We did it. Banner 18, baby. This columnist is still pumped after that Celtics win — and I’m not alone.
It’s with a skip in my step that I’ve rounded up all the fun in the 401 (and beyond) this week. We bounce into a calendar of inflatable houses, live music, a Fort Adams bash, yoga in a vineyard, a duck boat parade with a Rhody coach and more.
GALLERY NIGHT
In case you’re reading this June 20, tonight is Gallery Night, neighbors. Hop a trolley to see art in PVD. There are five free guided tours, or you can make your own. Expect art openings and receptions across Providence at some 17 galleries and art spaces, according to billing. Details here.
START OF “STARTS AT SUNSET”
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Also, June 20 is the Summer Solstice and PVD is celebrating the longest night of the year. WaterFire’s “Starts at Sunset” series kicks off June 20 at 8 p.m. with live music and “art activations” along the Providence Pedestrian Bridge. Five braziers will be lit at 8:41 p.m. and burn until 10 p.m. Rhode Islanders can celebrate the longest day of the year with Providence Drum Troupe, which kicks off the evening, according to WaterFire. Expect live music, The Guild Beer Garden, Tizzy K’s Cereal Ice Cream (yes, please) and more. 365 S. Water St., Providence. Details here.
CELTICS PARADE & A RHODY COACH MAKE HISTORY
I don’t always leave Rhode Island, but when I do, it’s because there’s a Celtics duck boat championship parade.
Let’s give a Rhody cheer for Johnston native/Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, 35, who just became the youngest coach to win an NBA championship in more than half a century. The “Rhode Island kid” is no longer a mystery — he’s made history.
Time for a Rhode Trip to Boston for the Celtics Championship Parade, stepping off 11 a.m. June 21 in front of TD Garden on Causeway Street, traveling past City Hall Plaza and the Boston Common on Tremont Street, and ending on Boylston Street by the Hynes Convention Center. Details here.
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LIVE FROM WOONSOCKET
Catch free live music in Woonsocket on Fridays all summer long with their Levitt AMP Woonsocket Music Series at River Island Art Park. The series mission is “to bring communities together through the power of live music, according to their website. Plus, expect food trucks, vendors, “kid-friendly fun,” and a bar. On the docket for June 21: New Orleans fusion artist Shamarr Allen. Billed as mix of jazz, hip-hop, rock, funk, blues, and country, the trumpeter has toured with Willie Nelson, Patti LaBelle, and Lenny Kravitz, according to billing. 95 Bernon St., Woonsocket. Learn more here.
EAST PROVIDENCE RESTAURANT WEEK
Foodies, there’s still time: East Providence Restaurant Week runs now through June 22. Expect deals and prix fixe. You might, for example, lunch on authentic Portuguese food at Madeira Restaurant, where you’ll score a free cup of soup with any sandwich. For dinner, they offer a free cup of soup or side salad with $20 entree — perhaps sautéed shrimp in butter, garlic, and wine served over a bed of rice, or marinated pork blended with roasted potatoes and little necks. Meanwhile, Uncle Tony’s Pizza & Pasta offers a $23.95 prix fixe meal: Start on soup or salad, then you might dig into baked sea scallops with pasta, veggie or fries, or chicken parmigiana, before dessert: tiramisu or carrot cake. Details here.
WBNA PARTY & TOUR
Summer officially starts June 20, and PVD’s West Broadway Neighborhood Association (WBNA) celebrates with a Solstice Party June 21, and a Neighborhood Garden Stroll June 22. At the Solstice celebration, expect an open bar, locally sourced catering, and live music. 1560 Westminster St., Providence. 6-9 p.m. $60 each or two for $100, drink and food included. 1560 Westminster St., Providence. Details here.
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Meanwhile, the free self-guided Garden Stroll is billed as a day of “community camaraderie, creative expression, and a celebration of urban green spaces.” 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Map here. Details here.
