What is the matter with this man? The Providence Rock and Roll Yard Sale folks and their past partners, InDowncity, have been forced to cancel their annual spring event which used to bring happy crowds down to Westminster Street at Grant’s Block every May. This is all of a piece with the abstemious Mayor Smiley’s prior no-fun initiatives. The following is a portion of the statement issued from RRYS owners, Chris and Jennifer Daltry:
And now for the not-so-good news regarding our annual Spring event, the Providence Rock & Roll Yard Sale. It is with heavy hearts that we have to announce that our partners, inDowncity PVD have decided to back out of participating in this event. That means that we would be left to shoulder the entire weight of it all, financially and otherwise. The reason inDowncity is leaving the partnership is because of the amount of grief they were given after last year by the City of Providence, and that is mostly due to public alcohol consumption, something we have never had anything to do with or have any control over, but it was part of the block party / market we created with inDowncity PVD. The current PVD mayor appears to have a vendetta against any public event that involves alcohol, and even though everything was done in compliance with the city rules in past years, they still created accusations against the event and made it seem like an uphill battle to make it happen again the way it has been done – a way, we should say, that works!
Oh please. Who exactly are all these complaining parties? (Look at this crowd of unruly hooligans!) And the RRYS ends at 6pm! I hope Mayor Smiley has seen this additional comment from Mr. Daltry:
When Fortune magazine included the City Of Providence in its 2024 list of the best cities in America to live, their featured photo was of the Providence Rock And Roll Yard Sale. this is what happens when everyone but the Mayor of Providence understands the importance of community events like ours.
Carrie Nation redux: Two years ago the mayor took a hatchet to our beloved summertime PVDFest. He moved the date to September, moved the event into a grassy park, and eliminated the block parties, the Fest bars, and the carrying of open containers. The push-back from attendees and vendors alike forced him to restore a watered-down version back into the city streets, but still in the fall.
Smiley has been open about his problems with addiction, but frankly, he’s giving recovering alcoholics a bad name. Smiley has been sober for over twenty years, and that’s fine, but he seems determined to completely eliminate booze from the public sphere. (We tried that once, remember? It did not work.) When I quit drinking it never occurred to me that the world would have to reorganize itself for my benefit. My sobriety is in my head, not my environment. And while I can’t drink, I still prefer the company of those who do.
I remember thinking that having an openly gay mayor would be fun; boy did he smash that stereotype. And this brings me to the annual Pride Parade held in June, of which I have always been a big fan. But it is a raucous noisy spectacle that doesn’t even start until at 8pm. The parade winds its way through the streets of the city, leaving glitter, beads, glow sticks, and joy in its wake. So is Mayor Smiley preparing to move that event to a park in September? Good luck confining the Alley Cat crowd and the folks over at the Providence Eagle into designated Smiley drinking pens.
Why did Smiley even land in Providence? Wouldn’t he have been happier elsewhere . . . somewhere like, Utah?
Smiley’s current term ends on January 4, 2027.
The opinions expressed here are mine alone.
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Complete disclosure: The Daltrys are my good friends because they are smart, fun, kind, hard-working people. I also used to help out at their former brick-and-mortar shop, What Cheer Vinyl and Vintage on Thayer Street.
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This photo of Chris was taken at last year’s event. On the right is Jennifer in one of her gorgeous vintage dresses and a red hat. I love that dress.
The event always coincided with Derby Day and Jennifer would usually lean into it.
A few years ago.
I am laughing because you really captured the situation in all of its ridiculousness. But the not so funny part is how much we, our vendors, and hopefully the businesses along Westminster Street depend on a successful event like this, and how much it hurts to not have it happen.