Things to Do in North Smithfield

Devised in 2001 by a Brown University medical student in order to support Hasbro Children's Hospital's Asthma Camp, the annual Breeze Against Wheeze 5K run and 3K walk raises a quarter of the funds the camp needs each year to educate youngsters about managing a disease that stands as the leading cause of child hospitalization nationwide. At the start of the race, athletes trek across the Brown University campus and down Blackstone Boulevard, speeding past other runners or strolling at a heart-healthy pace to show their anti-asthma verve. The top competitor in each age bracket, plus the three fastest men and women overall, win a bounty of gift certificates and sports gear to help fuel their future challenges, while postrace raffles lend the chance for any participant to be crowned a winner. Before the adult events, kids can race for free, testing their endurance and agility without crawling through the TV screen into their favorite video game.

The Rush Hour series serves those who are curious about symphonic music but have never had adequate time to attend a show. Conducted by Music Director Larry Rachleff, these short, informal concerts will swiftly capture the ear’s attention by breezing through two or three classical pieces and providing educational information about their historical context and whether or not they've been sampled in a Will Smith song. Choose the concert on October 15 to hear Beethoven’s pastoral Symphony no. 6 and his expressive Symphony no. 7, or relax on November 19 to twentieth-century selections by Samuel Barber and Maurice Ravel. Brahms’ Piano Concerto no. 2 headlines the February 25 show, along with Richard Strauss’ epic _ Also Sprach Zarathustra_. Finally, orchestra buffs can immerse themselves in concertos by Lutosławski and Tchaikovsky on April 15 to celebrate Tax Day.

Tires squeal and a 15-horsepower engine hums as its driver cuts through a narrow turn, shaving fractions of a second off the lap. Below the track, a colorful golf ball winds through faux island trees, avoiding walls and stops on its way to an awaiting hole. It's another day at Tri-State Speedway, a multileveled family entertainment center littered with motorized fun for patrons of any age. The upstairs, 22,000-square-foot go-kart track hosts competitive races with karts calibrated for speeds of up to 25 miles per hour. A walk downstairs leads to the island-themed, 18-hole mini-golf course nestled among a large video-game arcade, bowling lanes, bumper cars, and billiard tables. When fun gives way to hunger, Drafters Sports Cafe's servers and cooks serve finger-friendly pub bites, ice-cold beer, and paper napkins fashioned from losing basketball brackets.

Legion Bowl & Billiards preserves retro entertainment with 18 duckpin bowling lanes, eight tournament-sized billiards tables, and ticket-spewing arcade games. The alley’s streamlined design hearkens to the tailfins of a 1957 Chevy Bel-Air or the cover art of a mid-century sci-fi novel. Traditional scoring projectors lend to the classic ambiance at the lanes, which fill with the clatter of scattering pins.

Television screens in the pool hall broadcast live coverage of New England sports teams, and the spitfire rasp of electric guitars occasionally cuts through from live musicians at the adjoining Legion Pub. The kitchen staff fires selections from a menu of burgers and grilled pizzas, which pair with draft beers or cocktails. On the alley’s outdoor deck, guests click together glasses or toss rocks at poets attracted by the breezy summer evenings.

European friends Pernilla Frazier and Line Daems founded Kreatelier in 2007. Since then, solid local press has helped bring crafters from around the area into the shop. Its quaint quarters feature a diverse collection of product designs including bags, quilts, reusable gift wraps, and various accessories, all enhanced by crafty workshops that educate interested art architects. Rampant pencil collections can be put to rest with large cotton pencil cases ($18), which are washable, rollable, and feature 11 pockets, while manicure and pedicure cases ($15) help keep tools and other grooming paraphernalia from escaping. Keep rebellious flocks of hair at bay with a brightly colored headband ($8), elegantly wrap bottles of precious fermented fruits inside wine bags ($10), or organize a messy back seat with the car-seat organizer ($40), which withstands abuse and the effects of time travel.

In 1958, Ryan Family Amusements founder James A. Ryan opened a simple, eight-lane bowling alley, planting the foundation for a slew of entertainment centers throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island. At 10 locations, visitors enjoy a variety of arcade and skill games in addition to traditional candlepin, tenpin, or duckpin bowling. Every Friday and Saturday evening from 9 p.m. until midnight, bowling lanes take on an incandescent glow, allowing bowlers to experience futuristic entertainment without the inconvenience of rising jetpack-fuel prices. Bumper bowling is available for younger players, and an onsite concession stand refreshes responsible adults with glasses of beer and wine.