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The RI Brew Bus: All Aboard!,Jared Paul Celebrates His 19Th Ve Amos House & PVD Roller Derby 5k Gored for Good Photos by Staff Photographers – Mike Ryan, Denneese Seal, Sampson Jacobs DIY Porno Coming to the Columbus For one steamy night, porn is making a resurgence at the Columbus Theatre. On Saturday, April 30, the venue is hosting Dan Savage’s Hump Film Festival – a screening of dirty homemade movies created by regular folks with an affinity for nudity and unconventional kink. Surrounded by friends and strangers seated in the former vaudeville house, an adventuresome audience will peek into some people’s deep- rooted desires: fruit-eating fetishes, masked invaders, ejaculate-covered postal workers. But the festival is more than simple smut. Dan Savage — the writer behind the 20-year-running Savage Love advice column, LGBTQ and political activist, and co-creator of the It Gets Better Project – founded the festival to lend a safe space for healthy sexual expression. According to the cultural figurehead, there’s a real need for something of the sort. In 2005, he asked fans to submit their own sexually charged flicks – and received hundreds of hot submissions. Now in its 11th year, HUMP! is about acceptance and the phenomenon is redefining conventional “porn” one viewing at a time. This year — on its third international tour with 22 new films — it promises to make viewers laugh, gasp, sweat and wriggle in their seats. And most importantly, genuinely get turned on. The iconic writer will be there in person to host the event. “It’s rare for people to watch porn that takes them outside their comfort zones — it’s rare for people to watch porn that, if they were home alone in front of the computer, they wouldn’t choose to click on and watch,” explains Savage. “At HUMP! straight people watch gay porn, vanilla people watch kinky porn, gay people watch lesbian porn. And people laugh, they gasp, sometimes they cover their eyes. But at the end of every film people clap and cheer. It’s moving and wonderful and newcomers don’t expect it. It’s a celebration of sexual diversity.” Note: Advance screeners of the program will be available on a limited basis. There will also be an exciting addition to the Providence programming. On Friday, April 29, Dan Savage will have a live recording of his podcast “Savage Lovecast” also at the Columbus, starting at 9pm. Dan will answer sex questions from the audience with some help from other revered freaks and “sexperts.” For an overview of each film and tickets for both events check out: humpfilmfest.com Namaste with IPA (or Chardonnay) Have you ever been in a book club? I’ve been in several – I’m in one right now – and I’m therefore all too familiar with its thinly veiled disguise. It’s an event that makes me feel cerebral; cultural even, despite the fact that I know it’s a mere excuse to drink with friends. We all know it’s true, despite our protestations, which is why it’s been dubbed by my husband as “wine and cheese night.” Oh well, at least I always read the book. Really, I do. If you’re familiar with my writing (motifri.com/momswhodrink/; motifri.com/drinkingtoomuch/), you know I’m of the mindset that everything is better with a cocktail. I assumed, however, that some activities were sacrosanct, immune from being coupled with wine or beer, activities like painting, yoga, meditation and the like. You can imagine my surprise – and delight – when paint and wine nights came into vogue. That just left yoga and meditation. As a former yoga teacher who’s practiced off and on for over 15 years, I could not imagine any circumstance under which I would want to mix yoga and drinking. They just don’t mesh. I admit I’m a bit of a yoga purist. I don’t like to practice yoga with my baby or perform it on a stand-up paddle board or do it in the nude. For me yoga is a spiritual experience with the added bonus of buff triceps and back muscles. But when my editor asked me to write an article about the newest night out trend – yoga and drinking – I agreed immediately, albeit with a degree of skepticism. This month, the Ocean State will play host to two events that allow participants to do yoga and drink. On April 20, Foolproof Brewery in Pawtucket will host a yoga and beer tasting event and will continue to do so the second Wednesday of each month. For a little more than a regular drop-in rate, guests will experience a one-hour Vinyasa-style class followed by a sampling of the brewery’s craft beers. The class takes place