Gaspee Days

09/04/2026

🎶 A Rhode Island composition. An all-American sing-along. And a 250th anniversary worth celebrating.

There will be a special Rhode Island musical connection at Becoming the United States – A Patriotic Concert on September 12.

During its performance, the Rhode Island Wind Ensemble will perform composer Benjamin Nacar’s Rhode Island Independence March.

And Ben won’t just be listening from the audience. Between the Pawtuxet Rangers and Rhode Island Wind Ensemble performances, he’ll take to the keyboard to lead everyone at Pawtuxet Park in a 15-minute all-American community sing-along. 🎹🇺🇸

It’s all part of a free afternoon commemorating an often-overlooked anniversary: 250 years since the Continental Congress formally adopted “United States of America” as the country’s name on September 9, 1776.

Come hear the music — and be ready to add your own voice to the celebration!

🇺🇸 Becoming the United States – A Patriotic Concert
📅 Saturday, September 12
🕒 3:00–6:00 PM
📍 Pawtuxet Park, Warwick
🎟️ FREE Admission
☔ Rain date: September 13

Featuring West Bay Chorale, Pawtuxet Rangers, Rhode Island Wind Ensemble and Benjamin Nacar.

👉 RSVP and invite your friends:
https://www.facebook.com/events/2190149865237933/

Supported in part by the Rhode Island Semiquincentennial Commission (RI250). Rhode Island 250

09/02/2026

🎶🇺🇸 A PATRIOTIC AFTERNOON IN PAWTUXET PARK 🇺🇸🎶

What better way to celebrate 250 years of the United States of America than with an afternoon of music, history, and community?

Join the Gaspee Days Committee for Becoming the United States – A Patriotic Concert on Saturday, September 12, from 3–6 PM.

You'll hear performances from:

🎵 West Bay Chorale
🎺 Rhode Island Wind Ensemble
🇺🇸 Pawtuxet Rangers
🎤 Benjamin Nacar leading everyone in a sing-along of patriotic songs

📍 Pawtuxet Park, Warwick
🗓️ September 12, 2026
☔ Rain date: September 13

Parking note: There is no event parking at Pawtuxet Park, and street parking is very limited. Free shuttle service will run every 15 minutes from the Rhode Island Scottish Rite at 2115 Broad Street in Cranston from 1 PM until one hour after the concert.

Come sing. Come celebrate. Come be part of history. 🇺🇸

08/30/2026

Three years before Lexington, a crowd of Rhode Islanders rowed out in the dark and burned a Royal Navy ship down to the waterline. 🔥

HMS Gaspee was an eight gun schooner working Narragansett Bay under Lieutenant William Dudingston, stopping vessels and searching for smuggled goods with a thoroughness Rhode Island merchants found unbearable. On June 9, 1772 the Gaspee gave chase to the packet Hannah, and Hannah's captain Benjamin Lindsey deliberately ran her over the shallows off Namquit Point in Warwick. The Gaspee went hard aground and could not float free until the next high tide.

Word reached Providence that evening. Men gathered at Sabin's Tavern, and in the early hours of June 10 a party in eight longboats, with the merchant John Brown among the leaders, pulled down the bay with muffled oars. They swarmed the deck, fought the crew with handspikes, shot and wounded Dudingston, put every man ashore, and set the ship alight. When the fire reached her powder, people on the beach heard the explosions roll across the water.

The Crown convened a royal commission and offered a large reward. Not one person in Rhode Island would testify. The detail that the commission could have shipped colonists to England for trial did as much to pull the colonies together as the fire itself.

Namquit Point is called Gaspee Point today, and Warwick still marks the anniversary every June.

Did you learn about the Gaspee in school, or did the Boston Tea Party take all the oxygen where you grew up?

08/19/2026

🇺🇸 Did you know?

On September 9, 1776, the Second Continental Congress officially adopted a new name for the “United Colonies”:

The United States of America.

250 years later, we're celebrating.

Join us in Pawtuxet Park on September 12, 2026 for Becoming the United States – A Patriotic Concert, presented by the Gaspee Days Committee.

🎶 West Bay Chorale
🎺 Rhode Island Wind Ensemble
🇺🇸 Pawtuxet Rangers
🎤 Benjamin Nacar leading a patriotic sing-along

3:00–6:00 PM | Pawtuxet Park, Warwick

Bring your family, your friends, and your love of American history. Let's celebrate 250 years of the name that became a symbol of freedom and independence.

☔ Rain date: September 13
🚌 Free parking shuttle available every 15 minutes from the Rhode Island Scottish Rite, 2115 Broad Street, Cranston, beginning at 1 PM and continuing until one hour after the concert.

Supported in part by a grant from the Rhode Island Semiquincentennial Commission (RI250).

Save the date. 🇺🇸

08/19/2026

https://www.providencejournal.com/videos/news/2026/08/18/a-visit-to-the-henry-brown-memorial-clambake-in-warwick-ri/91334473007/?fbclid=IwVERDUATyj5ZwZG9mAWZkaWQWUMwYtgSqz4QXayTnsyUM2_t0-sMQJWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR7cxoZUqoj4iQmQaDXAu11F_h6cw-SeoEo_q9jRdk9EZWmEvZpAWeJZ1gRgbw_aem_kcLjyyOSmHTrZgNAivoe3g

The Gaspee Days Committee revived a beloved clambake tradition to honor America's 250th, and the legacy of late local historian Henry A.L. Brown.

08/19/2026

https://web.facebook.com/share/1DaPSKmJkm/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Warwick historian Henry A.L. Brown hosted the annual community clambake, and his sons are reviving the tradition. See link below ⬇️

📸 Antonia Noori Farzan

08/01/2026

Only 4 more days to get tickets for the Henry Brown Memorial Clambake to celebrate the 250th! No tickets will be sold at the door. Buy your ticket today!

Gaspee Days celebrates America's 250th with a Clambake Event at the Aspray Boathouse Saturday, August 15

07/30/2026

What says Rhode Island summer better than a waterfront clambake? 🦞🌊

Join us as Gaspee Days celebrates America's 250th with an unforgettable evening at the Aspray Boathouse.

Your ticket includes:
🦞 Choice of lobster, steak, chicken, or vegetarian entrée
🥣 New England clam chowder
🦪 Steamed clams
🎶 Live music
🍺 Cash bar
👕 Exclusive commemorative T-shirts available while supplies last

Good food. Great company. One incredible waterfront setting.

📅 Saturday, August 15 | 4:00–8:00 PM
🎟️ Reserve your tickets now: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gaspee-250th-henry-brown-memorial-clambake-tickets-1993544558439

Don't wait—tickets are limited!

Gaspee Days celebrates America's 250th with a Clambake Event at the Aspray Boathouse Saturday, August 15

07/23/2026

🇺🇸⚓️ Celebrate America's 250th with the Gaspee Days Committee at our Henry Brown Memorial Clambake!

Enjoy a traditional New England feast featuring your choice of lobster, steak, chicken, or a vegetarian entrée, plus clam chowder, steamed clams, live music, and a beautiful evening in historic Pawtuxet Village.

📅 Saturday, August 15
🕓 4:00–8:00 PM
📍 Aspray Boathouse, Warwick (2 East View St.)

Bring your family, invite your friends, and make this part of your summer fun.

🎟️ Tickets are limited! Purchase yours today through Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gaspee-250th-henry-brown-memorial-clambake-tickets-1993544558439

Children's meal tickets (ages 12 & under) are available with the purchase of an adult ticket. Parking details will be shared before the event.

Gaspee Days celebrates America's 250th with a Clambake Event at the Aspray Boathouse Saturday, August 15