Barnaby Castle Hosts a Halloween Party

Though everyone may flock to visit Lovecraft’s grave or the ghosts of the East Side this Halloween season, there’s a hidden gem on Broadway with its own scary stories to tell. Barnaby Castle has graced the West Side since its construction in 1875. It was built in a Victorian style that was eccentric even for its time, with a tower, wondrous stained glass windows and a carriage house in the rear. It was commissioned by Jerthomul Barnaby, the proprietor of a very successful department store in downtown Providence. A Democratic party bigwig, he died in 1889. His wife, however, lived for another two years before being murdered by poisoned whiskey sent via US Mail.

Since the late 1800s, this gem of Broadway has become rundown. But there’s been movement toward renovating it back to its former glory. On October 28, the Castle will host Halloween at the Castle, its first such party in more than a century. “This isn’t your standard fundraiser,” says organizer Kaitlyn Frolich. “We want people to get their tickets, have a good time and enjoy the castle.” She’s hoping to raise enough money to replace and repair the 118 windows on the property. Many of them were custom-made for the building in the 19th century and aren’t the kind you can pick up at your local hardware store. The plan is to engage local artisans for the job.

The basic ticket for this one-of-a-kind party gets you in on the . It includes an open bar and local food from Julians and Laughing Gorilla Catering. Music will be provided by local singer Miss Wensday with a DJ following. A VIP ticket gets you into all three floors, plus the turret, and even more food from Xo Cafe, Nami Sushi and a lot more. Cocktail attire is expected, but costumes are strongly encouraged, as the night will have a costume contest.

“We don’t want to see it knocked down and replaced with condos,” says Kaitlyn. “The money is going to a local landmark, and will funnel money into local jobs and give the community something it can use and enjoy.” She has a background in interior design, and more than seven years in event planning. The renovation for the castle is expected to take some time. Restoring the windows, for example, is estimated to cost more than $100,000, and the Halloween party should go a long way toward reaching that goal. Once the renovations are complete, the castle is intended to be used as an event space, providing Providence with an elegant reminder of the past.

While Kaitlyn typically schedules private tours for the castle, on rare occasions it does open to the public. This past September during the Doors Open RI Festival, the castle saw more than 1550 members of the public visit. With some luck and some work, the Castle can continue to be an historical treasure for decades to come. If you’re interested in buying tickets for Halloween at the Castle, follow the link: artful.ly/store/events/13537. Follow them on Facebook for information about future events or tours.

Top 5 Fun Things To Do: October 25 – October 31

FRI 27 – SUN 29

3rd Annual RI Cannabis Convention: I was gonna go to this last year, but then I got high. Filled with vendors of grow supplies, glass and professional services. 11am. RI Convention Center, 1 Sabin St, PVD. riconventioncenter.com

SAT 28

Tight Crew’s Annual Halloween Massive: Over 20 DJs and producers, including DJ Venom, Kutski, J Paul Getto, Slow, How Hard, Soappy, Glowworm and more, get together for this Goosebumps-themed event. Three stages on three floors with multiple full bars, complete with costume contest, confetti cannons, laser lights, epic Halloween décor by Tight Crew and thousands of smiling faces! Other highlights include a “vendor village” area for party guests to peruse and purchase cool locally made clothing, art and accessories. Expect awesome sounds, lighting and decorations at this banger. It’s gonna be lit. Costumes not mandatory, but highly encouraged! All ages can enter, 21+ to drink. 6pm – 1am. The Met, 1005 Main St, Pawtucket. tightcrew.net or themetri.com

The Grateful Undead – 10th Anniversary Screening: This low-budget local indi film about hippie zombies just beat the Walking Dead-enhanced, everybody-make-a-zombie-movie craze. Relive that trip, or see how it’s held up. Columbus Theatre, 270 Broadway, PVD columbustheatre.com

Chifferobe’s Rhode Island of Misfit Toys: Performances by The TropiGals Ameena, Jessie Jewels, Dave Alves, Lulu Locks, Kat De Lac (Pittsburgh), Apathy Angel (NYC), Ekat (NYC) and bubbly, all inspired by the likes of Annabelle, Return to OZ, and Pewee’s Playhouse. Fete Music Hall, 103 Dike St, PVD. fetemusic.com

TUE 31

Rocky Horror Picture Show: Do we seriously have to describe the original cult classic? 8pm. Zeiterion Theatre, 684 Purchase St, New Bedford. zeiterion.org , King of the , Comes to Comic Con

Friday, November 10 marks the start of the “Biggest show in the smallest state!” as fans gather at the Rhode Island Convention Center & Dunkin Donuts Center for a weekend of indulgence. In plain language, a bunch of NERDS are taking over Providence. This year, it’s more true than ever because Rhode Island Comic Con will host the largest reunion for the cast of the 1984 American film .

