Home Cartoonist Village Hearth celebrates its 1 year

Village Hearth celebrates its 1 year

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On a good day – with the breeze just blowing – the smell of freshly baked treats from Village Hearth Bakery & Café wafts towards my home here at the Lighthouse.

With all the craziness of the pandemic, it’s hard to believe it’s been a year since it changed hands to new owners, Stephanie and Lindsay Haigh. The couple invite the public to celebrate the occasion with them on March 12 at the restaurant, 2 Watson Ave. At 2:00 p.m. there will be cake and a champagne toast.

The Haighs bought the business in January 2021 and reopened it last March, adding made-to-order breakfasts and lunches, as well as a wide selection of pastries, to menus.

The couple plan to make an announcement at the March 12 celebration which they hope will excite the people of Jamestown. I can’t wait and here’s continued success – and good smells.

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The March edition of the Rhode Island Monthly has a page devoted to the Jamestown Windmill.

He talks about how the Windmill may have been still for the past two years due to the pandemic – the biennial Windmill Day of the 2020s was scratched due to COVID-19 – then to undergo $35,000 in renovations to the windshaft and wooden sails which are expected to be completed this spring.

Built in 1787 and in operation until 1896, the windmill stands high on a hill in the center of the island. The three-story octagonal structure has a domed cowl that holds the sails which are turned to catch wind from all directions.

It was built to grind corn after British occupying forces destroyed the old mill around the time of the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778. During Windmill Day, sponsored by the Jamestown Historical Society, the webs are lifted on the sails and the hood is turned so the sails catch the breeze. If all goes well, the event will take place on July 23.

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Michael Dym of Court Street sent me a letter expressing his gratitude to Erica Connolly, Professor of Art at Melrose, for the recent exhibition “Artistic Interpretations” at the Jamestown Art Center.

“It was a pleasure for our two kindergartners to see their works in a professional gallery,” he wrote. “On our second visit, the children were more than happy to show their grandparents their works. During our two Saturday visits, Mrs. Connolly was at the JAC to meet and greet visitors.

An art professional, Dym said he knows how difficult it is to preserve over 1,000 works of art, let alone find acclaimed artists Frida Kahlo, Alma Thomas and Yayoi Kusama to serve as models for children.

“Ms. Connolly set the bar high, encouraging learning rooted in an interconnected world and in conversation with diverse voices,” Dym wrote. “These three pillars of modern and contemporary art have all struggled to transcend limitations imposed on them, and their disparate stories and visions undoubtedly inspired the students to nurture their own creativity…. The children of Jamestown are lucky to have such a brilliant teacher.

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Jim Bush, editorial cartoonist for The Jamestown Press is back.

His works created during and inspired by the coronavirus pandemic are on display at Providence Art Club’s Dodge House Gallery.

The exhibition continues until March 25 at the gallery at 11 Thomas St. The free gallery is open from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday through Friday.

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