The Ultimate RI Event Calendar — Everything to Do
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
GoLocal Lifestyle Team
Welcome to The Ultimate RI Event Calendar.
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About the Ultimate Calendar:
We have now featured more than 2,100 events around Rhode Island, and many more are coming.
As you may have read, the Providence Journal announced it slashed its community and art event calendar. as part of its corporate cuts.
GoLocalProv's calendar is the go-to source for the best happenings around the state — and a few are just a short ride away, which may be of interest to you for a weekend night out or a day trip with family or friends.
If you have an event — see how to submit it HERE.
Take a look — and enjoy!
Related Slideshow: RI’s Event Calendar—Everything to Do in Rhode Island
Wolf Play
By Hansol Jung, Directed by Marcel A. Mascaró
March 21 – April 7, 2024 at the Wilbury Theatre Group
Wilbury Theatre Group has announced the cast for Hansol Jung’s Wolf Play, directed by Marcel A. Mascaró. The cast features Beth Alianiello, Jeff Ararat, Teddy Lytle, Ellen Zahniser, and Sara States in her Wilbury debut as “Wolf.”
For tickets and more information, visit thewilburygroup.org/wolf-play
When an online adoption process goes sideways, the young boy caught in the middle launches himself into a lone wolf’s journey to find a pack he can call his own. From South Korean playwright Hansol Jung, one of the most imaginative storytellers in the field, comes a wild new play employing puppetry, boxing, and crackling dialogue to tell the affecting story of trust, love, identity, and the families we choose and unchoose.
The Providence Flea
Providence Flea's indoor markets return on Sundays* to Farm Fresh Market Hall just in time for Valentine's Day, now through May 5 from 11 am - 3 pm, with 80+ local indie makers, artisans, vintage vendors, food trucks, hot fresh local coffee and spirits, craft beer and cocktails, ice cream, baked goods, fresh flowers and plants, and more! (*No market on Easter Sunday.) Free to enter and park.
No tickets necessary. Farm Fresh Market Hall, 10 Sims Ave, PVD. More info at providenceflea.com. 401-484-7783
Imago hosts Poets Diana Cole and Wendy Drexler in conversation on March 28
Imago Foundation for the Arts will host Poets Diana Cole and Wendy Drexler as part of its Poets in Conversation series at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 28 at Imago Gallery, 36 Market Street in Warren, RI. All are welcome to this free event.
Entitled “Looking Into: Memory & Art,” the event will be facilitated by Vivian Eyre, a poet and IFA community member, with the goal of creating an informal dialogue between the featured poets and attendees.
Drexler, author of Notes from the Column of Memory, and Cole, author of Between Selves, will explore the connections and resonances in their work as they read poems that move through the ways that, over time, our memories amend, embellish, and meld to reconfigure our past experiences and relationships. In addition, the poets will share poems inspired by visual art. Drexler is a recipient of a 2022 artist fellowship from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Her fourth collection, Notes from the Column of Memory, was published in September 2022 by Terrapin Books. Her poems have appeared in Barrow Street, J Journal, Nimrod, Pangyrus, Prairie Schooner, The Sun, and The Threepenny Review, among others. She served as the poet in residence at New Mission High School in Hyde Park, MA, from 2018-2023 and is programming co-chair for the New England Poetry Club.
Cole, a Pushcart Prize nominee, has been published in over 60 poetry journals including Poetry East, Spillway, Main Street Rag, Cider Press Review, The Public's Radio 89.3, Friends Journal, Verse Daily, The New Verse News and Orison Books. Her chapbook, Songs By Heart was published in 2018 by Iris Press. She is an editor for The Crosswinds Poetry Journal and has conducted a number of poetry workshops. Her full-length book, Between Selves, was released this summer by Indian Press, Cyberwit.net. More information is available at dianacolepoets.com
IFA is a non-profit organization run by artists for artists whose mission is to inspire creativity and promote art-making that enriches our communities.
Boundless natural world inspires exhibit at Imago March 14 – April 21
Imago Foundation for the Arts (IFA) is featuring paintings by IFA exhibiting artist Gary Heise, guest artists Kathrine Lovell and Erin Spencer and other IFA exhibiting artists in a group exhibit called “Boundless Worlds” at Imago Gallery, 36 Market Street, Warren, Rhode Island, March 14 – April 21.
A complimentary public reception for all the artists will be held on Saturday, March 16, from 5 to 8 p.m. with musical accompaniment by guitarist Shelley Katsh. All are welcome.
Heise’s watercolors depict the landscape using Chinese painting materials (ink, brush, and Chinese papers) and a combination of both Eastern and Western painting techniques. His work is inspired by study with the Taiwanese painter and printmaker, Liao Shiou-ping as well as his personal experience of the landscape, and ranges from views of the local landscape to imaginative, semi-abstract scenes.
Heise will be offering a free ink-and-brush (sumi-e) painting demonstration at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 17 at the gallery for those interested in learning more about his work. The session will also serve as an introduction and sample of a paid two-day workshop he will offer on Sunday, April 21 and Sunday April 28. More details will be announced soon.
