Spooky Season Screenings at The JPT (via The JPT)

Good morning, Newport! Today is Friday, Sept. 26, the 269th day of 2025. There are 96 days left in the year.

🚨 You need to know

The JPT Film & Event Center is embracing Halloween with its annual Spooky Season screening series throughout October, offering everything from cult classics to slasher films with special live musical performances. The historic Newport cinema will present horror movies spanning nearly a century of film history, accompanied by seasonal cocktails and treats.

The lineup includes several enhanced screenings featuring live concerts. On Thursday, Oct. 2, “The Lost Boys” will be preceded by a performance from Chase Ceglie & Firehouse Band. Folk horror fans can catch “The Wicker Man” on Friday, Oct. 17, with a live concert by Princess June, while “American Psycho” celebrates its 25th anniversary on Thursday, Oct. 23, with Salem Wolves performing. The month culminates with a “Hocus Pocus Party” featuring Motion Avenue on Saturday, Oct. 25.

Classic horror enthusiasts will find plenty to enjoy, including David Cronenberg’s “The Fly” on Oct. 30 and the 1931 “Frankenstein” with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis the same evening. Halloween night itself features a slasher double feature of John Carpenter’s “Halloween” (1978) and “Friday the 13th.” Other highlights include Tim Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow,” Ridley Scott’s “Alien,” Robert Eggers’ “The Witch,” and the 25th anniversary screening of “Scary Movie.”

The theater is also offering alternatives for those less inclined toward scares, with “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” extended through Oct. 17 and “The Roses,” starring Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch, opening Sunday. Complete screening times and tickets are available at janepickens.com/collections/spooky-season-screenings.

Here’s what else to know

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Newport City Council met for nearly 2 1/2 hours last night for a Regular Meeting. Watch the meeting here.

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Historic Ocean Drive ‘Playhouse’ sells for $10.4 million – Gustave White Sotheby’s International Realty has announced the sale of “The Playhouse,” a historic property on Ocean Drive, for $10,442,000. The sale marks the fourth-highest residential sale in Newport this year.

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📅 What’s Up Today

Weather Forecast

  • Today – Partly sunny, with a high near 77°F. Light and variable wind becoming northeast 6 to 11 mph in the morning.
  • Tonight – Partly cloudy, with a low around 57°F. North wind 10 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.
  • Wednesday – Sunny, with a high near 61°F. Breezy, with a north wind 17 to 21 mph.
  • Wednesday Night – Mostly clear, with a low around 49°F. North wind 13 to 17 mph.

Marine Forecast

  • Today – Variable winds less than 5 kt becoming NNE 5 to 10 kt in the morning. Partly sunny. Seas 1 ft or less.
  • Tonight – NNE wind 9 to 14 kt, with gusts as high as 23 kt. Partly cloudy. Seas 1 ft or less.
  • Wednesday – NNE wind 15 to 18 kt, with gusts as high as 26 kt. Sunny. Seas 1 ft or less.
  • Wednesday Night – NNE wind 11 to 15 kt. Mostly clear. Seas 1 ft or less.

Sun & Tide Information

  • Sunrise: 6:41:32 a.m., Sunset: 6:28:44 p.m. Daylight: 11 hours and 47 minutes
  • High tides: 2:02 a.m. (past), 2:27 p.m.
  • Low tides: 7:17 a.m., 9:21 p.m.

Things To Do

Live Music & Entertainment

  • JB On The Water – Music Bingo at 6 p.m.
  • Middletown VFW – Line Dance Classes at 6:30 p.m.
  • Narragansett Cafe – Trivia at 7 p.m.
  • Newport Craft – Jay Leno live at 8 pm
  • The JPT Film & Event Center – Downton Abbey: The Grande Finale at 4:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.

Public Meetings

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...