Guide to Gaspee Days Weekend 2016: Parade, 5K Race, Encampment, Music, More

This weekend marks the 51st Gaspee Days celebration in Pawtuxet Village, which straddles a river with one foot each in Cranston and Warwick and pays homage to one of the earliest acts of rebellion in colonial times.   

Organizers of the three-day event, which includes a parade, fireworks, road race, and much, much more, are ready.

Are you?

Gaspee Days is a celebration about the spark that ignited the American Revolution and the fiercely independent spirit that defines the American psyche. It is also increasingly being appreciated as the true spark that lit the American Revolution, not the Boston Tea Party.

Follow Gaspee Days on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Follow Gaspee Days on Twitter by clicking HERE.

This year's Grand Marshal is none other than "Rhode Island's Anchorman" Gene Valecenti, who starts the day hosting a morning radio talk show on WPRO before switching from a microphone to a TV camera at NBC10. 

Here's a breakdown of the main weekend events:

Saturday, June 11

Road Race: At 9:45 a.m., the Allan and Edna Brown 5K Gaspee Days Road Race kicks off. It's s popular and widely-participated race through the area along Broad Street in Cranston to Narragansett Parkway in Warwick and rerun. For details, click here.

Parade: At 10 a.m., the much-anticipated Gaspee Days Parade begins. The parade features Colonial fife and drum corps, Civil War era units, modern drum and bugle corps, community groups and much more.

Warwick Symphony Orchestra in the Park: Celebrating our annual Gaspee Days festivities, there will be a Free Concert at Pawtuxet Park, 2 East View St, Warwick RI Saturday June 4 at 7:00 p.m. (rain date Sun. June 5).  Music actually begins at 5 p.m. with a "junkfood buffet" of favorite tunes by members of the Warwick Symphony Orchestra.

Sunday, June 12

Sunday in the Park: Enjoy food, music, dancing and family activities in Pawtuxet Park off Narragansett Parkway. Picnics are welcome. Bring your own food or eat from a vendor. 

Blessing of the fleet: Boats are blessed at Rhode Island Yacht Club to participate in a parade of boats. 

Burning of the Gaspee: At 4 p.m., the symbolic end of Gaspee Days festivities occurs with the burning of the Gaspee, the ship that sparked the American Revolution. 

For a history of the Gaspee Affair, check out Dan Neal's piece here.

All weekend: 

Colonial encampment : Hosted by the Pawtuxet Rangers, RIM, the encampment gives visitors a feel for colonial military life. It runs all day Saturday through Sunday morning in Pawtuxet Park.

Directions:

From the south: From Interstate 95 northbound, take exit 14 (Route 37, Warwick) to Post Road (Route 1A) North. Follow the road about 3 miles to Pawtuxet Village.
From the north: From Interstate 95 southbound, take Exit 16 (Route 12) to Park Avenue. Follow 1.2 miles straight through to Broad Street and turn right towards Pawtuxet Village.
From the west: From Interstate 295 take Route 37 East (Warwick) to Route 1A. Follow Post Road until reaching Pawtuxet Village.

More information is available at the Gaspee Days Committee website. Parking:

Parking is available in Warwick at the Pilgrim Senior Center, Pilgrim High School and Wyman Elementary School.

In Cranston, free parking is available at the William Hall Library on Broad Street.

From the parade committee:

Suggestions for Parade Viewers:

