Fall 2026 Conference

NEARA will hold the Fall 2026 NEARA Conference at the Quonset O Club in North Kingstown Rhode Island on November 13 - 15.

Read the latest Fall 2026 Conference Program.

Speakers

Invited Speakers

• Charlotte Taylor, The Best of Rhode Island Archaeology
• Rich Keene, Preserving Our Local Heritage
• Cheryl Stedtler, Project Mishoon: Underwater Treasures of the Nipmuc
• Perry Donham, Navigating the NEARA Discourse: Connecting, Sharing, and Exploring Research
• Patrick Shekleton, Newport Tower: Past, Present, and Future
• The NEARA Research Committee, The Quest for Dates: The History of NEARA's Efforts to Date Stone Structures using OSL Technology
• Marjory O'Toole, A New History of the Sakonnet Wampanoag People

Keynote Speaker

Our Saturday evening speaker will be Brad Lepper, speaking about The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks.

Chapter and Committee Updates

Many of our chapter coordinators and committee chairs will provide news of recent and future activities.

Field Trips

There's a great selection of field trips for this conference.

Friday

• Canonchet Trail, led by Glenn Flosdorf.
• Buck Hill Beehive Chamber, led by Ron Lapierre.
• Long Pond, Ell Pond, and Ashville Pond, led by Jim Hammond.
• Manitou Hassannash Preserve, led by Brian Benoit.

Sunday

• Newport Tower and Museum, led by Jim Egan.
• Big River Preserve, led by Ron Lapierre.
• Parker Woodland, led by Jim Hammond.
• Pelloni Trail, Cougar Effigy, and Tomaquag Shelters, led by Glenn Flosdorf.

For each field trip you must contact the leader at least a week before the field trip. We will email directions a week before the conference.

Registration for the Conference

Until November 9th

You can sign up for both the talks and the banquet:

• the field trips, the conference talks, and lunch included on Saturday
• the social hour and banquet Saturday evening

Choose the first two ticket options at: REGISTER

Until November 12th

After Monday November 9th, you cannot sign up for the banquet.

Until Thursday November 12th, register online by choosing the third ticket option at: REGISTER

On Site Registration

We will provide a link for registering at the conference.

Hotel

We have a block of rooms reserved at the Comfort Suites Hotel at 10 Keyes Ways, West Warwick RI. Make your reservation now, before the special rate expires, at Reserve NEARA-block room at Choice Hotels.

Directions

Directions to the conference venue

Directions to the hotel

Get Involved!

Join the conversation by being a member of the new NEARA Forum. It's a great platform for sharing your thoughts and questions and connecting with NEARA members.

If you would like to help us with registration or at the book sales tables, contact us at Conference Organization.

Future Speakers

It takes a lot of work to assemble a good program for a conference. We would like it if all NEARA members would give us their suggestions for speakers who they would like to see. So we have created a form for you to fill out for each person you recommend: Suggest a Speaker