PROVIDENCE – A citywide event that normally brings the community together to welcome in the summer and celebrate local artists has now raised some controversy and questions within downtown.
Over the weekend, documents from Mayor Brett P. Smiley’s office detailing plans for this year’s PVDFest were leaked on social media, showing numerous changes to the annual event. Along with shifting the three-day weekend event from June to Sept. 8-10 – which was announced back in March – PVDFest will be relocated from a downtown celebration to along the Providence River. Additionally, block parties that had been regularly part of the festivities will not be permitted, according to the documents, a change that drew sharp criticism on social media.
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Smiley’s administration says this year’s event will prioritize the city’s local artisans and artists being showcased more than in prior years to the thousands of people at PVDFest that city officials are expecting to attend. The location along the river will give artists “more space and allows us to highlight everything that makes Providence so special,” Smiley spokesperson Josh Estrella said Tuesday in an email to Providence Business News.
However, some local business leaders and owners say they were not part of the discussions to change PVDFest to this degree. While some business leaders feel holding PVDFest in September is a sound plan, they say the event’s new location and no block parties will hamper their businesses economically.
Estrella said PVDFest, which is partnering again with FirstWorks to run the festival’s operations, switched locations to partner with WaterFire Providence to create a “unique and vibrant festival experience” in the city. There will be a WaterFire lighting on Sept. 9 during PVDFest.
“The additional greenspaces, beautiful river view and collaboration with WaterFire to light up the river and keep the excitement going throughout the night is why we chose this new location,” Estrella said. “The new festival footprint will continue to be a great opportunity for all the businesses in downtown, Jewelry District and Fox Point, which are within a five-minute walk.”
Estrella did not clarify why having PVDFest in central downtown is no longer feasible, nor did he provide any evidence from the city that shows the location change could generate more revenue for the city. Estrella did say the new September date will drive “a surge in economic activity in a previously quiet month” for the city and expects the same level of festivalgoers to attend PVDFest as had in prior years, if not more.
In the last three years that PVDFest was held, at least 100,000 people attended each year, and the city’s economic impact ranged between $3 million and $4.3 million. PVDFest was not held in its traditional form in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some business leaders feel differently about some of the changes to PVDFest.
Federal Hill Commerce Association President Rick Simone told PBN that he supports moving PVDFest to September given how busy the city typically is during June, such as Al Fresco on the Hill and the citywide Rhode Island Pride Fest event. Plus, PVDFest being held in September will help drive the hotel and tourism industry in a month that is normally slow, Simone said.
But “a lot of businesses” have expressed concerns to Simone about the new format, he said. Simone says businesses he spoke with are concerned that they cannot hold events, such as block parties, in downtown during PVDFest that would “draw people into their businesses,” which has been typically allowed since PVDFest started.
“They’re concerned they’re going to lose that piece of the economic impact that they were used to getting for the last six to seven years,” Simone said.
From his understanding, Simone said, the changes to PVDFest began with Jorge O. Elorza in his final days as the city’s mayor and that Smiley “picked that up where Elorza left off.”
Estrella said business owners and stakeholders were engaged around PVDFest’s date change and “have heard support” from hotels and “various small businesses” on the date change. But he did not say if businesses were asked about the other changes, such as the new location and eliminating block parties.
Simone, along with Alex Tommasso, owner of The George on Washington restaurant on Washington Street, and Thomas Bovis, owner of Rosalina and Kleos restaurants on Aborn and Westminster streets, respectively, said the mayor’s office did not discuss with them the possible location or block party changes to PVDFest. Bovis said Tuesday he was “totally surprised” about the changes and is worried about losing out financially on PVDFest’s shift away from downtown.
Tommasso told PBN his restaurant would see “a substantial amount of revenue” during PVDFest, especially with the block parties, and fears that will now be lost. Bovis said in past years, one day of revenue during PVDFest at his restaurants would equate to a week’s worth of revenue at his restaurants.
“Being in that [Providence River] location and minimizing it, nobody is going to come downtown; there’s no reason for them to,” Bovis said. “It’s disappointing because people were looking forward to it, especially my staff. It’s one of our biggest moneymaker days in the city. It’s definitely going to hurt us financially.”
Estrella did say the city has “shifted away” from having street closures downtown outside of the new PVDFest footprint to lessen the traffic impact. He also said the mayor’s office will be listening to feedback from the community “throughout the festival.”
Simone, Tommasso and Bovis all said they plan to speak with Smiley about the changes soon.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
If PVDFest is such an economic bonanza the merchants should be picking up the tab and not the taxpayers.