A painter for many years who worked on acrylics on big panels, Lovell is presenting a new, more intimate series of watercolors. She says, “My ideas, my interests are the same as they have always been--geometric pattern, nature, layered color-- but the experience of connecting to my deeper, unconscious creativity has changed every way I work.”
Spencer is a landscape oil painter whose work offers a quiet look at the landscapes that often disappear into the background of our lives. Her paintings have been described as calming and grounding, distilled expressions of poetry. She focused her artwork for this exhibit on clouds and skies and the expression of the boundless energy and wonder she see when looking at the sky.
IFA exhibiting artists who will be participating in this group exhibit include Bill Chisholm, David Clarke, Eileen Siobhan Collins, Mary Dondero, Stephen Fisher, Philip Gruppuso, Carl Keitner, Eileen Mayhew, Linda Megathlin, Catherine Moylan, Rina Naik, Mercedes Nuñez, Anne Marie Rossi, Howard Rotblat-Walker, Duff Schweninger, Pamela Seymour Smith Sharp, Lenny Rumpler, Howard Windham and Meredith Wolf.
Regular gallery hours for the exhibit are Thursday 12-3, Friday and Saturday noon to 6 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.
IFA is a non-profit organization run by artists for artists whose mission is to inspire creativity and promote art-making that enriches our communities.
IMAGE: “Hundred Acre Cove,” 12 x 12"oil painting by Erin Spencer
SCREEN ACTORS GUILD-NEW ENGLAND - PRESIDENT ANDREA LYMAN KICKS OFF BLACK FILM FESTIVAL and WEEK-LONG CELEBRATION OF BLACK CULTURE IN FILMS
After a 2023 year on strike and settling one of the best union deals in the history of the entertainment industry, Screen Actors Guild SAG- AFTRA New England President Andrea Lyman will address high school students convening for the Beyond the Lens Academy film program that kicks off the 7th annual Rhode Island Black Film Festival the week of April 3-7.
The 74th Annual RI Home Show – RI Convention Center from April 4th—April 7th
The RI Home Show returns to the Convention Center from April 4th to April 7th, bigger and better than ever! Come experience the largest home improvement and consumer show in Southern New England which features five shows in one — the 11th Annual Energy Expo, a Garden Experience, the Inspiration Showcase, the Specialty RI Flower Show, and the brand-new House of Brews. For the past 74 years, The Rhode Island Home Show has been connecting thousands of qualified homeowners to hundreds of home improvement exhibitors, experts, products, and services to improve their home, garden, and outdoor living spaces.
Show hours are:
Thursday 12 pm – 9 pm
Friday12 pm–9 pm
Saturday 10 am – 9 pm
Sunday 10 am–5 pm
Tickets are $12 per adult and $10 for seniors, children 15 and younger are free. Tickets are also good for all 4 days - with a wristband (available at the exit door) allowing reentry.
Main show features this year will include:
100’s of Home related exhibitors and vendors:
The RI Home Show has a lot of new exhibitors and has a completely full show floor this year! The main show attraction continues to expand and provide attendees the ability to gather information, and be exposed to hundreds of individual exhibitors, contractors, seminars, and more. The show’s exhibitor base has grown and now offers more diverse offerings for all aspects of home renovation, remodeling, and repair. Find your idea and a way to implement it as this year’s RI Home Show.
The Energy Expo:
Now in its 11th year, the Energy Expo is an amazing informational resource for consumers to learn all about the new energy technologies and incentives available to them. This year’s theme is the Pathway to a Zero Energy Home! What does that mean? By attending the Expo consumers can learn the process of making their home more energy efficient and they will find out it is more affordable than most think! At the Expo consumers will have the opportunity to talk directly to representatives from RI Energy and the State Office of Energy resources. From reducing home drafts, to deploying your own renewable
energy system or purchasing an electric vehicle, the Expo will lend expertise and help you find savings and incentives!
The Garden Experience:
This is the where the public gets a taste of Spring and can take in some blooming flowers and trees. This large, themed area is put together by the amazingly talented folks at Central Nurseries.
Bringing to life playhouses built on foundations of wishes from children and young adults battling life- threatening conditions, whimsical designs with boundless creativity are combined with inspired Central Nurseries’ landscapers to complement each other. When the public strolls through this enchanting neighborhood of little playhouses, they will find beauty, imagination, and the joy that comes from giving to those who are most vulnerable.
The RI Specialty Flower Show:
One of the most popular shows within the Home Show, the Specialty RI Flower Show, is also the most beautiful attraction.
Put on by the RI Federation of Garden Clubs, the theme this year is celebrating and highlighting all things Rhode Island.
Show guests will enjoy the floral artistry by nationally award-winning designers from all over New England- all inspired by Rhode Island’s thriving local art scene, charming villages, and flaming rivers. Beauty and adventure await all who attend.