I was granted the opportunity to speak to Revenge of the Nerds‘ Curtis Armstrong, the actor and self- proclaimed “ Founding Father,” about his book Revenge of the Nerd, Rhode Island Comic Con and Providence.

Jax Adele: How did this book came about?

Curtis Armstrong: The book came about just because for years I’ve been thinking about the different things I have done in my professional career, which goes back 40 years now or more. When actors get together just as a group, we’re always telling stories. And everyone’s got good stories about various points in their career. I had memories that were still pretty fresh, and in addition to that, I just don’t throw away things. So I had journals, diaries, letters and documents, and all sorts of things in a big trunk that got carried around with me for decades. And I was just going through the trunk and I just thought, “Gosh, there’s so much stuff here and it’s so specific.” I figured as a nerd, which I always consider myself to be, even before that word was actually used to define us, the idea of writing the nerd narrative, the nerd’s progress, born a nerd, raised a nerd, that has always been a part of who I am … I just thought it would be handy. Then there’s that connection with Rhode Island Comic Con … In 1984 with Revenge of the Nerds, it was really when nerd culture as a thing was coming into full bloom. It had existed before that, but for various reasons it was really becoming a force to be reckoned with in the mid-80s, and that was where all the parts fit into place. I just started writing and it seemed like it was something that people liked. I handed it around to a few people and then an agent read it and liked it and from that time on, it just ran its course.

JA: So you have this book. And it’s taking parts of your life, and you’ve stated you have journals and diaries and just entries of stuff you’ve been amassing you whole life. So it’s like you’re your own Metatron or scribe. [Curtis laughed. Metatron is his character from the “Supernatural” TV series.] You’re like a scribe of a nerd, but it’s a specific nerd because it’s Curtis Armstrong the nerd.

CA: It was a funny coincidence, actually, because I was working on the book at the same time I got the role of Metatron on “Supernatural.” So I would be up there in Vancouver playing the scribe of god, then going home at night and working on the book. The penultimate episode of Metatron’s was called “Don’t Call Me Shurley” (S11E20). Metatron faces off against god and winds up pleading with god to not destroy his creations and god is writing his autobiography and wanting Metatron to punch it up. It was bizarre because at that very time I had gone into the editing process and so I would go to work during the day, playing Metatron editing god’s book and then at the end of the night I would go home and still be in the process of editing my book.

JA: You’re a lover of books, you’ve been reading books your whole life, you’ve been writing stuff down and now you have this book. And in this book you tell stories in a way, which I hear isn’t gossipy, and I applaud you for that. It’s just telling it because what if the people who experience these stories don’t tell them? How will we find them?

CA: Well it’s true. When I was first in the process of developing what the book was going to be, I had interest from a number of different publishing houses. And I had a meeting with one of them. The publisher or the editor that I was talking to said, “I think it would be better if you just made this a time frame tell-all. It should start with your first movie and end with the cancellation of ‘Moonlighting.’” So that would take into account Risky Business, Revenge of the Nerds, Better Off Dead and “Moonlighting,” the big ones from that decade. “But it should be a tell-all book, you worked with all these people, you should be able to do that.”

That was never the intention, and I would certainly never have limited myself in that way AND would have never considered revealing things. The stories that I tell about famous people are only new to people because they weren’t around at the time or you’re hearing it for the first time through someone else’s eyes as opposed to seeing it in block print in People. That was the way I approached it. I always end up talking about these movies and TV shows because that’s the thing people respond to. However, my idea always had been, this is a nerd’s progress, this is a nerd’s story and part of that story — a huge part of that story — is making these movies and TV shows. That’s the hook.

JA: Has Providence stood out to you in the convention circuit?

CA: I’ve been to the Rhode Island Comic Con once before this. These things now happen all over the country and there’s a sameness to it. Because basically you wind up never getting out of the building. However, there was one thing about Rhode Island Comic Con that I found when I was here the one time was because of its location, a lot of these places are out by airports and things. But in Rhode Island, you can actually go out and wander around and get a sense of the city. Which is what I did last time I was here. I would go out for breakfast before I had to show up to do whatever I was doing. You do get a sense of the city, because it’s in the city, and as someone from , I spent a lot of time on the East Coast and New England. It has a sense of place and it has that late 19th century feel that you definitely can’t get when you’re in Los Angeles.

