Categories
Past Events
Events List Navigation
Sights & Sounds of Shangri La
Bring friends and family to Rough Point (680 Bellevue Ave., Newport) on Wednesday, August 24th for “Sights & Sounds of Shangri La,” a child-friendly event celebrating the cultures featured in the 2016 exhibition, Waterscapes: Islamic Architecture & Art from Doris Duke’s Shangri La.
The theme for August 24th is “paradise,” and Rough Point will be open to explore the galleries. Outside the mansion, on the sweeping ocean-front lawn, you’ll find activities for all ages, from coloring book stations to a performance of Tibetan singing bowls and guided meditations.
Food will be available for purchase; bring your own blankets or lawn chairs to relax. Bring yoga mats to participate in the yoga-inspired activities! See the event poster here.
Purchase tickets online, or at the admissions tent day-of.
Participating vendors and entertainers
- Tibetan Singing Bowls: Lynda Loranger of The Renaissance Barn
- Guided kundalini yoga meditation: Barbara Schlubach
- Gong bath: Kyla Maher of Long Time Sun Apparel
- GATHER – Herb Shop + Tea Bar + Clinic
EVENT INFORMATION FOR AUG 24
Wednesday, August 24, from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Adults $10, kids 18 & under free.
Free parking. Bike friendly. Rain or Shine.
Come to the admissions table located under pop-up tent on the circle drive and receive a wrist band.
Happy 100th Birthday to the National Parks!
On Thursday, August 25, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., join the staff and volunteers of the Roger Williams National Memorial to celebrate the National Park Service’s 100th birthday!
Meet park staff and volunteers at the outdoor visitor center, stroll the beautiful grounds, join rangers for storytime at 10:30 a.m., explore new outdoor exhibit panels, meet Roger Williams—and try to stump him with your questions from 12 to 2 p.m.!
Fun fact: The Roger Williams National Memorial is the 20th smallest National Park in the nation!
Celebrate with a picnic, bring lawn chairs and stay for the afternoon!
- Meet the Staff and Volunteers at the Outdoor Visitor Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Ranger Story Time from 10:30 to 11 a.m.
- “Ask Roger Williams” from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
“Call the Match!” at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
Find a unique adventure into the world of tennis for kids of all ages. The interactive displays and exhibits are designed to make the museum experience fun, combining hands-on experience with technology. Jump start your weekend with an inspiring discovery of all the Tennis Hall of Fame has to offer (for both seasoned tennis fans and new ones, alike)!
From a touch-screen table where kids can “volley” tennis trivia to each other, to “Call the Match,” where kids can record themselves taking on the role of broadcasters, there’s something for everyone! Don’t miss the hologram of tennis superstar Roger Federer, who greets all visitors!
At the International Tennis Hall of Fame, look forward to:
- A media gallery features a “Call the Match” exhibit in which visitors can record themselves calling a pivotal point, taking on the role of luminary broadcasters like Cliff Drysdale, John Barrett, and Mary Carillo.
- An interactive touch table provides a place for visitors to dig deeper on various tennis topics through video, photos, and information. Those who fashion themselves as tennis aficionados can test their knowledge by standing at either end of the table and “serving” tennis trivia questions back and forth to each other.
- A 5-foot interactive globe highlights the global nature of tennis. At the globe, visitors can touch a certain part of the world to learn more about tennis events that take place there, recent results, and live scores.
- Interactive video walls throughout the museum offer fans an opportunity to re-live classic tennis moments through video highlights of WTA, ATP, and Grand Slam matches.
- In the Woolard Family Enshrinement Gallery, all 243 Hall of Famers have a place within a touch-screen kiosk that features career stats, video highlights from their playing career, and quotes from or about the Hall of Famer.
Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., through August
Cost: $15 per adult; free for children under 16
Slater’s Art & Manufacture Festival
On Saturday, August 27 and Sunday, August 28, from 11 am to 5 pm, Slater Mill will be hosting its annual outdoor art and manufacture festival, S.A.M. FEST.
Taking place outside and inside, the two-day event promises music, film, a maker fair, food trucks, libations and free self-guided tours of Slater Mill itself, including the Wheel Pit exhibit (where a 10-ton wheel moves 2,000 gallons of water per minute).
Saturday features music from Mitch Chakour Band, w/Cliff Goodwin; Western Caravan, w/ “Thirsty” Dave Hansen; and Paul Rishell & Anne Raines. Starting at 7:40 pm, you can catch the Rhode Island-shot film, Moonrise Kingdom. For those who can celebrate into the late hours, David Bowie’s myth and fantasy film Labyrinth begins at 9:40 pm.
Sunday, see musical performances by Troy Gonyea, James Montgomery Band, and Jesse Dee. And both days will have a tented stage and dance floor!
Click on the poster below to see more details!
Naval Impressment: A 1765 Reenactment in Colonial Newport
Discover Newport’s place in history, by seeing history unfold! On the afternoon of August 27, 2016, “step back in time” to the summer of 1765, before the American Revolution, to witness (and engage with!) Newport Historical Society’s living-history event, Naval Impressment: A 1765 Reenactment in Colonial Newport.
Taking place in the harbor and in Washington Square, Newport will be ablaze with activities from 1 to 5 p.m., portraying the life and the lifestyle of colonial-era Americans with dozens of costumed interpreters re-imagining a summer afternoon in June of 1765.
Children’s games will be available, along with a family scavenger hunt to inspire learning. Families can explore an 18th century boat, visit inside a colonial home of Newport residents, as well as discover a fish market, meet a merchant captain, and talk to a sailmaker!
“Naval Impressment” illustrates life in a colonial seaport by going back to June 1765 when members of the Royal Navy from HMS Maidstone strong-armed colonialists (known as a “naval impressment”) to crew British warships (known as a “naval press gang”). In reaction to these manpower demands, the citizens of Newport stole and set on fire the Maidstone’s longboat.