April 11 screening at Imago will celebrate Rhode Island’s video art pioneers
Imago Foundation for the Arts (IFA) will present a screening featuring some of Rhode Island’s video art pioneers on Thursday, April 11, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Imago Gallery, 36 Market Street, Warren. This program is free and open to the public.
Video as an art medium was embraced by artists in the late 1960s when technological advances made the equipment smaller, lighter, and accessible to the average person. Nurtured by the Rhode Island School of Design and inspired by a lively art scene, Rhode Island was home to some of the pioneers of video art such as Duff Schweninger, an independent video artist and currently an IFA exhibiting artist, and the members of Providence-based group Electron Movers, including Dennis Hlynsky, Laurie McDonald and Alan Powell, who explored the medium’s potential.
IFA’s screening celebrates the early works of Electron Movers and moves the viewer in time to current digital works of Schweninger and Hlynsky. Electron Movers artists Hlynsky and Alan Powell, as well as Schweninger, will be present to comment on their work and answer viewers’ questions.
IFA is a non-profit organization run by artists for artists whose mission is to inspire creativity and promote art-making that enriches our communities.
IMAGE:
Still images from CODE, an 11-minute video made by Duff Schweninger in 2004.
Artist Karen Roarke Exhibits
“Betwixt”
“Betwixt,” an exhibition of recent paintings by artist Karen Roarke, is on view in the Hunter Gallery at the Drury and Grosvenor Center for the Arts at St. George’s School from March 29–May 10, 2024.
A reception with the artist, free and open to the public, will be held on Saturday, March 23, from 4-6 p.m.
Though the large-scale canvases included in “Betwixt” refer to the natural world, for Roarke the process of crafting engaging paintings is primary. By mark making, layering, obscuring, removing and revealing, she creates surfaces that explore figure and ground, line, fluidity, pattern, transparency and opacity.
“I’m interested in distilling the visual properties that captivate my attention: light, color, the sky’s palette of ephemeral gradations, negative shapes, lines and patterns found in vegetation and shadows. I never tire of watching how light and fleeting colors are constantly shifting,” states Roarke.
Karen Roarke holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston College, an M.A. from California State University, Fullerton and an M.F.A. from Claremont Graduate University. Roarke resides and maintains her studio in Middletown, RI.
To learn more about the artist and her work, please visit: http://www.karenroarke.com
The Hunter Gallery is open 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-11 a.m. Saturday.
St. George's School is an independent boarding and day school with 370 students in grades 9-12. For more information about St. George’s visit: http://www.stgeorges.edu/huntergallery.
Discover the Untold Stories of Servant Life: Lippitt House Museum's "House at Work" Tour Returns on April 16 and April 17
Lippitt House Museum invites visitors to step back in time and uncover the often-overlooked stories of servant life during their upcoming "House at Work" tour on April 16 and April 17. This exclusive behind-the-scenes experience offers a unique perspective on the daily workings of one of Providence's most cherished historic landmarks and takes guests to places not ordinarily shared with the public.
While the opulent grandeur of Lippitt House has captivated visitors for generations, the "House at Work" tour provides a deeper exploration into the lives of the individuals who kept the household running smoothly. From maids to footman, cooks to coachmen, visitors will gain insight into the roles and responsibilities of the domestic staff who were integral to the functioning of the Victorian-era mansion.
“We're excited to offer visitors the opportunity to hear about the individuals who worked for the Lippitts and their part of Providence’s history,” said Carrie Taylor, Lippitt House Director. “This tour also provides a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes spaces and technologies that helped make Lippitt House operate in the 19th century.”
Tickets for the "House at Work" tour are limited and must be reserved in advance at LippittHouse.org. Tours will be an hour in length and begin at 5:00 PM and 6:30 PM. Tickets are $15 per person.
About Lippitt House Museum:
Preserve Rhode Island’s 1865 Lippitt House Museum offers guided tours on the first Thursday of each month as well as Fridays and select Saturdays May through October; summer concerts in the garden; and a variety of online programs and resources. Designated a National Historic Landmark, Lippitt House has one of the best-preserved Victorian interiors in America, allowing visitors to step into Providence’s Golden Age. Inspired by the Lippitt family's example of public service, Museum programming activates a place where art, history and community converge. www.LippittHouse.org
BIG WINTER SEASON AT FARM FRESH PROVIDENCE FARMERS MARKET
Now in its 17th year and the largest indoor market of its kind in New England, the Market takes place every Saturday 9 am to 1 pm at the Farm Fresh RI headquarters in the Valley neighborhood of Providence.
The winter season runs weekly now through April 27, 2024.
For more information: farmfreshri.org/PVDmarket.
Visitors can shop all season long at the farmers market with over 65 local farm and food vendors together under one roof in a convenient custom-built facility with plenty of onsite parking, room to move around in the expansive market halls, fully accessible building and bathrooms, and cozy atmosphere. Farm Fresh RI is also home to small businesses that are open during the farmers market on Saturdays, as well as varying times during the week, including: Anchor Toffee, New Harvest Coffee + Spirits, Providence Brewing Company, Rhed’s Hot Sauce, Robin Hollow Flowers, Tallulah’s Taqueria, and Wright’s Creamery.
