Exciting weekend preview of happenings inside Rhode Island???s historic Blackstone River Valley
Suggested Events for June 25-26 2016 Weekend
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MUSIC, THEATER AND NATURE!
The summer weekend of June 25-26 offers the sights, sounds and experiences of the vibrant cultural tapestry of Rhode Island???s Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park.
The region that gave birth to our nation???s Industrial Revolution over two centuries ago now is a popular destination for culture, arts and entertainment and natural explorations.
During the weekend, which ramps up to the upcoming Independence Day holiday period, residents and visitors alike can discover the many unique perspectives the National Historical Park offers.
Jazz, blues and more!
For those who love the hot sounds of cool jazz and blues, Chan???s Eggrolls and Jazz Concerts, 267 Main Street, Woonsocket, RI, has a great weekend of music in store for fans!
Friday and Saturday nights, June 24-25, owner John Chan celebrates Rhode Island Music Legends, with special appearances by Roomful of Blues and Sugar Ray & The Bluetones.
Roomful of Blues has been an icon on the Rhode Island and national music scene for over 45 years, and are inductees into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame. Sugar Ray & The Bluetones are another legendary ???Ocean State??? band at its best!
And, Sunday night, June 26, at 7 pm, catch the sensational Nikki Hill. Her unique voice???with raw rock and soul dynamics mixed with the strength, passion, and honesty of blues shouters of the past will leave you breathless!
According to her online biography, Nikki Hill???s self-titled, independently released EP in June of 2012 created a heavy and sudden international underground buzz that the band has traveled with across America and overseas to Europe and Australia. Those four tunes penned by Hill, combined with memorable live performances, have drawn a wide range of people from every avenue and musical taste to their shows. Her enthusiasm for music is simply contagious. One club advertisement will call Nikki ???The Southern Fireball???, ???the New Soul Sensation???, ???amazing R&B Shouter???, and even ???the new Queen of Rock n??? Roll???.
For tickets to these concerts call Chan???s at 401-765-1900 or go online at www.chanseggrollsandjazz.com
Culture on stage
Through June 26, Mixed Magic Theatre, at the Lorraine Mills Complex, 560 Mineral Spring Avenue, Pawtucket, RI, presents the live stage production of Free Man of Color.
The play, by Charles Smith, won the 2004 Jefferson Award for outstanding new work, is the story of John Newton Templeton, an ex-slave who attended Ohio University and graduated in 1828, thirty-five years before the end of slavery.
Based upon a summary of the play, when John Newton Templeton is unexpectedly freed after his master???s death, he migrates to the free state of Ohio where he meets the Presbyterian minister Robert Wilson, an avowed abolitionist.?? Wilson, who had taken on the challenge of serving as president of the then fledging Ohio University, saw the opportunity to use the promising young ex-slave to prove to the pro-slavery factions in America that African-Americans were capable of the same academic excellence as whites.?? President Wilson brings Templeton to his home in Athens, Ohio where Templeton works as the president???s personal ???student servant??? while attending classes.?? Although Templeton excels in most areas of study, his achievements in other areas are quite different than what Wilson had wanted, needed, and expected.?? In this play about race, culture, and the differences between education and assimilation in America, Wilson is forced to reevaluate his abolitionist views and Templeton is forced to examine the reason he was chosen to be the ???first.???
Shows run Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sunday afternoons at 3 pm. Tickets and information are available by contacting 401-305-7333 or at www.mmtri.com
History and nature on the Blackstone
If you haven???t seen the Blackstone American Heritage River yet from the perspective of being on it by boat, you are missing out an discovering something new and historic at the same time!
Sunday, June 26, the 40 passenger Blackstone Valley Explorer takes passengers through the Valley Falls Marsh area, with hourly tours from 1-4 pm, operating from Central Falls Landing, Broad Street & Madeira Avenue, Central Falls, RI.
Our??newly renovated 40-passenger riverboat will bring you on an intriguing and relaxing cruise through the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park. For the last 23 years, hundreds of thousands of passengers have come to learn and discover interesting facts about Blackstone Valley, and see the quiet beauty many are often surprised to find!
Led by Mystic Aquarium educators, you will hear stories of the workers, residents and early settlers of the Blackstone River Valley and what it took to make our region what it is today. As the 45-minute tours wind along the waters and thick foliaged riverbanks you may get a chance to see the swan, grey blue heron, hawks, deer, turtles, or even the rare bald eagle, that live along our renewed waterways.
The June 26 tour will be the last one this season on this portion of the Blackstone River. The Explorer next offers weekly tours on Sundays, July 3, 10 and 17 out of the East Providence, RI waterfront. Check the website for complete season schedule.
Tickets are $12/adults and $10/children and seniors. Make reservations now by calling 401-724-2200 or online at www.rivertourblackstone.com