Regional

Annual concert: The Men’s Chorus of Jamestown will present its annual concert Saturday at the Jamestown Community Center, 41 Canonicus Ave., Jamestown. The family-oriented program will include cowboy songs and music from the Russian liturgy as well as music from the 1860s and the 1960s. Doo-wop, Gregorian chant and sea chanties will also be included. Tickets are $5 at the door or by calling 423-1574.

Dancers sought: Island Moving Company is seeking participants for its fourth biennial Open for Dancing Festival, Sept. 17 to 21. Dancers will work with choreographers Andrea Haenggi, Monica Bill Barnes or Nikki Carrara to be part of the creation and performance of a site specific dance, set in a unique Newport landscape. Everyone, regardless of skill level, is invited to dance. Call 847-4470 or visit www.islandmovingco.org.

Barrington

Fall registration under way: Registration for Barrington Community School fall courses has begun. The brochure listing all fall courses and trips has been mailed to all Barrington residents and to nonresidents who participated in the school’s programs in the past year.

The course line-up includes repeats of traditional favorites, as well as several new offerings. In addition to adult programs, a limited number of children’s activities will be available this fall, including family trips that have been designed to coincide with the public school’s In-Service Days when students will not be attending school, plus Saturday morning tennis and parent-child workshops. BCS and Barrington High School will again cosponsor an SAP Prep course, which will meet Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. beginning Sept. 9.

Registration is by mail only and is currently in progress. Registration forms are in the BCS brochure, extra copies of which may be obtained at area libraries and businesses. For more information, call the BCS office at 245-0432, weekday mornings.

Bristol

Ordination Service: The First Baptist Church of Bristol, High Street, will hold its first Service of Ordination to the Christian Ministry Sunday at 4 p.m. The congregation will ordain Pastor Nathaniel Manderson. Clergy from around the state, executive members of the American Baptist Churches of Rhode Island, Pastor Manderson’s family and senior leaders of First Baptist Church will take part in this historic event. The service will also include special music led by music director Terry Taylor, along with organist Verna Westhaver. Guest singers will accompany the regular church choir and members of Pastor Manderson’s family, including his wife, Mellissa, and his mother, Lynn, will perform. His father, John Manderson, will give a history of the Manderson Family Ministry, which includes Nathaniel’s great-grandfather who trained for the ministry in Scotland and immigrated to America in the early 1900s and his uncle Steve Hoernig, an active missionary taking part in the service. This event is taking place on the 197th anniversary of the founding of the First Baptist Church of Bristol. For more information, visit www.firstbaptistchurchbristol.org.

Clambake: Historic Mount Hope Farm, 250 Metacom Ave., will host a traditional old-fashioned clambake Mondayfrom 2 to 5 p.m. at Cove Cabin. The menu will include salad of mixed greens with roma tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette, brown bread, soft-shelled steamed clams, mussels, drawn butter, corn on the cob, red bliss potato, chourico, barbecued chicken, 1¼ pound lobster, platters of sliced watermelon for dessert. Tickets are $75 per person for the clambake buffet with lobster, $60 per person for clambake buffet without lobster, $30 per person for children’s buffet. A cash bar will be available. For tickets and information, call Mount Hope Farm, 254-1745.

Great Decisions program: Community members interested in discussing and giving input on the major international issues facing the U.S. today are invited to participate in “Great Decisions,” a program of the Foreign Policy Association. Sponsored in Bristol by the Roger Williams University Friends of the Library, the open discussion sessions will be held on the second Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. on the second floor of the Bristol Statehouse, High Street on the Common.

Topics for the four fall sessions include: Sept. 11, Waning War Machine? The State of the U. S. Military; Oct. 9, The Latin America Left; Nov. 13, Out of Balance: U. S. China Trade; Dec. 11, Philanthropy and the Rise of Global Giving.

Although not required, a Great Decisions 2008 briefing book is available for purchase at www.fpa.org (click on Great Decisions) for $18. It provides valuable background information on the discussion topics. Each session features a short video followed by an open discussion, and the completion of an opinion ballot, the results of which are forwarded to the Foreign Policy Association. Nationwide results from the dozens of Great Decisions discussion groups across the country are shared with key government officials at every level.

Benefit concert: Rock the Bay with NBJ, a benefit concert for Crossroads R. I., will be held Sept. 14 from noon to 6 p.m. in the Chapel by the Sea at Colt State Park, Hope Street. Those planning to attend are asked to bring one or some of the following donations for Crossroads — travel-sized health and beauty aids, packages of socks, packages of underwear, gloves and scarves. No donation is necessary to attend. The event is sponsored by NBJ band. The other acts are Ray Tierney, Crimson Rain and Lisa BoClaire and the Thropies of Grace.

No rain date has been scheduled, so any organization that would like to collect the items listed before hand is encouraged to do so. In case of rain, those organizations could contact Carole Smith, smittynbj@gmail.com and she will make arrangements to have the items picked up. If the concert is not canceled due to rain, then those organizations are asked to bring them to the concert. Some area churches have already begun to collect items. There are 170 families living at Crossroads RI.

East Providence

Trips to PPAC in 2009: The East Providence Recreation Department will host trips to a number of shows at the Providence Performing Arts Center next year. Shows booked include Happy Days, The Musical, Jan. 25; Fiddler on the Roof, Feb. 15; Wizard of Oz, March 1; Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, March 22; A Chorus Line, April 5 and The Color Purple, May 31.

