The stars are finally right!! I'm so excited! This year we were celebrating HPL's 125th birthday…read moretoo. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn! Lots of stuff to do - discussion panels (some of which were VERY interesting, especially the one on racism which ended up being needed in order to address the opening speaker's comments), walking tours of HP's old homes and stomping grounds, cocktail mixers, and of course the Eldritch Ball. Providence is a great town and we'd love to come back for a longer visit, maybe next year :3

A very Rhode island…read morefestival Johnny Cakes have been around for a while, in fact most historians say they have been around in one form or another for centuries. Even though many places on the east coast have Johnny Cakes, Rhode island is traditionally given as the place where they originated or at least became popular. So what better place than Rhode Island to have a Johnny Cake Festival Just fried corn meal with some salt, hot water and perhaps some sugar, it is amazing how many different types have showed up. Lots of subtle differences and of course everyone claims theirs are the best. Actually the festival was a lot more than just Johnny Cakes and in the whole festival I only saw one vendor actually selling Johnny Cakes. The lines were so long that we didn't even bother and stuck with the lobster rolls, clam chowdah, clam cakes and kettle corn. So much food around that there was no way you were going hungry even without the Johnny Cakes. Some cool critters like sheep, goats and alpacas were around and lots of skillful artists spinning, carving, wefting, blacksmithing, weaving, and painting. A whole bunch of very talented and fascinating folks still knowledgeable about some anachronistic arts. Some great music and several environmental groups were around to entertain and of course lots of traditional and cool food and crafts. The location was lovely with a pleasant pond and several canals and waterfalls. The parking wasn't bad because they wasn't any. Everyone parked at the old fairground three miles away and were shuttled in by old school buses. Actually made it less chaotic. A cool festival and place to learn about New England arts, crafts, history and of course food. It was kind of curious that there weren't more Johnny Cakes. This review is dedicated to Cathy S.and Shiro. I wish they could have been there with us.

As a non-native Rhode Islander I was definitely impressed with this past weekend's Johnny Cake…read moreFestival. It was great to sample some food & wares that aren't available in my part of RI. Lots of cool & eclectic vendors mostly skewered towards the uniquness of the Ocean State. Lots of food & Johnny Cakes too but I didn't have any. Two of my local favorites had a presence there: Grey Sail & Dave's Coffee. There was also live music. I got to sample some pumpkin flavored whiskey from Sons of Libtery that made me want more. I'd drink whiskey but my wife says I turn into a different person so I'll wait for them to release their Dave's Coffee syrup flavored vodka! The only drawback is that transportation to get to the actual festival. Even though you have to take a cramped school bus to get there it's definitely worth & I'll be taking my family for years to come.

Nice street festival in Cranston…read more Rolfe Square was closed for about 10 blocks and there was a large number of arts and crafts, food trucks, face painting, moonwalk for the kids, etc. There were booths from the Police and the Coast Guard to educate festival goers about their profession and also to give information to those who wanted some. There was a good size Beer Garden in front of the food truck area and it was well attended. The majority of the crafts were homemade stuff like candles, paintings, clothing, etc. I really enjoyed walking around and seeing the locals partake on a nice Spring festival.

Beautiful day to enjoy a local Rhode Island Festival! Over…read more100 Talented local crafters and artists, very diverse giftware, jewelry, ceramics, clothing and more. Wide assortment of food venders, Blue Grotto, brick oven pizza, fried pickles(yum) and sandwiches. Also lots of things for the kiddos, I spotted hula hoop contests, face painting and matchbox car races Well worth the trip. Great location, easy to find!

Part of the Festival Fete circuit, East Greenwich hosted its 2nd Arts Fest this past weekend. I…read morelove these kinds of festivals: ones that highlight the talent of local artists. This festival was no different. I'm guessing there were about 50 vendors varying from local honey and soaps to jewelry, woodworking, and painting. With the addition of some food stalls and Big Nazo, this was a great way to end the summer. I actually found that the artists at this festival were more reasonably priced than other similar festivals in the Providence or Boston area. I do wish that Festival Fete kept their website up to date. As of today the website has the poster from last year which caused confusion, as the festival happened on the 3rd last year instead of this year, where it was the 1st & 2nd. I hope that people don't show up tomorrow hoping to see some art. They will be disappointed. As it was, we almost turned around when I was checking the website for the address thinking that we were a day early. Luckily my friend took the time to check out their facebook page to see that it was really today.

