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Rock Icon Carmine Appice and his new drum show SLAMM! will headline the fifth year of Bright Night Providence.

PROVIDENCE, RI., 11/29/07
This year Bright Night Providence, the artist-run New Year’s Eve Festival now in its fifth year, will really start the new year with a bang. That’s because Carmine Appice, the drummer for groups like Vanilla Fudge, Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart, and others, will bring his newest group SLAMM! to the Providence Performing Arts Center for three shows on December 31.

The group, which has been described as “Stomp on steroids”, features Appice and four hot young drummers who use garbage cans, trampolines, oil drums, drain pipes, ladders, and even dixie cups to create an exhilarating physically combustible high energy show that is perfect for all ages.

“They can drum on just about anything,” says Adam Gertsacov, festival director for Bright Night Providence. “Carmine has really brought together some amazing drummers from all over to create this show. I’m so pleased that their schedule worked out, and we are able to bring them here for New Year’s Eve.” In 2008, SLAMM is expected to go on a national and international tour.

“Providence is such a wonderful city to play,” said Appice. “The audiences are always great. We love how the artists of Providence have organized this festival, and are really looking forward to doing our family-friendly all ages show for Bright Night, and rocking out on New Year’s Eve in Providence.”

SLAMM! will perform three shows in Providence as part of Bright Night. Their shows will be performed at 6, 8, and 10 pm. Your Bright Night ticket (a Tyvek wristband) will guarantee you admission to one of those three performances, plus more than 50 other performances at 17 other venues throughout the day (on a space available basis).

Some of the other artists on the Bright Night bill include local legends Big Nazo Puppets, Celtic group Pendragon, bebop great Greg Abate, Grammy winner storyteller/singer Bill Harley, a blues swing/dance party featuring the Black and White Blues Band and the Superchief Trio, dance troupe Fusionworks, Peruvian band Inca Son, and a host of other artists. A full schedule will be available in early December on the Bright Night website, https://www.brightnight.org.

Tickets and complete schedules to Bright Night will be available in early December online at www.ArtTixRI.com, and available in person at all BankRI locations. all OOP! stores, and at the EastSide Marketplace starting December 6.
For more information about tickets call 401-621-6123 or visit https://www.brightnight.org

Tickets are $10 each if purchased in advance, $15 on the day of event. Family fourpacks for $50 will also be available. There are a limited amount of tickets, so purchase early to avoid getting closed out.

To find out more about Bright Night Providence, visit http://www.www.brightnight.org

To find out more about Carmine Appice’s SLAMM!, visit http://www.carmineappice.com
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Bright Night Providence, Rhode Island’s largest New Year’s Eve Celebration is seeking over 100 volunteers to help make this year’s New Year’s Eve Celebration safe and fun for everyone. Come and be part of the magic.

On New Year’s Eve, volunteers will work 3-4 hour shifts, giving information to patrons, checking wristbands, putting up posters, and doing other work to make sure that the festival runs smoothly. We also have limited opportunities for volunteering in the weeks before New Year’s Eve and in the weeks after the festival.

All volunteers will get a free wristband to enjoy the rest of the festival. For more information please visit our website https://www.brightnight.org or email us at volunteer@brightnight.org.

BRIGHT NIGHT PROVIDENCE TO FEATURE ORIGINAL CIRCUS

This year Providence’s New Year’s Eve Festival is going to be colorful, fun, funny, and just a little bit dangerous. That’s because Bright Night Providence, the artist-run New Year’s Eve Festival now in its fourth year, is bringing the circus to town. And it’s not just any circus. The show, titled the Bright Night Circus of Wonders, will feature national and international circus stars that are guaranteed to thrill, chill, amaze, and entertain audiences of all ages.

“I’ve wanted to produce a circus as the main act for the last couple of years,” says Adam Gertsacov, Bright Night’s artistic and executive director, who is a professional clown himself and a graduate of Ringling Brother’s Clown College. “It’s the perfect family friendly show. But I couldn’t find just the right circus that would fit all of our requirements. That’s why we had to produce our own!”

Gertsacov got together with Chris Allison, a fellow Ringling graduate and the producer of Cirque du Jour, a circus production company based in Connecticut. Together, they built a “dream team” of virtuoso performers that are sure to bring the house down. The performers, while not household names, have performed in some of the top national and international circuses, including Big Apple Circus, Ringling Brothers, and Cirque du Soleil.

The circus dream team is headed by ringmaster Billy Martin, one of the foremost ringmasters of his generation. Mr. Martin has performed with nearly every circus in North America, and currently spends most of the year announcing acts for the Royal Hanneford Circus. “Billy is the perfect ringmaster, “ says Allison. “If you looked up ringmaster in the dictionary, you’d find his picture.”

