It caught the interest of many – a three-day family fair at Rocky Point with rides, games, food and music.

There will be a fair this summer, but it won’t be at Rocky Point as billed on social media, says Justin Perreault. A Warwick resident and organizer of Peace and Providence Community Outreach, Perreault said the flyer that showed up on Facebook was intended as a “save the date” notice should the fair have gained the required approvals.

Peace and Providence (not the city, but the word as in divine providence) is a faith-based nonprofit organization that, as part of its mission, provides 2,000 meals a month to the homeless and hungry, said Perrault.

In prior years Peace and Providence has held summer festivals at the Alex & Ani Center in Providence. Perreault said when he and a friend talked about moving the festival, Rocky Point was mentioned and it seemed like a natural fit, given its history as an amusement park and a place people associate with rides, music and having fun. Perreault has fond memories of the park from his childhood days.

Accustomed to running the festival in Providence, Perreault thought he would be good with a license from the Board of Public Safety. A request had been scheduled to be heard at tonight’s board meeting.

He rapidly learned there are more hoops here, the first being approvals from both the city and the state that own the park. He connected with City Council President Joseph Solomon and Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur, who steered him to the city Planning Department. Perreault was complimentary of both councilmen and said he is appreciative of questions they raised over traffic and the logistics of a festival.

“They really care about the people of Warwick,” he said.

The festival raised concerns for Dan Geagan of the Planning Department. He noted that the park has limited access to electricity, water and sanitary facilities. He also wondered if there would be sufficient parking.

“It’s too big for the site,” he concludes.

Perreault was thinking of bringing in generators as well as porta-johns. He said his plan called for Rockwell Amusements to provide for the rides. There would also be games, food, music and a car show. Admission would be free, as would food and non-alcoholic beverages. Donations would be suggested. There would have been a charge for the rides. He was even thinking of closing one of the nights with fireworks.

“It would have the feeling of the Washington County Fair without the animals,” he said.

The plan now is to hold the September fair at the West Warwick Civic Center.

However, Perreault hasn’t given up on Rocky Point or Warwick. He said a Rocky Point Family Fair is an event he’d like to work out, “maybe in the future.”

Meanwhile he is focused on bringing the work of Peace and Providence to the city. He said he is looking to open a community center in Warwick where kids could get free tutoring and haircuts. Other services listed on the Peace and Providence website include providing emergency shelter, heating assistance payments, gifts of toys at Christmas and providing backpacks to schoolchildren.

“I would love giving back to the city,” he said.

During Thanksgiving, Perreault said the organization gave out 500 baskets, of which 180 went to Warwick families. He said the organization is volunteer-driven and, over the course of the year, 350 people volunteer.