Make the most of May!

by Elizabeth Morse Read

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, and Memorial Day in the great outdoors amidst all the flowers, café seating, food festivals, cultural events, road races, and music! We’re heading into another spectacular summer on the South Coast – so get out there and join in the fun!

Food, fairs, and festivals!

Don’t miss the free Community Block Party on May 20 at 45 Rock Street in Fall River! Food, music, games, family fun, and more (gfrREC.org)!

Buy your tickets early for the 2023 Asparagus Fest on May 7 at Four Town Farm in Seekonk (farmfreshri.org/ asparagus)!

Mark your calendars for the Wareham Oyster Festival on May 28 (warehamoyster.com)!

Get ready for the Buttonwood Park Zoo’s annual “Red, White and Brew” beer- and wine-tasting festival on May 19 in New Bedford (bpzoo.org)!

Taste your way through the historic district of New Bedford with New Bedford Food Tours on a three-hour guided walking tour to sample local foods at five signature restaurants (nbbfoodtours. com)!

Show up hungry on May 21 for the annual Taste of South Coast festival on Pier 3 in New Bedford, sponsored by the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick (tasteofsouthcoast. com)!

Plan ahead for the seventh annual Newport Oyster and Chowder Festival at Bowen’s Wharf in Newport on May 20-21 (bowenswharf.com).

Check out the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship House in Fairhaven on May 7 (fairhaventours. com).

Take the family to the third annual We

HeART Fall River Festival on May 13 at Government Center, a free celebration of art, culture and community (vivafallriver. com)!

To market, to market

Don’t miss the Spring Heirloom Plant Sale May 20-21, 27-28 at the Plimoth Patuxet Museums in Plymouth to recreate your own herb, flower, and vegetable gardens of the 17th century (plimoth.org/events)!

Take the family to the Spring Crafts Fair & Food Truck Event on May 7 at Fall River’s Liberal Club (vivafallriver)!

Fairhaven’s Huttleston Market opens on May 20 on the high school grounds.

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Lectures, exhibits and special events

Enjoy free walking tours on AHA! Nights in New Bedford, May through September, led by the New Bedford Preservation Society – “Walkways: Exploring the People and Places of Historical New Bedford” (nbpreservationsociety.org).

Check out all the free creative arts and cultural events scheduled in May from Fall River to Wareham, part of the South Coast Spring Arts Festival (southcoastspringarts.org/2023)!

Enjoy a lunchtime solo concert of music, songs and stories with Irish harpist Aine Minogue on May 22 at the Marion Council on Aging (marionma. gov)!

Take a free tour of 30+ artist and artisan studios during Tour the Fall River Open Studios on May 12-13, part of the South Coast Arts Spring Festival (vivafallriver.com) (southcoastspringarts.org/2023)!

Visit the Whaling Museum in New Bedford through May 7 for the special exhibit exploring the Arctic world of polar bears (whalingmuseum.org)!

Pack a picnic and stroll through the daffodils and tulips at the whimsical Green Animals Topiary Gardens in Portsmouth (newportmansions.org)!

Visit the artists and artisans in their creative work-spaces on Hatch Street in New Bedford May 6-7 during the Spring Open Studio Tours (hatchstreetstudios. com).

Don’t miss the annual Kentucky Derby Day watch party on May 6 at Linden Place in Bristol (lindenplace.org)!

Register early for the Mother’s Day Tea on May 13 in the gardens of the RotchJones-Duff Museum in New Bedford (rjdmuseum.org)!

Check out the Friday afternoon movies at the Newport Public Library (newportpubliclibraryri.org)!

Quench your thirst for learning at the free monthly New Bedford Science Café lectures and discussions at The Last Round Bar & Grille (nbsciencecafe.com)!

Join the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club for June in Bloom! This year’s biennial garden tour takes place on June 24 from 10-4. More than a half-dozen gardens will be on display, each having been selected from a variety of styles. Come admire and be inspired! Advance tickets go on sale on May 9 for $30. Learn more at mattapoisettwomansclub.org.

and…

Visit the Haskell Public Gardens for the spring plant sale! Get your thumb green on May 13 from 10-2 at 777 Shawmut Avenue in New Bedford. For more information visit thetrustees.org/place/ allen-c-haskell-public-gardens

Fun for the whole family

Take the family on an immersive adventure back to prehistoric times at “Dinosaurs Among Us!” at Roger Williams Park in Providence through August 13, walking amidst sixty life-sized animatronic and interactive dinosaurs (rwpzoo.org)!

