Regional

Benefit concert: Rock the Bay with NBJ, a benefit concert for CrossroadsRI, will be held Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Colt State Park, Hope Street. Those planning to attend are asked to bring one or some of the following donations for Crossroads: travel-size health and beauty aids, packages of socks, packages of underwear, gloves, hats and scarves. All donations go to CrossroadsRI. No donation is necessary to attend.

Participants are asked to follow the signs to Sites 81, 82, 83 and 84. For information, call 245-6697. The event is sponsored by NBJ band. The other acts are Ray Tierney, Crimson Rain and Lisa BoClaire and the Thropies of Grace.

In case of rain, those organizations seeking to donate should contact Carole Smith, smittynbj@gmail.com , and she will make arrangements to have the items picked up.

Barrington

Garden Club to meet: Hameho Garden Club will meet tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Atria Bay Spring Village, 147 Bay Spring Ave. The guest speaker will be Chuck E. Carberry, an ecological landscape architect and designer for the Rhode Island Flower Show for the past nine years. He will address techniques of caring for gardens in an ecological fashion. Guests are welcome. For information, call 245-2815.

Bristol

Exhibit to open: Hope Gallery, 435 Hope St., will open an exhibit of works by guest artist Ewa Romaszewics and member artist Lori Bradley, Friday, with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m.

For information, call 396-9117 or visit www.hopegalleryfineartfinecraft.com.

Walking tours: The Bristol Historical & Preservation Society will hold its next walking tour tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. Led by Ray Battcher, the tour is titled “Hither and Yon,” which will cover interesting buildings in the downtown and waterfront areas. Tours, which are $5 for nonmembers and free to members, begin from the society’s headquarters, 48 Court St. For information, call 253-7223.

East Providence

Homeless advocates sought: A procession to draw attention to the plight of the hungry and homeless in the community will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. from Newman Congregational Church, Pawtucket Avenue at Broadway. All are welcome to attend and walk as Mona and Joel, wooden statues depicting a homeless couple, are moved from Newman Congregational church to the Church of Epiphany, 1336 Pawtucket Ave. A brief speaking program is planned.

Cardio tennis: The East Providence Recreation Department will offer cardio tennis Thursdays from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. beginning tomorrow. The program features tennis drills at a constant, high-energy rate. This is a group activity for players of all ability levels. The focus is more about creating a fun fitness program and less about hitting great forehands and backhands. No previous tennis experience needed.

Cardio tennis will be held at the East Providence Recreation Center, 100 Bullocks Point Ave. The fee is $3 per person. To register, call the center, 433-6360 or 433-6359.

Trips planned: The East Providence Recreation Department is planning a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. on Nov. 1. This trip is open to all ages.

Also, a trip to see 42nd Street is planned for Nov. 5 at the North Shore Musical Theater in Beverly, Mass.

An afternoon of entertainment with Father Misgivings will be held Nov. 12 at Wentworth Hills Golf Club in Plainville, Mass. Lunch is included.

Finally, a trip to Mohegan Sun is planned for Nov. 19. For reservations, call Deborah Rochford at City Hall, 435-7513.

Walk around the reservoir: A guided walk around the Turner Reservoir Trail Loop will be held Monday. Walkers will see Bridgham Farm hay fields and hear about the Ten Mile River Blueway and, once at Newman Avenue, hear about Central Village. The walk will continue, by bus to the second segment of the trail from Arcade Avenue to the high school. The walk ends at Hunts Mills with the Hunt House open for tours, the Pump House open for viewing, and a free kayak demonstration. Refreshments will be provided by the East Providence/Seekonk Rotary Club. To help in planning, call 474-3813 or e-mail KTGgroup@aol.com.

The event is sponsored by, the Ten Mile River Watershed Council, the East Providence Conservation Commission, the East Providence Historical Society and the East Providence/Seekonk Rotary.

Newport

Newport Festa Italiana: Rhode Island College Prof. Robert Cvornyek will present a talk on Italian-American baseball players tonight from 6 to 8 at Newport Library, Spring Street. The talk, which is free and open to all, is sponsored by the Forum Lodge, Order No. 391, Sons of Italy.

The festival continues tomorrow with a wine reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at Sardella’s restaurant, Memorial Boulevard. Tickets are $20. For information, call 849-6312.

The annual Italian Festival in the Park will be held Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Touro Park, Bellevue Avenue. Music will be provided by Vini Ames and there will be Italian food and novelties. Admission is free and the event will be held rain or shine.

Great Arias from Grand Opera with the Swanhurst Chorus will be presented Sunday starting at 6:30 p.m. with a reception, followed by a 7:30 p.m. performance at Calvary United Methodist Church, Turner and Wyatt Road, Middletown. Tickets are $20 each and reservations are recommended, 683-4829. Proceeds benefit John O. Pastore Cultural Scholarship Fund.