“It’s always a good time when we get to convene so many incredible farmers and producers in one place,” said Thea Upham, Farm Fresh RI’s Managing Director. “Not only do customers enjoy easy one-stop access to a variety of local food and farm products from fall into springtime—it’s also a vital marketplace for our vendors to have a reliable place to sell their products during the months when most other avenues for direct-to-consumer sales here in New England are either prohibited by weather or closed for the season.”
Food trucks are open to the public in the Jewelry District. The trucks are located at 111 Chestnut Street in the parking lot.
Every other Wednesday from 12 – 1:30 (please follow individual trucks for schedule changes)
Brought to you by DBVW Architects.
April 10 - Nanu Burmese Fusion https://www.nanuburmesefusion.com/
April 24 - Rocket Fine Street Food https://rocketstreetfood.com/menu/
May 8 - Teddi’s Asian Food Truck
https://www.facebook.com/p/Teddis-Food-Truck-100092216109034/
DAFFODIL DAYS ARE READY TO BLOOM THROUGHOUT NEWPORT
With nearly one and a half million daffy buds now bursting forth in dazzling displays, Newport in Bloom’s 13th Annual Daffodil Days will be celebrating their arrival throughout April, 2024.
This year, the fun kicks off at Bannister’s Wharf at noon on Saturday, April 6 with an explosion of musket fire and a garland of daffodils cut by the newly crowned Ms. Daffodil, Dr. Kelli Armstrong, President of Salve Regina University, joined by Newport’s Mayor, Xay Khamsyvoravong.
After Opening Ceremonies, merriment and music continue as the annual “Daffy Doggy Paw-rade” trots off to Queen Anne Square for the judging of the daffiest dressed dogs (and their humans).
The following Saturday, April 13, the Newport Rhode Races — a running series with a full marathon, half marathon, and 5K — depart Easton’s Beach, where thousands of daffodils will wave as runners pass by.
Last fall, 38,000 daffodil bulbs were planted at Miantonomi Park, which will be the largest field in Newport. In celebration of their arrival to Newport’s north end, “Daffy Fun” in the park will take place on Sunday, April 14, featuring a “daffy color dust-up,” pie-eating smackdown, storytelling, music, food and more.
On Saturday, April 20, bicyclists will “petal on” to view Newport’s fields of daffodils, including a private garden with over 20,000 blooms to welcome yellow-clad arrivals. They’ll be eager to dismount at McAuley Hall on Salve Regina’s Cliff Walk campus for the first “I Scream” daffy social, compliments of the University.
On Sunday morning, April 21, the Audrain Automotive Museum’s annual “Driving Miss Daffodil” parade of over fifty daffy-decorated cars and drivers meet up at Easton’s Beach and escort Miss Daffodil for a cruise through Newport.
RHODE ISLAND CEMETERY WEEKS
Free programs in historic cemeteries in April and May
Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Awareness and Preservation Weeks (Rhode Island Cemetery Weeks) will feature dozens of free programs in April and May. Rhode Islanders of all ages are invited to participate in tours, clean-ups, hikes, talks, and other programs at and about historic cemeteries throughout the state. Rhode Island Cemetery Weeks is organized by the Rhode Island Advisory Commission on Historical Cemeteries (RIACHC) and Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission (RIHPHC) in collaboration with many individual and organizational partners.
Rhode Island Cemetery Weeks will include walking tours of large landscaped cemeteries like Moshassuck Cemetery in Central Falls and River Bend Cemetery in Westerly, as well as visits to small burial grounds. A special tour of Arnold Burying Ground in Newport salutes the efforts of Alice Brayton to restore its colonial gravestones in the 1940s. For those who prefer to walk in the woods, there are hikes to rural burying grounds in Exeter, Lincoln, and Richmond.
Ready to volunteer? There will be dozens of clean-up events throughout the state. Since 2015 the R.I. Advisory Commission on Historical Cemeteries has promoted volunteer projects to clean, maintain, and improve historic cemeteries. They welcome volunteers to help with raking, trash pick-up, light brush cutting, weed trimming, and other activities. At some sites, gloves, bags, and tools are provided, and volunteers are encouraged their own gloves and tools as well. Clean-up sites include the Nicholas Thomas Lot in Scituate and Brayton Cemetery in Warwick.
Several Rhode Island Cemetery Weeks programs honor the memory of those who served our country in wartime. RIACHC Commissioner Debbie Suggs will make a presentation on Revolutionary War patriots buried in Washington County, and her Newport colleague Lew Keen will lead a Decoration Day tour of soldiers’ graves at the Island Cemetery on May 26. Also on Memorial Day weekend, Blackstone River Valley National Historic Park rangers and the North Smithfield Heritage Association will share the stories of Civil War veterans at Slatersville Cemetery. There are opportunities to place flags on the graves of those who served in Exeter and Richmond, and a ceremony at the Babcock Lot in Westerly.