See the rush of defiance that helped grow the historic roots of our American Revolution — in real life! “Naval Impressment” visitors can roam between three locations that have distinct connections to the June 1965 incident:
- At Perotti Park (39 America’s Cup Avenue), interpreters will represent life in the Royal Navy where they will train “impressed sailors” and discuss life at sea. Visitors can also view a reproduction 18th century boat which will be moored in the harbor and learn about what sailing was life during the Golden Age of Sail.
- At the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House (17 Broadway), interpreters portraying middle and upper class residents will discuss the views on the naval incident and how the loss of sailors impacts their personal economic stance.
- And Washington Square will be occupied with reenactors portraying many aspects of 18th century daily life including a fish market, a merchant captain, tavern life, a sailmaker, printer and much more.
Enjoy a hearty cup o’ cider: The Society will sell reproduction tankards that visitors can fill with apple cider at each of the three locations where the living history event takes place–Washington Square, Perotti Park and the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House. The handmade tankards cost $25, which includes several cider refills during the afternoon program. The tankards can be pre-ordered by calling the Brick Market: Museum & Shop at 401-841-8770 or purchased there the day of the program. Event attendees purchasing this tankard receive an extra 15% off at the museum shop on August 27th.
Museum of Work & Culture Labor Day Open House
Explore the legacy of Rhode Island mill workers at the Museum of Work & Culture’s 18th Annual Labor Day Open House.
Admission is free, from 9:30 am to 4 pm on Monday, Sept. 5, with this year’s event celebrating the debut of the Mill Workers’ Memory Bank, a digital registry of profiles of former mill workers.
Monday, September 5th, Labor Day, will mark the exhibit’s premiere, with event attendees being the first to have the opportunity to register their loved ones and permanently recognize their contribution to Rhode Island’s manufacturing heritage. For Labor Day only, photographs will be included in profiles for free.*
Additional programming will include:
- Walking tours of historic Woonsocket by the National Park Service at 10 am and 11:30 am
- A presentation by Woonsocket Works Exhibit Developers Content Design at 1:30 pm
- A designing Main Street activity for children and a staffed Catholic schools archive
- As well as the display of “Community Care Alliance: Human Services in Woonsocket, A 125 Year History” in the changing gallery.
*Read about the Mill Workers’ Memory Bank project, and how to participate, in the Valley Breeze. Profiles can be created for a donation of $25. All donations will go toward the development of Woonsocket Works, a new digital exhibit space which will prominently feature the Memory Bank. All donations are tax deductible. Registration forms can be downloaded here.
Visit the Museum of Natural History & Planetarium
All exciting adventures—imaginary or otherwise—will hopefully include a return trip home. With this in mind, the exhibit “The Red Planet: Going to Mars” reveals two student-created concepts designed to fulfill a crucial element of NASA’s own exploration adventures: the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). This is the spacecraft that blasts off from the surface of Mars to begin the astronauts’ journey home to Earth. Getting to Mars is hard, landing is even harder still, but getting off the surface of Mars has never been done before and is one of the big engineering challenges of a Martian mission.
RI School of Design’s Design for Extreme Environments industrial design studio, working with NASA, designed two different MAVs. Come see these mock-ups made by students and learn more about the red planet in this exhibit!
Other exhibits include: Circle of the Sea, Natural Selections, and Seismic Shifts.
Enjoy a planetarium show (approx 35 minutes) on Saturdays & Sundays at 2pm! Last admission to the museum is at 3:30 pm.
Admission: $2 (Free for children under 4). First Saturday of the Month is FREE for Providence Residents. Planetarium/Museum Admission is $3 (no children under 4 admitted)
Newport’s Rogues & Scoundrels
See where scoundrels lived, pirates profited and criminals were punished on an engaging stroll through the historic streets of Newport. These family-friendly tours work for those with little ones in strollers as well as older kids curious to hear about the dastardly deeds of the city’s early residents. Discover why this colony was known as “Rogue’s Island.”
Admission: $15 per person; $10 with button for repeat tour guests; $10 for Newport Historical Society members. Space is limited; call 401-841-8770 for reservations. For more, see the “Rogues & Scoundrels” walking tours that take place each week on Mondays. To check out the 2016 NHT walking tour brochure, click here.
Climb Beavertail Light Tower
Saturdays, June 18, July 2, July 30, August 27, Sept 10, Sept 24
Sundays, July 17, August 14, October 9
Enjoy an opportunity to climb the lighthouse tower and admire panoramic views of Narragansett Bay. The Tower is open to climb twice each month from June through September. Begin your visit with a tour of the museum and learn about America’s 3rd oldest lighthouse. Tower openings are weather dependent; if uncertain, call (401) 423-3270. Suggested donation of $5 per adult.
Some considerations for climbing the tower:
Climbers must be at least 4 ft tall.
Climbers are urged to wear footwear other than flip flops.
Neither small children nor pets may be carried.
Climbers must be in line by 3:30 pm to climb tower before closing.
Visit Beavertail Lighthouse Museum
Fall weekends through Columbus Day
Learn about America’s 3rd oldest lighthouse (established in 1749) at a museum designed for all ages! Hear historical stories, see artifacts and learn about Rhode Island Lighthouses and local shipwrecks. Visit the adjacent RIDEM aquarium — free admission! Enjoy a seaside vista of rocks, waves and historical grounds unequaled in Southern New England. The museum is located at the south end of Beavertail State Park in Jamestown.
The Beavertail Lighthouse Tower is open to climb twice a month through Columbus Day. Tower openings are held on Saturday, Sept 10; Saturday, Sept 24; & Sunday, October 9. Suggested donation of $5 per adult climber.