioned to the role of managing WaterFire's social media and web presence I now head up WaterFire Providence's digital projects including I’m organizing a group for the Aug 31st show Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" As WaterFire Providence celebrates 30 years of igniting creativity and community in Rhode Island’s capital city, we’re excited to announce an important new chapter in leadership among our team. WaterFire has recently added three new team members to the staff… Read More »Welcoming New Faces on the WaterFire Team for 2025! CURATOR’S REFLECTION By Emily Gray, Executive and Curatorial Assistant at WaterFire Providence As I reflect on Gretchen Dow Simpson’s restrained canvases, Emily Dickinson’s words surface: “There’s a certain Slant of light,Winter Afternoons –That oppresses, like the HeftOf Cathedral Tunes –… Read More »In Memory of Gretchen Dow Simpson (1939-2025) As WaterFire Providence celebrates 30 years of igniting creativity and community in Rhode Island’s capital city, we’re excited to announce an important new chapter in our leadership. Mark Allan has joined WaterFire Providence as Interim Executive Director, bringing decades of… Read More »Welcoming Mark Allan as WaterFire Providence’s Interim Executive Director RI 02908(401) 273-1155Open 10:00 am – 5:00 pmWednesday through Sunday Open at the WaterFire Arts Center10:00 am – 5:00 pmWednesday through Sundayand Thursdays until 9:00 pmCall for info (401) 443-5553 Our online store is always open for your shopping convenience Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value" WaterFire Providence is a 501(c)3 nonprofit | Providence © 1994 – 2022 WaterFire is a copyrighted work of art created and owned by Barnaby Evans WaterFire® and WaterFire Providence® are registered trademarks of Barnaby Evans and are used under license WaterFire logo and variations © 1997 by Barnaby Evans Website content © WaterFire Providence® 1997 – 2023 and was a veteran of the United States Air Force Van Leesten was active in the Civil Rights movement and as part of the Freedom Rider movement he participated in voter registration efforts in rural Alabama He would later point to his early activism experiences as defining moments in his life Van Leesten formed the aptly named Rhode Island Students for Equality (RISE) exemplary of his climb as a civil rights leader in the community Maddox (president of the Providence branch of NAACP) and Irving J Fain (co-chairman of Citizens United for a Fair Housing Law) and gathered a crowd over 200 strong Days later Van Leesten headed a march throughout the city in support of fair housing and anti-discrimination legislation converging at the Rhode Island State house Van Leesten joined the Freedom Riders in Choctaw County Alabama as a part of SCLC SCOPE to register black southerners to vote in defiance of the absurd obstructionist rules in towns in Alabama dictating that black citizens could only register to vote on the first Monday of the month The Ku Klux Klan attempted to terrorize and intimidate Van Leesten and his colleagues and segregationists assaulted them verbally attacking him and his colleagues with pepper spray in response to their fight against voter suppression Van Leesten and the many others he travelled with planted the seeds for the continued activism of an unfinished fight against voter discrimination and suppression in the South Van Leesten was one of four founders of the Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) It began with a vision borne of the civil rights work on Alabama’s streets registering voters to participate in the democratic process Van Leesten realized the energy of the civil rights movement in anti-poverty efforts being appointed to the executive board of the largest anti-poverty project in the city Within months of this appointment Michael Van Leesten joined with Clifford R and Charles “Moe” Adams to form the city’s first center dedicated to the career training of underemployed and unemployed minorities His infallible dedication to justice and patronage serves as a model for all who want to create change in their communities Those who advocated for Rhode Island’s long overdue name change the Rhode Islanders who marched in the peaceful protests honoring victims of police brutality such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and all who exercised their right to vote in an unprecedented election — all have honored the memory of Mr Van Leesten by following the same playbook laid out by him and other prominent Black leaders of his time As our nation reckons with the realities of racial injustice that still exist today let us take time to remember the men and women like Mr Van Leesten who came before us; the men and women who built the bridges that we have walked across the Providence City Council voted to rename the Providence Pedestrian Bridge in honor of Michael S This landmark in the City of Providence will now pay homage to a man who spent is life building bridges towards justice and equality If you would like to be notified when the full documentary “Michael Van Leesten: Bridge