Professional archaeologists will lead a pair of Cemetery Weeks events at the central Cranston Public Library. On April 8, the Public Archaeology Laboratory will be part of a program about the 2006 disturbance of graves of residents who died at the State poorhouse in the early 1900s. On April 24, State Archaeologist Charlotte Taylor will present on Rhode Island cemeteries and the laws that govern them. Interested in nature? Check out the Birds & Burials tour at Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown, a nature tour of North Burial Ground in Providence, and a geology-themed tour in Coventry. Love local libraries? Visit local cemetery exhibits in Middletown and Newport.
RIACHC Chair Pegee Malcolm said, “The Rhode Island Advisory Commission on Historical Cemeteries is very happy to be working with the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission on Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries Awareness and Preservation Weeks. We strive to protect all the historical cemeteries in Rhode Island. This year we will be leading clean-ups, tours, and demonstrations to give the public a chance to see the beauty, history, and nature found in historic cemeteries.”
RIHPHC Executive Director Jeffrey Emidy added, “Rhode Island’s nearly three thousand cemeteries are among our most unique and often overlooked cultural resources. Historic cemeteries tell the stories of individuals and families, landscape design, artistry and technology, religious beliefs, traditional cultural practices, and community development.”
Visit https://rihistoriccemeteries.org/events.aspx for more information and a calendar of events. Listings will be updated throughout the spring with many more events to come, especially in May. The online listings will have information about times, locations, tour size limits, registration (if required), and other key details.
EVENT CALENDAR
(full descriptions at https://rihistoriccemeteries.org/events.aspx and more events to come)
APRIL
4/3 Birds & Burials Tour | Norman Bird Sanctuary, Middletown
4/4 Colonial Newport Burial Sites & Stones Presentation | Edward King House, Newport
4/6 Clean-up/Flagging | Isaac Collins Lot, Richmond
4/6 Pokanoket Royal Burial Ground Tour | Burr’s Hill Park, Warren
4/8 The Poorhouse Graves of Route 37 Panel Discussion| Central Cranston Public Library
4/13 Clean-up | Jonathan Foster Ground, Westerly
4/20 Clean-up | Old Baptist Church Yard, Exeter
4/20 Arnold Burying Ground and Alice Brayton Tour | Arnold Burying Ground, Newport
4/20 Tour | Hotchkiss Cemetery, North Smithfield
4/21 Hike/Clean-up | John Gardner Lot, Exeter
4/23 Birds & Burials Tour | Norman Bird Sanctuary, Middletown
4/24 Living with the Dead in Rhode Island Talk | Central Cranston Public Library
4/27 Tour | Hotchkiss Cemetery, North Smithfield
4/27 Clean-up | Nicholas Thomas Lot, Scituate
4/27 Tour | Common Burying Ground, Newport
4/27 Flagging | (meet at) Exeter Public Library
4/27 Clean-up | Babcock Lot, Westerly
4/27 Clean-up | Brayton Cemetery, Warwick
4/28 Walking Tour | Moshassuck Cemetery, Central Falls
4/28 Walking Tour | River Bend Cemetery, Westerly
MAY
5/2 Gilded Age Graves in Newport Presentation | Edward King House, Newport
5/4 Clean-up | Common Burying Ground, Newport
5/4 Tour | Hotchkiss Cemetery, North Smithfield
5/4 Tour | North Burial Ground, Providence
5/4 Hike/Flagging | (meet at) Clark Library, Richmond
5/6 Revolutionary War Patriots Buried in Wash. Cty. Discussion | URI, South Kingstown
5/11 Clean-up | Common Burying Ground, Newport
5/11 Tour | Hotchkiss Cemetery, North Smithfield
5/11 Hike | George Beverly Lot and Unknown Lot, Richmond
5/18 Clean-up | Common Burying Ground, Newport
5/18 Tour | Silas Casey Cemetery, Casey Farm, North Kingstown
5/18 Tour | Hotchkiss Cemetery, North Smithfield
5/18 Clean-up | Hall-Vars Ground, Westerly
5/25 Tour | Silas Casey Cemetery, Casey Farm, North Kingstown
5/25 Tour | Hotchkiss Cemetery, North Smithfield
5/26 Decoration Day Tour | Island Cemetery, Newport
5/26 Local Veterans’ Service Stories Tour | Slatersville Cemetery, North Smithfield
5/26 The Power of Nature Hike | Lincoln Woods (including Olney Burial Ground), Lincoln
ONGOING (APRIL - MAY)
4/2 - 5/31 Newport Historic Cemeteries Exhibit | Newport Public Library, Newport
4/10 - 5/18 Middletown Historic Cemeteries Exhibit | Middletown Public Library, Middletown
DATES TBD
Geology Walk | Knotty Oak Cemeteries, Coventry
Programs in Block Island, Cumberland, East Providence, Little Compton, Smithfield, Tiverton, Woonsocket, and many more to come
PHOTO: Will Morgan
SUNDAY – April 7, 2024 @ 3:00 PM
Warwick City Hall – Council Chambers, 3275 Post Road, Warwick 02886
On April 7, 2024 the WSO will provide a FREE concert at Warwick City Hall – Council Chambers with optional “pay-what-you-can” (PWYC) donations collected in support of WSO’s outreach performances For Our Community and A Little Live Music as well as the George Low Scholarship program.
