Although it’s the smallest state by area, Rhode Island has much to boast about. The Ocean State has several unusual, striking spots to visit, such as the Newport Mansions or OceanCliff Resort. It also features many unique cultural offerings, like the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the Culinary Museum at Johnson & Wales.
In addition to providing things to see and do, many venues throughout the state are available for private events. Following are eight great spots where you can book a program and dazzle guests.
Newport Mansions, Newport
www.newportmansions.org
Stately mansions are icons of Newport, and five are ideal for group events.
Designed over 100 years ago, Rosecliff is the most frequently used.
“You can seat 250 in the ballroom or have 30 guests in the dining room,” says Ivan Colon, corporate sales manager for the Newport Mansions. “It’s wonderful for a Great Gatsby-themed party [the film version of that story was shot at Rosecliff.]”
The Chinese Tea House and the Marble House can be used together or separately. The Chinese Tea House can host 30 to 50 people for a meeting or event, which can be combined with a guided tour. The Marble House sits on a cliff overlooking the ocean and was built between 1888 and 1892 for Mr. and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt. Years later, Mrs. Vanderbilt had the Tea House constructed and used it for rallies for women’s right to vote.
There’s also the Elms, where period furniture is being added, and for smaller events or smaller budgets, the Osgood House is an automatic choice. The space is a bit more economical than the other mansions because it’s not a museum setting. It includes a conference room that can support big audiovisual needs and a boardroom for 20 people.
However, no program at the mansions has to break the bank, according to Colon.
“You don’t need a huge budget; events with us can be affordable,” he says.
OceanCliff and Schooner Aurora, Newport
www.newportexperience.com
Packaged together as “the Newport Experience,” these two venues promise exactly that.
Corporate clients of OceanCliff can get exclusive access to the mansion. The mansion features 25 guest rooms, and the meeting space offers panoramic water views, including a private patio and rolling lawn.
“The North Lawn is the perfect setting to host an afternoon activity such as croquet or finish the day watching the sunset,” says Jennifer Hanson, sales manager at the venue.
To complete the Newport experience, the company offers sailing aboard its 101-foot Schooner Aurora and an authentic New England clam boil at Regatta Place.
International Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport
www.tennisfame.com
Built in 1880 as a private club, today the International Tennis Hall of Fame showcases tennis memorabilia and chronicles the sport’s history. The six-acre complex boasts numerous courts and a 295-seat theater.
In the summer, the Horseshoe Piazza and the outdoor, covered porch—surrounded by grass lawns—can seat up to 200 for a dinner or host 300 for cocktails. For an event on the Horseshoe Piazza, the hall can provide cocktails and set up croquet courts. Venue officials also can arrange for players in period costumes to play an exhibition match of “Old Fashion Tennis.”
Throughout the year, the indoor space, the USTA wing and the porch can host up to 150 people for a seated dinner or 220 guests for cocktails. Scavenger hunts or Wii Tennis can be arranged for team building.
“We offer many options for creating a unique event,” says Charles P. Kehres, director of private events at the facility. “You can have a meeting inside overlooking the grass tennis courts, team-building outside with cocktails and croquet, or host guests for beer and wine in the galleries before a seated dinner. You could even do all three.”
Fort Adams State Park, Newport
www.fortadams.org
Over 150 years old, the fort at Fort Adams State Park is rich with history. Officials at the facility call the historical landmark “Newport’s gem.”
“The interior of the fort is surrounded by unique and interesting architecture—you don’t need to be a history buff to appreciate its massive size and interesting architecture,” says Laurie Labrecque, director of special events at the park. “And the location is terrific. We are at the entrance to Narragansett Bay.”
Inside the fort’s walls, the 6.5-acre Parade Field can host up to 5,000 people. Tenting is required. It can be used for meals, receptions, team-building activities with an obstacle course or even lawn games such as croquet, volleyball and Frisbee. The North Lawn, outside the walls of the fort, can accommodate over 600 people for a meal or reception. It also can be used for lawn games and must be tented.