Bring your binoculars for the special event with the Paskamansett Bird Club’s “Land and Sea” Walk May 20 at the Lloyd Center for the Environment in Dartmouth (lloydcenter.org)!

Find out what’s happening at the Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium in Bristol (asri.org)!

There’s always something going on at the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown! Enjoy a family campout under the stars during the Flower Moon Sleepover Party May 5-6, go on a geology hike May 17, learn about mushroom cultivation May 26 (normanbirdsanctuary.org)!

Take a stroll through the urban greenspace of the Allen G. Haskell Public Gardens in New Bedford (thetrustees.org).

“Discover Buzzards Bay” offers an online portal with information about 100+ public places to walk, bird-watch, kayak/canoe, fish, snowshoe or cross-country ski (savebuzzardsbay.org/discover). You can find other outdoor recreation spots along the South Coast at thetrustees.org, exploreri. org, massaudubon.org, asri.org, riparks.com, or stateparks.com/ rhode_island.

Go on a “Vineyard Voyage” with the Providence Riverboat Company –sample wine and food pairings while cruising through the city’s waterways (providenceriverboat.com) – or take a romantic gondola ride through downtown Providence (gondolari.com)! Or explore the waterways of Providence in a single or tandem kayak (providencekayak.com)! On rainy Wednesdays-Sundays, take the little ones to the Children’s Museum of Greater Fall River (cmgfr.org)!

Buy your tickets online for the planetarium shows on weekends and school vacations at the Museum of Natural History & Planetarium at Roger Williams Park in Providence (providence. gov/museum).

Take a walk through the past at the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park (nps.gov/nebe)!

Enjoy free family fun and entertainment on the second Thursday of the month at New Bedford’s AHA Nights – City Views is the May 11 theme (ahanewbedford.org)!

Classical acts

Listen to the Fall River Symphony Orchestra’s “Spring Concert” with the South Coast Community Chorale on May 7 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River, performing Mozart’s Requiem and The Pines of Rome (fallriversymphonyorchestra.org).

Newport Classical will present Mendelssohn and Bach with the Kenari Quartet on May 19 at the recital hall of Emmanuel Church in Newport (newportclassical.org/events)!

Listen to the Rhode Island Philharmonic perform “Verdi’s Requiem” on May 5-6 at The VETS in Providence. The Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra will perform their annual Spring Concert at The VETS on May 7 (riphil.org).

Enjoy the free annual Concert in the Garden at the Rotch-Jones-Duff Mansion in New Bedford on May 16, performed by New Bedford High School studentmusicians – jazz, classical, strings, and steel band (rjdmuseum.org)!

Head for the Zeiterion in downtown New Bedford to hear Konstantia Plays “The Emperor” presented by the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra on May 20 (zeiterion.org).

Don’t miss the Newport Contemporary Ballet’s performance of “Catch Fire!” including a reimagined “Firebird” at the WaterFire Arts Center in Providence May 18-20 (newportcontemporaryballet.org).

Don’t miss the Greater New Bedford Choral Society’s Spring Concert on May 7 at Grace Episcopal Church in New Bedford (gnbcs.org)!

Stop by the Four Corners Art Center in Tiverton to listen to chamber music performed by The Newport String Project on May 14 or to Americana music performed by The Whelks on May 20 (fourcornerarts.org)!

Mark your calendar for the Plymouth Philharmonic’s concert “Come Together: Music of the Beatles” May 20-21 at Memorial Hall in Plymouth (plymouthphil.org).

On the move again!

Sign up for the Providence Marathon and Half Marathon (and post-race festival) on May 7 (providencemarathon.com).

Register for the Cinco de Mayo 5K in Wareham on May 7 (southshorerace.com)!

Get Healthy! “Walk With a Doc” on Saturdays at Buttonwood Park Zoo, part of the New Bedford Wellness Initiative (nbewell.com).

Sign up now for the 30th Annual Buzzards Bay Swim on June 24 (savebuzzardsbay.org/discover/events)!

Fitness in Cushman Park in Fairhaven will return! Ten weeks of free outdoor classes in yoga or personal fitness starting in June (facebook.com/fitnessincushmanpark)!

