Marching into spring!

by Elizabeth Morse Read

Wear your green on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, your red on St. Joseph’s Day, March 19, and observe Women’s History Month every day! Don’t forget to change your clocks forward on March 12, and celebrate the first day of spring on March 20!

Get outdoors – and get moving !

Get healthy – for free! “Walk With a Doc” on Saturdays, or head for the Greater New Bedford Boys & Girls Club on Sundays for Zumba, meditation, or yoga, all part of the New Bedford Wellness Initiative (nbewell.com)!

Register now for the Shamrock Stampede 5K through Plymouth (and the tavern!) on March 18 (southshorerace.com) or the New Bedford Half Marathon on March 19, sponsored by the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick (newbedfordhalfmarathon.org).

Go on a guided Seal Watch boat tour with Save The Bay, departing from Bowen’s Ferry Landing in Newport through April (savebay.org/seals)!

Sharpen your ice skates (or rent them) at indoor skating rinks in Southeastern Massachusetts (fmcicesports. com/rinks), or the huge outdoor rink (and bumper cars!) in Providence (theprovidencerink.com).

Catch a glimpse of snowy owls and other migratory birds at the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge (fws. gov/sachuestpoint) or the Norman Bird Sanctuary (normanbirdsanctuary.org), both in Middletown, or else go on an Evening Owl Prowl on March 6 or 20 at the Lloyd Center for the Environment in Dartmouth (lloydcenter.org)!

“Discover Buzzards Bay” offers an online portal with information about more than 100 public places to walk, bird-watch, kayak/canoe, fish, snowshoe or cross-country ski (savebuzzardsbay. org/discover). You can find other outdoor recreation spots along the South Coast at thetrustees.org and massaudubon.org, asri.org, riparks.com, or stateparks.com/rhode_island.

Afghan Art!

The Afghan Women’s Art Project, showcasing traditional and modern Afghan handicrafts made by six recent Afghan immigrants to the South Coast, will be on display at the New Bedford Free Public Library at 613 Pleasant Street from February 9 through March 23 as part of the city’s AHA! Nights programming.

Classical acts

Enjoy “Gluzman Performs Beethoven” at the Zeiterion on March 25 with the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra (nbsymphony.org)!

Head for the Grace Episcopal Church in Providence on March 11 & 12 to hear the Providence Singers with the Aurea Ensemble perform “Finding the Light” (providencesingers.org)!

Mark your calendar for the Plymouth Philharmonic’s concert “The Winning Score: Sports in Music” on March 5 or the opera “Cold Mountain” on March 25 at Memorial Hall in Plymouth (plymouthphil.org)!

Relax and listen to the Tri-County Symphonic Band’s performance of “Celebrating Andrew Lloyd Webber” March 19 at Tabor Academy in Marion (tricountysymphonicband.org).

Celebrate the return of Arts in the Village, Rehoboth’s chamber music series at Goff Memorial Hall! Don’t miss the Haven String Quartet on March 18 (rehobothantiquarian.org).

Listen to the Newport String Project perform “String Octets” at Ochre Court in Newport on March 12 (newportstringproject.org).

Enjoy a performance by the Frisson Ensemble on March 26 at Westport’s Concerts at the Point (concertsatthepoint.org).

Watch the Festival Ballet Providence’s performance of “Beauty Awakened” March 17-19 at the Moses Brown School (festivalballetprovidence.org)!

Listen to “West Side Story” performed by the Rhode Island Philharmonic on March 17-18 at The VETS in Providence (riphil.org).

Celebrate your Irish roots

Don’t miss the spectacular Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 11 in Newport, rain or shine (newportirish.com)!

Mark your calendar for the special benefit concert for the Plymouth Philharmonic on March 11 – Irish fiddler Eileen Ivers will perform at Memorial Hall in Plymouth (plymouthphil.org)!

Head for the Zeiterion in downtown New Bedford to enjoy the multi-faceted show “Ireland with Michael Londra” on March 12 (zeiterion.org).

Don’t miss the ”The Irish in America” concert March 4 at the Newport Public Library (newportpubliclibraryri.org)!