Personally for me, as a book nerd, which is what the book is about in a lot of ways, one of my favorite authors when I was young and still enjoying a lot now is HP Lovecraft. Before I ever came here I had a sense of what Providence was like through those stories. I sort of interpreted that it was always dark, it was always cloudy and rather spooky because that was what I was getting from Lovecraft. Of course I now know it’s more than that, but that was my first actual connection with [Providence] through the work of HP Lovecraft. I spent a year wallowing in these dark Eldritch tales. … One of my only real regrets is selling my Lovecraft collection. I guess I needed the money, but I’ve regretted it ever since.

When I was living in New York during my stage days, I used to come up to Providence because I had friends who worked at Trinity Rep. I would go up periodically to see shows there. That’s going back a very long way and things have changed, but all for the best from what I’ve heard.

JA: Are you excited about coming back to Rhode Island?

CA: I was already looking forward to coming back to Rhode Island. It is one of those places where you can slip out and run around. And this one in particular is significant because we’re having the biggest Revenge of the Nerds reunion that we have ever had. We had one major one before in Louisville, but at Rhode Island, were going to be having a huge, for us, collection of the actors who were in Revenge of the Nerds all together again. And we’ll be doing panels, and we’ll be doing the usual things, photo ops and what not. It’s going to be great to have everyone together. We always have a great time. I will be looking forward to that, and I will also be signing and selling the book.

JA: Is there a big group text where everyone’s chatting about stuff?

CA: We’re starting to get together with it. I’m still in touch with almost all of them. In fact, I interviewed a number of them for my book so you get their perspective for what’s going on during the Nerds movies. But Bobby Carradine I see all the time. I’ve been hearing from Julie Montgomery who played Betty Childs. I’ve been hearing from Don Gibb who played Ogre. He’s going to be there. Brian who’s Takashi. Lamar Larry B. Scott. Wormser is coming up from New York, Andrew Cassese. A lot of us are getting together and for the first time we’re going to have Ted McGuinley there who played the evil bad jock. So we’ve got a fair number of them. Only one or two couldn’t make it.

JA: What are some of your new favorite nerd fandoms?

CA: Well, I’m still pretty much stuck in my old fandoms. When we were doing , Robert Caradine and I, we were discovering all sorts of things that we had never gotten into before. We sort of knew what cosplay was, but it was that show that really introduced us to all of this. Its intricacies and so on. There’s lots of stuff. But at this time, I tend to dance with the one I brung.

I tend to be a classic horror film nerd, meaning ’30s and ’40s, music nerd and a book nerd. A book collector. And certainly the “Supernatural” fandom is a phenomenal and unique experience. But those are things I’ve always loved and the things I still love.

JA: Do you think there is a divide between old nerds and new nerds?

CA: I think the average kid wouldn’t. I think that nerd culture is something that has become so vast and has so many elements to it and there are so many types of it. It’s come such a long way from going to comic book sales in church basements, which is what I remember from the ’60s. All of these kinds of things are exploding. I think that new nerds coming up may get interested in the old-school type fandoms, or maybe not. Maybe they have their own new exciting fandoms. The technology changes constantly. The references change constantly. DC and Marvel were omnipresent when I was a boy, but only in the pages of the comic book. But with the movies and the TV shows, that’s an entirely different fandom. It can include the comic books, but it doesn’t necessarily. So all of the things keep changing and fandoms evolve over time. And whatever happens with to the new “Star Trek,” for example, “Star Trek Discovery.” I have no idea if that’s going to go or not. Whether that’s going to be a worthy connection to the traditional “Star Trek” fandom or whether that’s going to be an asterisk. It’s too early to say. But that’s one of the way that things keep evolving. You can’t really expect any 15-year-old to absorb 60 years of different fandoms because there’s really no need to.

Paranormal Investigators Discuss Local Hauntings

When you’ve had your fill of traversing Benefit Street on ghost tours lit by lantern light, or having teenagers in masks leap out at you from haunted corn mazes, there is a more relaxing and scholarly option to get into the Halloween spirit this October. It takes place in a library, a setting where certainly nothing spooky has ever happened in any movie, ever.