In memory of Warwick Symphony’s founder and Warwick educator George Low, this performance introduces a new effort whereby WSO features an artist-educator annually. This year’s featured artist-educator is Richard Marchetti – clarinetist, seasoned musician and educator with a rich musical background.
The program on April 7th includes a variety of full symphony selections:
Jubilee from Symphonic Sketches – George Whitefield Chadwick
Symphony No. 2 “A London Symphony” Movement II – Ralph Vaughn Williams
Concertino for Clarinet, Op.26 – Carl Maria von Weber
Symphony No. 2 “The Romantic” Movement III – Howard Hanson
This program includes performances by the full symphony with works from the Romantic and Modern eras. With the changing nature of health and welfare guidelines, WSO encourages audiences to wear masks if ill or in the case of possible exposure to viruses including COVID and influenza.
Concert Admission
Admission for this performance is FREE, but reservations are highly recommended in order to assure capacity is not exceeded. Please visit https://www.wsori.org/performances to reserve seats. Optional donations in a pay-what-you-can format will be accepted at the door.
Clean Water Week - Narragansett Bay Commission
In celebration of RI Clean Water Week, NBC will offer free public tours of the Field’s Point Wastewater Treatment Facility on Saturday, April 13th, from 10 AM to 1 PM.
Tours will include a look at NBC’s state-of-the-art Water Quality Science Building, the Field’s Point wastewater treatment facility, touch-a-truck, touch-a-boat, pipe walk-through, and other fun activities.
For more information and to book your tour, please contact [email protected]. Space is limited!
Spring's Arrival at Coggeshall Farm:
Celebrate the Season's Debut with Opening Day Festivities
With the much-anticipated arrival of spring upon us, Coggeshall Farm Museum, a coastal living-history museum, is pleased to announce the official start of its 2024 season with an Opening Day on Saturday, April 13. The public is invited to celebrate the season while exploring the scenic farm and enjoying various family-friendly activities.
From 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Coggeshall Farm will be offering a fun and educational outdoor experience for all ages. Guests can immerse themselves in the rich history of the farm with live demonstrations and engaging conversations with historians at the Blacksmith Shop and the Cheese House. Friendly farm animals will be onsite, including chicks, piglets from Gnarly Vines Farm and sheep that are preparing for lambing. In addition to traditional farm activities, there will be fun crafts and games for young visitors and their families, as well as an expansive kitchen garden teeming with new plantings and aromatic herbs and a new apple orchard.
“Spring is a special time at Coggeshall Farm. We’ve been eagerly awaiting Opening Day and the return of guests to the farm to experience all we have to offer,” says Executive Director Shelli Costa. “From festivals to field trips to family-friendly activities, we look forward to creating memorable experiences for our visitors this season.”
From April 13 through June 30, Coggeshall Farm will be open from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. for Standard Daytime Admission on Saturdays and Sundays for self-guided tours with recommended donation. Tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for youth (4-17). Members enjoy unlimited standard daytime admission. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit https://coggeshallfarm.org/event/opening-day/.
Melodies of Ukraine
Starts on Saturday, April 13 · 7 pm
Location: Gilder Center for the Arts at The Wheeler School, Providence
The concert will raise funds to support women and children in Ukraine. It is also a unique opportunity to talk about Ukrainian music and culture.
The Ukrainian Women's Bandura Ensemble of North America will be performing at The Gilder Center for the Arts, Wheeler School. The bandura is a stringed instrument that has been called "the soul of Ukraine."
PHOTO: CC 2:0
CONCERT: SUNDAY, APRIL 21, 2024, 3:00 PM
The Chamber Orchestra of Barrington at St. Johns presents a program featuring a fanfare, two iconic symphonies, and a work for a rare combination; harmonica and brass.
The program opens with Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man,” a work composed in 1942 to bolster the American patriotic spirit shortly after the country’s entry into WWII.
Next on the program is Charles Ives’ Symphony No. 3, which was completed in 1910 but not performed until 1946. It won for the composer the 1947 Pulitzer Prize in Music. Our featured soloist, Chris Turner, a world-class harmonica virtuoso, will perform Rhode Island composer Paul Nelson’s “William Street Blues,” commissioned in 1998 for Mr. Turner by the RI Philharmonic Orchestra.
This performance is only the second in the work’s existence. Rounding out the program is W.A. Mozart’s magnificent Symphony No. 41 in C Major, the “Jupiter,” the composer’s last and, arguably, greatest symphony.
