The DPPC team, left to right:
Geoff Kish, Jen Smith, Cliff Wood, Susan Dunnington, Kristin Crane
Happy Holidays from all of us at the Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy!
From all of us on our team, we’d like to wish a Happy Holiday to all of our followers and supporters for helping us have a productive year. Our staff may be small, but we work hard to make a big impact on public spaces in Downtown Providence.
As we reflect on 2016, Assistant Director Geoff Kish remembered how fun the month of May was, “when volunteers came from all over the city to help make the parks look beautiful.” Special thanks to students from the Wheeler School and the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Foundation, as well as neighborhood businesses and the Groden Center for helping us in the park.
Executive Director Cliff Wood felt that this summer’s live performance by Doppelgänger Dance Collective in Kennedy Plaza, encapsulates so much of what we’re trying to do here. “Creating opportunities to use shared space to provide cultural and economic opportunities for people in our city.”
Our Communications Specialist Kristin Crane has fond memories of the month StoryCorps set up their Air Stream right next to the Kennedy Plaza food trucks. “As a long time fan of StoryCorps, it was exciting to have them recording stories of ordinary Rhode Islanders in the heart of Downtown Providence. The community listening party in Burnside Park was a special end to their residency; there wasn’t a dry eye in the park!”
Program Director Jen Smith loves the summers, when the park is full of kids, laughter and playtime. “I’m always inspired by the creativity of children. This year we had some extra pieces of fabric in the Imagination Center, and suddenly they were turned into capes, which inspired our weekly Cape Day. Can’t wait to see what they do next summer.” Special thanks to our partner, KidoInfo, for helping us each year.
And Office Administrator/Volunteer Coordinator Susan Dunnington is loving Greater Kennedy Plaza right now, in all its holiday spirit. “Earlier this week, I was waiting for the bus around 6:00pm and Greater Kennedy Plaza felt magical. Changing lights under the trees in KP, holiday lights around many of the neighboring buildings, and music floating over from the ice skating rink.”
As we look toward 2017 we’re looking forward to working on the restoration of the Soldiers & Sailors Monument, bringing more free kids programming to the park, and expanding the cultural events. We hope to see you in the park!
Left to right: Jen welcoming monsters at Spooky Storytime, a rare photo of Kristin Instagramming (she’s usually behind the camera), Geoff with students from the Wheeler School, Susan with our Groden Center volunteers and Cliff at a press conference announcing the opening of North Bakery.