SEPTEMBER If you love calamari as much as the rest of Rhode Island ( it is our official state app , after all ), then you ’ ll feel right at home at the Calamari Festival . The Narragansett-based event also features contests , live music , food trucks , kids ’ activities and more . Narragansett , ricalamarifest . com

The Rhode Island Chinese Dragon Boat Races and Taiwan Day Festival is an extraordinary event that the whole family can enjoy . Watch as the beautiful fiberglass , Taiwanese-style boats race by on the Pawtucket River and then enjoy top-notch entertainment — including cultural performances , arts and crafts tables and a dumpling-eating contest — all under the festival ’ s giant tent . Pawtucket , dragon boatri . com

OCTOBER No Rhode Island autumn is complete without a visit to Roger Williams Park Zoo ’ s Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular . See thousands of intricately carved pumpkins ( from traditional to straight-up museumworthy ) as you meander through the

sprawling grounds past the sleeping animal inhabitants . Providence , rwpzoo . org

When the scent of pumpkin spice and autumn leaves start filling the air , Rhode Islanders know it ’ s time to head up north for the Scituate Art Festival . Here , you ’ ll find art in just about every form , from paintings and photography to ceramics and clothing . Scituate , scituateartfestival . org

NOVEMBER Created in 2006 , Newport Restaurant Week is a biannual ( spring and fall ) event where upwards of fifty — you guessed it — Newport restaurants offer patrons

generous discounts and promotions over the span of a week . With menus ranging from surf to turf , Mexican to Italian and elegant to comfort , the November iteration is a great excuse to get out of the house even as the days grow colder . Newport , discover newport . org , newport-restaurant-week

DECEMBER Take the whole family to join in on the fun and watch the holiday classic , A Christmas Carol , come to life at Trinity Repertory Company . The traditional story follows Ebenezer Scrooge ’ s journey from solitude to redemption through the ghosts of Christmas past , present and future , but each year the Trinity cast delivers a new take and twist on the time-honored tale . Providence , trinityrep . com

See the charm of a historic village transform into a winter wonderland under the brilliance of thousands of beautiful white lights at the Wickford Festival of Lights . Bring the whole family for holiday shopping , see Santa arrive at the town dock by boat and enjoy the tree lighting plus hayrides with Santa himself . Wickford , wickfordvillage . org ◆

GRAPHIC : GETTY IMAGES .