Category Archives: Events

Jun17

Changing The World ONE Song At A Time

Posted on by
Changing The World ONE Song At A Time
ONE agit8

Photo provided by ONE agit8

International leaders convene today in Northern Ireland for tomorrow’s G8 summit. Together they will craft policy on major decisions about the world we live in.  ONE wants us to use our voices to call for commitments toward chronic malnutrition globally as an important step towards the end of  extreme poverty, and preventable disease.  ONE’s Agit8 campaign highlights the force of change inspired by protest music throughout history. They have compiled an amazing playlist of protest music over the years, and you might be surprised at the meaning behind some of your favorite songs.

ag2 copy

Photo provided by ONE agit8

Growing up in Boston. a city that  has been one of the most prolific incubator towns in our country for new music, listening to music was a huge part of our lives. Whether at the Boston Symphony Orchestra with my parents as a child, or in a basement club as a young adult, it is what we did. Later working in film production,  I had the opportunity to meet and work with great musicians like Aerosmith, and James Taylor. My friend Lisa and I were even able to get our favorite indie band at the time, Chucklehead into a T.V. commercial we were on.  The power of music weaves through each of our own personal soundtracks to take us back to specific time periods in our lives.  When I think of music to change the world by, forever permeating my consciousness is the   ‘We Are The World” track written by Michael Jackson.

In my mind those first startling images that woke up global awareness to the famine crisis in Ethiopia are inextricable from the music that followed. It stirred us to action, starting in London with Bob Geldof’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, and once our eyes were opened, there was no turning away. That sparked the USA to follow suit with We Are The World, and to me suddenly music seemed to become a powerful humanitarian driver.  Songs have always inspired changed in the world, as evidenced by the history that ONE has compiled.  From the nursery rhyme Ring Around The Rosie, thought to refer to the Plague epidemic in England in the late 1600’s, to Woodie Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land written in response to the blind American patriotism he saw surrounding U.S. involvement in World War II.

The Band Aid/Live Aid initiatives marked the greatest outpouring of collective compassion for a faraway people the world had seen.- ONE.org

When the world came together through music in response to the Ethiopian famine in 1984 the seeds of inspiration, and eventual formulation of the ONE campaign were planted. To see the background of its formation check out the amazing documentary  Give Us The Money-Why Poverty about how Bono and Bob Geldof used their celebrity to become agents of change.  A global awareness was sparked by those events in the mid eighties, and has since caught fire. Music continues to be a driver of change and solidarity for people, and right now we have the opportunity to use our voices and join the ONE campaign to be heard. If you love music, and it moves you, you can get involved with the Agit8 campaign and let the music speak to you, or for you here.

ONE is joining forces with Spotify and major artists to show the world the power of the protest song.
Listen to exclusive playlists, watch incredible live performances, and enter to win a Spotify Premium account!

protest songs copy

Photo provided by ONE agit8

About ONE

Co-founded by Bono, ONE is a campaigning and advocacy organization of more than three million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease… because the facts show extreme poverty has already been cut in half and can be virtually eradicated by 2030.

We’re not asking for your money. We’re asking for your voice.

Find out more at ONE.org

Jun8

Art! Food! Merriment! At Festival Fete

Posted on by
Art! Food! Merriment! At Festival Fete
Art! Food! Merriment! At Festival Fete

festival fete

One of the things we love about Rhode Island is the amazing art scene, and this weekend one of my favorite local events is taking place. Festival Fete  is an art festival featuring local artists, performers, and food vendors that bring together community to celebrate the arts. It is a two day event full of music, entertainment, free crafts for kids, Artists, and  local vendors.

art1

The mission of Festival Fete is: to offer a platform for local artists — of various mediums and levels — to show their work. In collaboration with community talent, volunteers and sponsors, to create profitable platforms that celebrate locally grown art, food and merriment.

“This is not your grandmother’s Art Festival!” is used as one of the festival’s tag lines, and certainly prepares you  a bit for the 10 foot costumed Big Nazo creatures roaming amongst the vendor tents.  Today we were charmed by painters and jewlers, bakers and popcorn-makers, and children selling their art.  Women twirling rolling pins and covered in flower danced through the crowd to the music of their band, and tee-shirts were sold recycled as skirts along side organic laundry care by Yore.  This festival is all about community, great art and supporting the arts.  the Rock Climbing Wall donates 1/2 of it’s profit  to  ArtIsSmart, and Smashing Photo Booth donates the entire fee charged for photos.