On Wednesday, October 25, Ocean State Paranormal will present “Haunted History” at the Warwick Public Library. The event, free to the public, will be held from 7 to 9pm and will explore historically significant hauntings and paranormal investigations throughout New England — with an emphasis on Rhode Island’s own ghost stories.

So how haunted is Rhode Island? Enough that 29 paranormal societies (according to paranormalsocieties.com, which keeps a national directory of these sorts of things) call our state homebase. Another 100 organizations throughout New England list themselves as available for service within the state.

Buddy Thayer, who co-founded Ocean State Paranormal in 2012 with Jarris Chrissos, says he’s been asked before about the seemingly high concentration of investigators for a state with such small land mass. “I don’t know what it is,” he says. “We do have a lot of cases. Sometimes it ends up being nothing, but there just seem to be a lot in Rhode Island.”

Thayer first became involved in the paranormal in 2009, after a series of unexplained phenomena in his mother’s home. This week marks Ocean State Paranormal’s fifth anniversary. “What we do isn’t so much in terms of ‘catching’ something or not catching something. What we do is give people the peace of mind that this isn’t in their heads,” Thayer said. “That’s the main reason we do it.”

On an investigation, Thayer explains that what Ocean State Paranormal does first is emphasize confidentiality with any clients who contact them to visit their residence. “We only talk about our clients online in terms of case numbers. A lot of people fear what other people will think,” he explained. “That they’ll think, ‘They’re calling the Ghostbusters,’ or people will think they’re crazy.”

Once on location, Thayer and his team focus on the history of the location — meaning future conversations, like the upcoming Haunted History event, are rich in detail. The history of the home, the land and the previous residents and their occupations are all examined.

Investigations can and have led to strange occurrences. Thayer notes an investigation in Woonsocket, which led to an audio capture of a male voice. “The home was originally built in 1880 by a Civil War Veteran, whose cavalry was slaughtered,” said Thayer. “He was one of only 30 guys who survived.”

One of the sites that will be discussed during the Haunted History lecture is the history of SK Victorian Mansion in Gardner, Massachusetts. Built in the 1880s by businessman Sylvester Pierce, the guest list of the mansion has, through the years, included everyone from former US presidents to Bette Davis to P.T. Barnum. When Sylvester and both his first and second wife died — and after the Great Depression affected the family business — Sylvester’s youngest son turned the mansion into a boarding house. The home was said to have been a brothel, and it’s been reported that a prostitute was strangled and died within the home. Another guest was burned alive in his bed.

Ken Watson, curator and contractor for the restoration of the mansion today, said in an interview with WCVB 5 earlier this month that at least 13 ghosts are in the house. The mansion is currently under restoration to be turned into a haunted bed and breakfast, in the ilk of the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast in Fall River.

Ocean State Paranormal was part of an investigative team this June and will be sharing their experience and the history of the mansion.

As part of the Haunted History talk, Ocean State Paranormal will also discuss — among other locations — the Ladd School, Smith Castle in North Kingstown, Kent County Jail and Varnum Memorial Armory in East Greenwich.

“It’s a phenomenal place with an incredible history,” Thayer said of the Armory. Construction for the Armory began in 1913 and today it houses weapons and artifacts from as far back as colonial America.

While Ocean State Paranormal has given lectures at the library in past years, the group is mindful to keep lectures fresh and share details from cases not previously covered. Next month, Ocean State Paranormal will hold a discussion at the Oak Lawn Branch Library in Cranston, built in 1895, where they’ll share their findings from multiple evenings spent investigating the location.

Oops. Maybe libraries aren’t a thrill-free Halloween destination after all.

Top 5 Fun Things To Do: October 18 – October 24

THU 19

An Evening with David Sedaris: The author and humorist representing Gen X will talk pretty for one night. 8pm. Zeiterion Theatre, 684 Purchase St, New Bedford. zeiterion.org

FRI 20

Beervana Fest: The Grand Poobah of craft beer events. Get your tix early — this one always sells out. Featuring celebrity brewer talks, limited releases, live music and performances by the Tropigals. Rhodes on the Pawtuxet, 60 Rhodes Pl, Cranston. beervanafest.com

Bill Nye the Science Guy: Bill! Bill! Bill! Bill! Bill! 7pm. The Ryan Center, 1 Lincoln Almond Plaza, South Kingstown. uri.edu