Builder” is released To send photos, videos, and/or audio to be included in the documentary, please email MGiles@providenceri.gov If you would like to be notified when the full film "Michael Van Leesten: Bridge Builder" is released enter your information here and we will send you an email when the time comes Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page a champion of civil rights and a “drum major for justice,” died Friday at age 80 “It’s a blow to our community,” said James Vincent A strong advocate for racial equality throughout his entire life in the mid-1960s to help register people to vote during a contentious and dangerous time for black voters in the south “We knew the Klan was always around and doing things,” Van Leesten told The Journal in 2013 “But when they actually came right through the neighborhood and we saw in the lead car the sheriff of the county … that was scary." “That helped me to understand the kind of fear and how fear could just really ruin your soul and how that had an impact on the lives of black people in the South at that time,” he said Van Leesten’s work continued in his home state of Rhode Island He was one of the founders of the Opportunities Industrialization Center of Rhode Island career counseling and other programs to people from underrepresented groups He also served as executive assistant to the chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in Connecticut and helped with the development of the Foxwoods Resort Casino A graduate of Hope High School and Rhode Island College Van Leesten encouraged economic growth in the state and worked to develop housing for low-income people “Mike Van Leesten’s name is synonymous with ‘fighter’ and ‘integrity’ and ‘love’ and ‘compassion,’” said state Rep “His passing will certainly leave a void.” Van Leesten spoke about working with Martin Luther King Jr and learning about the power of nonviolence and strategic planning in order to move society forward “There’s an increasing awareness of the significance of the civil-rights movement to all of us because it strengthened the Constitution of the United States of America encouraged more people of different stripes to help build our country,” he said who grew up with Van Leesten and worked with him as well as Rev Arthur Hardge and Charles “Moe” Adams to create the Opportunities Industrialization Center said Van Leesten showed others the importance of perseverance and of believing that the future could always be better than the present The two lifelong friends had spent many days together creating the Opportunities Industrialization Center and working on various projects Montiero said Van Leesten called him a few times recently and asked him to go to breakfast again he could go with his old friend one final time “You never know when your opportunity to have the last breakfast with somebody is,” he said I’ll always be sorry that I did not go to breakfast with him.”   — mlist@providencejournal.com (WJAR) — Rhode Island politicians and local leaders gathered with hundreds for the dedication ceremony of the Michael S Van Leesten Memorial Bridge on Sunday afternoon in Downtown Providence "He's an icon and dedicating this bridge today to him makes all the sense in the world doesn't it to each and every one of us - Mike built bridges and he understood how to bring communities together in a way that really mattered," said Gov spoke on their father's impact on the community "A lifelong resident of Providence and devoted father of six children Mike was a founding member and CEO of the Opportunities Industrialization Center paving the way for the education and job training of countless African Americans and other economic and racial minorities," Brown said I'm flying with it-- Lexi," she added Jordan Van Leesten asked the community to learn about and carry on his legacy and mission "I hope that each and every one of you use this bridge as a reminder that the work never ends and that we must continue pushing in terms of providing opportunities to people and always kind of doing it with a smile," he said Is the Target boycott working? Artist Robert B. Stull has died at 58 City reaches out to entrepreneurs of color to apply for liquor licenses Karriem van Leesten IV recalls his first parlay in real estate when he was a rising junior at Boston University and bought his first multi-family home in Dorchester He renovated it and sold it a couple years later he is the real estate broker and president of STAD Real Estate Development Corporation and also is an acronym for Strategic Targeted Acquisitions and Development “I’m a firm believer that the city is where development happens and where typically all the action is,” said van Leesten Described as a “one-stop shop for real estate services” leasing and real estate brokerage for commercial six years after graduating from Boston University STAD had previously operated only in Southern Florida up until March 2016 when van Leesten incorporated STAD’s new Massachusetts branch and set up office in the neighborhood in which he grew up I can walk to my old house where I grew