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EVENTS:
THIS THURSDAY! Bringing Farmer's Markets to your Main Streets, Thursday 9/18, 12-1pm. Main Street RI Roundtable over Zoom. Free to Register
Block by Block: Rhode Island Film Series for Better, Healthier Cities,
Thursday 9/25, 5:30-8pm at 30 Exchange Terrace in Providence. Free to Register
Main Street Together Conference, Save the Date: Saturday, October 25th in Cranston's Rolfe Square.
MEDIA:
STIP Approved by the Council 19-1, with Grow Smart RI's Scott Wolf as the Sole Dissenter. Read our take on the meeting here, along with coverage from USA Today, Providence Journal, Boston Globe, RI Current and ecoRI News.
Walking to Connect, Discover and Feel Better -- the latest from Grow Smart RI columnist Lisa A. Watts who talks with AARP RI about how they're championing walking.
Main Street: A Power of Place Podcast: The latest episode features Devon Mello, Artistic Director at the Firehouse Theater in Newport. New episodes dropping every other Friday!
PARTNER NEWS AND PROGRAMS:
We're excited to be collaborating with several other mission aligned organizations here in Rhode Island. Be sure to catch all that they're up to at the bottom of this Newsletter. Have something to share for our next monthly edition? If so, email Caroline Stevens.
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MAIN STREET RI ROUNDTABLE THURSDAY:
BRINGING FARMERS MARKETS TO YOUR MAIN STREET
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Thursday Sept. 18, 2025, 12-1PM
Featuring: Thea Upham, Nutrition Incentive Projects Director for Farm Fresh RI
Online via Zoom (Free Registration here)
| | | This program is made possible with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS.) The contents do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS or the U.S. Government. | | | |
BLOCK BY BLOCK FILM SERIES Presents:
Better Cities Film Festival
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Sept. 25, 5:30-8pm
30 Exchange Terrace Theater, Providence
Our new BLOCK BY BLOCK film series, organized in partnership with Neighbors Welcome and Strong Towns Providence, features films aimed for Better and Healthier Cities. We’re excited to premier this series with a specially curated reel by the Better Cities Film Festival which presents the world’s most inspiring stories about making better cities, towns & neighborhoods.
Free Pizza and Drinks Provided. Discussion to Follow.
| | This program is made possible with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS.) The contents do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS or the U.S. Government. | | | |
SAVE THE DATE: Sat. October 25th
MAIN STREET TOGETHER CONFERENCE
| | REGISTRATION OPENING BY THIS FRIDAY! | | Co-Hosted by Main Street RI and the City of Cranston, RI | | | Thank You Kittelson Associates for Presenting at our 8/25 Active Transportation Workshop! | | | | Transportation: Shaping Better, Safer, Healthier Mobility Choices in Your Community | |
STIP Approved by the Council 19-1, with Grow Smart RI Scott Wolf as the Sole Dissenter
His opposition based on the STIP not beginning a meaningful shift in investments toward public transit, bike and ped prompts State Planning Council leaders to seek ways of accommodating change. Our take on the meeting can be found here, along with coverage from USA Today, Providence Journal, Boston Globe, RI Current and ecoRI News.
| | Through a Month of Celebrations and Trainings, AARP RI is Championing Walking for Transportation, Good health, and Community Connections | | |
Presenting the Latest From
MAIN STREET: A Power of Place Podcast
| | | | Our latest Main Street: A Power of Place Podcast episode features Devon Mello, Artistic Director at the Firehouse Theater in Newport, who chats about growing up near Broadway in Newport, and how small changes can make big impacts on Main Streets! Other recent episodes include Cindy Miranda from the Olneyville Neighborhood Association, and Charlie Wilson, owner of Chepachet’s Town Trader Antiques. | |
New episodes drop every other Friday. Listen on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify today!
| | Are You Signed up for Our Main Street News? If not, you're missing out. Read our recent edition of our monthly Main Street RI News and sign up for more! | | |
Let's Walk!
September and October launches a season of walking in Rhode Island as led through the programming of several Grow Smart RI partners. So grab that bottle of water and lace up those walking shoes and let's go!
Rhode Island Land Trust Days are happening now! RI Land Trusts protect special places that you can enjoy - from beaches, ponds, and rivers to forests, rolling fields and farms. These are the perfect places to get outdoors, relax and spend time in nature. Land Trust Days is a 2 month celebration of these places. There's dozens of walks to choose between such as:
Native Plant Walk & Talk with Aquidneck Island Land Trust, TOMORRROW, September 17, 5-6pm in Middletown.
Gansett Loop Trail Walk, September 20 @10:00am -12:00pm in Narragansett
Walk the PVD Crosstown Trail: A 13-Mile Urban Hike with the Providence Preservation Society, Saturday, September 27, 9am–12pm or 9am–3pm. REGISTER >
AARP RI's Walktober in Providence kicks off om October 8th with a “connection walk,” open to anyone, followed by a free talk by author and activist Jonathon Stalls, including a free book, book signing and reception. Stalls and America Walks board member Garrett Brumfield, a disability rights advocate, will discuss Stalls’ book, "Walk - Slow Down, Wake Up and Connect at 1-3 Miles Per Hour." Register for the 4 p.m. walk and 5 p.m. talk! Their interactive map will help you find and register for more fun Walktober events, including: October 9th's Broadway Walk/Roll Audit, Comedy Walk & Roll with Garrett Brumfield and Glow Stick Walk/Roll Dance Party.
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Festival of Modern Design
This year, Providence Preservation Society’s Festival of Historic Houses goes MODERN — and stretches to an entire week of programs that explore modernism in Providence in the period 1950 to 1990 between October 5 - 11, 2025.
Their signature open house event is on Saturday, October 11, which includes access to a dozen homes on the East Side designed by architects including Ira Rakatansky, Friedrich St Florian, Domenic Russillo, Barker & Turoff, and Lester Millman.
REGISTER >>
| | Have something to share for our next monthly edition? If so, email Caroline Stevens. | | |
RHODY LOVE NOTES:
a collective mapping project that builds community around beloved places and spaces hidden across Rhode Island.
| | a Rhody Love Note for you . . . | | |
TO: Wilcox Park
FROM: Bekah, Morgan and Milo
Dear Wilcox Park,
Oh to walk amongst your trees and gardens, what splendor! We are so lucky to have this park as a little green oasis in the middle of downtown. You're small enough to traverse with tots but big enough to carve out your very own spot to read or just take in the sunlight. A little jewel! Big love to you today and everyday.
Yours,
Bekah, Morgan and Milo
LOCATION: 44 Broad Street, Westerly RI
| | LOVE THIS? Share Your Love with Grow Smart RI by Making a Donation Today. | | | Grow Smart RI is proud to be collaborating with AARP all year long to advance smart growth in Rhode Island: | | |
Opt-In Notice. Yes, please share my information with AARP so it can keep me informed about AARP programs, events and offerings. I understand AARP will send me an initial email to confirm my interest in further AARP email communications and my email preferences can be changed at any time. AARP Privacy Policy
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Grow Smart RI is also made possible in part through the generosity of
Rhode Island Energy and Marjorie Lee Sundlun.
| | Grow Smart RI | www.GrowSmartRI.org | |
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