Kenneth Proudfoot

Strange times these are. But the increasing amount of free time at hand  gives us freedom to read more about our history,  our local families, our historic sites and attractions, and  better prepares us to be truly ready when our world re-opens. In addition to the following local web sites where you will find videos, […]

Physical places in Newport, our museums and historic attractions, are closed to the public. But there are still plenty of options for anyone who wants to learn about our Gilded Age homes, see some of the collections of historic documents and furnishings, view our amazing coastline, and take virtual tours of some of our unique […]

The Coronavirus may have cleared Newport’s streets and emptied our restaurants and hotels, but the city is still reaching out to visitors and educating people from around the world through the magic of digital technology!  The current crisis has led to an expansion of some online digital offerings. Computers and a myriad of other devices […]

Newport boasts a proud heritage and a grand history as Irish Heritage Month begins in the City-by-the-Sea!  Whether you were born on the Emerald Isle, are a descendant of an Irish family, or are the spouse or relation of an Irish lad or lassie, we are celebrating you!  And even if you have no direct […]

There are still plenty of activities and fun at the 2020 Newport Winter festival that continues today through February 23rd.  Fun for the whole family includes the Newport Burger Bender contest which winds up on Sunday (See the list of participating restaurants at discovernewport.org) and lots of other fun events. For more details, you can […]

Snow or no snow (!), the 2020 Newport Winter Festival kicks off tomorrow (February 14th)! More than 150 events will be offered for visitors and guests during the next seven days and nights. The annual Newport Burger Bender contest takes place February 14-20.  Send your guests out to eat a burger and vote in this […]

In addition to our many year-round historic sites and exhibitions, let your guests know about the upcoming Newport Winter Festival beginning of February 14th, the annual Newport Burger Bender contest (February 14-20), and a new series of walking tours from the Newport Historical Society. Check out the listings below for more details, tickets, and additional […]

We love to learn in every season! Today, Thursday, January 30th, Jim Donohue, the Curator of Historic Landscapes & Horticulture at the Preservation Society of Newport County, launches the 2020 Winter Lecture Series in Newport.  Mr. Donohue will share the story of the landscape rehabilitation at The Breakers Mansion, ongoing over the past year. His […]

If ever there was a year for people from all over our country and the world to visit Newport, 2020 is that year! For 2020 marks the beginning of the new decade and the achievement of some important milestones in the City-by-the-Sea. For all of the people who meet, greet, and lead tours for our visitors, […]

2020 marks the beginning of a new decade and the achievement of some important milestones in the City-by-the-Sea. For all of the people who meet, greet, and lead tours for our visitors, this year is one with a lot of important historical dates to celebrate.   This year we will recognize and salute the untiring work […]

2020 is here and we’re ready to go!  There are still legions of visitors in our City-by-the-Sea, so be ready to engage with them and recommend your favorite restaurants, mansions, sea views, and upcoming special activities.  Get up to speed with the calendar of events below and let all your guests know about the fun […]

What a season to be in Newport!   There are lots of activities – parties, open houses, and walking tours — all wrapped in the decorations and lights of a Newport Christmas. Let your guests know about all the fun things they can do here this week.   A fun Ugly Sweater Party is on tonight (December […]

If the weather holds, this weekend is a fabulous time to take advantage of one of the Newport Historical Society’s annual Holiday Lantern Tours. You’ll learn about the history of celebrating this season among the native Newporters. The stories will surprise you! The annual Newport Holiday Stroll at Bowen’s Wharf will feature shopping and strolling […]

Wishing a Very Happy Thanksgiving to our Newport Tour Guides & Greeters and all those who make Newport such a special and welcoming place to live, work, and visit.  May this week be a time to reflect and be thankful for all the blessings you have:  health, family, work, community, and a spirit of optimism […]

It’s Newport County Days again and all Newport County residents and Naval Station Newport personnel receive free admission to the Newport Mansions on Saturday, November 23 and Sunday, November 24.    Christmas at the Newport Mansions begins Saturday, November 23rd and continues through January 1, 2020. Music, tours, and spectacular decorations highlight the celebration of Christmas […]