up from here,” said van Leesten Van Leesten said he was approached last summer by United Housing Management to act as co-project manager for the renovation of the former Grove Hall Boston Public Library branch into Freedom House’s new teen center financial aid advising and college coaching to teens in the area “This project meant a lot to me and is an opportunity for me to do something good in the community,” van Leesten said “And that’s why I located my office here as well As a young student in Boston in the late ’90s van Leesten said that he was inspired to purchase a home when his cousin started working full time and became a homeowner Van Leesten switched his class load at Boston University to evening school so that he could work full time as a Section 8 Housing program representative for Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership and qualify for a mortgage but just started buying properties as an investor,” said van Leesten When he moved to Miami shortly after graduation he served as an acquisition and development consultant for various real estate companies as well as government and nonprofit clients He has experience working as a budget analyst for Miami Dade County and project manager for City of Fort Lauderdale’s Community Redevelopment Agency he received his real estate license and from 2005 to 2011 STAD mainly served as a real estate consulting firm but then expanded into brokerage services “I didn’t want to leave anything on the table,” said van Leesten then I could also stay on board and do the sales for them.” van Leesten utilizes his experience in both the private and public sector to source leads analyze finances and identify sources of funds 40 percent of STAD’s business is in Boston STAD has commercial space for lease in Grove Hall and Roslindale and a couple of sale deals in the pipeline Van Leesten is also property manager for a 14-unit building in Grove Hall van Leesten has noticed some changes in the neighborhood He’s now working to be a part of those changes “There’s new construction developed on formerly vacant lots and a lot more commercial activity in this area and Boston in general,” he said “I would like to be a business owner and community leader that will be here for a long time and able to provide excellent service for residents just as the others have done in this community in the past Blue Hill Avenue had a lot of commercial black-owned businesses.” locating his office in his old neighborhood is not only strategic but also gives him an opportunity to reconnect with the community He shared a moment he had recently with a young boy in the neighborhood who walked by his office looking for someone the young boy shared that he had torn his shoes while playing basketball and was hoping the person he was meeting up with could give him a new pair for a game he had that night van Leesten offered the boy his 17-year old son’s shoes that were barely worn because “he actually didn’t like the color.” “If I located my office outside the city in a traditional office building I would not have that interaction on a daily basis with people,” said van Leesten He offers some advice to those who may be interested in pursuing real estate: “You have to be patient be a people person and be willing to fail,” he said “Because not every deal is going to close.” Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here PROVIDENCE — City leaders will consider naming the Providence River Pedestrian Bridge after Michael Van Leesten, a local civil-rights icon who died last year Van Leesten’s loved ones, who filled multiple rows of seats at the Providence City Council’s Thursday night meeting, applauded when council members introduced a resolution to rename the bridge in his honor Council members voted to send the resolution to the Committee on Urban Redevelopment the bridge must first be officially received from the state as a park before the Board of Parks Commissioners can rename it “Michael Van Leesten was a dear friend of mine and a ray of inspiration and hope to many,” Ward 3 City Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune said Van Leesten was one of the founders of the Opportunities Industrialization Center of Rhode Island a job-training and career-counseling center for underserved groups “He was also a bridge builder and architect of connections and that is why so many of us believe it would be appropriate to name the bridge after him.” “I can’t wait to walk my children and my grandchildren over that bridge,” he said council members unanimously passed a resolution introduced by Ward 14 City Councilman David Salvatore that asks the city to allocate 50% of the revenue it attains through conveyance taxes to Providence’s Affordable Housing Trust the city has collected just over $16 million in conveyance tax which is imposed on real-estate transactions the city collected $3.7 million from the tax according to a report from the city’s internal auditor The money goes into the city’s general fund “Providence has not invested a dime of that revenue in housing,” said Salvatore who represents the Elmhurst