Looking for something fun to do? Summer is underway and there’s plenty going on in Fall River and beyond. Here’s a list of some upcoming events in the area.
Have a community event you’d like to add to our list? Let us know by emailing aschuler@heraldnews.com or news@heraldnews.com and we’ll include it.
New city outdoor market
FALL RIVER — The new Fall River Farmers and Artisans Market (FR FAM) kicks off this Sunday in downtown Fall River.
FR FAM is a bi-weekly event that invites residents and visitors to a fun, family-friendly event where they can support small businesses and SouthCoast entrepreneurs.
The Fall River Farmers and Artisans will take place every other Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., starting on Sunday, July 11, on Old Second Street. This picturesque cobblestoned pedestrian walkway, located across from the Government Center on Jeremiah V Sullivan Drive, will host a dynamic marketplace where consumers will be able to purchase a variety of locally made products, vintage goods, artisanal foods, and fresh produce from local farms. Each event will feature a rotating list of vendors, so you’ll never have the same experience twice.
In addition to vendors, the events will also feature local musicians, live art demonstrations and free children’s activities.
The Fall River Farmers and Artisans Market is presented by Craftyish Shop, Fall River Arts and Culture Coalition, Viva Fall River, and the City of Fall River.
The dates are as follows:
For weekly updates on the vendor list, entertainment, and activities, visit FR FAM on Facebook at @FallRiverFAM. For information on how to participate as a vendor, email Steph at stephferreira@live.com.
Explore Fall River’s Copicut Woods
Green Futures is hosting a monthly walk through the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve on Saturday, July 10, at 8 a.m. Walkers should meet at the Trustees of Reservations parking lot, at the intersection of Indian Town and Yellow Hill roads in Fall River.
The walk will be approximately 5 miles. Water, snack and insect repellent are all suggested. The walk will be canceled in event of rain.
Walkers will explore the Copicut Woods section of the Bioreserve and check for loons on the Copicut Reservoir. Part of the Bioreserve’s mission is to restore local biological diversity. One neat piece of restoration occurred in the spring of 2020 when, after an absence of more than 100 years, a pair of common loons decided to nest and raise their chick in the Bioreserve.
For more information, visit GreenFutures.org.
‘Welcome to Jurassic Park’
FALL RIVER — Fall River’s free Drive-In Movie Series continues July 30 with a viewing of “Jurassic Park” at B.M.C. Durfee High School. Free tickets are available in person at City Hall or at Greater Fall River Re-Creation, 45 Rock St., or online at Eventbrite on the first of every month.
The event will feature free food, giveaways, raffle prizes, photo booth, caricatures, petting zoo, games and other activities.
Gates open at 6:30 p.m. and the film starts at 8:15 p.m. The event is sponsored by Mayor Paul Coogan, state Sen. Michael Rodrigues and Greater Fall River Re-Creation.
Scary dinos aren’t your thing? They’ll be playing “Black Panther” on Aug. 30 for the Marvel fans out there, and “Despicable Me” will be the feature presentation on Sept. 24.
Visit gfrrec.org for more information.
Toss your bean bag in the ring
FALL RIVER — The Office of Mayor Paul Coogan will kick off the city’s first Youth Cornhole Tournament on Saturday, July 10, from noon to 4 p.m. at Griffin Park. The free Greater Fall River Re-Creation event, sponsored by RE/MAX, is open to youth in two age groups – 6-12 and 13-17. The tournaments, which stretch through August, are all slated to take place noon to 4 p.m. and the schedule is as follows:
Saturday, July 10, at Griffin Park
Saturday, July 17, at Lafayette Park
Sunday, July 18 at Ruggles Park
Saturday, July 24, at Father Travassos Park
Sunday, July 25, at North Park
Saturday, Aug. 7, at Maplewood Park
Saturday, Aug. 21, at Pulaski Park
All will culminate in a Cornhole Tournament Championship at the end of the summer, Saturday, Aug. 28, at Kennedy Park, where winner takes all in each division. There’s a cash purse of $1,200 for victors. To register, visit gfrrec.org or contact Brian Vianna at 508-493-2340 for more information.
Playground grand opening
TIVERTON — The moment kiddos in Tiverton have been waiting for has finally arrived.
A grand opening is slated for the long-awaited revamped Town Farm Playground on Saturday, July 10, at 11 a.m.
Thanks to McCray’s Seafood, Del’s Lemonade available at the event. Folks will also be able to buy bricks for the forthcoming walkway that will be installed.
Through a combination of grants and contributions, the Tiverton Town Farm Renovation Commission has worked to make the new playground a reality, as well as an outdoor fitness park, six pickleball courts and two tennis courts.
Construction on the playground started mid-May and now it’s time to celebrate its completion.
Parking is limited, so guests attending the grand opening are encouraged to carpool or park on the south side of Town Farm. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1198066754026288/?ref=newsfeed for more information.
Kids Summer Learning Center
SOMERSET — Students from all area towns are welcome at the Kids Summer Learning Center taking place at Somerset Berkley Regional High School.
The 2021 Kids Summer Learning Center is offering E-Sports July 12-16 and July 26-30 with Jay Duddy from Berkley Middle School. This class runs from 9 to 11 a.m. This class will teach students about the history of gaming, the benefits of teamwork, the effectiveness of strategy in games, and overall have a great time doing it. For registration information, email aguiarw@sbregional.org or comfreyb@sbregional.org.
For the aspiring shutterbugs, photography classes are also being offered July 12 to 16 and July 26 to 30 with Thomas Grandmaison, a retired professional photographer. The class will run from 9 to 11 a.m. In this exploratory class students will get to explore composition, subject matter, and abstraction in a series of camera exercises. Through the use of digital cameras students will learn how to compose a photograph and use basic camera settings to control images. Students will leave with an understanding of digital photography and with at least one printed photograph. For registration information, email aguiarw@sbregional.org or comfreyb@sbregional.org.