St. John’s Episcopal Church
191 County Road
Barrington, RI
Please consider bringing a canned food item for St. John’s Outreach Program.
FREE ADMISSION, DONATIONS WELCOME
PHOTO: Mary Murphy
Announcing the New Sheep and Wool Festival at Coggeshall Farm
Rain or Shine, May 18th, 2024, 10 AM-4 PM
See the historic process of wool making from farming to finished product at Coggeshall Farm’s new Sheep and Wool Festival this spring. See demonstrations of sheep shearing, wool processing, dyeing, weaving, and spinning. Once called FiberFest, Coggeshall Farm’s newly reinvented textile event, the Sheep and Wool Festival, will feature vendors and artisans from all over New England. Visit the farm’s sheep and see visiting animals that provide us with the fiber for our craft. There will be hands-on and take-home crafts for all ages, shopping, raffles, and a “sheep to shawl” event. Enjoy live music and food from local food trucks. And, of course, explore and enjoy Coggeshall’s 48 acres of historic salt marsh farm. The event happens rain or shine!
Tickets are on sale now to the public. We have plenty of spots for vendors and we welcome community support and offer sponsorship opportunities for the event. For more details go to https://coggeshallfarm.org/event/sheep-and-wool-festival/
Raffi will perform at The VETS in Providence on Sunday, May 19, 2024
Raffi is a singer, songwriter, producer, author, lecturer, and tireless advocate for children. He is best known for his work as a children’s entertainer and advocate whose string of gold and platinum-selling recordings includes his iconic song, “Baby Beluga”. Once called “the most popular children’s singer in the English-speaking world” (Washington Post) and “Canada’s all-time children’s champion” (Toronto Star),
Raffi is also a recipient of the Order of Canada and the United Nations’ Earth Achievement Award. He has published three books for adults and holds five honorary degrees. He has never advertised to children or made any commercial endorsements aimed at kids. His commitment to treating his young fans with respect has changed society’s outlook on music made for children.
“I love singing for children and families,” says Raffi. “In 2024, I look forward to hearing more ‘beluga grads’ and their kids singing favourites like “Baby Beluga,” “Down By The Bay,” and Bananaphone!” and others from my Best of Raffi album.”
In 2010, Raffi founded his non-profit Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring. With the motto “Respecting Earth & Child,” the Foundation is at the heart of a global movement that views honouring children as the best way to create sustainable, peacemaking societies.
Proceeds benefit the Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring.
The Rolling Stones have announced they are going back on the road with a brand-new tour performing in 16 cities across the U.S. and Canada, stopping in Foxborough, MA on May 30, 2024 at Gillette Stadium.
Fans can expect to experience Mick, Keith and Ronnie play their most popular hits ranging from “Start Me Up,” “Gimme Shelter,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Satisfaction” and more, as well as fan favorite deep cuts and music from their new album HACKNEY DIAMONDS. The legendary rockers will be returning to the road following the success of their history-making and chart-topping studio album HACKNEY DIAMONDS, which has just received a Grammy nomination for the project’s lead single “Angry.” Showcasing a new stage and high energy that only the Stones can bring as one of the world’s most iconic artists ever, this tour will guarantee a show to remember.
Hackney Diamonds is their first studio set of new material since 2005's A Bigger Bang. Since then, the Stones have continued to smash box office records on a series of global sell-out tours and released 2016's GRAMMY® Award winning Blue & Lonesome, which featured their brilliant versions of many of the blues tracks that helped shape their sound, and topped album charts around the world. Last year, they thrilled European audiences totalling nearly a quarter of a million on the anniversary Sixty tour. The Rolling Stones have sold over 250 million albums worldwide.
Jay Wheeler Announces “TRAPPii Tour”, presented by Loud and Live
Friday, June 14, 2024 - 8 pm
Amica Mutual Pavilion
Tickets on sale at ticketmaster.com and the AMP Box Office
Secret Garden Tour Announces June 2024 Tour Dates
Join the Benefactors of the Arts for the June 2024 Secret Garden Tours. Take a self-guided walking tour through Newport, RI’s historic Point section June 28-30.
The tours run daily from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and tickets are limited with only 350 to be sold for each day. In Spring 2014, Conde Nast Traveler Magazine named Newport, Rhode Island “one of the best walking cities in the U.S.” and specifically mentioned The Secret Garden Tour through the city’s historic Point section as one of the highlights.
Tickets are now available for the 2024 Tours and can be purchased in advance online at http://www.secretgardentours.org for a discounted rate of $30.
Since 1984, the organizers and supporters of The Secret Garden Tour have been dedicated to enhancing art education and cultural programs in Aquidneck Island's Public Schools, funding dozens of programs in music, theater and fine arts for local schoolchildren. To date, The Secret Garden Tour has given more than $1 million to Aquidneck Island students in public schools for cultural programs and the arts.
For additional information, be sure to visit the website: www.secretgardentours.org
The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates its 80th season of programming with the 2024/25.