and Wanskuck neighborhoods “We now have a responsibility to put our money where our mouth is … ” Council members referred to the Committee on Ordinances another item that would require the city to complete a series of actions before pursuing any significant infrastructure projects Under the amendment, introduced by City Council Majority Leader Jo-Ann Ryan, who has responded vigorously to concerns about two-way bike lanes in her ward the city would need to host public meetings and send notices to all property owners adjacent to the proposed project and obtain written approval from a majority of neighbors before moving forward “I often hear from my constituents that they were not notified about significant work being done on their streets which causes them delays that they did not plan for and concerns about not being included in the decision-making process,” she wrote in a statement a spokeswoman for Mayor Jorge Elorza’s office wrote in an email that the city already goes through an extensive public process for many of its projects “While the administration shares a similar goal of advancing robust neighborhood engagement on infrastructure investments the ordinance proposed by the council will add unreasonable cost and time to projects that are desperately needed to improve our streets and ensure they are safe — mlist@providencejournal.com The city of Providence will be ringing in the New Year with a special celebration The Citywide New Year's Eve Celebration will happen at the 195 District Park and the Michael Van Leesten Pedestrian Bridge food art and entertainment will be available from 5 p.m A partial WaterFire lighting will kick off the event at 6 p.m The Illuminate PVD Fireworks Show is set to begin at 8:30 p.m Starts At Sunset is a new community gathering on the Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Pedestrian Bridge sponsored by the Providence Tourism Council This unique activation invites artists and observers to experience a night of immersive placemaking with living tableaus set against the backdrop of a picturesque sunset The lower deck of the bridge will be transformed into a dedicated performance area hosting acoustic music and other performances that will accompany the event’s overall ambiance a fire spinner or flow artist will captivate the audience with their performances on the bridge piers In addition to the activation and gathering of artists on the bridge there will be a variety of push carts offering tasty treats organized by the Providence Parks Department including the Guild Beer Garden which will be located in 195 District Park on the cityside of the bridge and Tizzy K’s Cereal Ice Cream which will be open on the east side of the bridge and more to come!Food/beverage: Guild Beer Garden Learn more about Starts at Sunset. Futuro Health CEO Van Ton-Quinlivan headlined the 2022 Connecticut Workforce Summit and Social Venture Partners Connecticut October 6 at the AquaTurf Club in Plantsville Ton-Quinlivan shared insights on proven workforce development strategies refined for the private General Dynamics Electric Boat’s Shawn Coyne, OKAY Industries president and CEO Jason Howey, Burke Aerospace’s Brittany Isherwood, and Stanley Black & Decker’s Dave Smith discussed their approaches to tackling the labor shortage And Accenture’s Ryan Oakes, Travelers Foundation’s Tara Spain, Hartford HealthCare’s Melanie Tucker, and Social Venture Partners’ Michael van Leesten shared best practices for leveraging early talent pipelines to bridge the gap between K-12 education and employer hiring needs 8:30 am | Proven Workforce Strategies 9:30 am | How Manufacturing Leaders Are Tackling the Labor Shortage 10:45 am | Leveraging Early Talent Pipelines The Connecticut Workforce Summit: Addressing the Labor Shortage was hosted in partnership with ReadyCT and SVP-CT and made possible through the generous support of General Dynamics Electric Boat The latest news and information delivered directly to your inbox CBIA IS FIGHTING TO MAKE CONNECTICUT A TOP STATE FOR BUSINESS A BETTER BUSINESS CLIMATE MEANS A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR EVERYONE One of CBIA’s members is a large designer and manufacturer of fuel cell technology and fuel cell systems This manufacturer approached CBIA to strategically supply natural gas for a 14.9MW power generation facility in Connecticut The client had an existing power purchase agreement with a major utility for electricity The contract pricing for the power generated was predicated on the utility default price The client was interested in learning if they could get a better value and wanted CBIA to analyze their current contract pricing and structure developed a model to compare a forecast of predicted utility rates in Southern Connecticut versus the overall natural gas market We then issued a competitive request for proposal (RFP) to our vast base of suppliers the CBIA team evaluated various product types CBIA analyzed and presented different supplier responses to the client while explaining the contractual nuances of each supplier and by identifying the right time