Providence’s Finance Committee is considering a proposal to give $500 grants to 81 vendors affected by the cancellation of a portion of September’s rain-soaked PVDFest.
The City Council approved a motion from President Rachel Miller to send the proposal to the finance panel that would “compensate vendors who participated in PVDFest2023 and experienced damages during the storm.”
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The total cost would be $42,000, split between the city and the R.I. Business Loan Fund managed by R.I. Commerce Corp.
Some vendors have said they’d welcome the financial help but that $500 would not cover all their losses.
Torrential rains led the city to order vendors and festivalgoers to shelter in place both on Sept. 9 and Sept. 10. PVDFest was then forced to cancel the remainder of the three-day festival on Sept. 10.
In analyzing this situation, the prime focal point should be the PVD Festival and the important role it plays in the Providence cultural scene. If the presence of a large diverse vendor group is an asset to the festival, then everything should be done to encourage their presence. So you may be helping the vendor, but in reality you are helping the festival. This expense is justified by the need of any community to protect and improve all its cultural assets especially the large and important ones.This should not be left simply to the vagaries of the market and weather.