Newport earned its reputation as a summer playground back in the Gilded Age, and it still endures. Beaches, historic mansions, the Cliff Walk, and a vibrant waterfront rich with shops and restaurants make Newport a perfect summer destination. But winter has its allure, too. The long-running Newport Winter Festival, from Feb. 15-24 this year, is a good reason to visit during the offseason, and to check out a few other worthwhile spots. The mansions may be Newport’s best-known tourist attraction, but there’s a lot more to see in the City by the Sea.
The 31st annual Newport Winter Festival is touted as “New England’s Largest Winter Extravaganza,’’ and who would doubt it, with more than 150 events from ice sculpting demonstrations to a popular chili cook-off taking place at various locations around town. Many events are free and geared to all ages; entertainment, such as master illusionist Lyn Dillies and comic Nick Griffin, requires tickets.
A free event not to be missed is the two-day outdoor polo exhibition at Sachuest Beach (locally known as Second Beach) in Middletown, on Feb. 23 and 24 at 3 p.m. (weather permitting). Some 1,000 spectators of all ages are expected on the picturesque beach at low tide to watch this low-impact, eco-friendly event featuring experienced players from the Newport Polo Club riding thoroughbred polo horses. The exhibition is organized by Newport International Polo, established in 1876 as America’s first polo club. It hosts matches each Saturday from June to September at its spacious local grounds in Newport, drawing teams from around the world. There are plenty of people who’ve never seen a live polo match, let alone one on the beach. Here’s the chance to experience it with the added bonus of spectacular views.
The National Museum of American Illustration (NMAI), one of Newport’s hidden gems, offers discounted admission during the Winter Festival. Open on Fridays from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (with a guided tour at 3 p.m.), the museum is housed inside Vernon Court, considered by many one of the most beautiful mansions and occupying one full block on Newport’s historic Bellevue Avenue. Built in 1898 and modeled on an early-18th-century French château, it was designed by John Merven Carrère and Thomas Hastings so that the first floor could be converted into an art museum similar to the Frick Collection in the Henry Clay Frick House in New York City.
Judy Goffman Cutler and Laurence S. Cutler founded the NMAI in 1998 to house their art collection from the “Golden Age of American Illustration,’’ (1895-1945) and the NMAI opened its doors to the public on July 4, 2000.
Currently, there is a fascinating exhibit, “American Illustration and the First World War,’’ that showcases some 50 original vintage propaganda posters created by the top American illustrators of the day. It opened over the summer to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the war’s end. The exhibit notes that President Wilson, trying to boost public support for the war, enlisted the help of his friend Charles Dana Gibson, America’s foremost illustrator at the time. Gibson reached out to his colleagues and encouraged them to volunteer their creativity to the war effort. Some 350 American artists including Howard Chandler Christy, Norman Rockwell, J.C. Leyendecker, and Jessie Wilcox Smith created posters and advertisements designed to influence public sentiment, increase enlistment, and raise funds. Combining artistic skill with powerful adverting messages, the posters are stunning representations of propaganda as patriotism.
Christy is represented by two original recruitment posters featuring his trademark “Christy girl,’’ this time in vintage military garb, with the slogans, “Gee!! I wish I Were a Man, I’d Join the Navy’’ and “If You Want to Fight! Join the Marines.’’ Rockwell’s 1918 oil painting, reproduced as a Life Magazine cover, focuses on the home front. “Till the Boys Come Home’’ depicts four women on a hillside, looking distressed, one with her head buried in her hands.
Visitors from Massachusetts, and all over the world, have long been drawn to St. Mary’s Church in the heart of Newport. Built in 1848 for the oldest Roman Catholic parish in Rhode Island, St. Mary’s earned international renown as the location where Senator John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Lee Bouvier were married on Sept. 12, 1953, with Archbishop Richard Cushing (later Cardinal Cushing) of Boston performing the ceremony. During the three years of JFK’s presidency, he and the first lady attended Sunday Mass at St. Mary’s Church when they visited Newport. In 2008, the church, with its landmark steeple, was named to the National Register of Historical Places. The church is open 30 minutes before and 15 minutes after masses, which take place Saturday at 5:15 p.m.; Sunday at 8, 9:30, and 11 a.m.; and Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7:30 a.m.
One need not be a sports fan to be impressed by the International Tennis Hall of Fame Museum in Newport center. More than 1,900 artifacts of tennis history are on display throughout the redesigned exhibit galleries, offering an engaging, interactive experience. Visitors can also explore the 7 acres that make up the historic grounds of the Newport Casino — not a gambling hall but the complex, designed by Boston Public Library architect Charles McKim, that first opened on July 26, 1880 as a social club for Newport’s turn of the century summer elite and was the site of the earliest US Opens. Plenty of tennis is still played on new indoor courts and the 13 grass, six hard, and one clay court by club members and players from around the globe.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. every day during the Newport Winter Festival (it’s closed on Tuesdays otherwise). Admission is $15 for adults but it’s free to kids 16 and under.
Loren King can be reached at loren.king@comcast.net.