All the people that work here are extremely nice. It is such a cute fall spot to stop into wether…read moreit be to pick pumpkins, corn maze or stop at the store. They do not take card so bring some cash. I usually tend to stop for pumpkins, apple cider and the apple donuts. They are rather on the more expensive side.

On a mild early fall day, a nice way to welcome the harvest season is a visit to Spring Hill Sugar…read moreHouse to watch the old-fashioned cider press in operation and better still, quaff down some of that freshly squeezed and refreshingly crisp cider. Their cider is some of the best in the area - I don't know what blend of apples they use, but it works well with a nice balance of sweet and tart. While there, you might as well pick up a few pumpkins and gourds, corn stalk sheaves, and colorful Indian corn (my favorite fall decorations), and if so inclined, tromp through the corn maze. The place is wonderfully bucolic and scenic on a sunny day, and a lot of fun for the youngsters to pick out their favorite pumpkins. There used to be a herd of llamas there, but sadly, SHSH is only down to one this year. It's also nice to visit in late winter, around February, when the tree sap is running, and watch them sugar off - terrific maple syrup can be had here (and quieter in the winter with more time to chat with the proprietors). A quaint and charming old-time New England tradition.

In 2023, Bristol, Rhode Island celebrated their 238th July 4th parade. The oldest Independence Day…read moreparade in the country. ​The Annual Bristol 4th of July Celebration began in 1785 when Rev. Henry Wight of the First Congregational Church and a Veteran of the Revolutionary War conducted the first Patriotic Exercises. It is not known exactly when the Parade started but it is thought that it evolved from the procession of community members walking to Patriotic Exercises. The Parade, the Military, Civic and Firemen's Parade, is believed to have begun in the early 1800's. People can set up chairs or blankets along the parade route starting at 5am on the day of the event. Our friends Paul and MaryAnn invited us to their place (which is on the parade route) and we got first row exposure to this iconic parade. Many groups from the military, civic groups, political groups and bands were present. It rained a bit at the beginning but it cleared soon after. We luckily had chairs under a tree and we basically had no weather issues whatsover. After the parade we had lunch with our friends. Trying to leave Bristol right after the parade will mean a long long traffic jam. We left about 2 hours after the parade finished and it took us about 35 minutes to get back to Providence, instead of the usual 25 min car ride. Nice way to celebrate Independence Day. Bristol had their fireworks on July 3rd.

Loved being a part of the parade this year! It's such a great community event. Everyone was so…read morespirited. If you have a float in the parade, check the time you are scheduled to depart and show up an hour before. We ended up waiting for four hours in the heat. They only suggestion for change I would make is to bring lots and lots of water and snacks. Lots of the vendors were out of food by the time our float got to go. On top of that the water stations were out of water. The poor people at the end of the parade were dying with heat exhaustion. Definitely need more hydration stations next year.

I found some really great items at this art festival. Parking is slim, but there are so many…read morevendors. I feel like this will be a once every few years kind of festival but definitely worth checking out at least once. Tons of different vendors of all different varieties. Some great antiques as well.

Scituate Art Festival - definitely something to experience at least once if you live nearby. Our…read morefamily owned business is right down the street so we often turn our lot into temporary parking for the art festival. So I know this art festival inside and out. The vendors have been primarily the SAME for the last 10 years. Although last year they had an amazing sterling silver booth with custom engraving & I ordered my sons name on a pendant with his footprints and his birthday. I think I paid $60 total! It came out beautiful & held up great as well. There is also a lot of yard sales along the way and people selling their homemade goods as well. They also have a lot of junk tbh- so beware. Theirs usually an abundance of jewelry & clothes and a lot of ART. Knickknacks, woodworking, homemade soaps. They always have some pretty cool kids toys that are homemade and theirs a vendor who comes from NH & has speciality toys customized made out of wood. Lots of houseware. The food is decent but if you're looking for GREAT food I'd make my way up to Federal Hill for their Columbus Day Festival! They have candy apples that are amazing! They also have gourmet apples as well and Great kettle corn popcorn. There's definitely a lot of good things here! I would say it's worth going to if you've never been but I used to go every year and I don't really do that anymore because it's pretty redundant- especially the merchandise!

I go every year and the food is just amazon people are so super friendly and kids games are old…read moreschool but super fun for the kids will keep on going .

1st time visiting this Polish festival, won't ever go back. The food was so BAD! Food was cold and…read morelacked seasoning. I am not Polish but can make more flavorful golumpki and plotki. It was the worse plotki I have ever had freezing cold, no seasoning, and they ran out of sour cream. There was not a 1 polish dessert, instead there were ordinary brownies and smores cups. There was no pride and love in the food. Sad.