12 Summer Festivals to Check Out in Rhode Island and the South Coast

This week on Artscape, producer James Baumgartner and editor Mareva Lindo highlight a few of their favorite festivals coming up this summer.

June 6-8, Gates of the City Plaza in Fall River, free to the public

About 45% of the city’s population is of Portuguese descent, so this is a pretty big deal in Fall River. There are performances all three days, including some acts from Portugal, like Nuno Ribeiro, and Fernando Pereira. In addition to music, there will also, of course, be Portuguese food, as well as a kids fair with face painting, axe-throwing and more. Learn more here.

June 7, 12-6 p.m., across Providence’s East Side, free to the public

It’s the third annual Porchfest, and this year 97 people have volunteered to let a total of 170 bands play on the front porches of their homes. Audiences are invited to wander across the East Side and gather around on the sidewalk and the street to enjoy music by a wide range of local acts – from reggae to a Baptist choir, to a jazz lineup curated by the Courtland Jazz Club.

Peter Evangelista, one of the event organizers, says the event has grown significantly over the past three years. “ I think the fact that Rhode Island being a creative capital really ties in nicely,” he said. “It’s a very musically-oriented town, and there’s a desire for community events, and this is free and it’s family-friendly. There’s no alcohol involved. and especially in these times, when people want to get together and just enjoy music and enjoy the good things in life, that I think that’s part of the reason it has exploded.”

With rain predicted on Saturday, you might want to bring an umbrella, along with a lawn chair to post up at the porches along the way. More details about Porchfest can be found here.

June 21, beginning at 11:30 a.m., District Park in Providence, free to the public

New England’s largest Pride fest kicks off at 11:30 a.m. in downtown Providence, complete with live entertainment, food trucks, a beer, wine and spirits tent, family-friendly activities, and a vendor exhibition featuring LGBTQ+ and ally-owned businesses, local artisans, and community organizations. And of course, it all culminates in the parade, starting at 8 p.m., viewable along Dorrance, Washington, and Weybosset Streets. You can find more details here.

June 22, 12-7 p.m. (10 a.m. parade), Temple to Music, Roger Williams Park in Providence, free to the public

Also known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, Juneteenth is the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. It’s now a national holiday, honored on June 19th, and it became an official state holiday in Rhode Island last year. There will be food, vendors and music, with R&B singer Thomas Dyer headlining. Find more information here.

July 4-22, venues across Newport

The program for one of Ocean State’s most iconic festivals this year includes 29 concerts across 11 venues around Newport. There’s opera, brass bands, piano quartets, vocal ensembles and more, featuring a broad range of artists from across the world. You can learn more here.

Plus: the Newport Folk Festival is sold out, but there are still some tickets available for the Newport Jazz Festival.

July 6, 12-8 p.m., India Point Park in Providence

Come for live music and traditional cultural performances, Cape Verdean food, family-friendly activities, and some cultural exhibits including Cape Verdean art, storytelling and dance. There will also be vendors selling work from local and Cape Verdean artisans. More details can be found here.

July 18-19, 12 venues across New Bedford, free to the public

The acoustic music and art festival, now in its second year, hosts performers of multiple genres as well as traditional dance, visual art, performance art, sculptural installations, a parade, and a culminating moving panorama event. Acts include harpist Myles Goulart, the New Bedford Harbor Sea Shanty Choir, Wicked Queer Puppet Theater, and over 60 others. Events take place at small businesses around the city, as well as outdoor spaces in Wing’s Court, Customs House Square and more. You can learn more here.

July 20, 12-6 p.m., India Point Park in Providence

The state’s largest celebration of Puerto Rican culture will have music, food, drinks, vendors, and family-friendly activities. Featured acts include Bomba de Aquí, ChocoBand, Edgar Joel and el Bebesito de la Salsa. More information can be found here.

July 23-Aug. 3, Edwards Auditorium at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston

The two-week festival features a series of six classical music concerts by renowned musicians alongside rising young artists – from “A Celebration of Latinx Music” to “A Night of Stark Contrast.” Performers include violist Pierre Lapointe, violinist Amy Oshiro-Morales, and domra and mandolin player Ekaterina Skliar. You can learn more here.

Aug. 10, starting at 10 a.m., Broad Street & Roger Williams Park in Providence, free to the public

It’s the largest celebration of Dominican heritage in the country, kicking off at 10 a.m. with a parade that starts at the corner of Broad Street and Thurbers Avenue, and continues along Broad Street to Roger Williams Park. The festival begins at noon at the park’s Temple to Music, including music, dancing, food, and crafts. You can find more details here.

Aug. 29-31, Ninigret Park, Charlestown

The extensive lineup features a wide array of acts, from long-running rock band Little Feat, to bluegrass band Della Mae, to country rock singer-songwriter Steve Earle. But the festival always brings great cajun and zydeco acts to the state in particular, and this time that includes Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Balfa Toujours, and Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots. In addition to the music, there’s also plenty of food, kids activities, and you can camp there, too. You can learn more here.

Sept. 5-6, downtown Providence, free to the public

The city’s grand two-day festival returns with live music, DJs, a mural painting battle, and a spectacle performance called “Brouhaha” by Pittsburgh-based multimedia ensemble Squonk. It features an instrument they call the “Squonkcordion.” Kathleen Pletcher of FirstWorks, the producing partner of PVD Fest, described it as “an enormous, audience-powered musical instrument topped with giant tuba bells,” adding that “the show crescendos as festival-goers inflate this behemoth that echoes throughout downtown and summons a 30-foot puppet head, blinking, smoking, and delightfully alive.”

Joe Wilson Jr., director of Art, Culture and Tourism for Providence, said last year’s festival had over 75,000 attendees and generated $3 million in economic impact for the city. But, he said, the intangible benefits were even more important.

“When we have an opportunity to gather people in public space across socioeconomic and racial lines … the power of gathering people in public space, for them to feel a sense of ownership and pride in their city, there’s power in that,” Wilson said. “The idea of being able to take in your city anew, to appreciate your city anew, to slow you down just a little bit, to appreciate the beauty of what we have here in Providence – I can’t think of any greater value than that.”

You can find more details here.