Dear Shoreline Committee, FPNA Membership and other interested persons,
FPNA has applied for another Earth Day Clean Up Grant from the Department of Environmental Management. This will be the third clean up of the Seekonk Shoreline at Gano Park and we have more reason than ever to finish the job.
As you may know, this summer is Celebrate Providence 375, a series of events that run from May through October in observance of Roger Williams’ arrival on the Providence side of the Seekonk River in Fox Point 375 years ago. At our board meeting on Monday we heard more about the observance and hope to put together a proposal, which unfortunately is due this Friday, March 18th. Because Fox Point has two parks, which are at “ground zero,” of the event, we have came up with a few ideas for events Monday.
They include:
1) Production of historical markers for Seekonk River, near Crooks Point Bridge & Roger Williams Landing Park, that follow the theme and appearance of those great ones in India Point Park. They could be unveiled at the event.
2) Coordination of PRONK Brass Band, that has performed in Fox Point for the past two years in an all-day concert at the two parks, and other possible entertainment venues.
3) Re-enactment of the actual Roger Williams river crossing at Gano Park and meeting native Americans at the historic site of Roger Williams Landing Park, across Gano Street. We have sought the participation of Brown University Drama & Athletics Departments (Row Crews) and representatives from the Narragansett Indian Tribe. What Cheere Netop!
4) FPNA-Sponsored Neighborhood Block Party
5) Encourage the Parks Department to re-install the plaques to the Monument at Roger Williams Landing Park before the FPNA event is held. (There currently is no reference to the significance of the location.) Unfortunately, the plaques were removed several years ago and later stolen. Some work was done by a Brown Student on reproducing them, but the project fell through. The Parks Department pledges to have them re-produced and returned this year, despite drastic budget cuts.
6) Some sort of food venue, perhaps from Fox Point and/or other food establishments.
7) Governmental Officials Participation
Of course, we need to make a number of phone calls and hope that we can have some sort of proposal ready for Friday, even if a few details may remain to be done. If you have any ideas that could be included, please let us know. The National Parks Service, through the Rhode Island Foundation, is awarding four grants of $2,500 each. We hope to use the money to defray some of the costs for the aforementioned projects and possibly other events. We have talked with a representative of the National Parks Department, who has been very encouraging for us to participate, but could not extend the deadline.
Here’s the Earth Day Grant we submitted last Friday for another clean up of the shoreline. (It will give you an idea of the shoreline’s new appearance; our vision for the area and our record of pulling things together.) We received two reports on WPRI-TV and articles in the Providence Journal and Brown Daily Herald on last year’s clean up. We also promote events through e-mails to our 350+ membership and neighborhood coalition and on our web site, www.fpna.net.
We will make every effort to have a proposal ready for Friday, March 18th. We have not heard back yet from Brown University, but they have been contacted and the departments are considering our request. Please contact us with any ideas you might have.