SAT 21 Urban Vintage Bazaar: Shop small, classic and local at the Arcade, as shops invade the throughway. 65 Weybosset St, PVD. arcadeprovidence.com

SUN 22

The Price is Right LIVE!: That home-sick-from-school show comes to Providence to pull contestants from the audience and win big prizes. 4pm. Providence Performing Art Center, 220 Weybosset St, PVD. ppacri.com

The Searchers Seeks the Truth About JFK’s Assassination

October 26 may, on the surface, appear to be just a regular Thursday in Rhode Island. But under the surface there is something more going on — something BIG. On this day, the JFK Assassination Records Collection Act, which President George H.W. Bush signed into law back in 1992, will trigger a clause that will require the remaining 3,600 documents held mostly by the FBI and CIA to be released.

Writer/Director Randolph “Randy” Benson and his team of JFK researchers have spent the better part of 14 years compiling recently declassified documents, archival footage and never-before-seen interviews as part of a documentary that will be screening at the Avon Cinema on Thayer Street on October 19 called The Searchers.

Benson’s work has garnered numerous awards, most notably the Academy Award for Best Student Documentary at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Academy Awards. His work has also been featured at numerous film festivals around the world and has garnered multiple awards.

The screening, which is sponsored by the Rhode Island-based radio interview show, SHADOWCITIZEN, will also have a Q and A session after the screening with writer/director Randy Branson and Rex Bradford, founder of historymatters.com and vice president of the Assassination Archives and Research Center, an organization that has been collecting and disseminating information regarding the JFK assassination since 1984.

This is a documentary you will not want to miss — the FBI and CIA are petitioning to prevent the release of this information at this moment.

You can find out more information about the documentary and the work being done on this subject at thesearchersfilm.com and aarclibrary.org. Information on the sponsor of this event, SHADOWCITIZEN, can be found at shadowcitizen.online. Those attending the screening on October 19 can save $5 on their ticket by using a secret password “grassy knoll” at the box office. Dance of the Living Dead: Providence Zombie Night 2017 is Here

The dead shall rise once again and party it up all night long at the annual Providence Zombie Night! On Saturday, Oct 14, make your way to the Quarantine Zone Block Party at 19 Snow Street in PVD, sponsored by The Dark Lady. “This will be our third year at the Dark Lady,” said Rev Al, creator and host of the RI Halloween tradition. “They have become the official home for [the annual] Zombie Night.”

The 21+ event kicks off free of charge at 7pm, but there’s a small entrance fee if you come after 9pm. Another reason to come early: Get your full access bracelet that grants you unlimited re-entry, in case you need to feed on the living, whether meat or veggies.

After the stroke of 9pm, the party gets hotter with the fan-favorite burlesque show: the Boolesque. Led by Bettysioux Taylor, this year’s cast includes Vivienne LaFlamme, MaidenX, and,

performing for the first time on the ZN stage, the legendary Bli Tzen VonShtupp. Another first, Rev Al has announced ZN’s first official zombie belly dancer – Inara Smith. Also featured will be a fire-spinning performance by Amanda Salemi, the vocalist of Consuelo’s Revenge.

For a night like this, Rev Al always warns that douchebags “will be eaten on sight,” and in today’s social/political climate, he recommends people “check [their] political correctness at the door” as it’s all fair game at ZN with costumes. Every year, zombified versions of characters, icons and celebrities of all generations invade the block party. Guests are encouraged to get as gory and creative as possible to compete for this year’s prizes — a cash prize will go to the crowd-voted best zombie of the night. Also, ZN’s friends at Rhode Island Comic Con will be giving away two free passes for next month’s event to the best couple/group/horde of maggot-infested, flesh-feasters.

Rev Al comes every year with amazing makeup designs. What is his secret? He gets all the best tips from the award-winning makeup artist, Art-on-the-Spot’s Kara Andrews. “I want to thank the Zombie Queen, Kara Andrews, for making me look like the best Zombie King [I] can be every year,” said Rev Al.

In a Motif exclusive, Kara has given some awesome tips on simple ways to blend in with the dancing dead. If you can’t afford Hollywood levels of horror, you can save money while still looking fabulously decayed.

