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September 2026

Tue
29

Musical Salon: Romanticism and Musical Poetry

September 29 @ 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Rough Point Museum

680 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840 United States

We are excited to partner with Puddingstone Festival on an evening of music at Rough Point! Our founder Doris Duke was a supporter of the arts, as well as a musician and a dancer. We are delighted to host this evening celebrating the performing arts in her home. This concert features the Sitkovetsky Trio performing a program centered on the Romantic era’s fusion of music and poetry, extending into the post-Romantic voice of Dmitri Shostakovich.

October 2026

Sat
03

Neighborhood Walk: From Revolution to Resiliency

October 3 @ 9:30 am - 11:00 am

Bridge & Third Street

53 Bridge Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

The success of Newport has always been dependent on the sea and the people who live here have a deep connection to the water. The Point neighborhood evolved from the colonial era to what it is today in response to major economic, political, cultural, and environmental shifts. This tour will reflect on how this neighborhood has adapted—and continues to adapt to— the increasing effects of climate change. We will also commemorate the stories of the many generations of Newporters who lived here.

Wed
07

Merit Badge Watercolor Workshop with Downtown Designs

October 7 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

Join us for watercolor class where we will use for inspiration the original Merit Badge given to soldiers for excellent service during the American Revolution that Cato Vernon may have received .All levels. Beginner friendly.

Sat
10

Sewing Circles with Bob Dilworth

October 10 @ 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

Join artist Bob Dilworth in assembling a community textile dedicated to Cato Vernon. Using fabric printed with photos created by Lead Artist Dominique Sindayiganza that trace Cato’s footsteps, the piece will develop throughout the 7-week residency with Bob leading workshops on four Saturdays in October.

Wed
14

Freedom Singing Circle with Kelly Robertson

October 14 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

In this special singing circle, we will sing songs from the American Revolution in honor of folks like Cato Vernon, who fought for personal and communal liberty.

Thu
15

Keeping Rough Point Above Water: Restoring Rough Point & Doris Duke’s Preservation Legacy

October 15 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Rough Point Museum

680 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840 United States

This tour will give you a look inside the ongoing restoration project at Rough Point—including spaces like the East Wing that are currently not open to the public. Learn about NRF’s preservation plan for Doris Duke’s 130+ year-old Newport home and how this work is part of our greater stewardship of the more than 80 historic sites in our care.

Sat
17

Sewing Circles with Bob Dilworth

October 17 @ 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

Join artist Bob Dilworth in assembling a community textile dedicated to Cato Vernon. Using fabric printed with photos created by Lead Artist Dominique Sindayiganza that trace Cato’s footsteps, the piece will develop throughout the 7-week residency with Bob leading workshops on four Saturdays in October.

Sat
17

Rough Point After Dark: Spirit Edition

October 17 @ 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm

Rough Point Museum

680 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840 United States

Join us for a Rough Point: After Dark spirit-filled edition! No tricks here—just sweet treats and autumnal- inspired spirits while you explore the museum after dark. Please note: This event is for guests 21 years and older.

Sun
18

Was Freedom Sweet? The Travels of Arthur Bowler, Black Loyalist: a Book Talk with Jane Lancaster

October 18 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

This book talk from author and historian Jan Lancaster will share the story of Arthur Bowler, an enslaved African, who lived in the house later called the Vernon House for at least a decade — before Cato Vernon’s time. She’ll discuss the clues available about his life in Newport, and his subsequent life in Portsmouth, New York, Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone. As a so-called Black Loyalist his life followed a very different trajectory from that of Cato Vernon.

Sun
18

Book Event: The Forest Year by Ethan Tapper

October 18 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Rough Point Museum

680 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840 United States

In partnership with our friends at Charter Books, join us for an event with author In partnership with our friends at Charter Books, join us for an event with author Ethan Tapper. Tapper will discuss his new book, The Forest Year; a meditative and lyrical ode to the land, weaving complex scientific and ecological concepts with beautiful narrative prose, making nuanced ideas easy to understand and deeply resonant. Both place-based and practice-driven, Tapper writes not as an armchair philosopher or an academic, but as a working forester and ecologist stewarding real forests in real time, blending emotional insight with ecological rigor.

Wed
21

Keeping History Above Water: Looking Back, Moving Forward

October 21 @ 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Bazarsky Lecture Hall

36 Ochre Point Ave
Newport, 02840 United States

Keeping History Above Water returns to Newport! Join us for a symposium exploring a decade of successes and lessons learned, cultivating a community of practitioners, and inspiring action for pragmatic solutions for cultural heritage resiliency in the wake of climate change.

Wed
21

Merit Badge Watercolor Workshop with Downtown Designs

October 21 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

Join us for watercolor class where we will use for inspiration the original Merit Badge given to soldiers for excellent service during the American Revolution that Cato Vernon may have received .All levels. Beginner friendly.

