Only in Charlestown: The Fantastic Umbrella Factory

By Linda Felaco

The sun allegedly will come out this afternoon, but "a stray thunderstorm is possible," and more thunderstorms are forecast for Friday and Saturday. I do feel sort of sorry for people who are here on vacation; we haven't had much in the way of good beach weather this summer, sadly. 

Last summer during a spell of rain, I tried to come up with things to do here in town other than go to the beach and found there were pretty slim pickings. But the one place we do have is truly unique: The Fantastic Umbrella Factory.

What's that you say? Our beaches are unique? Nope, sorry. Westerly's got 'em, South Kingstown's got 'em, Narragansett's got 'em. 

You never know what might happen at the Umbrella Factory.
You could get to see a duck dive off a shed.

Ah, but Charlestown's got Open Space! [spoken in reverent tones] Um, I hate to break it to you, but there are national parks that are larger than the entire State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. (Yes, we're the state that it takes longer to say the full name of than it does to drive through.)

He blends.

But we do have the Umbrella Factory. If you want to time-travel back to the '60s, there are two ways you can do it: Attend a Grateful Dead concert, or visit the Umbrella Factory.

All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup.

What is the Umbrella Factory? No, they don't make or sell umbrellas. It's a series of funky little shops and gorgeous gardens and greenhouses where you can stroll among turkeys and ducks and chickens. 

Oh, and there's also a café with a tranquil outdoor seating area (reviewed here) where the avian denizens will sit alongside you at your table patiently waiting for you to drop a crumb or two. They're open daily for lunch, breakfast Friday-Sunday, and dinner Friday and Saturday. If you're there on a Sunday between 2 and 4, you can also enjoy live acoustic music. It's fun for the whole family.