The town of Narragansett’s Gansett Days and Gansett Fest events occurred on one day, instead of three, due to poor weather caused by Hurricane Ophelia.
Severe weather warnings forced the cancellation of events on Friday and Saturday. Organizers from the Chamber of Commerce, the Narragansett Lions Club and the Parks and Recreation department had to cancel the majority of their planned events for the weekend.
According to Kershaw, they began planning these events in early March.
According to the Narragansett Parks and Recreation Director Michelle Kershaw, Sunday was still a busy day despite the cancellations.
Some of the events planned for Friday were canceled, such as a live band and beer tent set up at Narragansett’s Veterans Park. Events planned for Saturday at Veterans Park, including the calamari fest and a live band, were also canceled. Various food trucks and vendors were canceled for Friday and Saturday.
Kershaw said Sunday’s activities included “Touch-A-Truck,” where trucks from different departments, like construction trucks and snow plows, were displayed at Gazebo Park in Narragansett. Young children and families were able to sit in the vehicles and take pictures. Gazebo Park also offered face-painting and bouncy houses.
One of the more popular events, according to Kershaw, were the free helicopter rides located at the North Tower of the Narragansett Town Beach. The Parks and Recreation department recorded about 116 flights that flew close to 350 people on Sunday.
On Sunday, there was a walking tour on Boone Street run by the Narragansett Historical Society. According to the Narragansett Chamber of Commerce Website, the tour featured historical buildings.
Kershaw said that Boone Street was the town’s train station during the 19th century, holding historical significance.
Along with the tour, a Barbershop quartet was featured on Boone Street from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.. Also during this time, there were 1890’s-themed field games located at LeRoy Thompson Memorial Park, written on the Chamber of Commerce website.
The events of Narragansett Days, sponsored by the Lion’s Club, and Narragansett Fest, sponsored by the Parks and Recreation department and the Chamber of Commerce, were combined for the first time into one weekend this year, according to Kershaw.
The event’s timelines were compressed because of complaints from residents.
“It’s clogging up the town,” said Kershaw. “So we thought, well, we’ll just do everything on that weekend, and see how it works.”
Due to safety concerns, especially in regards to tenting, events on Saturday and Friday were canceled. Tents were believed to possibly collapse due to high winds.
Other than the “Touch-A-Truck ” event being moved from Saturday to Sunday, none of the events planned for Friday or Saturday were able to occur.
Member of the Narragansett Lions Club 2023-2024 board of directors, Sue Wright, described the feeling of having to cancel these planned events.
“It’s disappointing,” Wright said. “But there’s not much we could do.”
Kershaw said contracts with bands and certain restaurant vendors are not easily rescheduled without a rain date. Restaurants run into staffing problems and bands are usually heavily booked.
The Lion’s Club planned to donate money from the canceled events to the Rhode Island Cancer in Children Fund, according to Wright. She said the Lion’s Club plans to plan more events that will, again, raise money towards childhood cancer.
Kershaw says these events are a last celebration of the summer weather in the town of Narragansett. The purpose of the events is to showcase the community resources Narragansett has to offer.
Kershaw said that, although these events were canceled due to the storm, there will be upcoming events for the holiday season put on around town.