to go to market CBIA delivered approximately $767,000 in savings over a 14-month period to the client The consumption of 825,000 Dth per year should result in a 15% savings for the client compared to their previous contract with the utility In addition to the savings generated through the RFP process the client was able to regain a significant portion of their $600,000 letter of credit when they left the utility Download PDF one of the world’s largest bakery franchises opened its first United States location in Southwest Connecticut with plans for expansion via franchising throughout the country the company was not aware of the deregulated nature of some energy markets By providing an overview of the deregulated market structure CBIA Energy Connections helped to educate the client on alternatives which considered the best and most cost effective option for each franchise the standard offer rate from the utility was amongst the highest on record By monitoring the marketplace and soliciting bids from the majority of competitive suppliers and contrasting with the utility standard offer CBIA Energy Connections was able to provide custom solutions for each franchise location which offered long term savings and a common end date for future aggregations In providing fixed price contracts for all the franchises the client has been able to save in excess of $50,000 for all locations enabling budget certainty in a volatile energy marketplace the common end date will enable the member to participate in future CBIA Energy Connections group aggregations for additional savings Download PDF Because CBIA is the premier business association in Connecticut most of our members have their primary operations here CBIA member companies that are headquartered elsewhere can also rely on CBIA Energy Connections as a trusted partner in energy to help manage procurement for their portfolio of operations as we are licensed to operate in all the deregulated states An aerospace manufacturer who is headquartered out-of-state in a non-deregulated energy market recently acquired four independent companies in Connecticut Managing the nuances of energy procurement for these four new divisions along with nearly a dozen other locations across North America made for quite an arduous task for the company Some of the Connecticut locations were finishing contracts at different times of year and others were on the standard offer from the utility the company needed help with a cohesive strategy to both save money and obtain budget certainty CBIA Energy Connections worked with the member to develop a strategy that incorporated bundling all four Connecticut locations under one contract CBIA Account Manager “Through this new contract which contained staggered start dates per location per their legacy contracts we were able to provide a new supply rate which was considerably lower than the utility standard offer by aggregating all the usage across the locations the company was able to get a far lower rate than if each location were entered into a supply contract on its own.” In the first 12 months of this new multi-location contract alone CBIA Energy Connections was able to save this member over $350,000.00 on electricity supply costs at a time when utility rates were at their highest on record In addition to helping manage the supply rate Energy Connections also identified that two of the four locations were paying sales tax on their electricity supply and delivery By facilitating the submission of a tax-exemption form the member was able to save an additional $20,000.00/year as well as recover $8,000.00 in back taxes as an on-bill credit in managing energy procurement across all Connecticut locations while providing industry expertise and periodic market updates used for budgetary planning CBIA Energy Connections was able to free up significant time and effort for the member that would have been spent attempting to coordinate from 2,000 miles away as headquarters had been doing up until then Download PDF A franchisee of one of New England’s largest breakfast chains came to CBIA Energy Connections with plans for rapid expansion in Connecticut This CBIA member company was seeking to lock in a fixed price contract for long-term budget certainty in the midst of a rapidly escalating marketplace but the company’s growth plans called for the acquisition of several new stores over a two-year period While many of the client’s existing electricity accounts bought electricity supply from local utilities several of the new locations that the company was in process of acquiring were already under third-party agreements with multiple suppliers and various contract end dates Together with the member company’s chief financial officer CBIA Energy Connections put together a schedule to be incorporated into a competitive supply request for proposal (RFP) containing multiple start dates for the 32 current and planned accounts The RFP also called for additional flexibility via a provision to accommodate for unforeseen changes including the addition of new locations not yet identified supporting