• Since 1965, the Gaspee Days Committee has produced the very best community activities celebrating Rhode Island’s revolutionary heritage. The Gaspee Days Parade is ALWAYS on the second Saturday of June between the hours of 10 am and 1 pm.  Parade staging/line-up considerations, however, dictate that we close to traffic certain sections of the Parade route by 9 am.  As you know, traffic jams are a nightmare at these times.  If you have guests coming to watch the Parade, or for any other reason, please have them arrive well ahead of time, say by 8 am. Of course, no one may leave until the Parade has fully passed.
• The Gaspee Days Parade consists of 10 to 12 Divisions:
  • Division 1-State of Rhode Island
  • Division 2-Pawtuxet Village
  • Division 3-Colonial & Revolutionary War Groups 1
  • Division 4-Colonial & Revolutionary War Groups 2
  • Division 5-Colonial & Revolutionary War Groups 3
  • Division 6-Colonial, Revolutionary, 1812, & Civil War Groups
  • Division 7-Shriners & Associated Groups
  • Division 8-City of Warwick
  • Division 9-City of Cranston
  • Division 10-City of Providence
  • Division 11-Modern Groups
  • Division 12-Modern Groups, including the Mummers Groups
• Of course, the Parade is a complex and dynamic event, so we don’t know the exact order of march for all of these groups until just a few days beforehand.
• The Gaspee Days 5K Road Race has grown into a big event that immediately precedes the Parade, starting at 9:45.  This requires the full closure of the Parade route after  9:30 am.  Please do not cross the Parkway or in any way interfere with our runners.
• Please make the effort to control your children at all times.  We fear that children may run out into the Parkway and be injured by Parade vehicles.  Ensure that your kids understand that they must stay next to you at all times before, during, and after the Parade.  Lost children are always a potential problem in any crowded area.  If you have children with you, have a plan of what to do if you become separated from your child, and discuss this with them ahead of time. Uniformed policemen are stationed periodically along the Parade route for your assistance if necessary.
• To ease boredom prior to the Parade bring coloring books, games, or some other such time filler.  Be aware that some adults carry coolers and cigarettes at head level to a child.  Young skin is very sensitive to the sun, so carry along sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses. If you are supervising a child, please don’t drink alcohol.  Open containers of alcoholic beverages in public areas are illegal in both Warwick and Cranston.
• Please be considerate of our environment and take the trash left around you, home with you.
• Please do not throw objects at or into the path of our Parade participants.  Poppers can injure people if thrown into the face, and show disrespect to people who have traveled great distances to march in our Parade.  Silly string is outlawed by city ordinance, and can ruin expensive uniforms on marchers, and damage paint on vehicles. Firecrackers and sparklers are both dangerous and illegal.
• Our biggest concern is the safety of our Parade audience. Please no not approach, or allow your children to approach, into the Parade Route any where near a moving vehicle, float, or Parade group. Drivers of these vehicles often cannot see people nearby their float or vehicle.  Musical groups need to focus on their music and march and cannot always see people around them. Military re-enactment groups often carry dangerous equipment with them.
• Pets should be left at home.  Animals will get overexcited by the crowds and noise and may become a danger to others and themselves.
• Please do not allow persons on bicycles, skateboards, or roller blades onto the Parade route.  They are dangerous for both our Parade participants and the audience along the sides of the Parade route.
• If your house is situated along the Parade route, and it will be a hot and humid Parade day, we ask that you consider running a garden hose out to the Parkway for the use of overheated people.  Limit abuse of the hose by opening the tap so that only a slow stream of water comes out.  Even a small trickle of cold water can rapidly cool down an overheated person.
• If you encounter persons suffering heat related illness, please offer the brief use of an air-conditioned car if you have one parked in your driveway.  This is one of the quickest ways to cool down a person with heat illness.  Of course, you may have to run the car with the A/C on for a few minutes before putting the person in to cool down.  This time can be used to assess the person, offer them cold water to drink, and have the hose water cool them off.  Further information on treating heat related illness can be found at:           http://www.dea.ri.gov/documents/2011%20Heat_Wave_Safety_Tips.pdf
• Of course, it may be necessary to call 911 if there is a true medical emergency.  Inform the 911 dispatcher about the Parade and that it may be best for the rescue vehicle to approach via the side roads.
• If your house in located along the Parade staging/line-up area on Narragansett Parkway between Warwick Avenue and Spring Green, you will of course not be able to drive your vehicle directly to or from your house between 9 am and 12 pm on the day of the Parade.  Please inform us ahead of time at 781-1772 if diesel fumes from some Parade vehicles parked outside your house would seriously affect any members of your household. For people that park nearby the Parade route, please understand that you will not be able to drive out of the area via Narragansett Parkway or Broad Street until well after the end of Parade has passed.
• The Gaspee Days Arts & Crafts Festival has also grown over the years.  This will always be on Memorial Day Weekend, requiring the closure of Narragansett Parkway between Post Road and Canonchet Street between the hours of 9 am to 5 pm each day.  Please forewarn your visitors of the steep fines ($50) for parking illegally.  Again, help us keep a safe environment by preventing children from using bicycles, skateboard, or roller blades in the Festival area.
• Be aware that attendance at any Gaspee Days event may involve incidental photography of  attendees, performers, and participants.
• The Gaspee Days Committee sincerely appreciates your patience with the festivities throughout the years.  No Parade runs smoothly without the combination of a lot of planning, dedication, hard work, and luck.  So laugh with us, join in the fun, and help us relive America’s ‘First Blow for Freedom’TM.