If the weather folk are right, we should feel the start of Fall this weekend, with cool, sunny days, and the first hints of changing color in the trees. Sounds like perfect weather to get outdoors and enjoy our beautiful Ocean State, and there is lots to do for everybody.

Get a jump start on the weekend tonight, with a visit to Newport's wonderful Salvation Cafe, on 140 Broadway, to join up with the Newport Green Drinks crowd. Special guest state Sen. Theresa Paiva-Weed will address the group at 6:30. Be there anytime from 5:30 to 7:30 to enjoy a cash bar and complimentary appetizers. 

Here are some great events that we already wrote about -- click on each for more info. Tonight at URI in Kingston, you can learn about Arctic shorebirds and mingle with the RI Natural History Survey folks. Or learn about Buckeye Brook at a workshop tonight in Warwick. On Saturday, the Green Buildings Open House Tour offers a chance to check out alternative energy options. On Sunday, join the East Bay Bikes & Birds group for a leisurely ride along the bay.

And here are a couple of great events from our NNN Community Calendar, click on each one to get more details.  Friday, the RI Tree Council holds its annual conference, in Warwick. Saturday, take a kid mountain biking in North Kingstown. Or click here to browse the calendar for more options.

Also coming up over the weekend -- 

Flow, a documentary film about the future of our fresh water -- politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel -- examines the emerging environmental issue of the next century. At the Cable Car Cinema in Providence.

Saturday from 9 to noon, the Pawtuxet Farmers Market at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet hosts a Big Green Used Book Sale, stock up for winter reading! Saturday and Sunday, the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown hosts its annual Harvest Fair, an awesome event for the whole family. Click here for details.

And next Tuesday at URI, the amazing Global Change Colloquium continues, this time with journalist Charles C. Mann, author of  1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. Starts at 7:30 on the Kingston campus, click here for all the details.