Newport, Rhode Island is known as the “City by the Sea,” throughout the Ocean State’s glorious summer months, with endless seaside activities and events to entertain its countless visitors, from near and far.
As the seasons change, and we embark upon the Christmas festivities that we all hold dear in our hearts, the City by the Sea goes above and beyond to capture the jovial spirit of the holiday season.
Below are a few of the annual events that make Newport a popular and favorite holiday destination.
Check out the website below to discover “everything Christmas” that Newport has to offer.
https://www.discovernewport.org/blog/post/guide-to-the-holidays-in-newport/
54th Annual Christmas in Newport
A CITY-WIDE CELEBRATION FOSTERING THE HISTORIC TRADITIONS OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON
Founded in 1971, Christmas in Newport began as a two-week festival that celebrated the non-commercial traditions of the holiday season. Now in its 54th year, the annual program boasts multiple activities for nearly each day of the December calendar.
In a community collaboration among residents, businesses and the City of Newport, clear, bright, sparkling lights illuminate downtown, the scenic harbor and wharves, the restored colonials of the Point and Historic Hill sections, and the Victorian splendor of Bellevue Avenue.
The lights are meant to simulate candlelight and are the brainchild of Christmas in Newport founder, Ruth Myers, who wished to recapture the candlelit holidays of bygone days. With a volunteer base numbering 1500, the non-profit organization, Christmas in Newport, raises thousands of dollars for charity each year. In keeping with the true spirit of the season, any event listed in the annual program must be free of charge, or must benefit a non-profit institution or charity.
Just some of Newport’s holiday events are listed below. Browse all events by visiting:
https://www.discovernewport.org/event/holidays-at-the-newport-mansions/61352/
HOLIDAYS AT THE MANSIONS
Holidays at the Newport Mansions will be more spectacular than ever this year! Take the family to see the festive decorations this season at The Breakers, Marble House, The Elms, and Chateau-sur-Mer.
A great Newport tradition continues with Holidays at the Newport Mansions! There’s nothing like seeing these spectacular Gilded Age houses in all their festive finery, glittering with gold, and sparkling with silver. Throughout each house, ornately decorated Christmas trees, garlands, wreaths, and fresh floral arrangements are designed to complement the décor or theme of each room. As always, the 15-foot-tall poinsettia tree in the Great Hall of The Breakers – made up of 150 poinsettia plants – will provide a perfect holiday photo opportunity. New this year, the Music Room of The Breakers will host a vignette of mannequins elegantly dressed in Gilded Age fashions.
Sparkling Lights at The Breakers
Various evenings, Friday, November 22 – Sunday, December 29, 2024
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
The Breakers
44 Ochre Point Avenue
Newport, RI 02840
Now in its 5th season, Sparkling Lights at The Breakers brings the magic of the holidays inside and outside this landmark Gilded Age mansion!
You’ll stroll along a half-mile-long path glittering with hundreds of thousands of holiday lights while music fills the winter air. See illuminated displays and sparkling surprises along the way. Tour the opulent interior of The Breakers decorated in holiday splendor. Enjoy holiday treats and adult beverages for purchase at the back terrace and The Breakers Welcome Center.
Please note before purchasing tickets: Sparkling Lights tickets are non-refundable and the date and time cannot be changed.
Christmas at Blithewold
Through January 1, 2025, Wednesday – Sunday
Blithewold Manor, Gardens & Arboretum
101 Ferry Road
Bristol, RI 2809
(401) 253-2707
CHRISTMAS AT BLITHEWOLD PAST
Each year in late December, the Van Wickle/McKee family would return to Blithewold to celebrate Christmas and the New Year. The household staff would arrive days before the family to ready the house for all the holiday celebrations. The head gardener and caretaker would gather evergreen boughs and cut down a tall tree from the property. The housekeeper and maids would decorate the tree in the entrance and the mantles in each room with the greenery, ensuring that their visitors would be welcomed into a warm house filled with the fragrance of Christmas.
This Year’s Theme:
“The Early Years: The Bristol Community and Blithewold, 1896–1914.”
Rooms in the Manor will focus on the Bristol residents who visited, worked with, and participated in activities with the Blithewold family.
The “big tree” will celebrate Bristol’s Fourth of July parade, and the picnic that the family hosted after the parade on the Great Lawn. The living and telephone rooms will feature Bristolians who came to call, with photos of their homes, and the original guest book. The billiard and dining rooms will highlight the Herreshoffs’ friendship with the family, centering around the steam yacht, Marjorie, their sailboats, and the America’s Cup race. The second floor rooms will feature the gentlemen’s golf and tennis activities, as well as early gardening activities with John DeWolf and, later, the Bristol Garden Club.
Everywhere you look, you’ll be filled with the joy of the holiday season, past and present.
Bring the family to join in, and make it part of your family’s annual Christmas traditions, at this year’s Christmas at Blithewold.