Thu
22

Artist Talk with Lois Harada

October 22 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

Join Lois Harada for an artist talk about her practice, recent projects and her work on encouraging a name change for the RI holiday Victory Day.

Sat
24

Sewing Circles with Bob Dilworth

October 24 @ 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

Join artist Bob Dilworth in assembling a community textile dedicated to Cato Vernon. Using fabric printed with photos created by Lead Artist Dominique Sindayiganza that trace Cato’s footsteps, the piece will develop throughout the 7-week residency with Bob leading workshops on four Saturdays in October.

Sun
25

Words in Motion Printmaking Workshop with Lois Harada

October 25 @ 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

Join artist Lois Harada for a drop-in hands-on workshop featuring moveable, wood type and a printing press. Participants will set a word using antique letters, add ink in their favorite color, then make a unique print. No experience necessary and appropriate for children with adult help.

Thu
29

Welcome Home: Exhibition and Artist Talk with Eric E. Sung

October 29 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

Created as part of a larger body of work titled Welcome Home, this series contributes to an ongoing exploration of the carceral experience in the United States. The broader project includes contemporary portraits and personal narratives of individuals impacted by incarceration today, situating these historical artifacts within a continuum of justice system experiences across time, which will be introduced at the artist talk.

Sat
31

Sewing Circles with Bob Dilworth

October 31 @ 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

Join artist Bob Dilworth in assembling a community textile dedicated to Cato Vernon. Using fabric printed with photos created by Lead Artist Dominique Sindayiganza that trace Cato’s footsteps, the piece will develop throughout the 7-week residency with Bob leading workshops on four Saturdays in October.

November 2026

Sun
01

Community Reading of Mo Holmes’ play WINGS// WATERMELON

November 1 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

Cato Vernon's struggle for freedom reverberates throughout history. At this community reading, you and your neighbors will pick up a script and join the 1500, a group of sharecroppers and tenant farmers from the bootheel of Missouri, as they camp out on the highway to protest the failings of the president’s New Deal. Based on historical and familiar events from peoples who take to the road. Discussion to follow.

Thu
05

From Revolution to Reclamation, Indigenous Perspectives of Sovereignty, Independence, and the American Revolution: a Talk with Chrystal Mars Baker of the Tomaquag Museum

November 5 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

Though many people know that African heritage people served in the American Revolutionary War, we sometimes overlook the Narragansett and Wampanoag people who fought. In this presentation from Chrystal Mars Baker of the Tomaquag Museum we’ll learn more about their crucial contributions and the long history of Indigenous service.

Tue
10

Strangers in a Strange Land: a Talk on the Free African Union movement by Keith Stokes

November 10 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

Held on the anniversary of its founding, this talk given by RI State Historian Laureate Keith Stokes will interpret the evolution of the Free African Union movement during the American Revolution era, showcasing the profound influence of the African Diaspora on the advancement of Black identity in early America.

Fri
13

Reflections on Soul Value and Research-to-Performance Method Writing: a Conversation with April Brown and Jessica Pearson

November 13 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

680 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840 United States

Soul Value is an interdisciplinary, duet performance project created by April H. Brown and Jessica T. Pearson which brings to life the stories of New England Black women—Elleanor Eldridge, Elizabeth Freeman, and Margaret Kinnicutt—and the men of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment during and after the American Revolutionary War. Through a compelling blend of monologue, dance, ritual, and song, Soul Value illuminates the often-overlooked contributions of Black and Indigenous people in New England history, centering their advocacy, resilience, and determination to survive and thrive. The work invites audiences to engage with a more complete and inclusive understanding of the American story while creating meaningful connections between the past and the present.

Sun
15

Finding Cato Vernon in Photography Artist Talk with Dominique Sindayiganza

November 15 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

While creating the Cato Vernon Freedom Library, Lead Artist and Photographer Dominique Sindayiganza visited sites in Rhode Island where Cato Vernon may have been. As he photographed these places which are now often manicured, leisurely, and serene, he wondered what Cato’s view would have been — did this tree see Cato when it was an acorn? Does the mitochondria still hold his memory? Despite the peace of these places today, Dominique imagined the battlefields, enslavement, imprisonment, and war that Cato would have seen. The more images he took, the more he felt Cato Vernon.

Wed
18

Freedom Singing Circle with Kelly Robertson

November 18 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

The Vernon House

46 Clarke Street
Newport, RI 02840 United States

In this special singing circle, we will sing songs from the American Revolution in honor of folks like Cato Vernon, who fought for personal and communal liberty.

Thu
19

Beyond Fortune: Doris Duke’s Legacy of Philanthropy

November 19 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Rough Point Museum

680 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840 United States

This tour will give you a look inside the ongoing restoration project at Rough Point—including spaces like the East Wing that are currently not open to the public. Learn about NRF’s preservation plan for Doris Duke’s 130+ year-old Newport home and how this work is part of our greater stewardship of the more than 80 historic sites in our care.