9 minute read
See you in September!
by Elizabeth Morse Read
Summer’s almost over! The kids are heading back to school, the tourists have gone home – take a deep breath and enjoy the cooler temps, the bumper-crops at the farmers markets, the harvest fairs, seafood festivals and dancing-in-the-streets – and the return of indoor music, theatre, and cultural events as the days grow shorter!
Festivals, fairs, and festas!
Mark your calendars for the annual Our Lady of the Angels Portuguese Festa on Labor Day weekend –September 2-4 – at the feast grounds in north Fairhaven (fairhaventours. com)!
Head for Trinity Beer Garden at Kennedy Plaza in downtown Providence on September 23 for the RI Vegtoberfest – a 21+ vegan beer and food event and marketplace presented by RI VegFest (goprovidence.com)!
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! King Richard’s Faire in Carver returns on weekends September 2-October 22 (kingrichardsfaire.net).
Head for the 13th Annual Rhode Island Seafood Festival at India Point Park in Providence on September 16-17, rain or shine (riseafoodfest. com)!
Head for Frerich’s Farm in Warren for the Mum & Scarecrow Festival
September 9 and the Thrive Outside: Mud Run September 17 (frerichsfarm. com).
Don’t miss the New Bedford Food Truck and Craft Beer Festival on September 16 at Fort Taber. Family fun, lawn games and music (foodtruckfestivalsofamerica.com)! Mark your calendars for the Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival on September 22-24 at Rosecliff (newportmansions.org).
Don’t miss the 21+ event “First Taste of Fall” on September 23 at the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford – food trucks, local breweries and wineries (bpzoo.org).
Don’t miss the annual Acushnet Apple-Peach Festival on the weekend after Labor Day (facebook. com/fans-of-the-acushnetapplepeach-festival)!
Family fun!
Don’t miss “Riverside Beats,” a free outdoor community dance party with New Moon DJs at Riverside Park in New Bedford on September 3 (newbedfordcreative.org)!
See what life was like during the Revolutionary War! Visit the Fairhaven Village Militia’s Military Encampment at Fort Phoenix September 30 to October 1 (fairhaventours.com)!
Head for Onset Bay for the Harvest Moon Festival on September 23 –fireworks, flea market, food trucks, live music, antique/classic car show (onsetbay.org)!
Take the family to Soule Homestead in Middleborough for the Harvest Fair on September 9 – hayrides, local artisans and crafters, food, and music (soulehomestead.org)!
Don’t miss the 18th Annual Arts & Music Festival on September 30 in Lakeville – arts & crafts, kids’ activities, music, food trucks, and more (lakevilleartscouncilma.org/ festival)!
Enjoy free family fun and entertainment on AHA! Nights in New Bedford! The September 14 theme is “NB Cultures” (ahanewbedford.org).
Food, drink, and shopping!
Sign up for a Newport Foodie Stroll on Wednesdays to Saturdays through October 14, a walking tour of the restaurants of Lower Thames Street in Newport (visitrhodeisland.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)!
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)!
Be sure to head for the Carousel in Roger Williams Park in Providence on Food Truck Fridays through September 29 (rwpzoo.org)!
Taste your way through the historic district with New Bedford Food Tours on a three-hour guided walking tour to sample local foods at five signature restaurants, a 2-hour “Art and Brunch” tour of the city, or a threehour “A Taste of Portugal” tour in Fall River (nbfoodtours.com)!
Take the family to the monthly Open Farm Days at Round the Bend Farm in Dartmouth through December!
Grass-fed meats, botanicals, local veggies, honey and farm tours (roundthebendfarm.org). Make a trip to Somerset on Saturdays through October and stroll through the South Coast Open Air Market to purchase all things local, handmade, and fresh (southcoastopenairmarket.com)!
Special events, exhibits, and lectures
On September 19-20, head for Round the Bend Farm in South Dartmouth for the free event “Autumn Joy: A Garden Club of America Flower Show” hosted by the Little Compton Garden Club (littlecomptongardenclub.org ) and the Garden Club of Buzzards Bay (gardenclubbuzzardsbay.org). Enjoy gorgeous floral arrangements, plant and flower specimens, nature photography, and conservation initiatives supportive of sustainable agriculture (roundthebendfarm.org)! There’s always something going on at the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown! Don’t miss the Mushroom Hunting Lecture on September 14 or the Mushroom Hunting Guided Walk on September 16 (normanbirdsanctuary.org)!
Check out the free Pilgrim Hall Museum Speaker Series this year in Plymouth – compelling speakers on a range of history-related topics (pilgrimhall.org).
Be amazed by WaterFire in Providence on September 2, 9, and 30 (waterfire.org)!
Go on the Providence Preservation Society’s Architectural River Tour on September 25, cruising the Providence waterways (ppsri.org/ events)!
Need a bigger boat? Plan ahead for the Newport International Boat Show September 14-17 at the Newport Yachting Center (newportboatshow. com).