Save The Bay launches the 2019-2020 winter season of its very popular 2-hour Newport Seal & Lighthouse Tour this weekend.  The first tour leaves from Bowen’s Wharf Ferry Landing on Saturday, November 16th at 1 pm. Visitors will hear from expert guides and view the seals on Citing Rock off Rose Island. The tour includes […]

The 20thAnnual Harvest Festival at Greenvale Vineyards kicks off at 1 pm on Saturday, November 9th at 582 Wapping Road in Portsmouth, RI. This eighth-generation family vineyard brings its passion, quality, and spirit to this annual event. This family fun festival will feature music, tractor rides, face painting, games, delicious wines and small food samplings […]

Exciting Glamour! ▪ Religious History! ▪ Halloween Fun with Cars! Plus, Scary Stuff! This week has it all! ▪ Tonight, join Julie Satow, author and journalist, who explores the glamour on the surface and strife behind the scenes of New York’s Plaza Hotel. Tickets: $10 (Members); $15.00 (General Public). She’ll be at Rosecliff for her 6:00 […]

There is plenty for guests and visitors to do this weekend!   Cars! Coffee! Seafood! Live Music! Running! Begin Saturday morning (8-10 am) at The Elms with an amazing CARS & COFFEE event, sponsored by the Audrain Auto Museum and the Preservation Society of Newport County. At 11 am, head over to the harbor for the […]

Our visitors and guests will have two wonderful events to choose from this weekend.  The ROGUE ISLAND COMEDY FESTIVAL begins tonight and continues through Monday, October 14th.  Check listings below for details.  One of Newport’s best autumn outdoor events – BROADWAY STREET FAIR – opens at noon on Saturday, October 12th.  There will be food, […]

The Audrain Automobile Museum (222 Bellevue Avenue, Newport) is presenting its inaugural Audrain’s Newport Concours & Motor Week, beginning today (Thursday, October 3) through Sunday, October 6th. Audrain’s Newport Concours & Motor Week 2019 will be the first of an annual event which aims to enliven the story of the automobile and its racing history in the […]

Two very interesting lectures will be offered today.   Sadly, both are scheduled for the same time!   Alas, choose one to attend and send your partner to the other,  then get together over dinner and perhaps an adult beverage to compare notes.  The Museum of Newport Irish History (648 Thames Street, Newport) is offering a fascinating […]

There is so much for our guests and visitors to do and see this coming week, beginning with the opening of the 2019 Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival at Marble House, Rosecliff, and The Elms. This event runs daily through Sunday, September 22nd.  The Vietnam Memorial “Moving Wall,” an approximately half-size 243-foot-long traveling replica […]

The Newport International Boat Show begins today (September 12), covering over 13 acres of Newport waterfront, and runs through Sunday, September 15th. Hundreds of boats, nautical gear, sailing excursions, the Newport Wooden Boat Show, and more are all part of this big waterside event. Info: newportboatshow.com The International Tennis Hall of Fame (194 Bellevue Avenue, […]

We have a couple great fun activities this week with something for everyone.  The annual SECRET GARDEN TOURS begin Friday, September 6th through Sunday the 8th. If you want to see some of the finest private gardens in Newport, get your ticket and enjoy. 10 am – 5 pm. Event is rain or shine. Tickets […]

FALL SEASON FOR CRUISE SHIPS — We’re all excited!    Newport is preparing for the annual arrival of more than 50 cruise ships to Newport Harbor over the next few weeks. Tens of thousands of visitors from around the world will step ashore to see and experience one of the world’s great historic seaports. We as […]

A VISIT THE NEWPORT TOWER MUSEUM: In a city boasting spectacular Gilded Age mansions and large historical museums, the Newport Tower Museum (152 Mill Street, Newport) is one of the most interesting. Museum founder and prolific author, Jim Egan, greets guests and shares his unique journey researching and finally discovering who [and why] the Newport […]

A READING OF GEORGE WASHINGTON’S LETTER TO THE HEBREW CONGREGATION AT NEWPORT:  This Sunday will mark the 72nd annual reading of this famous letter. The reading will take place at 1:00 pm at Touro Synagogue (72 Touro Street, Newport). This event is scheduled from 1 pm to 2 pm. Reception in Patriots Park following the […]