Makeup: It’s always best to apply makeup with makeup sponges, thin paint brushes and spray bottles. Try to use water-based makeup and eye shadows for the best results. Recommended brands include Mehron and Wolfe. Techniques: Utilize black eye shadows and powders to enhance the “sunken skull” look on your temples, under your eyes and under the cheek bone for contouring. Spray a bit of water on your powder makeup and rub it with a sponge to create a cream. Various colors of eye shadow (yellows, browns, purples) can help enhance a more freshly dead look with bruising over a powered face. Flesh/Wounds: Liquid latex can be combined with pieces of toilet paper and cotton balls to create split/shredded flesh. Paintbrush-dabbed or spray bottled “fake blood” is great, but consider adding fresh “scab” to open wounds for something thicker and more realistic. Ben Nye Fresh Scab is a great product to pick up. Extras: Body glue and medical adhesives can act as spirit gums to hold objects in place. Always try to be creative with items you wouldn’t expect to create the effect you need (eg, painted and cut press-on nails glued to your lips to create sharp teeth). Resources: If you can’t handle referring to realistic medical and accident photos, many other websites and videos are provided by companies such as Chit-Chat and Silly Farm. Also, YouTube is full of tutorial videos for everything from simple designs to grand special effects.

For more information and special announcements, visit the Facebook event page at: Providence Zombie Night 2017.

Top 5 Fun Things To Do: September 27 – October 3

FRI 29

The Silks: Local blues rock greats. 9pm. The Met, 1005 Main St, Pawtucket. themetri.com

SAT 30 New England Whiskey Festival: Tap into the latest innovations in that barroom grain staple. 2pm. Twin River Event Center, 100 Twin River Rd, Lincoln. twinriver.com

TEDxProvidence: Hear local speakers talk on this year’s Past, Present and Future theme at The Vets. tedxprovidence.com SUN 1

The Empire Revue presents the Supernatural Show: Long-running PVD sketch comedy returns with a get-spooky Halloween theme. 8pm. AS220, 115 Empire St, PVD. as220.org

March for Racial Justice: A multi-community movement championing civil and human rights. 3 India Point Park, PVD. fb.com/M4RJRI

Morris Nathanson, Pawtucket Revival Architect and Artist, Turns 90

Morris Nathanson bridge in daylight (Photo: Michael Bilow)

The City of Pawtucket pulled out all the stops to honor Morris Nathanson on September 8, the day before his 90th birthday, at the “Curtain Up” gala opening of the 2017 Pawtucket Arts Festival. The bridge carrying Exchange Street over the Blackstone River between Roosevelt Avenue and Broadway had previously been named for Nathanson, but at the REVEL Factory, the new home of “living art” performance group TEN31 Productions, with an excellent view of the bridge, its new lights were ceremonially switched on for the first time.

Known for decades-long advocacy on behalf of the arts and creative community, Nathanson is credited with aggressively promoting innovative zoning practices that encouraged converting unused factory and warehouse spaces into combined live-work spaces. In the 2008 documentary Pawtucket Rising, Nathanson recalled, “I went to the city council and convinced them to create special zoning for live/work, which did not exist in Rhode Island at the time. There were kids, artists who were living illegally in department stores and whatnot, but I wanted it part of zoning, a legal thing. They agreed with that. That was the beginning.” He said the first building he rehabilitated was in “the very worst condition,” but he chose it for its location: directly across the street from the high school he attended many years earlier, right off Interstate 95 and only a few minutes from the train station. Morris Nathanson (Photo: Michael Bilow)

At his 90th birthday, Nathanson took advantage of the opportunity to exhort the crowd to consider design factors at the new Pawtucket Red Sox stadium being considered for the former Apex department store site. “I’m not 90 years old yet, that will be tomorrow… I think one of the problems we’ve been having with the community regarding the PawSox is that the issue has not been big enough: It’s been all about Pawtucket…. What I’m getting at is that, why could you not have art as a mix with sports, with baseball? Why couldn’t you do that? I’ve been in the stadium and there are long corridors with all sorts of plaques on it regarding all of the heroic things the PawSox have done over the years. Could you imagine artwork done by the artists in Rhode Island on those walls? Could you imagine how wonderful it would be if a family could take their children not just to see a baseball game, but to see art, art that is local, art that is real, that is successful? The schools do not do enough to promote art and you cannot promote art by teaching art: You have to promote art, whether it’s music, or ballet, or painting, by osmosis: exposing people, young people, to it. You cannot teach it, you cannot instruct it.”

