Things to Do in Barrington

BoldrDash adds variety to the traditional 5K run, peppering their courses with more than two-dozen obstacles. But they don't want participants running between a few sparse obstacles, they want them climbing, swinging, sliding, and swimming all the way to the finish line. They even offer boot-camp training classes to prepare runners for the event. More important than providing a solid workout, Bold r Dash's events donate proceeds to local charities, schools, and community organizations.

Kingstown Bowl makes it easy to while away an afternoon or evening, encouraging visitors to stick around and shoot some pool, play some Wii Sports, or grab a drink between frames. Automatic scoring systems track the in-game action, and on Saturday nights, Rock-N-Bowl plunges the concourse into a nightclub atmosphere as a DJ spins requests and multicolored pins glow beneath concert-style lighting. The pub gives players a place to relax with bar food, free wireless Internet access, and the occasional U2 concert. The technicians at the pro shop offer advice on gear and perform services such as plugging and re-drilling finger holes.

Awarded Best Comedy Club in Rhode Island in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 by the Providence Phoenix, Comedy Connection lives up to its accolades by populating its stage with a slew of both burgeoning and established comedians. Throughout shows, bartenders sling domestic and imported brews while mixing both basic drinks with Jack Daniels and dessert substitutes, such as s'mores and caramel-apple martinis. Aside from regular shows, Comedy Connection’s fundraising program helps members of the community host charitable events that benefit non-profit organizations, youth sports teams, and families in need.

Absolute Pilates’s instructors are far from old-school. Though they each boast extensive training in traditional Pilates—and teach classic mat classes—they focus largely on incorporating modern equipment into the ancient practice. Pilates Reformers, Towers, chairs, and even the barre are used during classes, often in combination with each other to optimize workouts and results. The equipment helps students of all levels maintain their balance and target dormant muscles, transforming standard Pilates into a more effective workout. But teachers still maintain the welcoming, personal environment long attributed to Pilates studios and grandma’s doomsday bunker.

Mark Sandler and Carrie Gaynor—co-directors of Absolute Yoga & Wellness—teach yoga as an extension of the healing arts they both practice. Mark focuses on the mind, bringing his studies of yogic philosophy and psychology under Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati to the classroom. Carrie draws upon the medical know-how she garnered in her two decades as a nurse to enhance the benefits of her practice. Together, they seek to restore health to bodies through exercise and associated physical therapies, such as kinesis myofascial integration and yoga therapy, in which students hold asana on a psychoanalyst's couch.

During her frequent travels, owner Lisa Golde has trained under some of yoga’s modern pioneers, including Ana Forrest, Bryan Kest, and Dharma Mittra. But no matter where her globetrotting lifestyle takes her, Lisa always returns to share what she has learned at her home studio, which consists of the sunlit Rasa Room and Shanti Room. Lisa and her team of talented instructors adapt yoga flows to meet skill levels while still challenging practitioners to open their bodies, minds, and belly buttons' secret portal to a different dimension.

Yoga classes teach traditional styles, such as Forrest yoga, and integrative flow, as well as upbeat, experimental classes like Nia. The fast-paced style of expressive dance blends yoga, modern jazz, and a type of martial arts to get hearts pumping faster than swimming in a pool of pudding. After class, guests can grab a snack in the boutique or rinse off in onsite showers.