All Events
Beneath The Breakers Tour
Daily
10 am & 2 pm
Explore the underground systems that made this great house a marvel of technology for its time.
Starting September 2, offered at 10 am only.
Third Floor Preservation in Progress Tour
Daily
12 pm & 2 pm
For the first time in the 129-year history of The Breakers, the private third-floor family space occupied by generations of Vanderbilts is open for public tours.
Starting November 3, offered at 12 pm only.
Servant Life Tour
Daily
10 am, 12 pm & 2 pm
See and hear how the other half lived. This tour will highlight the stories of some of the men and women who worked to service the social whirl of Newport during the Gilded Age.
Starting September 2, offered at 10 am & 2 pm.
Richard Morris Hunt:
In a New Light
May 30 – November 2, 2025
This exhibition examines the mind, ambition and legacy of America’s Dean of Architecture, who shaped Gilded Age America not only through the buildings he created – including The Breakers and Marble House – but also through his ideas.
Drop-In Art Making at the Mansions
June 28 – August 30, 2025
11:00am – 1:00pm
Offered every Saturday through August 30 at a different mansion each time. Stop by and get creative, and learn a little history, too! All ages and ability levels welcome.
Traveling Tuesdays & Thursdays in the Garden
July 8 – August 21, 2025
This summer’s Traveling Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Garden series provide families and children a fun and creative way to connect with the Preservation Society’s properties.
2025 Summer Lecture Series
July 9 – August 7, 2025
The Preservation Society's Summer Lecture Series celebrates "The Great Gatsby," "The Gilded Age," antiques collecting, conservation and research, and the great tradition of coaching. Individual lectures are listed below.
Members-Only Conservator’s Choice Lecture
July 21, 2025
6:00pm – 7:00pm
Learn about the preservation work and research taking place on The Breakers third floor from Chief Conservator Patricia Miller and Textile Conservator Heather Hodge.
Traveling Tuesdays: Be aMAZEd!
July 22, 2025
10:30am – 11:30am
Learn how a sod maze inspired by English country gardens came to be on the lawn at Chateau-sur-Mer. Walk the maze (we won’t get lost) and then design your own mini version of earthwork art.
Plein Air Watercolor Painting Class
July 23, 2025
9:00am – 4:00pm
Calling all intermediate and above watercolor painters! Join Bill Lane, award-winning local watercolor artist, for a daylong plein air workshop at The Breakers.
Thursdays in the Garden: Plants Dance!
July 24, 2025
10:30am – 11:30am
Move and groove in the garden! Join us for an hour of movement and dance with an instructor from Newport Contemporary Ballet.
The 2025 Jacalyn and William P. Egan Lecture
July 29, 2025
6:00pm – 7:00pm
Two Preservation Society Fellows present results of their research during the past year, including the elaborate interiors designed by Jules Allard in our houses and the life, collection and influence of architect Richard Morris Hunt.
Traveling Tuesdays: Teatime Around the World
July 29, 2025
10:30am – 11:30am
Have a tea party and learn about tea around the world, right next to the historic Chinese Tea House.
Thursdays in the Garden: Historic Music of Newport Presents “Peter and the Wolf”
July 31, 2025
10:30am – 11:30am
Come experience music for the whole family! Five wind instruments of Historic Music of Newport’s Gilded Age Orchestra will be introduced to the children and the sounds of ducks, cats and wolves will reverberate through the garden as a narrator tells Sergei Prokofiev’s story of "Peter and the Wolf."
The 2025 Eaddo and Peter Kiernan Lecture
August 5, 2025
6:00pm – 7:00pm
Two Preservation Society Fellows present results of their work during the past year, including the A.H. Davenport furniture on the third floor of The Breakers and extensive research on the Preservation Society’s collections.
Traveling Tuesdays: Colonial Kids
August 5, 2025
10:30am
Learn what life was like for colonial kids at our colonial-era property. Since children in those times did not have TV or computers, they often had to make their own toys. Come try your hand at making colonial toys and pretend to live in the 1700s!
Christine Baranski in Conversation: “The Gilded Age” and Beyond
August 7, 2025
6:00pm
Our special guest for the annual John G. Winslow Lecture is acclaimed actress Christine Baranski, who will discuss HBO's "The Gilded Age" in which she co-stars, her connection to the real Gilded Age, as well as highlights from her career and her thoughts on the importance of the arts.
SOLD OUT
Thursdays in the Garden: Tree Time!
August 7, 2025
10:30am – 11:30am
Tree education for kids! Learn about the different trees at Green Animals, how they grow and why they are important.
Traveling Tuesdays: Animals All the Way
August 12, 2025
10:30am – 11:30am
Learn about Hippodale the Papillon as well as different types of animals that lived in Newport during the Gilded Age. Please feel free to bring your favorite stuffed animal to join in the fun!
Coaching Weekend: Behind the Scenes
August 14, 2025
4:00pm – 5:00pm
Learn what it takes to bring Newport’s tradition of Coaching Weekend to life and hear from a moderated panel of coaching experts as we kick off A Weekend of Coaching.
Thursdays in the Garden: Feathered Friends
August 14, 2025
10:30am – 11:30am
Kids practice becoming birders and learn about our local feathered friends, from cardinals to hummingbirds and sparrows to hawks.
Inside “The Gilded Age” Tour
August 15 – September 30, 2025
Fans of HBO’s "The Gilded Age" will love this guide-led tour of locations in four of the Newport Mansions where Julian Fellowes' historical drama series was filmed. Fridays and Tuesday, August 15, 22 & 29, and September 2, 5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26 & 30
Coaching Weekend Dinner Dance
August 16, 2025
7:00pm – 12:00am
Join us for an unforgettable evening of dinner and dancing to celebrate Coaching Weekend in Newport.
Traveling Tuesdays: Journey to Japan
August 19, 2025
10:30am – 11:30am
Did you know the design of Isaac Bell House was inspired partially by Japanese architecture? Join us for this interactive introduction to Japan.
Thursdays in the Garden: Enchanted Garden
August 21, 2025
10:30am – 11:30am
Have you seen our unicorn topiary? Well, the unicorn's fairy friends need your help! We will create fairy homes and experience the garden with a sense of wonder.
Annual Golf Outing
August 25, 2025
12:00pm
Grab your clubs for an unforgettable day on the greens at the Preservation Society’s Annual Golf Outing at Newport National Golf Club in Middletown, R.I., a challenging links-style course with views of the Atlantic Ocean and Sakonnet Passage.
Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival
September 19 – 21, 2025
Three days of fun and educational seminars, tastings, dinners and the fan-favorite Sunday Brunch await you at Rosecliff! Become a Preservation Society member and receive early access to purchase tickets before they become available to the general public.