Morris Nathanson Bridge, illuminated at night (Photo: Michael Bilow)

Nathanson also bluntly criticized one aspect of the design he had seen for the new PawSox stadium. “The second part of the idea is something that may be a catalyst for downtown, and that would be to create something that is very active, that invites people to come to Pawtucket, that reaches out to Millennials who will not only come to this great edifice for the art and the baseball, but also places to communicate. Millennials right now, as you know, love to engage in communication: They love the cafe spirit, not the large restaurants and whatnot… Now, as you know, the existing Apex building facing the river has a wall, a blank wall. You can go underneath the beautiful bridge on Taft Street and you see a blank wall. The plans I saw for the PawSox show another blank wall there facing the river. This is such a stupid idea. Why would you want a blank wall on the river where you can have small cafes and pubs and whatnot on the riverbank?”

“So please, remember now, at my age, ideas can still work,” Nathanson joked. “I cannot be that physically active, so you must get behind it.”

Richard Kazarian (Photo: Michael Bilow)

Antiques dealer and historian Richard Kazarian, who introduced Nathanson at the ceremony, later told Motif, “I think I expressed my sentiments this evening about how fortunate Pawtucket is to have someone of Morris’ ability and how fortunate I am as a friend to have such an inspirational figure. I grew up in Pawtucket, same neighborhood as Morris, and Morris is one of those rare men who came back home and devoted himself to the city’s improvement, and there’s not many cities that could count on someone of his abilities to help elevate our cause.

“I’ve known of Morris since childhood because our families were connected as friends, and I’ve actually bought his artwork over the years, but it wasn’t until I came home about a dozen years ago that our friendship really developed,” Kazarian said to Motif. “It’s a funny thing that Pawtucket people, to some extent, we counted on ourselves to help bring about Pawtucket’s revival. We had no wealthy patrons, we had no colleges or universities, we don’t have the Doris Duke of Newport or the Antoinette Downing of Providence, no cognoscenti, no illuminati, we’re kind of left to our own resources. Which is okay because when others see what we’re attempting to do, however admirable, they think we’re just trying to do too much, that Pawtucket will always have its limitations and even trying to introduce the arts to a classic mill town might be too much. We don’t feel that way at all, and where the experts always cautioned us to curb our enthusiasm, we knew we were capable of exceptional things, and having Morris on our side was always going to make us have that confidence that we would need. I couldn’t be prouder of him. The bridge is a small gesture but I think you can tell from tonight the kind of respect that he has.”

Herb Weiss, the economic and cultural affairs officer for Pawtucket, attended the bridge lighting ceremony and echoed what he said in the Pawtucket Rising documentary a decade ago, telling Motif, “Pawtucket was one of the first communities in Rhode Island where we have legal live-work space for artists. It all started with Morris about 30 years ago. He spearheaded an effort of artists and local creative type people to go to the city council to change the zoning…. He’s had his fingerprints over the last 30 years on every major arts initiative in the state and he’s always worked closely with city government to push the arts as an economic engine. Because of Morris, we’ve had hundreds of artists move into Pawtucket.”

Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien speaks (Photo: Michael Bilow)

Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien told Motif, “It’s exciting when we bring a community together like this to see a lighting of a bridge… we’re dedicating it to Morris Nathanson who has lived his life here in Pawtucket, and I know he’s going to get mad at me for saying this, but we all talk about turning 90 and having that passion, so it’s a great community and people like Morris have made an opportunity for people like myself to lead this community in different directions and we appreciate that.” About Nathanson and his contribution to the city, Grebien said, “I’ve gotten to know Morris, I was on the council so I’ve known Morris in my political career about 20 years… and at times he’s passionate, at times he’ll drive you crazy because he’s so passionate, but if you stop and really look at what he started many years ago, buying the first mill building in downtown and renovating it into a studio and then being well known for that, and then I think he was a pioneer before he knew he was a pioneer, and what I like most about it is that, while he’s gotten a little older his passion for the city hasn’t changed.” Agreeing that Nathanson was instrumental in zoning for combined live-work space for artists, Grebien said, “It took that creative mind to tell us governmental folks… how important and what it was to mix the business with the creative, so it’s been very, very important.”