the company’s longer-term growth vision This RFP was put out to six competitive suppliers and based on the results the member selected the longest term available with a supplier who had both the lowest price and most flexible contract to accommodate the member’s expansion plans the client was able to add ten new stores and eliminate two accounts which were closed all while maintaining the same fixed contract supply rate and avoiding any early termination penalties This was done at a time when both the competitive marketplace and local utilities saw an unprecedented rise in costs based upon the explosion of natural gas prices this customer was able to realize a savings of over $200,000 vs Download PDF The State of Connecticut exempts manufacturers from taxes on the sale of gas electricity and heating fuel used directly in the fabrication or manufacturing of a product to be sold This tax exemption can save manufacturers 6.35% on both their demand and supply purchases yet it must be initiated with both the utility and supplier this line item is removed from the electricity or gas invoice and the company is credited manufacturers with SIC codes between 2000-3999 are eligible for a gross earnings tax credit of 8.5% for electricity appears on utility bills as “manufacturer gross earnings tax credit.” the organization’s consultative electricity and natural gas procurement program regularly performs audits of members’ invoices to ensure that all relevant tax exemptions are applied “Our consultants routinely discover situations where manufacturers are not receiving proper sales and/or gross earnings tax credits a very large manufacturer in Southern Connecticut was not receiving the gross receipts tax credit from their utility on their two largest electricity accounts.” providing the necessary tax forms while requesting a retroactive refund on our member’s behalf to be paid for the maximum lookback period This led to an investigation by the utility as to why the member was not receiving the credit CBIA worked in conjunction with the utility’s senior management it was determined that the member was in fact eligible for two years’ worth of gross earnings tax credits totaling over $136,000 which were ultimately paid over the next two billing cycles we discovered that a mid-sized manufacturer who decided to take advantage of CBIA Energy Connections was paying sales tax to both the utility and their third-party supplier for their two electricity accounts We questioned this and brought it to the attention of the member who was unaware of the manufacturers’ sales tax exemption for energy We then advised the member to complete the appropriate exemption form for each account which were then submitted to both the utility and the supplier.”  In this situation the member received $65,000 in sales tax credits Download PDF New Year’s Eve is the one night of the year when almost anything goes and you can find – or make – a good time whether you’re dressed in sequins and tuxedoes or jeans and well-worn dancing shoes If you’re planning to step out to ring in the New Year Rhode Island venues are offering a wide variety of activities and experiences for you and your crew of all ages where Timmy Drums is offering live music and there’s a special holiday tapas menu New Year's Eve Charity Casino Gala & Party, Support the Rhode Island Foundation’s Healthy & Safe Providence Fund by attending one or both of their events in downtown Providence (providencegevents.com/newyearseve) Start the evening at the Casino Royale Gala at The Reserve on Dorrance where you’ll be welcomed on a red carpet with a cocktail hour and dinner while the Dave Macklin Band plays enjoy casino games and linger for a midnight countdown or move down Dorrance Street for Diamonds Are Forever at the Ballroom at Providence G enjoy music by DJ Derek “The Prince,” late-night bites casino games and party favors with a champagne toast at midnight A prix fixe meal is also available if you choose to go there earlier Party like it's the 1990s at Twin River'90s New Year’s celebration, Bally’s Twin River Lincoln Casino Resort, Lincoln, casinos.ballys.com/lincoln Time travel to the 1990s for this nostalgic extravaganza featuring a buffet dinner a mentalist and magician show with David Hall and Peter Boie NYE@ LOOM The Loom Hotel is hosting a New Year’s Eve party with live music and a DJ The Hilton property is also offering overnight packages that include party admission Holiday cheer: Coast Guard House sommelier offers expert advice on picking perfect wines Night of Frozen Enchantment, The Chanler at Cliff Walk, 117 Memorial Blvd., Newport, thechanler.com Slip into the grand mansion for a wine and canape reception featuring a shellfish bar and charcuterie station Enjoy noshing while you watch a live painter capture the moment in time and the dance floor will heat up with a Las Vegas DJ Dance Party with The Dick Clarks, Pump House Music Works, 1464 Kingstown Road, Wakefield pumphousemusicworks.com The band promises “groovin’ songs from across the rock ‘n' roll spectrum.” Dueling Pianos in NewportDueling Pianos, One