Happy Wednesday, Rhody Islanders!

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Smoky Spectacle Firepits

• Historic Kitchen Reawakening

• Celestial Canvas Night

Wicked Li’l Trivia: How is your “independent” knowledge? Check below.

Rhody Moments: Where is your best place for “weird” RI vibes? Scroll for more.

As always, we love hearing from you. Give some feedback about how much you love The Rhody Weekender, suggest a feature, or tell us something great you did last weekend (or are going to do this weekend!)

Let’s get right to what’s going on this weekend!

Outdoor & Nature

🎡 Seaside Carnival: Misquamicut Springfest Weekend at Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly. Enjoy carnival rides, live music, and a classic car show. Food trucks and vendors on-site!

☀️ Get a head start on summer: Scarborough North & Salty Brine Beaches are open Saturdays and Sundays. Come prepared—staff and services are up and running!

🌼 Mother’s Day blooms, sorted: Annual Plant Sale at Green Animals in Portsmouth. Sale features dahlia tubers, geraniums, hanging baskets, and more! Green Animal Garden opens for the season on the 10th (tickets or membership needed).

🥂 Toast to Mom on the water: Mother’s Day Weekend Mimosa Cruises offer a 50-minute scenic ride through Providence’s waterways. Sip complimentary mimosas, enjoy river views, and relax with family.

🐦 Learn birding by sight: Wings by Sight: Birding for the Beginner Birder at Powder Mill Ledges Wildlife Refuge in Smithfield. Morning walk with naturalist and environmentalist Marina Flannery - focused on visual bird ID. Free. Ages 12+. Register now for May 17 - fills up fast!

🔥 Light up your Friday night: Wickford Harbor Fire brings floating fire pits, live music, food trucks, and late-night shopping to Wickford Village. Family-friendly and free. Best viewed at dusk.

👣 Walk the park with a naturalist: Outdoor Adventures in Roger Williams Park at the Museum of Natural History & Planetarium in Providence. Explore trails while learning about birds, plants, and seasonal changes. Included with museum admission.

Li’l Bulletin Board

Want to spread the good word about your business, a project you’re working on, or a hire, to 21,000 friends?

• A Rhode Island Top 5 Pizza Place: Our pizza survey, that just about everyone filled out when they subscribed to The Rhody Weekender, has Pizza Marvin solidly in the top 5 in the state. If you haven’t dropped by, put it on your list. It’s some of the best pizza you’ll ever have!

• Scituate Rotary Farmers Market Returns – Saturdays at 46 Institute Lane The Scituate Rotary Farmers Market kicks off its 2025 season on Saturday, May 10, and runs every Saturday from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at 46 Institute Lane. May’s theme centers on spring planting and includes activities for children, live music, local vendors, and delicious food, creating a festive, family-friendly atmosphere that encourages the community to support local businesses.

• Ultimate Parking Guide to Newport, RI Grab this friendly overview of public parking lots, rates, and seasonal rules for Newport. Learn where to park, how much it costs, and which lots offer RIPTA ride discounts. You can copy and paste the text into your phone and have with you for this whole season!

Food & Drink

🍪 Workshops, reads, and sweets: Mother’s Day Weekend at Long Live Beerworks in Providence. Cookie decorating, yoga, curated lunch, and an open book discussion. Vendors and drink specials all weekend!

🍻 Craft brews and gifts: Hoppy Spring Market at The Guild in Pawtucket. Local makers, wood-fired pizza, and farm-fresh sandwiches. Easy Mother’s Day shopping with a cold drink in hand.

🎶 Jazz and cocktails: Apothica Cafe Live Jazz at Apothica Cafe in Cumberland. A free show with craft drinks, mocktails, espresso martinis, and a plant-based dinner menu available!

🎉 Celebrate 90 years of Jacques Pépin: Jacques Pépin 90/90 Dinner at Giusto in Newport. A special evening of food, wine, and tribute to a chef who changed the way we cook. Tickets are now available for the May 30th celebration—get them while they last!

🌼 Celebrate Mother’s Day with: Beers, Bites, & Blooms at Pivotal Brewing in Bristol. Make a charcuterie board, build a bouquet, and enjoy craft brews. All are welcome!

Highs & Lows

Entertainment

🎼 Spend the evening with Bach and Schumann: Orion Weiss performs The Goldberg Variations at Newport Classical Recital Hall in Newport. Acclaimed pianist delivers a thoughtful performance of two major works.

🎶 Folk music, stripped down and real: The Rough & Tumble at Stone Soup Coffeehouse in Providence. The last show of the season features heartfelt songwriting and acoustic sounds in an intimate venue.

🎻 Experience Scottish folk live: Cantrip at Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland. Trio blends fiddle, pipes, and guitar in an evening of traditional and contemporary tunes. Intimate venue, rich acoustics.

🎻 See Kishi Bashi in Pawtucket: Kishi Bashi at The Met RI in Pawtucket. Art pop and folk blend in this solo show featuring layered sound and emotional range. This will be a great show! ✴️ STAFF PICK ✴️

🎤 Hear Portugal's soul music live: Noite de Fado at The Arctic Playhouse, West Warwick. A night of traditional Fado with Cordeone. Reserved seating. Thoughtful, heartfelt, and low-key.

Arts, Crafts & Culture

📚 Free exchange, no catch: Really Really Free Market at Dexter Park in Providence. Bring what you don’t need, take what you do. Expect books, tools, food, crafts, and skillshares. Rain date May 17.

🌊 Join a journey through art and sea: Opening Reception for Sean Landers: Lost at Sea at Newport Art Museum, Newport. Engage with themes of adventure, loss, and artistic legacy in this evocative exhibition. Free to all, but RSVP appreciated! Cash bar, and members get one free drink!

🎨 Paint the cosmos together: Galactic Night Couples Session at Paint and Vino in Pawtucket. Create a starry night scene across two canvases. All materials provided; no experience needed.

🪵 Explore a colonial homestead: John Hunt House Museum in East Providence. Built circa 1750, this restored house features a keeping room, buttery, and attic smoke chamber. Free admission; donations welcome. Open House is the 2nd Sunday of each month.

📖 Join a Pulitzer winner for a deep dive: The Fate of the Day Book Talk with Rick Atkinson at the John Brown House Museum in Providence. Explore pivotal moments from 1777–1780 with the acclaimed historian. Book signing and reception included.

Wicked Li’l Trivia

Rhody Moments

• In your golden shiny face, Independent Man! Check out this stunning and beautiful drone shot of Independent Man, right up close in his face. Will he blink? How did he get this close and not hit him! I hope he didn’t scratch his refurbished finish! Oh, and check out Li’l Wicked Trivia if you didn’t already!

• 10,700…on opening day? So that’s where all the traffic on 95 came from! Lots and lots of glowing reviews. Looks like it’s a hit! The comments are voluminous and glowing, overall. RI’ers getting a…kick out of this.

• “What are some creepy/unsettling/unusual/uncanny areas of RI?” The East Side tunnel, Savers parking lot, The Ladd School, Tower Hill Rd, Nine Men’s Misery, and a lot more. But what’s up with all the fireball nips? Fantastic comments and ooky vibes on this Reddit thread. What is it missing?

See you next week!

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