The PawSox stadium project faces obstacles but Grebien is optimistic, he said. “It’s really important to educate the people because people have this fear that we’re going to be raising taxes here in the city to pay for it; that’s not the case. The taxes are going to be generated from the new stadium, it would generate the revenue. So it’s trying to get people to understand that because you have the nay-sayers out there, and there’s a lot of skepticism because of 38Studios and because of other bad investments. This is nothing like that, so we’re excited about having people become understanding about the process.” Phyllis Nathanson with her husband Morris (Photo: Michael Bilow)

In an interview with Motif at the Curtain Up event after the bridge lighting, Nathanson said, “I’m overwhelmed. First of all, it was a surprise, a complete surprise. I’m overwhelmed, I’m almost embarrassed because of all the attention.” Asked what he was most proud of accomplishing in Pawtucket, he said, “Finding a way to save all the mills when they were being dismissed or torched or torn down, and coming back and being able to save the mills as places for artists to work and live in.”

As to the future of the city, he said, “It depends on a couple of very important things. The first would be, what happens with the PawSox. The second thing would be, how the area around the proposed train station would be developed; that’s a very important area.” Is the train station project a catalyst? “For the area where it is, yes, because there are many fabulous buildings there that should be saved and put into use primarily as a major arts community.” How would the train station area relate to the existing arts district? “It could be expanded to that area. Can you imagine how wonderful it would be, an artist community right next to a train station with direct communication between Pawtucket and Boston?” Is he optimistic the train station project will happen? “It will probably take quite a while, but yes, the people in Pawtucket and the administration have been very active.”

What was most instrumental in saving the historic mills? “By far, the zoning change: making it legal for artists to not only work but to live in the lofts. Imagine this: an artist graduates from RISD and with one rent they have a living space, a studio, and a place to have their own intimate gallery to sell their works. The proof is that it’s working.”

How much influence did the Pawtucket Rising documentary have? “It was a wonderful documentary, [director Jason Caminiti] did a great job… It had a major influence, and the other things that followed were very important, too, like The Gamm Theatre and then the art school.” Does he see more moving into the area, following the lead of Burbage Theater relocating into Pawtucket from Providence? “I think it’s going to depend on how active the Pawtucket administration gets involved. As long as the community can make it a welcoming area for artists, they will come here. Yes, they will, especially now that things are so expensive and unattainable in Boston, the arts community will also move here.” What does he think of the current Pawtucket city administration? “I think the mayor [Grebien] is doing a very good job, and he’s being a very hard-working mayor, and I’m hoping that the mayor can reach out to the best kind of intelligence he can acquire, meaning resourceful people who have good experience and good leadership ability, and I think if he had a strong group to work with him, I think much can be accomplished. He, himself, is a good leader.”

If there was one thing he could do for Pawtucket, what would it be? “It would be to come up with the most creative, outstanding way of bringing the PawSox to the Apex building, even if Pawtucket has to sacrifice a bit of self-identity by suggesting that is a State of Rhode Island stadium and make it a larger entity than it might seem to be.”

In closing, Nathanson said, “Regarding tonight’s events, I’m so honored and pleased, much of it has been kept as a surprise to me, and I cannot say enough appreciation for the event.”

Video of lighting ceremony including Nathanson’s full speech (11m21s): dailymotion.com/video/x612mr6

Pawtucket Rising documentary, directed by Jason Caminiti: pawtucketrising.info Full video (53m41s): vimeo.com/21521280

Clarification: The term “architect” is here used figuratively to describe Nathanson’s role in the Pawtucket revival, not to represent that he is accredited or licensed as an architect.

Top 5 Fun Things To Do: September 13 – 19

FRI 15 – SUN 17

Fall Taste of Block Island: This restaurant-week style event provides a sampler of all the finest food the island has to offer for the season. All day, Block Island. blockislandinfo.com

Misquamicut FallFest Weekend: Spring into fall with this family-friendly carnival and food festival, featuring amusement rides, classic cars, food and drink of all types and musical performances by Rubix Cube and John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band. 11am, Misquamicut Beach, 257 Atlantic Ave, Westerly. misquamicutfestival.org

SAT 16 UHF Screening with Weird Al: The cult classic from the ‘80s, screened with a Q&A from the weird one himself. 7pm, Columbus Theatre, 270 Broadway, PVD. columbustheatre.com

PVD Roller Derby Home Team Championships: See the home teams smash and compete for the championship! 5:30pm, West Warwick Civic Center, 975 Sandy Ln, West Warwick. Providencerollerderby.com

PawSox Food Trucks & Craft Beer Festival: About 20 Food Trucks and 15 regional brewers take to the field. All food and drink bases will be covered. 6-10pm McCoy Stadium, 1 Columbus Ave, Pawtucket. pawsox.com