Newport Oyster & Chowder Festival at Bowen's Wharf. (Photo credit: Bowen's Wharf)

Good Morning, today is Saturday, May 21, 2022.

🌊 You’ll notice things look a little different in our newsletter and here on our website this morning. Short explanation – our newsletter format has become the victim of our own success.

What’sUpNewp is publishing more stories on a daily basis than ever before and we are not slowing down (more to come on that next week). When you couple the 20+ stories we’re publishing every day with the season ramping up and having to include more events, live music, and entertainment in our newsletter- we’ve simply run out of space to tell you everything that we want to in our morning newsletter.

If you’ve been paying close attention, you’ve probably noticed our newsletters more frequently getting cut short. I apologize for that inconvenience.

So, moving forward – we’re still going to email you every morning (and afternoon), you’ll just have to take one extra step in the morning newsletter (clicking on “What’s Up Today” included within the newsletter) to get the latest notes, weather, things to do, and other features that you’ve come to love in our newsletter.

This format will allow us to share more info, content, stories, photos, thoughts, and fun with you on a daily basis. We appreciate your patience and support as we work through this.

Reminder – You can have “What’s Up Today” and all of our latest stories dropped right in your inbox daily. Sign up below.

🌊 The Newport Chowder & Oyster Festival returns to Bowen’s Wharf this weekend. Oyster growers will be shucking alongside local restaurants and live music under the striped festival tents. The event is open to the public and all food will be available for purchase directly from vendors. Multiple cash bars will also be on site. 11 am to 6 pm on Saturday and Sunday. More Details

🌊 A portion of Ocean Drive will only be open for bikes this morning when Elliot’s Ride For Everyone returns. The event takes place from 9 am to 10 am. More details.

What’s Up Today

Weather

  • Air Quality Alert
  • Hazardous Weather Outlook
  • Today – Areas of fog before 10 am. Otherwise, cloudy through mid-morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 74. Southeast wind 8 to 13 mph becoming southwest in the morning.
  • Tonight – Patchy fog between 10 pm and 2 am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low of around 61. South wind 7 to 10 mph.

Marine Forecast

  • Today – SSE wind 7 to 11 kt becoming SW in the morning. Areas of fog before 10 am. Seas 1 ft or less.
  • Tonight – SSW wind 6 to 9 kt. Patchy fog before 9 pm, then Patchy fog between 10 pm and 2 am. Seas 1 ft or less.
  • Coastal Water Temperature: 54°F.

Sun, Moon, & Tide

  • Sunrise: 5:20 am | Sunset: 8:04 pm | 14 hours & 43 minutes of sun.
  • High tide at 12:39 am & 1:12 pm | Low tide at 6:52 am & 6:30 pm.
  • Moon: Waning Gibbous, 20.3 days, 69% lighting.

Happening Today

Six Picks Events: What’s Up in RI this weekend (May 20-22)

Six Picks Music: The best in live music this weekend (May 20-22)

‘Coffee and Donuts at the Fort’ to be hosted at Butts Hill Fort on May 21

Elliott’s Ride for Everyone returns to Ocean Drive on May 21

Newport Yacht Club will host Vessel Safety Checks and No Discharge Inspections on May 21 – 22

What’s Up Interview: Pete Silva – playing Stone Soup Coffeehouse with Paula Clare May 21

Garth Brooks to perform at Gillette Stadium on May 21, tickets go on sale on Jan. 28

Rogers High School Class of 2022 hosting a Spring Cleaning Fundraiser on Saturday

Shops on Franklin Street to host Spring Into Summer Stroll on Saturday

Things To Do

Entertainment

  • Bar & Board:  Mel at 7:30 pm
  • Blue Anchor Grill: Steve Rodrigues from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
  • Bowen’s Wharf – The Chase Ceglie Band from 11 am to 12:30 pm, Future Phase from 1 pm to 2:30 pm, and The Ravers from 3 pm to 6 pm
  • Buskers:  Brian Twohey at 9 pm
  • Celtica:  Karaoke at 10 pm
  • Clarke Cooke House: Live music at 10 pm
  • Gulf Stream Bar & Grille: Alan Bernstein Trio from 6 pm t0 9 pm
  • Greenvale Vineyards: Dick Lupino’s Jazz Quartet from 1 pm to 4 pm
  • Johnny’s at Wyndham:  Live music from 6 pm to 9 pm
  • JPT Film & Event Center: Downton Abbey 2: A New Era at 1:30 pm, 4:30 pm, & 7:30 pm
  • Landing: Nick Sproviero at 1 pm, Jim Devlin at 4:30 pm
  • La Forge: Dave Manuel from 6 pm to 10 pm
  • Landing: Dave Alves Band at 4:30 pm, Blockhead at 8 pm
  • Narragansett Cafe: Mark Cutler & Men of Great Courage from 8 pm to 12 am
  • Newport Blues Cafe:  Pogs at 9 pm
  • One Pelham East:  Live acoustic at 4 pm, Never In Vegas at 8:30 pm, DJ at 11 pm
  • Parlor Newport – NPT Haus from 9 pm to 1 am
  • Speakeasy:  Live music at 10 pm
  • The Firehouse Theatre:  Live improv comedy with The Bit Players at 7 pm & 9 pm
  • The Reef:  Randy Robbins from 6 pm to 9 pm
  • Top of Pelham:  Dueling Pianos at 7:30 pm & 10:30 pm
  • Vieste: Live music at 7:30 pm

The Latest from WUN

Surging Red Sox topple Blue Jays 6-1

Jarren Duran drove in two runs with one of his three singles, Jahmai Jones had a pinch-hit two-run double and the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-1 Sunday.

Comic – Sour Grapes: Shady

Sour Grapes is a comic about “Aesop”, a miserable flying dog and his odd friends, all living in a problematic and troubled world.

Local Obituaries

What Else We’re Reading

ABC 6 – Newport expects tens of thousands visitors amid weekend heat

EastBay – Little Compton’s ‘Meehan Triangle’ to be a model for nature-based land stewardship

Salve Today – Attend evening with Angeline Boulley, author of NYT bestselling novel ‘Firekeeper’s Daughter’

WPRI – RI health officials expect COVID cases, hospitalizations to decrease in coming weeks

We’ll See You Out There

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...