Traditional New England clambakes are also available at the fort. The dining room in the barracks space is unique. It can accommodate approximately 42 people for a meeting or meal.
Culinary Arts Museum at Johnson & Wales University, Providence
www.culinary.org
Both permanent and temporary galleries showcasing food history are spread over 25,000 square feet at the Culinary Arts Museum at Johnson & Wales University.
Groups can meet in the Diner, an exhibit set to appear just like a 1950s soda fountain. It can host 40 people seated or 60 people a standing reception.
The museum’s theater, a multipurpose space, can be set various ways as it doesn’t offer fixed seating. It can host 120 guests for a seated function, 160 people theater style or about 200 attendees for a standing reception.
For the larger receptions, the best option is to rent the entire museum, says Kristin Puleo, event and program coordinator at the museum.
“It’s completely different than having a meeting in a hotel ballroom, and it gives people something to do during a meeting break besides going to the bathroom,” she says.
Among the unusual features, the museum’s Country Fair exhibit has a skeeball machine that attendees can use.
Using the space for a meal is a nice idea as well, as it comes with a unique perk: The catering is done by Johnson & Wales’ culinary students.
DeWolf Tavern, Bristol
www.dewolftavern.com
Located on the Thames Street Landing waterfront, DeWolf Tavern is situated in a former maritime warehouse that was originally built in 1818. The American restaurant with an Indian slant to its menu is an atmospheric spot for events. The function room, which can host 120 people for a seated affair or 150 guests for cocktails, has original beams, stonework and wood floors. There’s also a tented deck available for groups that can host 150 guests for a standing reception.
The tavern sits adjacent to the Bristol Harbor Inn, a 40-room hotel featuring 4,500 square feet of meeting space and surroundings that include a high-end shopping area.
Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art (RISD), Providence
www.risdmuseum.org
A mecca for art and design students, RISD includes a museum that showcases over 86,000 works of art. Using that as a backdrop, the RISD Museum of Art offers corporate partners a unique reception setting for events and meetings, according to Pam Kimel, manager of special events at the facility. Space rental is available only to those who make a contribution of $1,000 to $5,000 to the museum.
“Spaces include the spacious Rafael Moneo-designed Chace Center lobby, and the museum’s soaring Grand Gallery—featuring a beautiful backdrop of 17th and 18th century European paintings,” she says.
The Grand Gallery can hold up to 250 guests for cocktails, and various museum galleries can be open for viewing in conjunction with this space.
For smaller events, the Danforth room is available for daytime meetings of up to 20 people, and the Porcelain gallery is available for evening receptions of up to 50 attendees.
Museum staff also can arrange tours of the RISD Museum for meeting attendees or spouse programs.
Roger Williams Park Botanical Center, Providence
www.providenceri.com/botanical-center
Roger Williams Botanical Center’s conservatory and greenhouses encompass approximately 12,000 square feet of gardens, with ceilings reaching 35 feet. The setting also includes two meeting spaces, the conservatory and the Mediterranean room. The 6,000-square-foot conservatory is used for ceremonies and cocktail hours.
“It consists of two fountains and an array of exotic plants from all over the world,” says Heather Manning, facilities coordinator for the city of Providence. “You can extend your cocktail hour to the outside perennial gardens, which has a unique rock water feature.”
As guests walk into the Mediterranean room, they will pass a display of various types of orchids. Visitors will see two koi ponds, a bog garden with various plants and cacti. It also includes a begonia garden and an underground linear pool. The Mediterranean room is used for dinner and dancing for 120 people or sit-down dinners of up to 150. The entire Botanical Center can hold a cocktail reception of 350 people.
Also on the property is a 50-foot by 80-foot tent with a view of Roosevelt Lake, the Botanical Center and a maze of roses. The event tent can accommodate 250 people for dinner and dancing.
