At PVD Fest, “Real Access Motivates Progress” Improves Accessibility for Wheelchair Users

by Andrea Gutierrez

Most days, Kennedy Plaza in downtown Providence is a bustling transportation hub, packed with commuters waiting at designated stops around the perimeter of the square to catch their bus out of the vehicular commotion, but at PVD Fest it transformed into a strictly pedestrian affair. [...]

West African Flavors Flourish in Providence

by Emily Bruck

It’s just before 11 a.m. on Central Street, and the smell of spices is already seeping out of the door of Toyin African Restaurant. Inside, Toyin Bankole, a chef, moves between pots in the kitchen and the fridge, preparing fufu, egusi soup, and jollof rice [...]

In “Eternity,” Providence-born author David Plante Captures the Ache of New England

by Diane Josefowicz

At just over two hundred pages, Eternity, the latest novel by Providence-born writer David Plante, is hardly an overstuffed book, but the world it depicts brims with disquiet. Ted Beauchemin, the novel’s middle-aged protagonist, is someone for whom home is always just hoving into view [...]

What We All Need Now is More Big Nazo

by Dana Schneider

“Oh my god, one more. Look at that bird again.”   Erminio Pinque, the founder and artistic director of Big Nazo Labs, leans forward in his chair to snap a picture on his phone as Yuranian alien Deddiboht (pronounced data-bow) and The Providence Eye’s photography [...]

Ben Sisto Brings “The Museum of Who Let Who Let The Dogs Out Out” to PVD

by Emily Bruck

When most people hear the catchy chant and echoing barks of “Who Let The Dogs Out” they think of boom boxes, glow sticks, and an illuminated early-2000s dance floor. But for Ben Sisto, the song isn’t just a throwback — it’s a piece of art [...]

FringePVD 2025: A Glorious Celebration of Creative Freedom and Community Spirit

by Judith Clinton

There is an inscription carved into the dome of the Rhode Island State House that essentially says   “Think what you like and say what you think.” That sentiment is drawn from Tacitus, a Roman historian and senator who lived circa 56 – 120 AD, [...]

Wickenden Street Welcomes Rong Chic with Grand Opening Celebrating Spicy Sichuan Flavors and Unique Asian Desserts

by Amber Ma

Providence’s Fox Point neighborhood, home to many popular eateries like Pizza Marvin, Jahunger, and Aleppo Sweets has a new star: Rong Chic, which celebrated its grand opening on June 14, 2025. Rong Chic specializes in Sichuan (sometimes written as “Szechuan”) food, hailing from the southwestern [...]

Benefit Street’s “Enchanted Garden”

by Levi Lionel Leland

It was a sultry July night in 1845 when Edgar Allan Poe, the world-famous American author and poet, walked north on Providence’s Benefit Street. During this visit to the city, he became aware of a local poet named Sarah Helen Whitman, who lived in a [...]

The Lonely Road of Monsters: A review of Selene Shade, Resurrectionist for Hire

by Diane Josefowicz

Selene Shade runs a successful small business in Goat Hill, a quirky little city that will strike  readers who know Providence as distinctly familiar. Which is good, because Shade’s line of work is distinctly strange. Shade’s a resurrectionist: She raises the dead for a living. [...]

Seeing Providence’s History in the Story of a Very Old Church

by Peter Laarman

Situated across the street from the Hope Club, a private social club on College Hill, and outfitted with the biggest bell ever cast by Paul Revere & Sons, the First Unitarian Church looks like an imposing historical institution. It is that, but it’s not solely [...]