Everthing old is new again!

The Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum (RJD) will hold an Open House on March 18, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors are invited to drop by the historic estate at 396 County Street in New Bedford for brief guided tours of the 1834 whaling mansion, which will include the newly installed Home Is Where the Hearth Isexhibition about kitchens in the Victorian era. Visitors can also enjoy refreshments, enter a drawing to win a Museum membership, and take home a goody-bag.

Admission to Open House at the RJD is free, and no registration is required. For more information about the Museum, visit the website, rjdmuseum.org.

Fun for the whole family!

Enjoy movie night with the family at “Enter the Dragon” at New Bedford’s Zeiterion on March 19 (zeiterion.org)!

Don’t miss “Jurassic Park Live” March 23-26 at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence (dunkindonutscenter.com)!

Enjoy free family fun and entertainment on the second Thursday of every month at New Bedford’s AHA Nights –“Women’s Work” is the March 10 theme (ahanewbedford.org)!

Buy your tickets online for the indoor planetarium shows on weekends yearround, and daily during school vacations at the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium in Roger Williams Park in Providence (providenceri.gov/museum)!

Learn something new!

Plan ahead for the home and garden exhibits at the 73rd Annual RI Home Show, including the RI Flower and Garden Show and Energy Expo, on March 30 to April 2 at the RI Convention Center in Providence (ribahomeshow.com).

Check out the classes and workshops for all ages at the New Bedford Art Museum/Artworks (newbedfordart.org)!

Learn how to line dance at New Bedford’s Kilburn Mills (facebook.com/ aandmdanceacademy.com).!

Check out the Friday afternoon movies at the Newport Public Library (newportpubliclibraryri.org)!

Try your hand at pickleball at Fairhaven’s indoor Southcoast Pickleball arena (southcoastpickleball.com).

Quench your thirst for learning at the free monthly New Bedford Science Café lectures and discussions at The Last Round Bar & Grille (nbsciencecafe.com)!

Listen to the music!

Head for the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River to hear Sierra Hull March 9, Sol y Canto March 11, Masters of the Telecaster March 18, James McMurtry March 24, Ryan Montbleau Band March 23 (narrowscenter.org).

Watch the Festival Ballet Providence’s performance of “Beauty Awakened” March 17-19 at the Moses Brown School (festivalballetprovidence.org)!

Don’t miss L’il Durk March 3 at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence (dunkindonutscenter.com)!

Head for the Zeiterion in downtown New Bedford to hear Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass March 3, Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon March 4, The Moth March 11, Ireland with Michael Londra March 12, Black Boy March 13, She Said/She Says March 15, psychic medium Matt Fraser March 15-16, Crys Matthews March 30 (zeiterion.org).

Don’t miss The Simon & Garfunkel Story March 11 at the Providence Performing Arts Center! (ppacri.org).

Head for The VETS in Providence to hear Brian Culbertson on March 22 (vmari.com)!

Center for the Performing Arts of Greater Plymouth! There’s Tim Ray Trio March 2, The Suitcase Junket March 3, Shemekia Copeland March 4, Trinity March 11, Honest Mechanik March 16, Acoustic Alchemy March 17, Livingston Taylor March 18, illusionist Lyn Dillies March 25-26 (spirecenter.org).

The play’s the thing

Don’t miss “The Crucible” March 3-5, 10-12 at Your Theatre in New Bedford (yourtheatre.org)!

Check out what’s happening at the Marion Art Center! Don’t miss the performances of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” March 10-12, 17-19, 24-25 (marionartcenter.org)!

Find out what’s on stage at the Little Theatre in Fall River! Don’t miss “Guys and Dolls” March 23-26 (littletheatre.net)!

Head for Running Brook Vineyards in Dartmouth for free live music every weekend year-round (runningbrookwine.com)!

Mark your calendar for the performances of “The Inferior Sex” March 16-April 16 at Trinity Rep in Providence (trinityrep.com).

Don’t miss “Hadestown” March 21-26 at the Providence Performing Arts Center (ppacri.org)!