in the brewery, so instead of breathing in lavender or patchouli, you’ll inhale the scent of hops and yeast. Spiritual, but in a different sense. On April 28, Newport Vineyards offers “Vineyard Vinyasa Yoga” in which guests do a Vinyasa-style yoga class for an hour and 15 minutes before engaging in a full wine tasting. To make it a complete night out, guests can then have dinner at the vineyard’s restaurant, Brix. Finally — yoga pants will be considered acceptable dinner-wear. At these events, the yoga is legitimate. Newport Vineyards has teamed up with Thames Street Yoga; Foolproof with Nanaquaket Yoga Studio in Tiverton. I spoke with Nanaquaket’s instructor Rachael Frodyma to figure out why a real yogi would want to mix a divine experience with a craft beer. Rachael told me that she and Foolproof president and founder Nick Garrison got together last fall to create a yoga and beer tasting event. The aim of such an event was not to get people buzzed and then watch them attempt tree pose, but rather to make yoga accessible to a broader range of people. “It’s about reaching out to our community and sharing the joy of yoga with everyone,” she says. Sure enough, seasoned yogis show up with neophyte partners and friends – many of whom would not feel comfortable setting foot in a yoga studio. And after class, the laid-back vibe — and the beer — encourage participants to ask questions and learn more about the poses and practice, a luxury not afforded in a typical studio experience. When I asked her about the environment, Rachael admits the energy of the brewery is much different than that in her yoga studio. It’s less serious and more fun. Even the music is more upbeat and energetic. And after a fantastic hour of detoxing and working your body, you’ve earned the reward of a cold one, or two. It’s not pure yoga, and it’s not sitting at a bar. It’s simply a fun, unique night out. Sort of like book club … or paint and vino night. Ok, I’m convinced. After talking with Rachael and putting my own snobbery aside, I can see the upside to mixing yoga and drinking. Just like book club and paint night, it’s merely about combining something I really love (yoga), with another thing I love (drinking). While it’s not conventional, it’s certainly better than just sitting around drinking all night. Next up: Shambala Meditation Center hosts a “Meditate with a Moscow Mule” event. Just kidding. Not ready to go there … yet. Foolproof Brewery will run their yoga and beer tasting event the second Wednesday of each month. Bring a mat and your thirst. Purchase tickets for Vineyard Vinyasa Yoga here: eventbrite.com/e/april-vineyard-vinyasa-yoga-tickets-20434965532 The RI Brew Bus: All Aboard! I have a shameful secret that I am about to publically admit: I don’t really like beer. The irony is, of course, I am Motif’s Pub Crawl columnist, and for the last two years, instead of drinking beer at every pub, I’ve ordered wine and cocktails (thus making me a poor, pour writer). So, you can imagine my hesitation when the RI Brew Bus pulled up to the scene — surely its essence would be lost on the likes of me? But despite being an “I’ll take a pitcher … of sangria” kind of person, I was really looking forward to the brew bus. The basics: RI Brew Bus offers four tours, ranging from “BEEReakfast of Champions” on Saturday mornings (traversing through Pawtucket and Woonsocket), to the nighttime “Border Jumper” between RI and CT. I chose the “Get the Pell Over Here!” tour. It not only included two breweries, but also a vineyard and a rum tasting, the trifecta of alcohol goodness. My two girlfriends and I boarded the bus at 11:35 am, just in time for a blizzard on a lovely April morning. Six people who’d signed up got “food poisoning” and couldn’t make it, thus dashing our hopes of being surrounded by eligible bachelors. To ease our sadness, Eric and Josh, our guides, poured us our first beer, and we waited for two more passengers to arrive: a grad student and her boyfriend, whom she was surprising for his birthday. Once we were all aboard, we received a rundown of the rules (“No drinking on the bus … starting now”) and headed to our first stop: Newport Storm Brewery. We arrived just as sunny skies returned. We found the inside bar bedecked with shots of Thomas Tew white raw rum, an unadulterated spirit straight from the still. My friend jokingly (but not jokingly) asked for a chaser, and was met with a heavy sigh from our local expert, Zak. “There’s always one,” he said.
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