Saturday at noon, Rory Raven “The Mentalist and Mindbender,” plans to attempt to ride a bike a little less than a mile from Narragansett Beach to the Gold Standard Social Club, blindfolded and hooded. “I did it once. I can do it again.”

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL / STEVE SZYDLOWSKI

Art — projected, performed and displayed — has a new home in South County. The Gold Standard Social Club opened last week in the Narragansett Theater.

“I think of it as an intellectual and arts hub,” says Amber Kelly, who runs the club with Matthew Meehan.

Movies, stage performances and art exhibits are among the club’s offerings. So, too, Kelly says, will be plays and poetry readings.

“We are trying to create this venue for thought and for talent, basically a place to honor the individual. I fee like there are a lot of artistic and talented individuals who don’t necessarily have an outlet here.”

To encourage input in the outlet, the Social Club operates on “fair trade” with artists, meaning it charges them no fees, but splits ticket revenues.

“So everyone is working hard to get the word out and everyone gets an even share.”

The club has two theaters, each seating 200, and a lounge, where there’s a café serving coffee and pastries, fruit smoothies and, sometime soon, sandwiches. One of the theaters, which has a mini bar offering beer and wine, is dedicated to independent films, where Under the Same Moon is now playing. The other theater will present stage performances and local films, including free documentaries shown during the daytime.

“I don’t think this is the place for blockbuster movies. People can go down the street for that.”

The movies that make it into the Social Club, Kelly says, are ones that “challenge you and instigate thought.”

Monster Movie Series

Saturdays at 10:30 p.m. all this month, the club presents its “Late Night Monster Movie Series.” The films are from the Rhode Island International Film Festival. And audiences can decide which ones should qualify for the organization’s Horror Film Festival in October.

“It has to do with thought. People have to decide what they like.”

Maybe people would just like to hang out. If so, the club is open long hours: 7 a.m. to 1 a.m., weekdays; and 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. on weekends.

“We’re trying to always be there for people, someone’s home away from home, office, dining room.”

Works by visual artists will be on display in the club each month. And this month, in addition to the horror films on Saturday nights, there’s Unexpected Company, an improvisational theater troupe, Fridays at 9 p.m.; Frank Santos “The R-Rated Hypnotist” on Wednesdays at 9 p.m.; and Rory Raven “The Mentalist and Mindbender” on Thursdays at 9 p.m.

Actually, Raven will make a brief but special appearance at the club this Saturday, he hopes. His only challenge is getting there.

Blindfolded biking

Saturday at noon, Raven, who lives in Providence, is supposed to ride a bike a little less than a mile from Narragansett Beach to the Social Club, blindfolded and hooded.

“I did it once. I can do it again.”

That occasion was last year. Raven, who has been performing for about a decade and incorporating a blindfold into his act, was doing a show in Cranston. And a newspaper challenged him to prove his powers: by riding a bike blindfolded and hooded.

Of course, Raven supplies his own blindfold and hood. But, he says, “people can have a look at them beforehand.”

Last year, Raven broke his right arm riding a bike, but it was not part of a performance.

“I was biking to my miserable day job.”

Raven looked left before entering the street. And to his surprise, a car came from the right.

“I was wearing a helmet, not a hood. Clearly, riding a bike in the city is tricky to begin with. Doing it with a blindfold and hood is even more so.”

Raven says he will practice before attempting his blind bicycling feat in Narragansett.

“It requires me pedaling the route a number of times so I have some sense of what I’m doing. If nothing else, I can remember the route. There is one gentle turn. But there is traffic.”

Do not try this at home, Raven cautions.

In his show, Raven says he bends spoons, and guesses names and dates and other details audience members have written down.

“I’m not psychic. But I can usually read people’s minds.”

Raven says he employs tricks of magicians and hustlers.

“I’ve met plenty of people who say they’re psychics, and I’m never convinced. They all do the same thing. They’ll say, ‘I’m sensing an adult male figure who is close to you and his name begins with D.’ I guess that must be Dad.”

Perhaps you’re still wondering about the blind bike riding, and how Raven, who admits having no supernatural abilities, plans on doing that.

“There are a number of things I’ll be doing, none of which I’ll discuss.”

Tickets to Raven’s “Brainstorming! Knowing and Wondering” show are $12. Admission to the monster movie series is $7; Unexpected Company is $8; and Frank Santos is $15. The Gold Standard Social Club is at 11 Pier Marketplace, Narragansett. For more information, call (401) 782-2077 or visit www.goldstandardsocial club.com.

brourke@projo.com