Enjoy an awEsomE august!

by Elizabeth Morse Read

It’s Portuguese Feast season! Head for the feast grounds for fabulous food, great music, and good times with friends and family! And don’t miss the beaches, the regattas, the free outdoor concerts, plays and movies, and funky street fairs! Pack in everything you can this month before Labor Day –and the end of a spectacular summer vacation on the South Coast!

Fun For the whole Family

Don’t miss the 4th Annual CommUNITY Rollout & Roller Disco event at Buttonwood Park in New Bedford on August 12 – bring your skateboards, strollers, inline skates and bikes to the basketball courts for roller disco with New Moon DJs (newbedfordcreative.org)!

Take the family on a ride to Onset for Illumination Night on August 5, then for the Chalk-Full-O-Fun Street Painting Festival on August 19 at the Onset Bandshell (onsetbay.org/ events)!

Buy your tickets online for the monthly live planetarium shows on the First Fridays at the Blake Planetarium in Plymouth (seeplymouth.com)!

Make a splash at WaterWizz in Wareham (waterwizz.com)!

Take the kids to the monthly Open Farm Days at Round The Bend Farm in Dartmouth – grass-fed meats, botanicals, local veggies, honey, and family-friendly farm tours (roundthebendfarm.org)!

Head for the Huttleston Marketplace on Saturdays through September 30 on the lawn of Fairhaven High School to browse through arts & crafts, antiques, vintage collectibles, farm produce, and local foods (fairhaventours.com)!

Take a walk through the past at the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park (nps.gov/nebe)!

There’s always something going on at the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown! Don’t miss the seaside

Beach Bash at Third Beach on August 24 with live music and picnics (normanbirdsanctuary.org)!

On rainy Wednesdays through Sundays, take the little ones to the Children’s Museum of Greater Fall River (cmgfr.org)!

Learn about Cold Water Wellness, or else learn how to sail, row, kayak, paddleboard, or windsurf – for free! –at the Buzzards Bay Coalition’s Onset Bay Center (savebuzzardsbay.org/ discover/activities)!

Buy your tickets online for the planetarium shows on weekends and school vacations at the Museum of Natural History & Planetarium at Roger Williams Park in Providence (providence.gov/museum).

Enjoy free family fun and entertainment on the second

Shop small, shop local!

Thursday of the month at New Bedford’s AHA Nights – the August 10 theme is “Summer in the Seaport” (ahanewbedford.org)!

Food and drink

Save the date for “Brew at the Zoo” –Rhode Island’s largest beer festival on August 27 at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence – 80+ brewers, live music, 21+ only (rwpzoo.org/brew-atthe-zoo)!

Why risk your health (and sanity) at crowded malls on Black Friday? Take advantage of incredible offerings in your own neighborhood on Small Business Saturday, November 28, throughout the South Coast. Check out sbsshopri. com for shop-and-stroll events in Rhode Island. For that special gift, support local craftsmen and artists by heading over to the Waterfire Arts Center in Providence to visit the safe outdoor pop-up markets (waterfire.org/art-mart). And on First Thursdays (November 5) you can “shop and dine local” in Barrington, Bristol, and Warren (discovernewport.org).

Reserve your table early for the annual Great Community Picnic at Munro Preserve in Mattapoisett on August 3. Bring your own picnic food and the Mattapoisett Land Trust (mattlandtrust.org) and the Mattapoisett Museum (mattapoisettmuseum.org) will provide the tables, chairs, live music, tablecloths, and a beautiful location. Beer and local oysters will be on sale (givebutter.com/GCP)!

Kick-off the holiday season at Frerichs Farm in Warren with “Girls Night Out” on November 6, 7 and 8 – buy your holiday trees, greenery, and gifts there, too (frerichsfarm.com). Then mark your calendar for the Newport Block Party & Holiday Stroll at Bowen’s Wharf on November 27 – you can watch the Illuminated Boat Parade while you shop and enjoy Caribbean music (bowenswharf.com).

Head for the Mayflower Beer Garden at the Pinehills in Plymouth every Sunday and on select Mondays through October 9 – live music, food trucks, beer, and pop-up shops on the village green (mayflowerbrewing. com)!

It’s the thoughtful gifts that count

Enjoy an old-fashioned family-style clambake on August 12, sponsored by the Smith Neck Friends Meeting in South Dartmouth – buy your tickets online at smithneckclambake2023. com or call 508-971-8008/992-2758. Sign up early for the Farm to Table Dinner on August 19 at Soule Homestead in Middleborough (soulehomestead.org)!

And if you can’t find gifts for all the special people in your life, consider buying gift cards to restaurants, shops, vineyards, special event venues, local farms, e-commerce websites, or grocery stores. Use mail-order services to deliver flowers, sweets, and specialty foods yearround to someone you want to thank or to express your appreciation.