Monday, Columbus Day, the festival will conclude with a daylong celebration beginning at 11 a.m. with a Mass in memory of the deceased members of the Italian community at St. Joseph Church, Broadway at Mann Avenue. Following Mass, a parade will step-off at noon from the church and march down Broadway to Washington Square, turn south onto Thames Street and march to America’s Cup Avenue and up Memorial Boulevard to the Columbus Statue at the intersection of Bellevue Avenue. A ceremony will be held at the monument at 12:45 p.m., followed by an Italian buffet at 1 p.m. at Sardella’s restaurant, 30 Memorial Blvd. Buffet tickets are $12.50 for adults and $5 children, available at the door.

Conservation celebration: Aquidneck Land Trust will host a “2,000 Conserved Acres Celebration,” tomorrow from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 22 Bowens Wine Bar & Grille, Bowen’s Wharf. The celebration is free to the public. There will be a cash bar. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP to Courtney Ferreira, cferreira@ailt.org.

Pickups delayed: The Newport Public Services Department’s Clean City Program reminds residents that there will be no trash or recycling collection Monday due to the Columbus Day holiday. All collections for the week of Oct. 13 will be delayed by one day.

As a reminder, yard waste will be collected the weeks of Oct. 6 and 20, all four weeks in November and the first week of December.

For information about the City of Newport residential solid waste and recycling collection program, contact the Clean City Program, 845-5613 or visit www.cityofnewport.com .

Lecture series: The Museum of Newport Irish History kicksoff its fall/winter lecture series Tuesday with a talk by Scott Molloy, an award-winning professor at University of Rhode Island’s Schmidt Labor Research Center. Molloy will speak about his new book: Irish Titan, Irish Toilers: Joseph Banigan and Nineteenth-Century New England Labor, which explores the life of Joseph Banigan (1839-1898), one of America’s most successful 19th century industrialists. Banigan was an Irish Potato Famine refugee who established himself in Rhode Island and became president of the U.S. Rubber Co., all during a period of widespread anti-Irish-Catholic prejudice. Copies of the book will be available for signature.

This lecture will take place at 6 p.m. at the LaForge Casino restaurant, 186 Bellevue Ave. Following the lecture, a reception with light hors d’oeuvres will be held. A cash bar will be is available.

Admission to the lecture is $10 per person, or free for museum members. The $10 admission fee may be applied toward museum membership, which is $10 annually. Space is limited and reservations are required. To reserve, call Skip Carter, 683-4137. For more information about the Museum of Newport Irish History, visit www.NewportIrishHistory.org.

Evergreen trees sought: With the Christmas season just around the corner, the Preservation Society of Newport County is looking for large, live evergreen trees to help dress up the grounds of the Newport mansions for the holidays.

Traditionally, the mansion trees are donated from the yards and farms of Newport County residents. The Preservation Society is in need of two large trees that will be displayed in front of The Elms and Marble House. Anyone with a large evergreen tree that has outgrown their yard is asked to consider donating it. Trees must be healthy, and between 12 and 25 feet tall. To donate a tree, call the society’s greenhouse staff, 846-7718 between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. They will schedule an appointment to inspect the tree, and if it is appropriate, remove the tree from the donor’s yard and cut the stump flush to the ground.

Holiday celebrations at the mansions officially begin Nov. 15 with The Breakers, The Elms and Marble House decorated inside and out and open daily for tours. All three houses will remain decorated and open daily through Jan. 4 (with the exception of Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day).

For more information about holiday events at the Newport Mansions, visit www.newportmansions.org, or call 847-1000.

Tiverton

Senior center activities: The Tiverton Senior Center, 207 Canonicus St., offers a variety of activities and programs every month.

A flu clinic will be held Oct. 23 from 9 a.m. to noon, sponsored by the Visiting Nurse Services of Newport and Bristol Counties. Anyone age 18 or older can participate. Most insurance companies cover the cost of the vaccine, however for those who are not eligible for the state Department of Health vaccine, VNS has purchased their own and the charge is $36.

A representative from Lynncore Medgroup Inc., a Medicare B provider, will offer information on medical supplies tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Devices covered include diabetic shoes, glucose monitors, lower back supports, thermal heating unit, knee stabilizing supports, four-wheel walkers, manual wheelchairs, gel cushions and mattresses.

A Halloween party will be held Oct. 31 from 2 to 4 p.m. Games will be played and refreshments served. Sign up is required and must be done by Oct. 24. Costumes are optional.

The knitting and quilting volunteers will hold their annual sale Nov. 1 and 2 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Sakonnet Bay Manor, 1215 Main Rd. Items include children’s and adults hats, scarves and mittens, children’s sweaters, afghans, quilts, dog bone pillows, baby bibs, American Girl doll clothing and boiled wood handbags. All proceeds go to replenishing the volunteers’ yarn, batting and fabric supply to help support the group’s charitable organizations and for two partial educational scholarships to StarKids Scholarship Program.

For information on these and other center activities, call 625-6790.

The center will be closed Monday in observance of Columbus Day.

Warren

Peace Pilgrimage: The First United Methodist Church of Warren and Bristol, 27 Church St., will be the host of a local stop by the Peace Pilgrimage, Sunday at 9 a.m. at the Town Common, across the street from the church.

All are welcome to come and join the discussion and anyone who would like to walk along part of the journey with the pilgrims as they continue on to Providence is welcome. Two of the Peace Pilgrims will stay to speak in the church worship service at 10:30 a.m.