SECOND SUNDAY:  Check out the ever-interesting Prescott Farm just up the road in Middletown (2009 W. Main Road, Middletown, RI;401/846-4152 x123) with its nature trails, historic windmill (c. 1812), numerous historic homes, and interactive programs. Open this Sunday 12 noon until 3:00 pm. Purchased by Doris Duke in 1969, the 47.8- acre farm, a property […]

MUSIC: The city is still enjoying the positive vibes from last weekend’s Newport Folk Festival. But excitement is building as the world’s jazz aficionados converge on the City-by-the-Sea this weekend for the 65th Annual Newport Jazz Festival! A full schedule of music and parties is scheduled around this world-class event. If you missed getting festival […]

Newport is busy! We are deep into summer now and so much is going on as the weatherman predicts a hot weekend ahead. On the water, the week-long 175th Anniversary Regatta hosted by the New York Yacht Club (Harbour Court) continues through July 20th.  Racing is taking place on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound.  […]

A busy fun-filled weekend is ahead, filled with Japanese cultural and music events, plus appearances by some of the world’s best tennis players, a World Championship 12 Metre Regatta on the Bay, and Cars & Coffee at The Elms. The details follow here. THE 61ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE NEWPORT-SHIMODA TWINNING CELEBRATION  This annual event takes […]

FRIDAY NIGHT: On the 50th anniversary of the grand opening of the Newport Pell Bridge – June 28, 1969 – the City-by-the-Sea will celebrate with a big party at Fort Adams on Friday, June 28th, beginning at 6pm. The party will continue until 10pm. Visitors and residents will enjoy a free concert by the aptly […]

Tonight, the Newport Historical Society launches a new annual recognition and makes the first History Starts Here Award to “Story in the Public Square.” This TV show is hosted by Jim Ludes, Executive Director of the Pell Center at Salve Regina University, and G. Wayne Miller, senior staff writer at The Providence Journal. This event […]

This weekend we’ll focus on hosting our neighbors and friends and all those who live in Newport County with free admission to the Newport Mansions and other similar sites.  There will be Secret Garden Tours in the Point neighborhood of Newport all weekend. We’ll also turn out to watch the 165th Annual Regatta from the […]

We have another exciting weekend (& week!) ahead of us.  Tell your guests and visitors about the first big cup race of the season and a pair of special car events at the island’s two fabulous car museums.   CARS-CARS-CARS: The Audrain Automobile Museum and Marble House host the month’s first CARS & COFFEE on […]

A great summer sporting season in Newport is set to begin with International Polo and Collegiate Baseball! POLO: Since the founding of America’s first polo club in Newport in 1876, polo has been associated with this city and has enjoyed an international reputation as the premiere club on Aquidneck Island. This Saturday (June 1st), the […]

There are three fun events this week for everyone who loves art and history and a good story. The National Museum of American Illustration will open its new exhibit, Norman Rockwell & His Contemporaries: Fabulous Forties to Sensational Sixties, today (May 23rd). The museum, located at 492 Bellevue Avenue, is open Thursdays-Sundays: 11 am – […]

Tonight (Thursday) marks this month’s first Newport Gallery Night. Many of the art galleries in the city are open, with free admission. If the weather cooperates, it will be a grand evening for strolling, viewing, perhaps even purchasing some beautiful art. The event runs from 5 pm until 8 pm.   This weekend, Belcourt of […]

This Saturday, May 4th, offers visitors a two-for-one special as the previously scheduled “Driving Miss Daffodil” Classic Car Parade leaves at 8 am from Easton’s Beach and meets up with a special “Cars & Coffee” showcase event at Fort Adams. Cars and spectators will begin gathering at the beach at 7 am and the parade […]

This Sunday the 28th winds up the 2019 Newport Arboretum Week. It has been a wonderfully wet event this year with so much rain and wind, but most of the amateur botanists and diehard tree lovers have been in their glory exploring a seemingly endless variety of trees throughout the city. There’s still time to […]

This is an exciting week in Newport with several big events on tap for visitors and residents alike. First, the Newport Art Museum (76 Bellevue Avenue, Newport) will open a one-of-a-kind sculpture exhibit on Friday, April 19th. The exhibit, “Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney: Sculpture,” will showcase many of the artist’s rarely seen works from private collections. […]

