Thank you Linda Kane… you are awesome!

On Friday afternoon, the eastbound lane of Westminster Street in front of the CMW storefront will be closed off for an hour-long celebration of our recent national recognition, and we need you to come jam with us!

Get out that old instrument (or noisemaker, kitchen utensil, pot/pan, etc) and join CMW for a community musical jam session! We'll have a few instruments on hand too, as well as some free food, stickers, balloons, and more. The Mayor will speak, and Big Nazo will surely be entertaining.

Considering the name of this event, probably best to avoid Westminster Street by taking Broadway or the Point Street Bridge if you are traveling by car. Plenty of parking at the Dexter Training Grounds, one block behind the CMW store front office.

We hope you'll come out and celebrate with us!

On Wednesday, October 20, a merry band of CMW student and professional musicians are taking Anthem on tour to Washington, DC.

During National Arts and Humanities Month, we're planning several performances of Anthem in our nation's capitol (including a symbolic performance on the National Mall and a presentation for students at the Sitar Arts Center), and you're invited to join us!

[10/18 update: download performance details here.]

While all the details of our day in DC are yet to be fully resolved, we do know that we'll be boarding a 55-seat bus (yes, the one in the photo) on Tuesday morning, October 19 bound for Washington, and returning on Thursday, October 21. Since will be extra seats available on the bus, we'd like to extend an open invitation to our friends and supporters to join us on this adventure. And if you live in New Haven, NYC, or Philadelphia, or anywhere else along Interstate 95 between Rhode Island and Maryland, we'll try to include you too!

Fine print: You'll need to find your own accomodations and finance your own meals, and we'll ask you to consider making a small donation to help us pay for the bus rental.

Intrigued? If you want to know more, contact Heath Marlow, CMW's Managing Director, by email (heath@communitymusicworks.org) or phone (401.861.5650).

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Jori recently completed a book, available for $13 from Blurb.com, documenting the Providence Youth Arts Collaborative's Roots & Rituals: A Creative Day for Creative People. This first-of-a-kind youth-led event was held on May 22 at AS220 and billed as a "free collaborative arts and media day where you can make cool stuff, learn about local youth arts organizations, and see expressive performances."

Preview the book and purchase it here. More photos of Youth Arts Day by Jori are available in CMW's Flickr account.

October is National Arts and Humanities Month, and Americans for the Arts has provided a list of 10 simple things parents can do to "get more art into their kids' lives."

In the words of President Obama, "our strength as a Nation has always come from our ability to recognize ourselves in each other, and American artists, historians, and philosophers have helped enable us to find our common humanity. Through powerful scenes on pages, canvases, and stages, the arts have spurred our imaginations, lifted our hearts, and united us all without regard to belief or background."

Americans for the Arts has also published a listing of National Arts and Humanities Month events around the country.