Editor’s Note The City’s Bright Idea Providence is a
smart city. We know this. With Brown, RISD, JWU and URI campuses here, we’ve got a lot of brainpower in a small place. But students leave, and take everything Providence has taught them when they go. It’s called Brain Drain, and it happens every year. That’s one of the reasons why the cultivation of the Knowledge District is so exciting. With developments in all kinds of knowledge economy fields – biomedical, technology, internet services – businesses in the city are finally working together with schools in a way that could lead to significantly more students choosing to live here after graduation (and thereby develop all of that young urban growth we were hoping for with the construction of those downtown high rises). In this issue, we take a look at the newest developments, from the businesses that are springing up in the new Knowledge District to the driving forces behind the branding effort – and what the implications are for the rest of us.
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Meet the artist behind all of those awesome murals in South Providence in Art
If you’re looking for a good scare this month, try having your own Ghostbusters experience. We go on a real live (or, dead) ghost hunt with the Rhode Island Society for the Examination of Unusual Phenomena at a haunted mansion in Cranston. You can also hunt down spirits on the Providence Ghost Tour – or enjoy something a little more family friendly at the Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular at the zoo. If you haven’t seen it yet, you need to go this year. We’ve also got non-frightening ways to enjoy the last of the warm weather, like shopping at the Providence Open Market or following the road to Rhode Island on the Family Guy tour. There’s a lot to do this month. Make the most of it.
Providence MONTHLY
Publishers Barry Fain Richard Fleischer John Howell Publishing Director Jeanette St. Pierre Editor Julie Tremaine Assistant Editor John Taraborelli Art Director Allison Cole Assistant Art Director Alli Coate Advertising Design Director Layheang Meas Graphic Designer Karli Hendrickson Account Managers Danielle Claro Louann DiMuccio-Darwich Ann Gallagher Nellie Lima Dan Schwartz Liz Sliney Jessica Webb Illustrators Emma Tripp Photographers Jonathan Beller K Harber Photography Laurel Mulherin Mike Braca Dan Schwartz Stacey Doyle Kate Kelley Contributing Writers Stephanie Obodda Linda Beaulieu Cristy Raposo Emily Dietsch Dan Schwartz Scott Duhamel Jen Senecal Dawn Keable Alyssa Smith Molly Lederer Vikki Warner Michael Madden Andrea E. McHugh Interns Lauren Knight Whitney Smith Jennifer Liedke
Contributor Molly Lederer Writer Molly Lederer is a long-time favorite of ours here at Providence Monthly. She has been with us for several years, writing the monthly theater column here and in our sister publication SO Rhode Island. This month she talks to the visiting Artistic Director at Perishable Theatre about their annual Women’s Playwriting Festival. With all that work profiling theater, dance and music throughout the state, it’s hard to believe this is her second career. When she’s not out taking in shows, Molly is toiling at her illustrious career in the natural chewing gum industry, penning all those clever rhymes that the Glee Guy is always spouting off.
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Providence Monthly | October 2010
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