BLACK HISTORY WALKING TOUR
Starting June 22, you can educate yourself to local history on a Newport Black History Walking Tour. Until now, the personal narratives and experiences of Black individuals enslaved against their will to white merchants in late 18th-century Newport have been largely unknown, according to a Globe RI story. Their voices highlight a new tour and exhibit that illuminate “the untold history of early Black Americans” and its widespread, ongoing impact in Rhode Island. Tours Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays at 10 a.m. through Nov. 30. $20 adults; $10 kids 12 and under. Departs from the Pilot House at 13 Bowen’s Wharf, Newport. Details here.
RHODE READS
I’m a lifelong book lover and want to spread the Ocean State literary love. Rhody is so packed with talented authors and books, I started a subsection of this column, Rhode Reads. In this week’s Rhody Reading News… [Cue our Rhode Reads jingle…]
Start ‘em young. Ink Fish Books in Warren hosts “Young Readers Day” June 22 from noon to 3 p.m. The free event features Rhody authors, meet-and-greets, signings, free Del’s Lemonade, and free face painting from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Getting kids to make the connection between the book in their hands and the idea that a person created it is key to developing young writers and readers. 488 Main St., Warren. Details here. On the docket:
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- Haley and John Rocco talking “Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough,” which was selected as the 2024 Rhode Island Great Reads for Kids for the National Book Festival.
- Astrophysicist Marc Kuchner talking about his first kids nonfiction book, “Cosmic Collisions: Asteroid vs. Comet” via MIT Press.
- And acclaimed kids author Jamie Michalak, author of the charming “Frank and Bean” series, “Dakota Crumb” books and “Joe and Sparky” books.
Meanwhile: A Westerly native, poet Carla Panciera, talks and signs “Barnflower: A Rhode Island Farm Memoir” followed by a reception, at Westerly’s United Theatre. $5. 5 Canal St., Westerly. Details here.
ADULT BOUNCE HOUSE
… Yes, and kids, too. But kids always get to bounce. I’m freaking out because it’s my turn. Get this: The Big Bounce America is bringing its massive inflatable fun houses — including a 24,000 square-foot bounce house, and 900-foot long obstacle course with slides — just over the border to Seekonk Speedway for two weekends, June 22-23, and June 28-30. See the attractions, with names like “Air Space” and “Octoblast” here. You can sign up by age time-slots, like toddler, older kids — and ages 16+ adult-only sessions. I haven’t gotten a chance to jump like this I was at elementary school Discovery Zone birthday parties. Here’s our chance, grownups. Let’s do this. 1782 Fall River Ave., Seekonk, Mass. Adults from $45. Toddlers from $22. Details here.
MARK ERELLI
Folk fans, don’t miss Mark Erelli in Wakefield June 22. Of his latest album, “Lay Your Darkness Down,” he told me in 2022: “These aren’t songs about blindness. They’re songs I could only write once I realized what I was losing. My impending blindness opened my eyes.” The Massachusetts solo artist and sometime sideman for Lori McKenna, Josh Ritter, Marc Cohn, and others was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, or RP, an inherited retinal disease that causes progressive loss of night and peripheral vision. Erelli’s new material “is the most intimate thing I’ve ever done,” he said. $20. Doors 6 p.m., show 7 p.m. 1464 Kingstown Road, Wakefield. Details here.
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SOCCER TIME
Rhode Island FC, the state’s very own pro men’s soccer team, takes on El Paso Locomotive FC June 26 at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices vary, but it’s Pride Night, so there’s a special package that includes a pride T-Shirt and a ticket for $23. At Beirne Stadium at Bryant University. 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield. Details here.
‘MUSIC AT SUNSET’’
BYO chairs, blanket and picnic dinner to soak up in the view of Narragansett Bay and sound of music on the rolling greens of a mansion. Bristol’s Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum hosts The Joe Parillo Jazz Ensemble as part of the Music at Sunset series June 26. Gates 5 p.m., show 6-8 p.m. Preregistration required; walk-ins not accepted. Adults $18; kids 5-17 $6. 101 Ferry Road, Bristol. Learn more about artist here. Details here.