Quench your thirst for learning at the free monthly New Bedford Science Café lectures and discussions at The Last Round Bar & Grille. Don’t miss “Climate Change in New Bedford: Exploring Probable Futures” on September 12 (nbsciencecafe.com)!
Explore the free public art and programs presented by the Massachusetts Design Art and Technology Institute (DATMA) entitled “Shelter 2023” in New Bedford: “Threshold” at Custom House Square; “Our Woven Story” at the intersection of Union St. and Rt. 18; and the “Community Tides” mural on Fish Island. And don’t miss the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra’s Pop-Up Performance in Custom House Square on September 14 (DATMA.org).
Listen to the free lecture “Sea Monsters from Classical Times to the Age of Exploration” on September 14 at the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center (fishingheritagecenter.org)!
Go on a special walking tour of New Bedford’s Abolition Row on September 27, sponsored by the Rotch-Jones-Duff Museum and the New Bedford Preservation Society (rjdmuseum.org).
Visit the special art exhibit “A Singularly Marine & Fabulous Produce: The Cultures of Seaweed” at New Bedford’s Whaling Museum through December 3 (whalingmuseum.org).
All the world’s a stage
Enjoy dinner with your drama at the Newport Playhouse! Don’t miss “Ghost of a Chance” September 13-October 29 (newportplayhouse. com)!
Check out what’s playing at the Providence Performing Arts Center! There’s “Funny Girl” September 9-16 (ppacri.org).
Enjoy the new season of Your Theatre in New Bedford at its new home, the Steeple Playhouse! “Murder on the Orient Express” will be performed in September (yourtheatre.org).
Head for the Priscilla Beach Theatre in Plymouth, the oldest barn theatre still in operation in America! There’s “Always…Patsy Cline” September 8-16 (pbtheatre.org).
Enjoy a performance of “ The Good John Proctor” September 7-15, 28November 12 and “Becky Nurse of Salem” September 21- November 10 at Trinity Rep in Providence (trinityrep. com).
Music on the lawns
Head for Frerich’s Farm in Warren for the RI Bluegrass Festival September 23-24 (frerichsfarm.com).
Enjoy a “Concert in the Garden: Broadway in New Bedford” on September 17 at the Rotch-JonesDuff Mansion in New Bedford (rjdmuseum.org)!
Bring a picnic or enjoy the food trucks when you head for Soule Homestead in Middleborough for the Summer Concert on September 23 at the outdoor pavilion (soulehomestead.org)!
Don’t miss the 28th annual Westport Rock, Rhythm & Blues Festival September 8-10 at the Holy Ghost Grounds in Westport, a fundraiser to benefit A Wish Come True (awish.org). Enjoy wine tastings and live jazz on Saturdays at Greenvale Vineyards in Portsmouth (greenvale.com).
South Coast sounds
The 100-year old Zeiterion Performing Arts Center in New Bedford will undergo an historic restoration and renovation and will be closed for 12-18 months until completion. But during that time, the great performances the Z is known for will still be scheduled at other venues and stages throughout the South Coast, including performances by the Z’s resident companies, the New Bedford Festival Theatre and the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra
So head for Madeira Field in New Bedford on September 8 to hear Get the Led Out , or to the Kilburn Mills Event Center in New Bedford for the New B Legends on September 21, or back to Madeira Field on September 30 for Legally Blynd (zeiterion.org)!
Find out who’s on stage at the District Center for the Arts in Taunton! (thedistrictcenterforarts.com).
Head for T he Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River for great music! (narrowscenter.com).
Classical acts
Buy your tickets early to hear violinist Karen Gomyo perform at The VETS in Providence on September 23 (riphil.org)!
Enjoy beautiful music in New Bedford’s historic district on September 23 for Sonata Saturday, a partnership of the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra and The Drawing Room – head for the NBWNHP Visitor Center for two free afternoon performances of classical and popular music (nbsymphony.org)!
Listen to the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra’s opening night concert “Wanting More” on September 30 at Plymouth Memorial Hall (plymouthphil.org)!
Don’t miss the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra’s pop-up performance in New Bedford’s Custom House Square on September 14 (DATMA.org).
Head for Blithewold Mansion and Gardens in Bristol for “Songs of Love and War,” featuring the Encore Opera Company, on September 7 (blithewold.org)!
The great outdoors
Enjoy Yoga in the Garden on Saturdays through September at the Rotch-Jones-Duff Mansion in New Bedford! Sign up online – free to YMCA members (rjdmuseum.org)!
Sign up early for the 2023 Wine Run at Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery on September 6 – run along the river through the vineyards, followed by dinner, wine, and music (info@rhoderaces.us).
“Discover Buzzards Bay” offers an online portal with information about 100+ public places to walk, birdwatch, 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, exploreri.org, massaudubon.org, riwalks.org, asri.org, riparks.com, or stateparks.com/rhode_island.