Reservations are now being accepted with a deposit due at the time of registration. Call Deborah Rochford, City Hall, 435-7513 for information and reservations.

Childcare programs: The Newman YMCA, 472 Taunton Ave., Seekonk, is now accepting registrations for its before and after school programs. The Y serves students from the following schools in East Providence — M.J. Francis, Hennessey, Kent Heights, Martin Middle, Orlo, Silver Spring and Whiteknact. The Y also serves Aitken Elementary, Martin Elementary and Dr. Hurley in Seekonk and Palmer River Elementary and Beckwith in Rehoboth. To register or to find out about availability, call (508) 336-7103 or stop by in person.

Youth soccer signups: The East Providence department of Parks & Recreation is presently accepting phone registrations for its youth outdoor soccer program. The co-ed league is for East Providence children ages 6 to 13. There is no fee for the program, but shin guards are required. League games are held on Saturdays at Glenlyon field, off Kelley Avenue in Rumford, from Sept. 13 to Nov. 15.

To register, call the Recreation Center, 433-6360, during office hours, Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Fridays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The registration deadline Sept. 5.

Middletown

Religious school: The Samuel Zilman Bazarsky Religious School at Temple Shalom will begin its 19th year this fall. The school strives to develop a positive and joyous identification with Judaism, Jewish history and the Jewish people. Topics are taught with an understanding of and sensitivity to Jewish heritage blended with an awareness of contemporary needs and concerns. The mission of the school is to foster its students in the ability to make responsible and informed decisions about their Jewishness.

The school is housed in a modern, well-equipped building and offers a variety of classes for children of all ages. There is a graded, full, varied curriculum of Jewish learning for all classes. Throughout the year there are holiday workshops for the entire family, a Parent Education Program and Sabbath and Festival worship.

Classes are held Wednesday afternoons and Sunday mornings each month. Registrations are now being accepted for the 2008-09 school year. For information, contact Rabbi Marc S. Jagolinzer, educational director, 846-9002.

Newport

Lecture series: The Museum of Yachting will continue this month’s lecture series tonight from 5 to 7 with a special exhibition, “Homage to the Sea,” featuring 18th, 19th and 20th century American marine art, at the William Vareika Fine Arts Gallery, 212 Bellevue Ave. The evening will include a cocktail reception and lecture on the collection. For information, call 847-1018 or visit www.moy.org.

Trash pickups delayed: The Newport Public Services Department’s Clean City Program reminds residents that there will be no trash, recycling and yard waste collection Monday due to the Labor Day holiday. All collections for the week of Sept. 1 will be delayed by one day.

As a reminder, yard waste will be collected the weeks of Sept. 8 and 22, Oct. 6 and 20 and four weeks in November. For information, call 845-5613 or visit at www.cityofnewport.com.

Fall activity programs: Registration for fall programs offered by the City of Newport’s Recreation Department are under way at the Martin Recreation Center, “The Hut,” 35 Golden Hill St.

Fall programs for youth include soccer for ages 4 through 5 and co-ed sand soccer for grades 6 to 11, fall baseball for ages 6 to 11 and tennis lessons for ages 4 through high school. In addition, there are specialty programs featuring Acting Classes, Basketball Skills Clinics and Surfing Lessons.

The Recreation Department also hosts adult programs in tennis from beginner lessons through weekend tournaments and women’s doubles league. New this year is adult recreational horseback riding.

The program flyer is available online at www.cityofnewport.com under the Department of Recreation page. Flyers are also available at the Recreation Office, 35 Golden Hill St. Registration can be made in person or by mail and credit cards are accepted. Space is limited in some programs and some have a minimum in order to be held. For information, call 845-5800.

Dinner with the dancers: A dinner to meet the artists, performers and participants in Island Moving Company’s fourth biennial Open for Dancing will be held Sept. 12 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the home of Chris and Bethany DiNapoli, 287 Gibbs Ave. Anyone interested in attending is asked to call Island Moving Company, 847-4470.

Spear fishing tournament: The Hannah Grace Tournament, a one-day largest-fish event to benefit the Magic Foundation, will be held Sept. 13 at Kings Beach, Ocean Drive. The event features two categories, Largest Bass and Largest Tautog. Competitors may weigh-in one fish in each category with prizes being awarded for the top three bass and top three tautog.

Registration is $30 and divers may register in advance by contacting Rob Marvelle at newportfreediveco@cox.net or signup the day of the meet at Kings Beach from 7 a.m. to noon. Diving may take place from shore, boat, submarine, kayak or seaplane. Hunting (free diving only — no scuba diving) is not restricted to a specific area but participants you must be at the weigh-in station by 4 p.m. After the weigh-in there will be food, drinks and a raffle featuring lots of great dive gear. For information, visit www.newportfreediveco.com or call 662-5615.

Warren

Grant awarded: The American Legion Post 11 was recently awarded a $1,000 matching grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Antoinette Downing Preservation Fund for Rhode Island. The grant funds will be used for partial payment of architectural fees for the restoration of the 1842 Warren Artillery Company Armory Hall at 11 Jefferson St., headquarters of the Warren American Legion Post 11. The American Legion Post 11 was among several grant recipients selected in a competitive application process from applicants across New England and Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.