Sounds of the South Coast

Head for Plymouth’s Pilgrim Memorial Hall to hear "One Night of Queen " May 5, "The Righteous Brothers" May 12, "Lewis Black: Off the Rails" May 13, Come "Together: Music of the Beatles" May 20-21, Cage Titans 59 May 27 (memorialhall.com).

All aboard!

Pack a picnic or enjoy the food trucks when you head for Soule Homestead in Middleborough for the start of their "Summer Concert Series" on May 13 (soulehomestead.org)!

Head for the Zeiterion in downtown New Bedford (zeiterion.org).

Head for The VETS in Providence to hear "The Temptations & The Four Tops" May 19, "Heather McMahan" May 20 (thevetsri.com)!

Bring your picnic basket to Running Brook Vineyard in Dartmouth for free live music every Saturday and Sunday year-round (runningbrookwine.com)!

Check out who’s performing in The Vault at the Greasy Luck Brew Pub in downtown New Bedford (vaultnb.com)!

Head for the Providence Performing Arts Center for the International Portuguese Music Awards on May 20, The Avett Brothers May 23 (ppaccri.org)!

Find out who’s on stage at the Spire Center for the Arts of Greater Plymouth! (spirecenter.org).

Don’t miss "Def Leopard" May 5, "Devoted 2 You" May 6, "Panorama" May 12, "Heartless" May 13, "60’s Pirate Radio Ship" May 19, "Beastie Ballz" May 20, "Wildside" May 26, "Echoes of Floyd" May 27, "LoVe SeXy" May 28 at The District Center for the Arts in Taunton (thedistrictcenterforarts.com)!

Head to the Narrows Center in Fall River (for schedule of events visit narrowscenter.com)!

All the world’s a stage

Celebrate Armed Forces Day and travel back to the sounds of WWII USO clubs for “Stars & Stripes: A Musical Salute to the Troops” performed by The Seaglass Theatre on May 20 at the First Congregational Church in Fairhaven (newbedfordcreative.org)!

Don’t miss The Wilbury Group’s performances of “Indecent” through May 7, “Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight” May 25 to June 8 in Providence (thewilburygroup.org).

Discover the Barker Playhouse on Benefit Street in Providence, the oldest continuously-running little theatre in America! Don’t miss “Avenue Q” May 19-28 (playersri.org).

Show your support for the student-actors at the Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical High School by attending their performance of “9-5: The Musical” May 5-7 (newbedfordlight.com)!

Head for the Priscilla Beach Theatre in Plymouth, one of the oldest barn summer stock theatres in America! Plan ahead for “Singin’ in the Rain” May 5-13 (pbtheatre.org).

Mark your calendar to see “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” May 12-14, 19-21 at Your Theatre in New Bedford (yourtheatre.org)!

Enjoy dinner with your drama at the Newport Playhouse! (newportplayhouse.com)!

Buy tickets early to see “Sweeney Todd” May 25 to June 25 at Trinity Rep in Providence (trinityrep.com).

Why hassle with the bridges and the Cape traffic when you can head for State Pier in New Bedford to take a high-speed Seastreak Ferry to Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket starting May 11 (seastreak.com) or else take the Cuttyhunk Ferry for a day-trip to Cuttyhunk year-round (cuttyhunkferryco.com)!

Let the whole family learn how to sail from US Sailingcertified instructors at New Bedford’s Community Boating Center (communityboating.org).

Take the Block Island Ferry from Newport starting in June (blockislandferry.com).

Learn how to sail, rent a boat or just enjoy watching the races at Sail Newport , Rhode Island’s public sailing center – don’t miss Ocean Race Newport May 13-21, Youth

Challenge June 10-11 or the 2023 Newport Regatta July 7 (sailnewport.com)!

Tour Narraganset Bay or Newport Harbor past lighthouses and mansions, or take a fast ferry to the Vineyard or Block Island, with Rhode Island Bay Cruises (rhodeislandbaycruises.com)!

Explore and enjoy all things water – swimming, sailing – at the Onset Bay Center (savebuzzardsbay.org/discover/activities)!

Take a sightseeing cruise of the Cape Cod Canal from Onset Town Pier with Hyline Cruises – check out the cocktail cruises, live music cruises and musical Bingo (hylinecruises.com)!

Head for the Herreshoff Maritime Museum in Bristol, home of the America’s Cup Hall of Fame, for would-be-sailors of all ages to learn how to sail and race (herreshoff.org)!