‘Spindle City’ book release
WESTPORT — Partners Village Store will host author Jotham Burrello on Sunday, Aug. 8, at 3 p.m., to celebrate the paperback release of his beloved Fall River-based novel “Spindle City.” This event will be held outside on the PVS patio. Call the store at 508-636-2572 or email liz@partnersvillagestore.com to reserve your seat.
On June 23, 1911, Fall River is reveling in its success. The Cotton Centennial is in full swing as Joseph Bartlett takes his place among the local elite in the parade grandstand. The meticulously planned carnival has brought the thriving textile town to an unprecedented halt; rich and poor alike crowd the streets, welcoming President Taft to America’s Spindle City.
Yet as he perches in the grandstand nursing a nagging toothache, Joseph Bartlett straddles the divide between Yankee mill owners and the union bosses who fight them. Bartlett, a renegade owner, fears the town cannot long survive against the union-free South. He frets over the ever-present threat of strikes and factory fires, knowing his own fortune was changed by the drop of a kerosene lantern. When the Cleveland Mill burned, good men died, and immigrant’s son Joseph Bartlett gained a life of privilege he never wanted.
Now Joseph is one of the most influential men in a prosperous town. High above the rabble, as he stands among politicians and society ladies, his wife is dying, his sons are lost in the crowd facing pivotal decisions of their own, and the differences between the haves and have-nots are stretched to the breaking point.
“Spindle City” delves deep into the lives, loves, and fortunes of real and imagined mill owners, anarchists, and immigrants, from the Highlands mansions to the tenements of the Cogsworth slum, chronicling a mill town’s — and a generation’s — last days of glory.
Jotham Burrello is a writer, teacher, publisher, farmer, and multimedia producer. He is the author of the “Writers’ e-Handbook” and producer of “So, Is It Done? Navigating the Revision Process.” Other writing has appeared in literary journals, the Christian Science Monitor, and he’s a proud winner of the New Yorker Caption Contest. He teaches writing at Central Connecticut State University, directs the Yale Writers’ Workshop and the Connecticut Literary Festival, curates the Roar Reading Series, and is the publisher of the award-winning Elephant Rock Books. He and his wife raise boys and flowers on Muddy Feet Flower Farm in Ashford, Connecticut.
Save the date for Freetown Historical Society open house
FREETOWN — After being put on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Freetown Historical Society is once again opening its doors to the public and resuming open houses starting in September.
A Historical Society Open House will be held on the first Sunday after Labor Day, Sept. 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
View their historic buildings — such as the Advent Chapel, Mason’s Corner School, Sharrock’s General Store, and the Wilson Resendes Sawmill — browse the museum, get information on their workshops and classes, and enjoy the time with your family and friends on the society’s beautiful 11 acres.
Freetown Historical Society is located at 1 Slab Bridge Road, in the Assonet section of Freetown. To register for the open house or for more information on other upcoming events, visit https://www.freetownhistoricalsociety.org/events/historical-society-open-house.
Volunteers sought for PanMass Challenge
DIGHTON — This year’s PanMass Challenge will take place Aug. 7 and 8, bringing together thousands of riders, volunteers, donors and supporters from their hometowns to make an unparalleled impact in the fight against cancer.
The PMC would not be possible without the thousands of dedicated volunteers who donate their time and energy to support the event during PMC weekend, and they’re looking for volunteers from Dighton-Rehoboth to join us again this year.
On Sunday, Aug. 8, local volunteers are sought to help with food and beverage distribution, parking/traffic and logistics from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the bikers’ PMC stop at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School.
For more information or to sign up to volunteer, visit pmc.org.
Calling all Durfee Class of 1956
FALL RIVER — The B.M.C. Durfee Class of 1956 is planning its 65th reunion on Tuesday, Aug. 31, at The Cove restaurant, Davol St. in Fall River, from noon to 4.
But first they need helping tracking down classmates. Members of this graduating class who would like to attend and reconnect with fellow Hilltopper alum should reach out to Marilyn S. Rebello at 508-678-7729, Louise H. Harrington at 508-678-6875 or Dr. Mel Yoken at 508-994-4212.
Calling all kids to Westport library
WESTPORT — The Toe Jam Puppet Band will be bringing a “Toe Jam Variety Show” to the Westport Free Public Library on Monday, July 12, at 6 p.m. This program is funded with a grant from the Helen E. Ellis Charitable Trust administered by the Bank of America. This free show will be held outdoors, (weather permitting) so bring a blanket, or chairs, and a picnic supper. Enjoy an ice cream treat provided by the Friends of Westport Library.
Children in grades 1 and up are invited to register the Tale and Tails workshop meeting at the library for 4 Tuesdays: July 20 and 27, Aug. 3 and 10. The workshops will include a different subject each week: the Rain Forest, Aesop Fables, The City Mouse & the Country Mouse, The Bremen Town Musicians, and a Chinese Red Riding Hood. A craft time is included.
Those ages 2-5 are invited to attend a drop-in story time on four Wednesdays: July 21 and 28, Aug. 4 and 11 from 10 to 10:45 a.m. We will meet outdoors, weather permitting. If it rains, come inside, on the north side, of the Manton Room. There will be different themes each week, and will include songs, finger plays, and nursery rhymes about animals, farms, and outdoor interests.
Sign up for a Tales and Tails reading log. Keep track of the books you read. Return your log to Mrs. Cunha by Aug. 11 or 12. Each child will receive a certificate, a slice of pizza from Nick’s, and a small prize, of their choosing, provided by Partner’s Village Store.
