Sun Rise Scoops

Songs of the Decades

The Marian J. Mohr Memorial Library, located at 1 Memorial Ave. in Johnston, will host “Songs of the Decades” in the weeks ahead.

Travel through time with music, videos and conversation with authors Lloyd Kaplan and Tom Shaker. In this series, the entertaining presenters will discuss changes in society and how they influenced popular music of the times, and how music in turn influenced society.

The program will be held on Oct. 12 featuring the ’30s, Oct. 26 featuring the ’40s, and Nov. 2 featuring the ’50s.
Each program begins at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call (401) 231-4980 and ask to speak with Jon.

Charlie’s Ghost Party

The Cranston Historical Society will host its annual Charlie’s Ghost Party on Friday, Oct. 29, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Sprague Mansion, located at 1352 Cranston St. in Cranston.

Featured will be Jared the Magician and Mentalist, who will provide an all-new show! Card readers will be on hand. Roam the spooky mansion rooms if you dare! A ghostly good time! Light refreshments will be served.

Call (401) 944-9226 to reserve your place or purchase tickets via cranstonhistoricalsociety.org.

Trunk or Treat

St. Robert’s Bellarmine will be holding a Trunk or Treat event on Saturday, Oct. 30, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the church, located at 1804 Atwood Ave. in Johnston. The public is invited to the event with free admission, food, music, games and crafts.

Prizes will be awarded for “Most Creative,” “Funniest Costume,” “Best Saint Costume” and “Best Decorated Trunk.”

If you would like to enter your decorated car, contact Dina Veiga at srbccd2020@gmail.com or Kathleen Rubino at krubino67@comcast.net by Oct. 27.

Bingo is back

Bingo games have returned to the Johnston Senior Center.

At 2 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, Johnston Senior Center members can try their luck on the Bingo cards again.

During the pandemic, the games had ceased, and were badly missed. Last week, a successful Dress-Down fundraiser resulted in free Del’s Lemonade for participants.

Johnston Senior Center updates

Things are once again in full swing at the Johnston Senior Center. The following is list of classes and activities held daily.

On Mondays, Walk away the Pounds, Aerobics & Boot Camp, Arts & Crafts and Hi Lo Jack.

It is Walk away the Pounds and Bocce on Tuesdays, and on Wednesdays it will be Bocce, Quilting, Zumba and Fit and Strong as well as Hi Lo Jack and Poker.

On Thursdays it is Walk away the Pounds, Bocce, Marg Jong, Yoga and Bingo, and on Fridays it is Line Dancing, Zumba and Bingo.

Co-ed volleyball

The Johnston Parks and Recreation Department is currently accepting registrations for the co-ed middle school volleyball program. It is open to Johnston residents currently in the sixth, seventh and eighth grade. The program will be held at the Johnston High School gymnasium. Participants will meet three times per week for four weeks. For more information, pricing and times/dates, please visit johnstonrec.com.

‘Boo and View’ at Garden City

Garden City Center will hold “Boo & View,” a family-friendly Halloween movie night, on Wednesday, Oct. 13, from 4 to 9 p.m. Tickets cost $10 per family. The event will include a double feature of Halloween classics, activities and fun for kids of all ages.

Join in starting at 4 p.m. for Halloween crafts at the Gazebo, games, snacks and fun family photo moments.

Once the sun sets at 6 p.m., they will start their first showing of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” (runtime 25 minutes), followed by a screening of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (runtime one hour and 16 minutes).

Visit Garden City Center’s Facebook page for more details and to sign up. Pre-registration is a must. The event is recommended for kids 12 and under. Families should bring chair or blanket for comfort to enjoy the show.

Outdoor ‘Hocus Pocus’ screening to benefit blanket drive

Cranston Cares and Emily’s Blanket Drive will present a “Movies in the Park” event on Sunday, Oct. 24, starting at 6 p.m. at the Atwood Avenue softball field in Cranston. The movie “Hocus Pocus” will be shown on the big screen. Admission is free, but attendees are asked to bring a blanket donation to help those in need.

