Around Newport County: newportFILM spring schedule, how to support kids, firearm safety
- The Newport Rifle Club has been providing free firearms safety training to area youth for over 35 years.
- The Newport Rhode Races Marathon will return on April 19th with a renewed focus on sustainability.
- The East Bay Community Action Program is seeking donations for its Backpack Feeding Program, which provides weekend meals to students in need.
- NewportFILM will host screenings of three documentaries in April, including one about a Ukrainian zoo during wartime.
Newport Rifle Club teaches firearms safety to youth
Youngsters in the Police Explorers Program participated in firearms safety and marksmanship training recently at Newport Rifle Club. Begun in 2015, the Police Explorers Program is open to girls and boys 14 to 20 statewide who are interested in law enforcement as a possible career.
The program is a nonscouting subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America. For information about the Police Explorers Program, email Newport Community Police Officer Nicholas St. Lawrence, nstlawrence@cityofnewport.com.
The Newport Rifle Club provided the firearms, ammunition, targets and one-on-one coaching by National Rifle Association certified instructors free of charge.
The club has offered Beginning Youth, a free firearms safety and marksmanship training program for area youngsters for more than 35 years. Girls and boys 8 to 18 are welcome to stop by the Newport Rifle Club the third Friday of every month beginning at 7 p.m., 360 Wyatt Road, Middletown, for free training from September through May.
newportFILM announces spring schedule
Celebrating its 15th Anniversary, newportFILM curates Sundance Official Selections and a Leonardo DiCaprio executive produced documentary about a small, heroic team saving animals in a Ukrainian zoo as part of its spring schedule.
Presenting Rhode Island premieres of new, critically acclaimed documentaries, newportFILM screens in partnership with venues and organizations throughout the state all year round. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit newportfilm.com.
SCHEDULE & DETAILS
Thursday, April 3, One to One: John & Yoko
The Greenwich Odeum, 59 Main St., East Greenwich, Doors 6 p.m., Film 7 p.m.
Tickets $15
Thursday, April 10, Checkpoint Zoo
Newport Classical Recital Hall, 42 Dearborn St., Newport, Doors 6 p.m., Film 7 p.m.
Tickets $15
Thursday, April 17, Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Casino Theatre, 9 Freebody St., Newport, Doors 6 p.m., Film 7 p.m.
Tickets $15
EBCAP seeks support for Backpack Feeding Program
The Backpack Feeding Program, which is managed by East Bay Community Action Program’s (EBCAP) Newport Family and Child Opportunity Zone (NFCOZ) at Pell Elementary School, provides a weekly bag of food for enrolled children on the weekend when food can be scarce for families.
The NFCOZ's mission, in partnership with schools, families and the community, is to support children and their families to thrive through the delivery of comprehensive and integrated education, health, and social services. The Backpack Feeding Program exists in partnership with the RI Community Food Bank (RICFB). Each week, the RICFB delivers pre-packaged food to Pell Elementary School for distribution. On Fridays, enrolled students receive enough healthy non-perishable meals, snacks, and nutritious beverages for them to have over two and a half days. The program serves 100-125 students during the school year.Like previous years, funds raised by EBCAP will benefit the Backpack Feeding Program. Beginning at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, April 1, online donations can be made at 401gives.org/organizations/east-bay-community-action-program.
Newport Rhode Races continues commitment to sustainability
The Newport Rhode Races Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K returns to the “City-by-the-Sea” on Apr. 19. Organizers continue their commitment to sustainability initiatives, partnering with 11th Hour Racing as the Sustainability Sponsor. Through this partnership, Rhode Races is able to institute a reusable cup program for the on-course aid station cups as well as enhancements. These include Boxed Water at the finish line which will eliminate single-use plastic water bottles, recycling of discarded clothing, and composting. Eastern RI Conservation District (ERICD) will be continuing as a charitable partner, and their volunteer “plogging” team will work towards ensuring no waste is left behind on the race course.
Epic Renewal will work alongside the Rhode Races team before, during and after race day. As a part of the engagement, Newport Rhode Races will feature zero waste stations, on-site composting and education for the 4500 participants to help them utilize the added sustainable features. Last year, they diverted 376 lbs. of organics from the landfill through composting and recycled 384 lbs. of waste.
The ERICD will deploy its teams of ploggers after the race to help collect waste that may have missed Epic Renewal’s efforts. Ploggers will walk and/or jog the race course, gathering not just race trash, but any roadside waste on their route. Last year they collected 212 lbs. throughout Newport and Middletown.
Due to these successful statistics, these measures will be replicated with the 2025 edition of the Providence Rhode Races on May 4th. The marathon begins at 7:30 a.m., followed by the half marathon at 7:45 a.m. and the 5K at 8:15 a.m. at Easton’s Beach. The marathon course is USATF certified and is a Boston Marathon Qualifier.
A post-race festival will follow the events, with food, beverages, and complimentary beer from Sam Adams for finishers over the age of 21. The festival will also feature music, vendors, a recovery zone, an award ceremony, and more.
The ERICD is still looking for volunteers for their plogging team. Learn more about this amazing organization at easternriconservation.org/earthmonth and be a part of their year-long sustainability efforts. You can also donate to their charity on the Newport Rhode Races page.
Touro Synagogue Foundation hosts talk
Touro Synagogue Foundation’s 2025 Judah Touro Program Series continues on Thursday, April 3, at 6:30 p.m. with a talk on Jews and race in early 20th-century America. Guest speaker Rabbi Dan Judson’s talk, "A Genuinely Candid Conversation: Jews & Race in Early 20th America," will be presented on Zoom. There is no fee to participate, but reservations are required to receive the Zoom login information. To reserve, please visit the “Programs & Events” page at TouroSynagogue.org, where you can also find recordings of past programs.
In his classic 1967 essay on Black anti-Semitism and Jewish racism, James Baldwin writes, “A genuinely candid confrontation between American Negroes and American Jews would certainly prove of inestimable value.” This lecture will provide background for that conversation by looking closely at how Jews understood themselves as a race and how they interacted with the African-American community in the early 20th century. While some of the texts to be explored will be inspiring, reading the "Yiddish Forward" on racism in the early 1900s, for example, some of the material will be less than ennobling as we attempt to understand the varied and complicated responses of the Jewish community to questions of race.
Rabbi Dan Judson is the Provost of Hebrew College in Newton, Massachusetts, and serves as a lecturer in Jewish history. He received his doctorate in Jewish history from Brandeis University. His book, "Pennies for Heaven: The History of American Synagogues and Money" (Brandeis University Press, 2018), was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. He is working on a book on American Zionist history, "When America Became Zionist: The Lodge-Fish Resolution of 1922."
For more information, write Meryle Cawley at Meryle@tourosynagogue.org or phone (401) 847-4794 ext. 207.