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November 16, 2011:
Rhode Island Music Hall
of Fame Coming Soon (WPRI-TV) -
Inductees will be announced this
spring - Rhode Island is getting its own Music
Hall of Fame. The non-profit corporation will
honor the legacy of musicians, educators and
industry professionals who've made significant
contributions to the national and local music
scene. The Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket
donated space inside its Main St. building to
display awards and memorabilia.
More
October 25:
Woonsocket Patch - 5 Things You Need to Know Today - Hug Some Trees
with Largesse (Backyard Tour Nov. 5)
Nationally known arborist,
local celebrity and self-styled ‘voice of the forest,’ Matt “Twig”
Largesse of Jamestown will lead a daylong “expedition” of some of
Rhode Island’s most magnificent trees and Old Growth forests on
Saturday, Nov. 5, as part of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council’s
“Tour Your Own Backyard” excursion series.
More
September 8:
Providence Journal - Pawtucket's Super Sendoff
The event that put
Pawtucket on the cultural map, the annual Pawtucket Arts Festival,
is back this weekend with a swirl of live music, street painting,
dragon boats and enough food to fill McCoy Stadium. After a couple
of days of miscellaneous happenings, the three-week festival
officially gets under way Friday evening with a downtown gala
offering live music on the banks of the Blackstone, and an
all-you-can-eat blowout in the parking lot of the Blackstone Valley
Visitors Center on the corner of Roosevelt Avenue.
More
August 27: World
Fishing Network
Fishing in the Blackstone
River -
Love Your Lake - Blackstone River Project Video |
My Town - Woonsocket Video
August 10:
Providence Journal - Food Notes: Wright's Farm Honored as
Outstanding Dairy Farm of the Year
The Rhode Island Department
of Environmental Management has named Wright’s Dairy Farm of North
Smithfield as 2011 Outstanding Dairy Farm of the Year by the Rhode
Island Green Pastures Committee. The winning dairy farmers from each
New England state will be honored at an awards banquet in September
at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Mass. Wright’s
Dairy is a fifth-generation family farm; 10 immediate family members
are involved in the day-to-day operations.
More
August 7 - Rhode Island Could Get National Park Designation -
Providence Journal
Put Cumberland’s busy Mendon Road commercial strip in the rear-view
mirror, turn onto Store Hill Road and suddenly, at the bottom of a
hill, a small village of red-brick buildings emerges, quietly
existing as if outside of time. Walk along a footbridge over the
Blackstone River, whose waters used to offer only a bounty of
discarded tires, dumped cars and textile-factory chemical bubbles,
and in a space of feet you cross into Lincoln.
More
July 31, 2011 - Edward
Fitzpatrick: Creating a
new National Park in
Blackstone River Valley
- Providence Journal
As far
as I can tell, the
Blackstone River Valley
doesn’t contain a single
geyser, bighorn sheep or
giant sequoia. But it’s
still worth making parts
of the valley into a
national park. Now,
we’re not talking about
a national park like
Yosemite, Yellowstone or
Acadia. We’re talking
about a national
historical park such as
the New Bedford Whaling
National Historical Park
or the Adams National
Historical Park, in
Quincy, Mass., which
includes the birthplaces
of Presidents John Adams
and John Quincy Adams.
Most of the 45 national
historical parks aren’t
“parks” in the
traditional sense of
wide-open green spaces.
Rather, they’re urban
areas containing
historically significant
buildings.
More
July 28: Grab
and Go, Fun in the Sun
Citizens Bank free public
tours on the Blackstone River
More
July 26:
Woonsocket Patch - Kid-Friendly Fun: Adventure Packs And River's
Edge
Take advantage of time with
your kids and get out and enjoy these hot spots. Your Patch Passport
gives you options for great local spots for kid-friendly fun.
More
July 18: The
Times - RIPTA Unveils Trolley Hybrids
More
July 12, 2011:
RIPTA AND PAWTUCKET MAYOR DONALD R. GREBIEN HOST RIBBON CUTTING
CEREMONY TO CELEBRATE THE ARRIVAL OF ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY HYBRID
TROLLEYS
IN PAWTUCKET - Ceremony will be held on Thursday, July 14th at
9:00am
at the Blackstone Valley Visitors
Center The Rhode
Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) announced today that there
will be a celebratory ribbon cutting ceremony at the Blackstone
Valley Visitors Center, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket, Rhode Island at
9:00 am on Thursday, July 14, 2011. RIPTA, alongside City of
Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien and other city representatives,
will be celebrating the arrival of two new classic hybrid trolleys
in Pawtucket. The hybrid trolleys will service Route 73 (Fairlawn/CCRI)
and Route 80 (Armistice Blvd.). More
May 25, 2011:
Valley Breeze
Take a river tour aboard the Blackstone Valley Explorer
Come out to experience the
hidden heritage and natural wonders abounding along the Blackstone
River, as the 49 passenger riverboat Blackstone Valley Explorer
operates for the 2011 season
More
May 13, 2011 - Providence
Journal
Fun Things to Do this Weekend (May 14, 15) - Bike Tours
Take a slow ride through parts of the Blackstone Valley on the first
Behind the Scenes Leisurely Bicycle Tours, led by Blackstone Valley
Tourism Council head Bob Billington. A typical tour covers about 13
miles, takes three hours and includes stops at historic sites and
savory spots (think Portuguese pastries and Polish pierogi). Tours,
$20, begin this Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon, leaving from the
Blackstone Valley Visitor Center in Pawtucket. For reservations or
more info, call (401) 724-2200 or visit
cycleblackstone.com.