Not only is the Bright Night Circus of Wonders a family-friendly show, it’s also a family show. Ringmaster Martin will be joined by his wife Angela, an award-winning aerialist And Allison’s wife Gina will join them in the ring as her clown character Gigi. “ We are looking forward to playing Bright Night this year,” says Gina. “It’s really going to be a lot of fun. We really applaud what the Rhode Island artists are doing, and are excited to be a part of it.”

The Bright Night Circus of Wonders will perform three shows in Providence at the Rhode Island Convention Center. The shows will be performed at 6, 8, and 10 pm. Your Bright Night ticket (a Tyvek wristband) will guarantee you admission to one of those performances, plus more than 50 other performances at 17 other venues throughout the day (on a space available basis)

For a complete schedule of performances, visit https://www.brightnight.org.

Tickets to Bright Night are now on sale at ArtTixRI.com, and available at all BankRI locations, all OOP! stores, and at the EastSide Marketplace. Tickets are $10 each if purchased in advance. Tickets purchased on December 31 are $15 each, or 4 for $50.

For more information about tickets or Bright Night Providence call 401-621-6123 or visit https://www.brightnight.org .

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For Immediate Release
Contact: William C. DeWitt, SVP 401-456-5015 x1541
Charles Conway 401-456-5015 x1545

Bank Rhode Island Branches Will Be Ticket Outlets For Bright Night Providence 2007

PROVIDENCE, R.I., (November 20, 2006) – Bank Rhode Island (BankRI) announced today that all 16 of its branches in Providence, Kent and Washington Counties will serve as ticket outlets for Bright Night Providence 2007.

The festival will take place on December 31, from approximately 12 noon to Midnight. Tickets and wristbands will be on sale at BankRI branches from Friday, December 1 through Sunday, December 31. Advance purchases are $10 each. Tickets purchased on December 31 are $15 each or four for $50.

Wristbands can be purchased for a 6 p.m., 8 p.m. or 10 p.m. Convention Center performance. Each wristband guarantees admission to the Convention Center performance at that specific time, plus first-come, first-served seating at every other venue. For a complete list of venues and schedule, please visit www.brightnight.org.

Bright Night is Rhode Island’s largest New Year’s Eve celebration. It is an artists-run, arts-oriented event started in October 2003. The festival is produced by What Cheer Art Company, a nonprofit 501c(3) organization.

The BankRI branches selling Bright Night tickets and wristbands are:

* Atwood Avenue—383 Atwood Ave., Cranston
* Buttonwoods—2975 West Shore Rd., Warwick
* Centerville Road—1062 Centerville Rd., Warwick
* East Greenwich—1269 South County Trail
* East Side—137 Pitman St., Providence
* Johnston—1440 Hartford Ave.
* Lincoln—625B George Washington Highway
* North Kingstown—1140 Ten Rod Rd.
* Park Avenue—1047 Park Ave., Cranston
* Plainfield Pike—2104 Plainfield Pike, Cranston
* Smithfield—445 Putnam Pike
* South Broadway—999 South Broadway, East Providence
* Taunton Avenue—195 Taunton Ave., East Providence
* Turks Head—One Turks Head Place, Providence
* Warwick Avenue—1300 Warwick Ave., Warwick
* Woonsocket—1175 Cumberland Hill Rd.

Bank Rhode Island, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bancorp Rhode Island, Inc. (NASDAQ:BARI), is a full-service, FDIC-insured financial institution headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. The bank operates 16 branches throughout Providence, Kent and Washington Counties. As of September 30, 2006, Bancorp Rhode Island’s total assets stood at $1.5 billion and total deposits were $987.6 million.

PROVIDENCE, RI., November 15, 2006 — Bright Night Providence, the artist-run New Year’s celebration now in its fourth year, will continue its tradition of ringing in the New Year. This year the festival will feature expanded children’s activities, more great local artists, and a spectacular display of fireworks to start the New Year with a bang.

Bright Night, led by local performer and festival director Adam Gertsacov, already has a number of events planned for this year. The day will start with children’s events at a number of local venues, including the RISD Museum, the Providence Children’s Museum, Mathewson Street Church, Beneficent Church, and several other venues. After official opening ceremonies at the Bank of America Skating Rink, a number of venues around downtown will host over one hundred performers, including singers, dancers, musicians, puppeteers, storytellers, and magicians. The evening will be headlined by a special Bright Night Circus of Wonders, featuring circus stars from Ringling, Cirque du Soleil, and other circuses. The Circus will take place in the Providence Convention Center. A large fireworks display will take place at midnight.

“Our fourth year will be our best yet,” said Gertsacov. “As an artist myself, I know how important and exciting this event is for area performers, and we’re looking forward to building on our past successes. We have received strong support from the City of Providence, from the state, and from our corporate donors, and we are confident that our audience will come out and make this year’s the biggest Bright Night ever.”