TACO Classical Series led by new Principal Conductor, Robert Spano, who will conduct two series concerts this season, plus the yet-to-be-announced 2025 Season 80 Gala! Subscriptions are available now at tickets.riphil.org/subscriptions. Subscribe today and select one Spring 2024 concert to attend for free. Single tickets will be available beginning July 29.
“This is an exciting time as we enter our 80th season,” said Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School Executive Director, David Beauchesne. “Anniversaries are about celebrating the past as well as the future. With Robert Spano debuting as Principal Conductor, the anticipated conclusion of our Music Director search and 13 RI Philharmonic Orchestra premieres, Season 80 is very much about the future. We also have many favorite conductors and guest artists returning, and a lot of familiar music from past seasons. We think audiences will enjoy this blend of looking forward and looking back.” Beauchesne also noted the presence of works by five living composers, including Jessie Montgomery’s Rounds, performed by pianist Awadagin Pratt, whose recording of the work recently won Montgomery a GRAMMY for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
Opening Night
Rachmaninoff & Gershwin
Open Rehearsal: Friday, September 13, 2024, 5:30PM
TACO Classical Series: September 14, 2024, 7:30PM
Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Olga Kern, piano
NELSON: Sarabande: For Katherine in April
CINDY MCTEE: Tempus Fugit
RACHMANINOFF: Rhapsody on a Theme of a Paganini
HOVHANESS: Symphony No. 2 (Mysterious Mountain)
GERSHWIN: An American in Paris
The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra’s 80th Season kicks off with Rachmaninoff & Gershwin conducted by Leonard Slatkin and featuring Olga Kern on piano. Kern is a highly-praised soloist whom The New York Times calls “a whiz at the piano.” The performance features the RI Phil premiere of Sarabande: For Katherine in April by Ron Nelson, composed in 1954. Leonard Stalkin calls Nelson, who passed away in 2023, “the quintessential American composer.” Also included in the program is the RI Phil premiere of Tempus Fugit the second of two movements from Double Play by Cindy McTee. Commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the first performance was in 2010, under the baton of Leonard Slatkin. Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of a Paganini is inspired by a simple tune by the early nineteenth-century violin virtuoso, Niccolò Paganini. Written for solo piano and symphony orchestra, Rhapsody on a Theme of a Paganini is his most significant work for piano and orchestra and, as The New Yorker said in a review of an early performance, “The succession of brilliances for the piano and old-fashioned bravura…It’s something for the audiences.” Next in the program is Hovhaness’ Symphony No. 2 (Mysterious Mountain) which had its premiere broadcast nationwide on NBC radio in October 1955. The piece’s crescendos, decrescendos, and giant melodic arcs certainly work as musical metaphors for mountain skylines, although the natural world served as inspiration for much of Hovhaness’ work. Last in the program is Gershwin’s An American in Paris, a jazz-influenced symphonic poem for orchestra, first performed in 1928. Gershwin describes the work as a “a rhapsodic ballet…the most modern music I’ve ever attempted.”
Zukerman Plays and Conducts Beethoven
Amica Rush Hour Series: October 18, 2024 at 6:30PM
TACO Classical Series: October 19, 2024, 7:30PM
Pinchas Zukerman, conductor/violin
HAYDN: Violin Concerto in C major
HAYDN: Symphony No. 49 (La passione)*
BEETHOVEN: Romance No. 1
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 2
Seals—and Save The Bay Seal Tours
Save The Bay education vessel will departs from Bowen's Ferry Landing in Newport Harbor, marking the organization's 22nd seal tour season in the “City by the Sea.”
Between November and April, the environmental nonprofit organization will run one-hour seal tours complete with expert narration by Save The Bay staff. These one-of-a-kind excursions offer passengers of all ages the opportunity to experience the beauty of Newport, catch spectacular views of the Claiborne Pell Bridge, learn the history of the harbor, and spot Rhode Island's state marine mammal, the harbor seal, in its natural environment.
Passengers of all ages will appreciate the Save The Bay Seal Tour experience.
“Harbor seals are the most common marine mammal in New England,” said Save The Bay Captain Eric Pfirrmann. “While their population was once in steady decline due to human activities, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 helped reverse the trend. Following the guidelines of the MMPA, we make sure that our tours stay at a safe distance so that we don't disrupt these amazing animals, but we do provide guests with binoculars so they can see the seals in perfect detail."
"While we see a variety of seal species in Narragansett Bay, we can identify a harbor seal by its size and its 'puppy-dog' face. We usually spot them resting ‘hauled out’ on rocks or in a ‘bottling’ position, where they float upright like a glass bottle.”
Gilded Age
Spectacular Settings – Exceptional Elegance – Fascinating Families
Newport - Ongoing
The Gilded Age comes alive with engaging audio tours of life in the Newport Mansions. From the soaring marble columns that greet you at Marble House to the platinum wall panels at The Breakers, immerse yourself in these social and architectural landmarks. Hear the fascinating stories of people who lived and worked in these grand houses.
PHOTO: HBO