What's Up Today: Thursday, May 26

Good Morning, today is Thursday, May 26.

🌊 Governor McKee signed legislation Wednesday making the state the 19th in the nation to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana, an issue that some lawmakers have been working on for years.

🌊 Longtime seafood mogul Allen Ricca will be at Charter Books this evening at 6 pm to present CATCHING HELL: THE INSIDER STORY OF SEAFOOD FROM OCEAN TO PLATE, a look inside the international seafood market and its very turbulent relationship with white tablecloth dining and the general public.

🌊 ICYMI: We caught up with musician Bob Mould ahead of his performance tonight at the Greenwich Odeum.

🌊 Following yesterday’s visit by the Celebrity Summit, we’re heading into a bit of a lull on the cruise ship schedule. After having five cruise ships on the schedule in May and four in April, we’ll just have one cruise ship stop in Newport per month in June, July, and August. Things will pick up in the fall, 16 cruise ships are scheduled in September, 25 in October, and 5 in November. Discover Newport’s Cruise Ship Schedule is here.

🌊 There’s a ton of events, live music, and entertainment on tap for this Memorial Day Weekend, including Boots on The Ground for Heroes, The Wallflowers, Newport Polo’s Rotary Charity Match, the Rogue Island Comedy Festival, and much, much, much more. Get the full rundown here.

🌊 Speaking of The Rogue Island Comedy Festival -The festival was forced to quickly find a new location for several of its shows following the fire at The Wayfinder Hotel in Newport. Those shows will now be held at Diego’s Cantina in Newport and at Top of Pelham in Newport. If you already have tickets for shows that were scheduled to take place at The Wayfinder, you don’t have to do anything except show up at the new venue.

Here’s the new schedule of events. Limited tickets remain for all shows. Buy them online now at www.rogueislandcomedyfest.com.

🌊 Save The Date: IYRS School of Technology & Trades’ 2022 Graduation & Launch Day is Saturday, June 4! This community event celebrates the achievement of the newest IYRS graduates from all programs and offers the excitement of seeing their Boatbuilding & Restoration students’ boats launched for the first time in Newport Harbor. Terry Hutchinson, Skipper and President of Sailing Operations for NYYC American Magic is their Commencement speaker. 10 am in Restoration Hall.

Weather

Today – Mostly sunny, with a high near 64. South wind 8 to 14 mph.
Tonight – A slight chance of showers after 2 am. Patchy fog before 1 am, then patchy fog after 2am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. South wind around 11 mph. The chance of precipitation is 20%.

Marine Forecast

Today – S wind 7 to 12 kt. Mostly sunny. Seas 1 ft or less.
Tonight – S wind around 10 kt. A slight chance of showers after 2am. Patchy fog between midnight and 1am, then Patchy fog after 2am. Seas 1 ft or less.
Coastal Water Temperature: 54°F.

Sun, Moon, & Tide

Sunrise: 5:16 am | Sunset: 8:08 pm | 14 hours & 51 minutes of sun.
High tide at 5:37 am & 6:07 pm | Low tide at 11:20 am.
Moon: Waning Crescent, 25.4 days, 18% lighting.

Happening Today

Things To Do

10 am to 12 pm – Tree Corps Volunteers at Morton Park
12 pm – Taproot Slider Thursdays at Newport Vineyards
12:15 pm & 2:05 pm – Coastal Queen’s Spring Lighthouse Cruises departing from Bowen’s Wharf, Newport
6 pm & 8 pm – Rogue Island Comedy Festival at Top Of Pelham
6 pm to 8 pm – Allen Ricca – CATCHING HELL at Charter Books
6 pm – Cocktail Club Mixology Class at Hotel Viking
6 pm – Italian Night: A Horse and a Bull Walk into a Bar at Audrain Automobile Museum
6:30 pm – To the Surface: Film Screening & Panel Discussion at Bristol Art Museum
For more events and things to do, visit our events calendar.

Entertainment

JPT Film & Event Center: The Wallflowers at 8 pm
Landing: Cara Brindisi at 1 pm, Justin Pomfret at 4:30 pm, Timmy Smith at 8 pm
Narragansett Cafe: The Z Boys from 8 pm to 11 pm
Newport Blues Cafe: Felix Brown Band at 9 pm
One Pelham East: Dee Jayne Duo at 8 pm
Ragged Island Brewing: Trivia in the Barn at 6 pm
The Reef: Eric Fontana from 6 pm to 9 pm
Top of Pelham: Rogue Island Comedy Festival at 6 pm & 8 pm

City & Government

Jamestown – Jamestown School Committee at 6:30 pm
Middletown – Middletown Tree Commission at 10 am
Portsmouth – Portsmouth School Committee – Health & Wellness Subcommittee at 3:30 pm, Portsmouth Investment Committee at 5 pm, Portsmouth Zoning Board of Review at 7 pm
Tiverton – Tiverton Planning Board at 11 am, Tiverton Solar Ordinance Advisory Committee at 6:30 pm

Governor Dan McKee’s Public Schedule

10 am – Governor McKee will join the Rhode Island Department of Education at Lincoln High School to launch a $5 million ARTS Initiative, aimed at strengthening arts programming statewide.

11:30 am – Governor McKee will hold a media availability at Rhode Island Commerce to discuss issues of the day and take questions from the media. The Governor will be joined virtually by White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator and Senior Counselor to the President, Dr. Ashish Jha for a special announcement on COVID-19 treatment in Rhode Island.