Tickets to Bright Night will be available in early December from ArtTixRI, and available at all BankRI locations. Anyone interested in sponsoring Bright Night should contact Gertsacov at (401) 351-2596, or visit www.brightnight.org

ABOUT BRIGHT NIGHT PROVIDENCE

Bright Night was founded in 2003 after Providence’s long-running New Year’s Eve festival, First Night, was cancelled. Organized in less than three months, the event drew over 12,000 people to downtown Providence, making Bright Night the largest New Year’s Eve party in the state. The festival features local artists and performers at venues throughout downtown Providence, and provides a fun, vibrant, and family friendly atmosphere for the people of Rhode Island.

The festival’s director, Adam Gertsacov, is an actor, director, and clown based in Providence, RI. He wears many hats, including that of a flea circus impresario, a local author, the esteemed hat of the Clown Laureate of Greenbelt, Maryland, and many others. He became the Festival director of Bright Night Providence in 2003 when a group of local artists (himself included) didn’t want to see the city go dark on New Year’s Eve.

Other members of the artist group include Erminio Pinque, Josh Bell, Chris Turner, Rachel Maloney, Mark Binder, Carolyn Martino, Val Tutson, Deb Meunier, Tom Sgouros, and Mark Binder.

BRIGHT NIGHT INFORMATION/SIDEBAR

The 2007 Celebration will feature:

• Over 125 Performers in 17 venues throughout downtown Providence.
• Amazing performances by some of the top musicians, storytellers, dancers, puppeteers, acrobats, and actors in town.
• Expanded children and family activities in the afternoon.
• Early Evening and Midnight Fireworks displays.
• Sponsorship opportunities for civic-minded & entrepreneurial corporations and individuals.

Tickets for Bright Night Providence 2007 will be available in early December.

Tickets are $10 each, if purchased in advance.
On the day of the event (Sunday, December 31) tickets will be $15 each, or 4 for $50.

Tickets will be available via www.arttixri.com and also at the following locations:

•All Bank RI Branches
•All OOP! Locations (Providence Place Mall & Ives Street)
•East Side Marketplace (Pitman Street)
•ArtTix Office (Dorrance Street)
•Providence Convention Center (Dec. 31 only!)

For more information, visit www.brightnight.org or call 401-351-2596 (administrative office) or 401-621-6123 (box office)

Our latest t-shirts, sweatshirts, and other memorabilia are now available via cafepress.com.

Profits from the shirts will be used to support Bright Night Providence artists.

Call for Artists and Volunteers: Bright Night Providence 2007

Bright Night Providence is Rhode Island’s largest New Year’s Eve Celebration. It is an artist-run arts oriented New Year’s Eve Celebration that features some of Rhode Island’s best musicians, actors, singers, dancers, storytellers, acrobats, magicians, and clowns. Last year, over 50 groups performed, featuring over 150 performers on 23 stages, and over 20,000 people enjoyed one of our events.

If you are interested in being part of the wonderful fun that is Bright Night, visit www.brightnight.org to find out more about the opportunities available. At the current time, we are seeking volunteers to help plan and execute the festival, volunteers for the night of the event to make sure the festival runs smoothly, and donors to help fill our coffers and make sure that the festival can occur. We are also taking applications from performers and groups to fill our stages.

Be part of Providence’s Artist Renaissance. Get involved today!

For more information, visit www.brightnight.org or call Festival Director Adam Gertsacov at 401-351-2596.

Bright Night Providence 2006 had a lot of accomplishments. The third year of the artist-run arts oriented New Year’s Eve Celebration featured two fireworks displays, a special edition of Waterfire, over 75 performances of local stars, and one bonafide marriage proposal. Yes, that’s right. A marriage proposal.

Writes John Thibeault of Taunton, MA:

We had a room at the Biltmore and I was going to wait until the opening fireworks. I was looking from our room window for a good spot to pop the question. I saw that there was an area where I could set up the camera, then run across the street, get down on one knee and propose, all the while getting a picture of the moment. I couldn’t wait until the fireworks, so we went downstairs in the snow, to the area that I had seen from our room. I was about to set the camera up, when a teenager was walking by. I asked him if he could take our picture. I ran across the street, got down on my knee and then I heard the kid say, ‘Oh my God!!!’ As you can see from the picture, Melissa was surprised. Then we enjoyed the rest of Bright Night as a newly engaged couple and ended the evening with an incredible fireworks display.

The couple is planning to be married in October 2006 in Rockville Centre, New York.

On behalf of all of the artists, volunteers, and audience members of our festival, we wish the couple the very best, and hope that their wedding day will be a Bright Night indeed.

Mark Binder, one of Bright Night’s storytellers, posted this podcast from his performance last night.

Getting Baked with Grandma
Recorded Live at Bright Night Providence.
AS220 New Years Eve, 2005