Emily’s Blanket Drive is organized by Emily Sanita, who was inspired by a conversation with Shawn O’Rourke at the Providence Rescue Mission about the needs and struggles of the state’s homeless population. She collected over 200 blankets for those in need and she is continuing her mission with the goal to collect 1,000 blankets. Blankets can also be dropped off at The Thirsty Braver as of Oct. 3.

Confreda’s Fall Festival

The Fall Festival is back at Confreda Greenhouses & Farms, located at 2150 Scituate Ave. in Cranston.

This year’s festival theme is “Rhode Island Strong.” The activities include hayrides, the Corn MAiZE, the Animal Backyard and Pumpkin Patch.

For full information on the Fall Festival, visit confredasfallfest.com.

Saturday Drop-In Crafts at Mohr Library

This week, the Marian J. Mohr Memorial Library will resume Saturday hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Do some crafts in the library or take some home. The library is located at 1 Memorial Ave. in Johnston.

Community walk to fight hunger

A walk to call attention to food insecurity and raise funds for local pantries is being planned by a group of area churches, including Woodbury Union, Lakewood Baptist, St. Benedict, St. Kevin, and St. Mark’s. The walk will be held on Saturday, Oct. 16. An informational planning meeting will be held on Saturday, Aug. 28 at 10 a.m. at Woodbury Union Church at 58 Beach Ave. in Warwick. All interested community churches, organizations and individuals are invited to attend. Call (401) 737-8232 or email woodburychurchri@gmail.com for more information.

Registration opens for NAMI Family-to-Family course

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Rhode Island chapter will offer a Family-to-Family course beginning Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 6:30 p.m. This is a free and virtual eight-session educational program for family, significant others and friends of people with mental health conditions. It is a designated evidenced-based program. Research shows that the program significantly improves the coping and problem-solving abilities of the people closest to a person with a mental health condition.

NAMI Family-to-Family is taught by trained family members who have personal family experience and includes presentations, discussions and interactive exercises.

For more information or to register for this evidence-based program, visit namirhodeisland.org, call (401) 331-3060 or email beth@namirhodeisland.org.

NAMI supports back-to-school wellness

As we head into a difficult back-to-school season, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) wants to share some new youth content that may be helpful to you, your families and loved ones.

NAMI has completely overhauled the Kids, Teens and Young Adults section on its website, nami.org/youth. There are sections written for caregivers of children and others written for teen and young adult audiences. Topics include when/how to ask for help and how to get it, what to do in crisis situations, how to talk about mental health, mental health and school, and so much more.

For more information on local resources, visit the Rhode Island chapter of NAMI online at namirhodeisland.org, call (401) 331-3060 or email info@namirhodeisland.org.

RI Dahlia Society

The Rhode Island Dahlia Society will once again be able to hold in-person meetings at the Cold Spring Community Center, on Beach Street in North Kingstown. The next meeting will be Sunday, Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. and all are welcome to attend. This month’s program will be “Labeling Dahlias, Digging Tubers, and Saving Seeds.” The topic includes labeling/identifying your flowers prior to digging, how to dig up the tubers, and saving seeds for propagation. Storage methods will be covered in November’s meeting. Please visit rhodeislanddahliasociety.org for more information.

Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness Meditation will be held at the Warwick Center for the Arts, 3259 Post Road in Warwick, on the first and third Mondays of each month. It is free and open to the public.

Their mindfulness meditation is led by Paulette Miller. The sessions offer a westernized, secular version of Vipassana, also known as insight, open-hearted, and analytic meditation. Sessions often include guided breathing meditation, movement meditation, loving-kindness meditation, and music meditation. The meditation exercises are guided and no experience is necessary.

For further information, visit warwickcfa.org or call (401) 737-0010.

Did you know?

As summer fades into fall, the days start getting shorter and there is less sunlight. This is a signal for the leaf to prepare for winter and to stop making chlorophyll. Once this happens, the green color starts to fade and the reds, oranges, and yellows become visible. (Source: Fall Fun Facts)

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