Warwick Weekend: Gaspee Arts & Crafts, Memorial Day

WARWICK, RI — The Warwick Weekend features banner Warwick events including the Gaspee Days Arts & Crafts festival and its Memorial Day observance, with the usual food focused Friday activity.

The Gaspee Day Arts and Crafts festival is arguably the biggest local event going this weekend, running for three days as locals have come to expect on Memorial Day weekend. The event has been drawing record numbers of vendors and usually draws more that 50,000 people. The festival boasts more than 100 artisans and food vendors, music and kids attractions, arrayed along the closed off stretch of Narragansett Parkway between Warwick and Pawtuxet Village in Cranston.

Pick any day from Saturday through Monday at 10 a.m. through the afternoon to attend – the entire weekend is forecast for clear, sunny skies with temperatures in the mid to high 70s, according to the National Weather Service.

Do you have a community, non-profit or fundraising event you’d like to see included in an upcoming Warwick Weekend? Email your event details and contact information to [email protected].

Warwick Weekend Friday:

Goddard Park Farmer’s Market Every Friday through Columbus Day Weekend, RI Grown, DEM’s farmer’s market program, hosts farmer’s market at Goddard Park selling delicious and freshly-harvested local foods direct from the farm to your dinner table.

Roger Williams Food Truck FridaysThe Carousel campus at Roger Wiliams Park Zoo has a lot of open space and rolling hills shaded by trees, the perfect spot to grab dinner from a food truck and listen to music and entertainment during the park’s Food Truck Fridays event. If you miss this one, don’t worry. They’re going on every Friday till the fall.

Warwick Weekend Saturday:

Gaspee Days Arts & Crafts Festival: About 60,000 people are expected to stroll Narragansett Parkway throughout the long weekend starting Saturday, May 27, lasting through Monday. The three days also feature a food court full of craft-fair fare, Pawtuxet Park filled with live music and children’s amusements and games. The action starts at 10 a.m. and lasts till 5 p.m.

Warwick Weekend Sunday:

Gaspee Days Arts & Crafts Festival: About 60,000 people are expected to stroll Narragansett Parkway throughout the long weekend starting Saturday, May 27, lasting through Monday. The three days also feature a food court full of craft-fair fare, Pawtuxet Park filled with live music and children’s amusements and games. The action starts at 10 a.m. and lasts till 5 p.m.

Warwick Weekend Monday:

Gaspee Days Arts & Crafts Festival: About 60,000 people are expected to stroll Narragansett Parkway throughout the long weekend starting Saturday, May 27, lasting through Monday. The three days also feature a food court full of craft-fair fare, Pawtuxet Park filled with live music and children’s amusements and games. The action starts at 10 a.m. and lasts till 4:30 p.m.

Warwick Memorial Day Ceremony: A Memorial Day ceremony will take place at Veterans Memorial Park, outside Veterans Middle School at 10 am. Mayor Frank Picozzi and Representative Camille Vella-Wilkinson will be joined by members of the Disabled American Veterans for a wreath laying ceremony, along with Wawick’s Police and Fire Honor Guard. A flag retirement ceremony will also take place. The city is asking the public to bring their old and tattered flags for disposal.

Memorial Day Healthy Tips from the RI Department of Health

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) offers a few reminders about staying healthy and safe this weekend: 

Travel responsibly 

Never drink and drive. Additionally, never drive after using other substances that impair your ability to drive safely. Substances that impair your ability to drive safely include marijuana, illicit drugs, many types of prescription medicines, and some over-the-counter medicines. 

If you have been drinking alcohol and/or using drugs, get a ride home with a driver who has not been drinking or using drugs, use a rideshare service, or call a taxi. 

Roughly 30% of all traffic-related deaths in the United States involve an alcohol-impaired driver.  

 Food safety 

Proper handling, preparation, cooking, and storing is key to keeping food safe and preventing food-borne illness year-round. However, these precautions are particularly important as the weather gets warmer, and people start grilling outside. 

When handling and grilling raw meat, chicken and other poultry, and seafood, people should:

• Separate the food to be grilled from other from other food. 
• Refrigerate before grilling or cooking. 
• Never thaw or marinate on the counter. 
• Wash your hands before and after handling. 
• Make sure its juices do not touch other food, utensils, and surfaces. 
• Use a food thermometer to ensure it is cooked to a safe internal temperature. 

Additional food safety tips include: 

• Wash work surfaces and utensils with hot, soapy water before and after cooking. 
• If you are grilling, use a moist cloth or paper towel to clean the grill surface before cooking. If you use a wire bristle brush, thoroughly inspect the grill’s surface for loose bristles before cooking. Wire bristles can become loose and get stuck in food.  
• Divide leftovers into small portions and place in covered, shallow containers. Put in the freezer or fridge within two hours of cooking (within one hour if above 90°F outside). 

For more information, see CDC’s How to Grill Safely page. 

Sun safety and beaches 

Rhode Islanders are also reminded to protect themselves from the sun’s rays and enjoy the beach safely this summer. RIDOH will monitor beach water quality for bacteria this year from May 30th to Labor Day.  

• Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 30 sunscreen whenever spending time outdoors, especially between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Reapply every two hours. 
• Seek shade where possible, consider wearing UPF sun-protective clothing, and wear a hat with a brim that shades the face and ears, especially if spending an extended amount of time outdoors. 
• After May 30th, look at the latest beach closures and advisories before going to the beach. 
• Be aware and prepare for hot temperatures.  

Prevent tick bites 

After being outdoors, people should take three steps to prevent tick bites, which can lead to Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases: Repel, Check, Remove.

Repel – keep ticks off you, your children, and pets by: 

• Avoiding wooded and brushy areas with high grass and leaves. If you are going to be in a wooded area, walk in the center of the trail to avoid contact with overgrown grass, brush, and leaves at the edges of the trail. You can also spray your clothes with permethrin to keep ticks away. Make sure to not spray this on your skin.  
• Wearing long pants and long-sleeve shirts when outside. 
• Tucking your pants into your socks so ticks do not crawl under your clothes. 
• Wearing light-colored clothing so you can see ticks more easily. 

Check – check yourself, your children, and pets, for ticks by: 

• Taking a shower as soon as you come inside if you have been in grassy or wooded areas. 
• Doing a full-body tick check using a mirror; parents should check their kids for ticks and pay special attention to the area in and around the ears, in the belly button, behind the knees, between the legs, around the waist, and in their hair. 
• Checking your pets for ticks as well because they can bring ticks into the home. 

Remove – remove ticks from your body, as well as from children and pets, if you find them. 

• Use a set of tweezers to remove the tick. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull straight up. 
• If you don’t have tweezers, use your fingers with a tissue or rubber gloves.