Barrington

Trip to the Berkshires: Barrington Community School is cosponsoring a day trip, Autumn in the Berkshires, with Barrington Garden Club Oct. 15, featuring scenic spots along the Mohawk Trail and a special exhibition at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. The trip is open to all interested parties.

A special exhibition at MassMoCA, “Badlands: New Horizons in Landscape,” focuses on the artistic legacy of landscape.

The trip fee of $72 includes admission and docent-led tour at MassMoCA, sugar house breakfast, BCS escort, motorcoach transportation and driver tip. For information on BCS courses and trips, consult the fall brochure, call 245-0432 weekday mornings, or visit www.barrcommschool.com.

Bristol

Garden Club celebration: The Bristol Garden Club will celebrate its 80th anniversary tomorrow with a luncheon at noon at the Basically British Tea Room, 16 Cutler St., Warren. Fab Goldberg, owner of the Tea Room, will give a talk about the history of teas and herbs. Members are encouraged to bring perennials for swapping.

Trip to Foxwoods: Harbor Lights of St. Mary’s, through Conway Tours, will offer its monthly bus trip to Foxwoods Oct. 13, Columbus Day. The trip leaves at 7:30 a.m. and returns at 5 p.m. The cost is $17 per person including food and Keno coupons. For reservations, contact Dave Barboza Sr., 253-6696.

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 are 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: Thursday, 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.

Civil Discourse series: Roger Williams University will host Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, who will examine current and past American presidential campaigns Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the Recreation Center gymnasium, Old Ferry Road .

Her talk is part of the University’s Civil Discourse series. This year’s theme is “The American Presidency.”

The event is free, and limited tickets are open to the public. For information or to reserve a ticket, call 254-3067.

East Providence

Benefit art contest: East Providence Public Library and the East Bay Coalition for the Homeless are cohosting a children’s art contest to help end homelessness. Twelve winning entries will be selected for the coalition’s 2009 fundraising calendar and must reflect the following statement “Every child deserves a safe place to call home and a warm bed.” Entries must be submitted on 8 ½- by 11-inch paper with name, age and school to the Youth Services Department at Weaver Library, 41 Grove Ave., by Nov. 1. All entries will go on display at the library for one week of voting to be announced at a later date.

This contest is open to children in kindergarten to grade 12. Four winning entries will be selected from each category: Kindergarten to grade 4, grades 5 to 8 and grades 9 to 12. For more information, call 435-1978.

Library activities: Middle and high school students are welcome to participate in a variety of activities during this month.

Riverside Library, 475 Bullocks Point Ave., will offer a hip-hop dance workshop Thursday at 3 p.m. Registration is required and can be done by calling 433-4877 or e-mail mbonds@eastprovidencelibrary.org.

T.G.I.F. students in grades 6 through 12 can play Guitar Hero, DDR (Dance! Dance! Revolution!), Playstation II, and various board games every Friday at the Riverside Branch Library from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

The library’s Chess Club has begun its fall series, which meets Tuesdays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. through Oct. 28. Members, ages 6 through 18, will learn how to play or improve their skills.

All programs and activities are free.

Daughters to meet: Riverside Circle 28, Daughters of Isabella will hold its next meeting Thursday beginning at 6 p.m. with a potluck supper at the Knights of Columbus Hall, Crescent View Avenue, Riverside. Members are reminded to bring in Shaw’s register slips to benefit the food bank. The state Day of Recollection is Oct. 25 at St. Theresa Shrine.

Little Compton

Roadside litter collection: The Sogkonate Garden Club will hold its next roadside litter collection Thursday. Volunteers will meet at the Simmons Pond Management Area parking lot to clean Long Highway, north of Simmons Pond and Tompkins Lane.

Well water protection workshop: The University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension and the state Department of Health will hold an educational workshop on private well protection Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Little Compton Community Center, the Commons. The program is hosted by the Little Compton Community Center.

Many private well owners do not realize that they are responsible for testing their private drinking water wells. Even fewer are aware that they should be testing their wells on an annual basis. This workshop will give people the information they need to make informed decisions about when to test their drinking water, and what to test it for.

This workshop is free to participants, and is financed by the Health Department’s Capacity Development Program.

Advance registration is required as space is limited. Call URI Cooperative Extension to register and for information, 874-4918.

Newport

Fall lecture series: For five evenings this fall, the International Yacht Restoration School, 449 Thames St., will host experts on the history and evolution of speed on the water.

The series looks at boats powered by both wind and high-horsepower engines. Local sailor Chris Museler opens the series today with an overview on “The History of Speed.” On the powerboat side, the series explores the racing of vintage powerboats as well as a look at the designs of the Huckins Yacht Corp., whose first designs date to the late 1920s.

On the sailing side, the series looks at two different classes of boats: the International 14, a development class that has a long history of taking advantage of the latest developments in technology and materials; and the 6-Meter ,whose history dates to the early 1900s. The series schedule is as follows: tonight, “The History of Speed,” by Chris Museler; Oct. 21, “The Vintage Era of Powerboat Racing,” by Keith Brown; Nov. 4, “The International 14: Evolution of the Oldest International Sailing Class,” by Steve Clark; Nov. 18, “The History of the Huckins Yacht Corp.,” by Cindy and Buddy Purcell and Dec. 2, “The 6-Meter Class,” by Toby Rodes.

Lectures begin at Restoration Hall at 7:30 p.m. Lectures are free for IYRS members, $7 for non-members. For information visit www.iyrs.org or call 848-5777.

Health program: Newport Hospital’s Education Department will offer a free informational session tomorrow at 5 p.m. in the Gudoian Conference Room. This session will be an introduction to its upcoming program, “Naturally Healthy Woman: Key Strategies from ‘Enough is Enough’.” Women of all ages are welcome.

The actual program will meet at the hospital Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m. beginning Oct. 14. Participants will learn to balance their nutrition simply and naturally; determine safe, natural portion control for meals and snacks; to decode food labels in order to make healthier meal choices in restaurants; how to meditate for stress reduction; to move their bodies in fun and inspiring classes such as Zumba! Dance, Walking for Weight Loss, Yoga for Every Body, Shake your Soul, and more.

The fee for the program is $120. Call 845-1592 to register or for more information.

Musical performance: The Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy will present an interdisciplinary performance by Rumi translator Coleman Barks tomorrow at 6 p.m. in Salve Regina University’s Bazarsky Lecture Hall, O’Hare Academic Center, Ochre Point Avenue. He will be accompanied by the improvisational cello performances of Grammy-nominated David Darling, titled “Crossing Borders: Persian Poetry as a Way of Understanding Modern Iran.” Those planning to attend must reserve a seat by today by calling 341-2927 or e-mailing pellcenter@salve.edu.

Gallery talk: Newport Art Museum visitors can meet and speak with artist Daniel McManus during an informal gallery talk at the museum Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The exhibition “Daniel McManus: New Work” features photographs, ceramics and mixed media works and runs through Nov. 16. This free event is part of Newport Gallery Night.

Warren

Flu clinic: The Warren Senior Center, 20 Libby Lane, will hold a flu clinic today from 1 to 4 p.m. Sponsored by the Visiting Nurse Services of Newport and Bristol Counties, the clinic is open to anyone over the age of 18. Participants are reminded to bring their health insurance card. The flu vaccination is covered by Medicare, Medicaid, private pay, sliding fee scale. Those who are allergic to eggs or egg products cannot have a flu shot. For information, call 247-1930 or the Visiting Nurse Services, 682-2100, ext. 470. Advance registration is not necessary.