More
May 11,
2011 - Providence Journal
Slow Ride - Take it Easy with These Bicycle Tours (Providence
Journal)
Bob Billington’s bike tours don’t attract a lot of people in
Spandex. A typical tour covers about 13 miles, but it takes three
hours. “We do more talking than riding,” says Billington, executive
director of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council and leader of
Behind the Scenes Leisurely Bicycle Tours, scheduled to start
Saturday, May 14. Two rides a month are scheduled through Oct. 22.
More
May 11, 2011 -
Attleboro Sun Chronicle
Family Affair
Tour winds past 12 Rhode
Island locales made famous by irreverent, animated television show
Throughout Rhode Island, mention Seth MacFarlane or the hit TV show
"Family Guy," and there is likely to be some sort of connection.
Last Saturday, the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council hosted a
"Family Guy Tour" (one of seven the council conducted as part of its
"No Place Like Home" promotion), and brought about 30 fans of the
animated Fox hit to iconic spots mentioned or seen in the show.
Among them: Hasbro headquarters in Pawtucket, the big blue bug
(a.k.a. Nibbles Woodaway) above New England Pest Control along
Interstate 95, and Wes' Rib House, Spooner Street and Waterplace
Park in Providence.
More
April 6,
2011 -
Sun Chronicle - New England's Sistine Chapel
St. Ann Arts and Cultural Center boasts the largest fresco
collection in North America
Walk through the doors of the former St. Ann Church and
you might feel as though you've traveled through time and space.
More |
AAA Website
April 3,
2011 - Providence Journal
“Family Guy” tour among Blackstone
Valley’s spring bus tours of hidden R.I. gems
Bob Billington wants everyone to see the Blackstone Valley,
from Chepachet Farms in Glocester to the Museum of Work & Culture in
Woonsocket to McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket. Billington heads the
Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, which is sponsoring six different
bus tours this spring, plus one wild card –– a statewide tour
inspired by the animated TV show “Family Guy,” which is set in the
mythical town of Quahog, R.I. In years past, the Blackstone Valley
tours were part of a statewide effort called Tour RI, which started
eight years ago and included more than 20 tours, with participation
from tourism organizations in Providence, Warwick, Newport and South
County.
More
2011 RiverClassroom
Programs Aboard the Blackstone Valley Explorer Begin in May
City of Pawtucket Community Block
Grant Scholarships Available for all Pawtucket Schools
The Blackstone Valley Tourism
Council announces that reservations for the popular education
RiverClassroom programs aboard the Blackstone Valley Explorer are
now being accepted. Programs aboard the Explorer will begin in May.
More
March 3,
2011 - Boston Globe
Blackstone Valley plans St. Patrick’s Day
events
To many who know Rhode Island, it may seem its ethnicity is heavily
Italian; the 2000 US Census showed that 19 percent of the state’s
population boasts that lineage. But the state’s Irish ancestry is
even more evident: According to the Blackstone River Valley Tourism
Council, 23 percent of the state’s 1 million residents claims Irish
ancestry.
More
January 26, 2011 - The
Times
Cherry Tree
Running Festival invades Pawtucket on
May 21
It may not be the Running Capital of
Rhode Island, but Pawtucket is sure
going to seem that way in the coming
months. Just a couple of months after an
expected 3,000 participants invade the
historic city for the inaugural Irish 5K
on March 5, throngs of runners and
walkers are predicted to be back on the
downtown streets for another first-time
event, the Cherry Tree Running Festival
on May 21.
More
January
24, 2011 - Providence Journal
New Cherry Tree race series coming to
Pawtucket this spring
What started out as a modest 5K last year in Central Falls and
Pawtucket is expanding into a full race series. Event organizers
announced at a press conference this morning at the Blackstone
Valley Visitors Center that the Rhode Island Cherry Blossom Festival
will serve as the host of three races on May 21 - the Blackstone
Valley Half Marathon, the Cherry Tree 5K and the Cherry Blossom
Youth 1K.
More
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