The quad on the campus of the University of Rhode Island is eerily quiet on a beautiful spring day. URI classes went remote in March and will stay online through the end of spring semester. Summer classes will also be remote. A virtual celebration of graduation will take place on May 16 and 17, with the hopes of an in-person ceremony for the class of 2020 at some point in the future.
No tiptoeing through the tulips this year. Wicked Tulips has transitioned to a drive-thru bouquet pick-up system, which still allows for a view of the flowers from the car.
In spite of the Coronavirus, people are still Reaching out to those in need.
Pleasant Valley Parkway Closed to Through Traffic
Pleasant Valley Parkway is one of 13 miles of Providence streets being closed to through traffic to provide extra space for safe social distancing.
The WaterFire Beacon of Hope is a dynamic art installation where a single brazier illuminates the Main Hall of the WaterFire Arts Center representing a beacon of hope looking forward to the time when we can all gather together again in the heart of our capital. Once again we will experience WaterFire with our city filled with vibrant joy and discovery and our exhibitions and events again enlivening the WaterFire Arts Center. The WaterFire Beacon of Hope is a LIVE 24/7 dynamic art installation created by the WaterFire Providence team under the artistic direction of founder, executive artistic director and coCEO, Barnaby Evans. Due to Stay at Home Orders, the WaterFire Beacon of Hope can currently only be experienced over the Internet at https://waterfire.org/waterfire-beacon-of-hope/. The WaterFire Beacon of Hope presents a solitary illuminated WaterFire brazier in the Main Hall of the WaterFire Arts Center surrounded by a field of luminaria, each memorializing a Rhode Island soul lost to COVID-19. The installation, which also includes a field of stars overhead and WaterFire soundtrack, can be experienced 24 hours a day and cast to viewer’s TVs.
Lighting Luminaria at the WaterFire Beacon of Hope
Surrounding the solitary brazier are a field of luminaria, each memorializing a Rhode Island soul lost to COVID-19. Beginning on April 16, 2020, the community is invited to join at 8:30 p.m. EDT each evening as we honor and celebrate the lives of each Rhode Islanders reported lost to COVID-19 that day by lighting a luminaria candle lantern and adding it to the installation.
Photograph of line for Starbucks drive thru, April 25, 2020
Taken from the passenger-side window of a car, this photograph only partially captures the extraordinarily long line for the drive thru of the Starbucks in the Chapel View shopping center in Cranston. Taken at 3:46 pm on 25 April 2020.