Art Is Smart serves children by raising funds to support public education art programs. We produce and sell AIS merchandise, hold fundraising events, and direct 100% of corporate and individual donations to public school art teachers who request funding via a short, specific letter outlining what they need funding for and how much. A simple and straightforward process for raising and distributing funds, Art Is Smart is based on pure passion for the arts.

art2Even young artists in the community are given a chance to shine. The booth for them is free and in return they donate 10% of their proceeds to the ArtIsSmart program.  David created the Festival along with his wife Jennifer, and says that grants are provided to nurture art programs in Rhode Island public schools where sometimes the budget for art supplies is zero. “Some schools with no budget for art supplies will come to us with requests for the most basic supplies such as paper and colored pencils.” says David. Over the past year thousands of dollars in grants went to funding basic art supplies for Rhode Island public schools.

art3

We learned about the award winning art program riverz edge arts  which is a really cool program that took part in the festival.  It serves as a social enterprise where professional artists serve as mentors, guiding youth through their arts education in an environment that stresses hands-on learning, teamwork, mutual respect, and responsibility. At one of the booths I fell in love with the great logos on the Lotus Life tee-shirts that read “Create Yourself” and  “She Believed She Could So She Did”.  The sun came out to shine down on the festivities driving us to get refreshment at nearby Pinkberry frozen yogurt, where they also were donating proceeds from their sales to Art is Smart. The festival will be at Garden City  June 8th & 9th from 10am – 5pm,  since proceeds for many of the activities go to charity, you don’t have to feel guilty about going both days if you want. It’s all in the name of Art!

Apr29

The Running Of The (Roller)Bulls

Posted on by
The Running Of The (Roller)Bulls

I saw the horned beast coming at me out of the corner of my eye, but was not quick enough to escape its wrath.  When I looked down to where I was hit I could see the viscous red liquid dripping down my arm and the red stain that blossomed on my white t-shirt. I’d been gored! Yes I had signed up for the Running of The Bulls with my team the Rhody Mamas, but we were not in Pamplona. This was right in downtown Providence, and it was not a bull who’d run amok that got me, but rather a Roller Derby queen on a mission.

Yes, I’d been gored! But, I’d been Gored For Good in the inaugural Get Gored For Good Running of The Bulls fundraiser and festival to benefit Amos House.  This consisted of Providence Roller Derby Team members called “Rollerbulls”, donning horns, and armed with paintbrushes of red paint chasing down the runners.

I have to say I have never laughed so hard during a run, which by the way, I learned takes way more lung capacity than usual.  Before the run even began Amos House announced that already over $115,000.00 had been raised to house the approximately 150 Men, Women and children who stay with Amos house each night, and to help feed the approximately 800 who come to them for meals each day. The funds will also be used towards their counseling and job programs following the Amos House Motto of “Helping people help themselves.”

The Mission Statement of Amos House Reads:

Amos House is a nonprofit social services agency that provides hospitality and direct services to the homeless and poor of Rhode Island. We work in collaboration with other agencies and groups to address issues of hunger, homelessness and poverty.

The family friendly event had us running through down city Providence for no more than two miles…maybe a bit less in fact…and included a lovely water/juice/snack stop where I was also able to have my own set of bull horns made for me by the balloon artist on hand. We ended with the  festival in Burnside Park where there was a band playing, and more funds were raised with food for purchase from local food trucks and vendors, SugarRush, Championship Melt, Plouf Plouf,and Friendship Cafe, as well as beverages for sale by sponsors Narragansett Beer, Revival Beer and Opici Sangria. There was also face painting and the balloon artist,but the highlight for me (other than the Sangria!) had to be the Mechanical bull.

A fellow Rhody Mama riding the bull!

This event was a total blast for a great cause! Now I can’t wait to go see the Providence Roller Derby in action from the sidelines, when I’m not running from them with faux terror.

 

Apr5

What Are The Millennium Development Goals?

Posted on by
What Are The Millennium Development Goals?

The Millennium Development Goals are 8 international development goals set after the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000. These goals were agreed upon by all 193 United Nations members to be achieved by 2015. At the time it must have seemed very far off in the future, but today marks 1,000 days until the goals are to be met. Millennium 1,000 has filled a schedule of 1,000 minutes of digital programing today to mark the goal and inspire momentum in achieving the 8 Millennium Development goals globally. You can join the conversation, or learn more by following the hashtag #MDGMomentum. I will be taking part in 1/2 hour Twitter chats with World Moms Blog at 6pm on the topic of #MDG2 Education using @worldmomsblog and #MDGMomentum, again at 9:30pm with Social Good Moms (where I am a member of Global team of  200) on #MDG5 “Picturing Maternal Health: A Look at Maternal Health Through Facts and Photos.” using #SocialGoodMoms & #MDDGMomentum hashtags, and then again at Midnight with World Moms Blog on #MDG4 Child Survival  using @worldmomsblog & the #MDGMomentum hashtag. I hope to see you at one or more! Below are fantastic infographics on each of the Millennium Development Goals from the United Nations. Much progress has been made, already extreme poverty has been halved since 1990, but we have so much farther to go by 2015, we need to work together to achieve these goals.