NEWPORT DOCS
They’re back, baby: newportFilm kicks off their 2024 documentary Outdoors Series with “Skywalkers: A Love Story” June 27 on O’Hare Lawn at Salve Regina University. The Netflix documentary “follows a daredevil couple as they take their relationship to terrifying new heights in a wild scheme to climb the world’s second highest skyscraper and perform a death-defying stunt on the spire,” according to newportFilm’s website synopsis.
newportFilm’s outdoors series runs June 27-Sept. 5, with free admission, at “iconic outdoor locations throughout Aquidneck Island” every Thursday. Venue opens at 6 p.m., live music by Van Pelt Duo at 7:30 p.m., film at 8:30 p.m. 36 Ochre Point Ave., Newport. Watch a movie trailer here. Learn more here.
YOGA & WINE
Name a more iconic duo, I’ll wait. Cumberland’s Diamond Hill Vineyards offers an outdoor yoga class open to all levels June 28 at 5:15 p.m. at the vineyard. Afterward, they host a Sip & Shop event featuring local vendors and, of course, wine. From $13. 3145 Diamond Hill Road, Cumberland. Details here.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE. ONGOING FUN…
‘LA CAGE AUX FOLLES’: Trinity Rep concludes its season with the Tony-winning musical “La Cage aux Folles,” with book by Harvey Fierstein, music by Jerry Herman, and directed by resident company member Taavon Gamble. The play centers on drag club owner Georges, and his husband, Albin, who performs at the club. “Hijinks ensue” when Georges’ son becomes engaged to the daughter of a homophobic politician and Georges tries to hide his sexuality, according to billing. Read the Globe Rhode Island theater review. From $24. Through June 30. 201 Washington St., Providence. Details here.
TROOPTOP THURSDAYS: ‘Tis the season for a rooftop beer garden. WaterFire Providence’s TroopTop Thursdays rock the top of WaterFire Arts Center. Each week (except July 4 and July 25) you can catch the sunset, and the current exhibition, 5-9 p.m. Expect tunes, snacks, beer and wine. 475 Valley St., Providence. Details here.
ITALIAN FOOD FEST: Foodies, rev your engines. Federal Hill, Rhody’s own Little Italy, hosts its 5th Al Fresco on the Hill on Saturdays through Aug. 31 from 5 p.m. to midnight. People can stroll the avenue and sample food from local restaurants and shop at retailers set up outside. There will also be live entertainment and artistic performances. Providence. Details here.
DRAGONS AT THE ZOO: Kids can explore “Dragons & Mythical Creatures” at Roger Williams Park Zoo. Billed as an “immersive experience featuring over 60 life-size animatronic wonders.” Through Aug. 11. Not included with regular zoo admission. $9 ages 2 and up. Under 2 free. 1000 Elmwood Ave., Providence. Details here.
FOOD AND ARCHITECTURE WALKING TOUR: Food, art, and architecture come together for Downcity Providence Food Tours, noon to 3:30 p.m., on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through November. Get an insider’s view of creative and lively Providence during a tour lasting more than three hours over 1.7 miles. Discover some of the city’s award-winning restaurants, its hidden art and historic architecture. Tickets $76-$94 per person. 1 Ship St., Providence. Details here.
BROWN’S ART WALKING TOURS: Brown University now offers free public art walking tours led by Brown students every weekend. Learn about Brown’s public art collection with a 40-minute student-curated tour, exploring six works of art. All tours are outdoors, rain or shine. No registration required. Meet up at 1 p.m. On Saturdays, meet at the Eli Harvey sculpture, Bronze Bruno, on the College Green (79 Waterman St.) On Sundays, meet at Tom Friedman’s Circle Dance, on the Campus Walk. Tours run weekends through Nov. 17. Map and all details here.
Until next week, Rhody: Keep rockin.’
Lauren Daley can be reached at ldaley33@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @laurendaley1.