Newport will celebrate and welcome the blooming of a million-plus yellow daffodils this week with the start of the 6th Annual Newport Daffodil Days Festival, April 13 through the 21st.  The celebration kicks off with opening ceremonies at 1:00 PM at Clarke Cooke House on Bannister’s Wharf. Join your fellow Newport residents, visitors, and guests […]

The Newport Restoration Foundation’s mansion, Rough Point (680 Bellevue Avenue, Newport), re-opened for the 2019 season on Tuesday, April 2. There is some lower admission pricing and a new exhibition, “Beyond Fortune: The Life & Legacy of Doris Duke.” This exhibit will continue through November 17, 2019. Information and tickets are available at 401/847-8344; newportrestoration.org. […]

A new exhibit opening this week at Rosecliff is sure to please our guests who are outdoorsy and nature lovers. Titled, “JOHN JAMES AUDUBON: OBSESSION UNTAMED,” it opens on Saturday, March 30th in the second-floor exhibition hall at Rosecliff (548 Bellevue Avenue, Newport). This new exhibit promises to be something special. A longer description of […]

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade is over, but the celebrating continues as Spring has finally arrived and there is a hint of warmer weather to come. It is a season that seems to produce in each of us a measure of optimism and hope. The winter snows and biting cold winds may not be completely […]

Are you ready? This week marks the biggest event of the month with the 63rd Annual Newport St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday, March 16th.  It steps off from Newport City Hall promptly at 11:00 am.  Prognosticators are predicting warmer weather than we’ve had the past two weeks. Dress appropriately, but don’t miss this citywide […]

It’s official!  The entire month of March is Newport Irish Heritage Month!  This is the 42nd year of this recognition and celebration of “All Things Irish.” Throughout the month – March 1-31 – we celebrate traditional Irish music and dance, food, history tours, lectures, and many more activities throughout our city. The biggest event of […]

Two big citywide events — Newport County Days & the Newport Winter Festival – will bring new visitors and increase attendance at our Gilded Age mansions and historic sites in February. For residents, there is free admission at the Newport Mansions during this entire weekend (See listing below).  For everyone else, there is the upcoming […]

There may be snow by the time you read this, but this is still a good time to re-visit Newport and Aquidneck Island by car. It’s a quiet time on the island, and the traffic is but a memory of the summer past.  Of course, there are so many neat places to explore! Before you […]

Earlier this week (Tuesday), Fodor’s Travel told the world what we have known all along — Newport is one of “New England’s Most Picturesque Towns!” Although we are the City of Newport, we do feel more like a town.  Our neighboring town of Bristol, just north and across the Mt. Hope Bridge, also made the […]

The coming year – 2019 – promises lots of activities, fun events, and a full schedule of lectures, harbor tours, regattas, art exhibits, classes, auto exhibits, polo, flower shows, and food festivals. As always, there will be something for everyone all during the year. Be sure to keep up with the changing and growing schedule […]

The Newport Mansions and many other historic sites had a banner week the last week of December. Record crowds were recorded at The Breakers, Marble House, and other tourist favorites around the city.  On December 28th, the Preservation Society of Newport County also reported they had delivered over one million tours, with still a few […]

Have you ever visited or attended services at St. Mary’s Church (250 Spring Street, Newport)? This Gothic Revival style church is one of the most beautiful buildings in the state. The original St. Mary’s church was a converted schoolhouse purchased on Barney Street in 1828. A subsequent replacement structure in the same location was soon […]

If the weather holds, this weekend is a fabulous time to take advantage of one of the Newport Historical Society’s annual Holiday Lantern Tours. You learn about the history of celebrating this season among the native Newporters. The stories will surprise you! It’s also a great weekend for visiting Rough Point and the three fully-decorated […]

Here’s wishing you and yours a most wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving! May this week be a time to reflect and be thankful for all the blessings you have:  health, family, work, community, and a spirit of optimism for the days ahead as we enter the Christmas and holiday season. From my family to yours, I […]

If you love the Christmas season, you are going to absolutely swoon over the vast amount of activities we have scheduled over the next few weeks. There are Christmas tree lighting ceremonies, lighthouse lightings, and amazing Christmas parades. So, get ready for a season of great joy and cheer and invite your guests and visitors […]