Things To Do in Rhode Island

When the Newport Historical Society and the Newport Restoration Foundation joined forces, the result was Newport History Tours. Founded to celebrate the region’s rich and vibrant history, Newport History Tours designed more than a dozen tours that explore the city’s landmarks, historic sites, and more than 300 pre-Revolutionary War–era buildings. The tours touch on just about every aspect of the city’s past, with themes that range from the colonial era and Golden Age to prohibition smuggling, historical criminals, and lantern-lit holiday strolls.

It started in 1981 as "The Newport Film Society," and by 1983, it had become the area's very first international film festival. Today, the tradition continues under the moniker of Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival. Despite the change in name and audiences' evolving tastes in popcorn, the event's mission remains constant: to showcase features, documentaries, and shorts by independent filmmakers from across the globe. Ranked as one of the top 10 short film festivals and top 10 international film festivals in Chris Gore's The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide, RIIFF is also among the few such events recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to qualify short films for Oscar gold.

Healthtrax is a different kind of fitness center - one that offers something for everybody. Everyone on our team is dedicated to working with you toward one goal: your improved health, for life.

We are a Premier Martial Arts School that for the last 25 years has helped thousands of local parents and children to be healthier, happier, and safer through the study of this self defense system. We take pride in our ability to promote Confidence, Self Control, courtesy, and Perseverance in every aspect of life.

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.

Now in their 10th year of dueling instruction, U.S. Fencing Association–certified coaches Michael and Anne Olson invite local squires to apprentice under the blade at their 3,500-square-foot sword school. At Blackstone Valley Fencing Academy, students ranked amateur through Arthurian clash in a safe and controlled environment over the course of six weekly classes. Beginning swordspersons are required to take the intro to fencing class, while experienced participants can wield their choice of foil, épée, or slashing saber as they parry and riposte across the academy’s four regulation-length electric-fencing strips. Sessions are divided by age for jousters as young as 7, and you can check the class schedule here. Participants should wear an embroidered gambeson and burnished chain mail, or at least court shoes and comfortable long pants.

Nature is responsible for stimulating all the senses at Cresta Bar & Ristorante, where diners savor fresh ingredients as they bask in the shade on an outdoor patio. Fresh flourishes such as foraged mushrooms and homemade pasta embellish the entrees, which include panko-encrusted cuts of veal and chicken. More than 60 wines pair with the meals so that guests don’t have to determine complementary flavors by licking a color wheel. Diners can eat either inside or on the terrace, where marble-topped tables reflect the leafy branches that criss-cross overhead, leaving matte wrought-iron bistro chairs to lounge on the flagstone patio.