The Newport Jazz Festival is held in early August, at Fort Adams State Park. This music festival dates back to the 1950s, although it has moved around over the years, and was one of the earliest and most exciting jazz festivals in America for years. It is today a major event in the jazz circuit, and features new hotness, and classic masters.

The Newport Folk Festival is held in late July, at Fort Adams State Park, started in the early 1960s, originally to clash with the jazz festival, but now a week or two ahead. Today NFF still presents folk and folky music from around the country.

The Newport Music Festival is a classical music event, held steadily in mid-July since 1969. It is known for presenting young artists to American audiences.

The Ancient and Horribles Parade is a fun, weird, parade event in Chepachet, Glocester,RI, with parade floats, marching groups, with political satires and general fun. The Parade of Horribles is an old tradition. This village's parade happens on July 4, pretty much every year.

A more conventional Fourth of July Parade can be found in Bristol; the Bristol Fourth of July Festival is the oldest Independence Day celebration in the USA, dating to 1785. In addition to the parade, the town has public speeches, a drum and bugle corps performance, and other patriotic displays.

PRONK!, or Providence HONK!, is a HONK festival event held in the middle of October, and featuring a variety of marching bands, marching musicians, and similar. The bands range in size and style, but they're very enthusiastic and entertaining.

WaterFire is a lower key event in Providence featuring fire displays floating on water, generally one of the rivers. Vendors and businesses are available, but the main event is watching the fire flow by.

The Rhode Island International Film Festival or RIIFF showcases a variety of films from around the world. This is a major film event, with major and minor celebrities attending, and often with premiers. RIIFF has several sub-festivals, including the KidsEye International Film Festival, the RI International Horror Film Festival, the Vortex Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival, the Roving Eye International Film Festival, Cine Ole! (Spanish Film Series), the Providence Underground Film Festival, the Golden Jasmine Chinese Film Festival, the Annual Flickers' Japanese Film Festival, and the First Look Series. Some showings are in Newport, others in Providence.