Pelham East, Newport, thepelham.com Hit the club early or show up late to watch the ball drop including top-40 covers by the party band Timeless Barry’s New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball, The Event Factory, 144 Metro Center Blvd., Warwick, theeventfactoryri.com – like you did at the beloved Warwick nightclub as DJ OG Pauly D plays the lounge and DJ D-Train turns out classics on the dance floor Complimentary passed hors d’oeuvres and a toast at midnight On stage: Trinity Rep's 'Christmas Carol' has some growing pains, but a veteran Scrooge makes magic Neal & the Vipers, Courthouse Center for the Arts, 3481 Kingstown Road, West Kingston, courthousearts.org Skate into 2025 in East ProvidenceFamily Skate Night with Pikachu, United Skates of America, 75 New Road, East Providence, unitedskates.com Burlesque and dancing at SartoSarto in Red, Sarto, 86 Dorrance St., Providence, sartoprovidence.com dancing and a live DJ set from 10 p.m.-2 a.m enjoy Italian New Year's Eve traditions such as eating grapes and breaking plates Complimentary champagne toast and party favors at midnight Skip dinner and enjoy dancing until midnight for $30 2025 at 4:15 pm ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}See the full 2025 WaterFire schedule RI — WaterFire will return to Providence next month kicking off with a full lighting along the river at Waterplace Park and downtown The 2025 WaterFire season will have six full lightings of the Providence River and several partial lightings and supporters who have helped sustain this tradition in Providence," Ed Cabral the Director of Sponsorships and Corporate Relations at WaterFire Providence See the full 2025 WaterFire schedule below: Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Colby improves to 3-4 overall heading into Saturday's 11 a.m Thanks for visiting a onetime Hope High School and Rhode Island College basketball star who has been a civic leader in Rhode Island for decades a name I hadn’t heard in decades but certainly remembered Once upon a time Al Santio had been a giant around here He was the Rhode Island schoolboy athlete of the year in 1960 starring both in basketball and track for Hope In today’s sports world that undoubtedly would have translated into a scholarship at some big-time school The civil rights legislation that would change the country was still four years away No one had ever heard of Martin Luther King and major league baseball was roughly only one decade removed from having its first African-American player The north end of Benefit Street had yet to be turned into a living monument to colonial architecture Randall Square had a few mostly black clubs a couple that occasionally featured some of the biggest black acts of the time There also was a place then called the Benefit Street Recreation that was on a small gravel road going up the hill from Benefit Street It was run by a black man named Charlie Thomas and it was a serious gym “Santio was always there,” remembers Jim Cox who grew up off Hope Street on Providence’s East Side and was an All-Stater at Classical before he became one of the first Rhode Islanders to play for Providence College when they were writing the first few chapters of their great basketball story “He was big and strong and good around the basket “And he always used to play a card game called Whist at the Benefit Street Recreation I think he liked that better than basketball.” Tom Cannon was a sophomore at Hope when Santio was a senior in the winter of 1959 who also went on to play for PC and later became the longtime basketball coach at Mount Pleasant “Al was like Rhode Island’s version of Wilt Chamberlain back then,” Cannon says And if he was great in high school basketball and most black kids in the Providence public schools didn’t even take college courses in high school an all-black school that eventually would turn into the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore “I remember they called me about Al and I recommended him,” says Mike Sarkesian But the problem was that black colleges all but operated in their own reality back then No matter that Santio became a college basketball player good enough to become the 51{+s}{+t} pick in the 1963 NBA Draft No matter that he set a discus record at his college that still hasn’t been broken No matter that he was a two-time All-American in track in the small college division And no matter that he went on to play professional basketball for the Hartford Capitals in a league that later morphed into the Continental Basketball Association as if he had fallen off the landscape somewhere You have to be old enough to remember when Ike was in the White House And even though he was named to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 “I saw him about five years ago,” Sarkesian says It is just one of the little mysteries that surround the life of Al Santio around here this great athlete who once left for college and essentially never came back Would it have been different if he had come of age a decade later Al Santio was a great Rhode Island high school athlete