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Good morning from the shoreline.

I took my daughter to the egg hunt at Stone Acres Farm on Saturday. We were a little late. To say no eggs could be found would be an understatement, it was as if locusts had descended. Thankfully the ice cream stand saved the afternoon.

Quick shoutout to Nichole S. for coming through with a hair stylist rec after my plea last week. 🙌 And a shoutout to you, for reading, for sharing, for telling your friends. We've gained 1,000 new readers in the last two weeks. The goal has always been to help this community feel a little more connected, and it's clear that's resonating.

Spring is upon us and I’ve been thinking of ways to get the Crew together.

PRESENTED BY: Gillian Rae Photography

If your wedding photographer asks you to do a stiff pose in front of a hedge, Gillian Mattern is not your photographer. If you want someone who'll capture the real stuff, the laughing, the crying, the look your partner gives you when they think nobody's watching, she is. Gillian is a shoreline local, a documentary-style shooter, and one of the most genuinely easy people to be around on what can be a genuinely stressful day.

See how she works and what couples are saying →

One of the best-selling humor writers alive is doing a reading at the Garde Arts Center in New London this Saturday at 8pm.

A Holi celebration with food, dance, and color at Coogan Farm in Mystic this Saturday at 2pm. It's a family-friendly afternoon, worth checking out if you've never been to one or if you're just looking for something different this weekend.

DPNC is running spring break programming all week, Stonington Free Library has school vacation events, and the events list is longer than usual. Take a look at the events list below to prepare yourself.

Want to share a Featured Event ? Reach out and let’s talk.

Opening a restaurant? Launching a new menu? Reply to this email and let us share it with the community!

Waterford Scavenger Hunt by Ivy's Homemade Waterford · Waterford

Circle of Friends Book Sale Groton Public Library · 9am · Groton

Friends of Mystic & Noank Library: Art Sale Mystic & Noank Library · 10am · Mystic

Little Explorers Storytime Mystic & Noank Library · 10:30am · Mystic

Food Explorers for Kids: Cannoli Cones Mystic & Noank Library · 4pm · Mystic

Karaoke at The Misfit Club The Misfit Club · 7:30pm · Mystic

Hannibal Buress United Theatre · 7:30pm · Westerly

Groton Park Clean-up Birch Plains Creek Wildlife Area · 9am · Groton

Stories, Music, Nursery Rhymes and Dancing Mystic & Noank Library · 10:30am · Mystic

Raffetto's Palate Cooking Class Stonington Community Center · 5:30pm · Stonington

Misquamicut Beach Luau The Windjammer · 6:30pm · Westerly

Dance Friday with DJ Nervous The Misfit Club · 7:30pm · Mystic

Stonington Village Farmers Market The Velvet Mill · 9am · Stonington

Community Shred Day Chelsea Groton Bank – Gold Star Hwy · 9am · Groton

Friends of Mystic & Noank Library: Art Sale Mystic & Noank Library · 10am · Mystic

Single Family Home Public Auction 207 Boston Post Road · 10:30am · Waterford

Daffodil Festival Denison Homestead · 11am · Mystic

Embroidery Pop-up Mystic & Noank Library · 12pm · Mystic

Outer Light's 11th Anniversary Weekend Outer Light Brewing Company · 1pm · Groton

Intro to Wood Carving: Free Workshop Mystic Museum of Art · 1pm · Mystic

Beginner's Crochet Mystic & Noank Library · 1pm · Mystic

Spring Native Seed Sowing Workshop Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center · 1:30pm · Stonington

Holi Rhythms: Food, Dance, and Color Coogan Farm · 2pm · Mystic

Improv for Introverts, Extroverts, and Everyone-in-Between Mystic & Noank Library · 2pm · Mystic

Pintwood Derby 2026 at Beer'd Brewing Co Beer'd Brewing Co at the Silo · 4pm · Groton

Romance Showdown – Classical Fundraising Concert Red Barn at Mitchell College · 5pm · New London

David Sedaris at the Garde Garde Arts Center · 8pm · New London

Mystic Wedding Expo Hilton Mystic · Mystic

Gungywamp Hike Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center · 10am · Mystic

Brunch with Bottomless Mimosas The Jealous Monk · 10:30am · Mystic

Art Lab: Weaving Workshop with Jude Larzelere La Grua Center · 2pm · Stonington

Deborah Goodrich Royce Author Talk The United Theatre · 4pm · Westerly

Spring Break Week Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center · Mystic

School Vacation Week at SFL Stonington Free Library · Stonington

Check out wailingcity.com for music and venue updates

If you've been up the Groton Monument, all 166 steps, you've walked past a bronze plaque listing every defender of Fort Griswold by name. Two names worth stopping for: Jordan Freeman and Lambert Latham.

On September 6, 1781, Benedict Arnold sailed 32 ships up the Thames with 1,700 British troops. He burned New London to the ground. Across the river, about 160 local militia held Fort Griswold against 800 soldiers. Farmers, merchants, retired sailors, teenagers. They fought hard enough to wound or kill nearly a quarter of the attacking force. When the fort was breached, Colonel Ledyard surrendered and offered his sword. The British officer drove it through his body. What followed was a massacre. Most of the 85 American dead were killed after the surrender. Forty women widowed, 200 children left fatherless in a single afternoon. Six weeks later, the war ended at Yorktown.

Jordan Freeman was a Black man, formerly enslaved by Colonel Ledyard, freed at the start of the Revolution. When British Major Montgomery scaled the rampart, Freeman grabbed a pike and killed him. Freeman was killed in the massacre that followed.

Lambert Latham, also a Black man from Groton, killed the officer who murdered Ledyard. He was found among the dead with 33 bayonet wounds.

Both names are carved into the monument alongside every other defender. No asterisks, no separate section. Same stone, same letters. The Groton Monument predates both Bunker Hill and Washington, making it one of the oldest memorial obelisks in America and one of the earliest to inscribe Black soldiers by name next to their white neighbors.

America's 250th is next July. Fort Griswold is open daily, free. Worth the visit.

Votes are in from last week, turns out most of you prefer to start your mornings down by the water with a coffee walk coming in a close 2nd. I’m thinking if we combine those two, that's a perfect shoreline morning right there!

A few things worth putting on your calendar now:

Craft Creamery Opens for the Season— Ice cream season is back in Niantic. Opening day is April 10. Early season hours: Mon–Fri 4–9pm, Sat–Sun 12–9pm.

Masters Weekend at Friar Tuck's — Sun Cruiser and Sinless are setting up a putting green at Tuck's in Mystic this Saturday and Sunday. Prizes involved. Show up.

Surprise Ball Workshop at Windie's — Kids make layered surprise balls with tiny treasures inside. Crepe paper, snacks, drinks for grown-ups included. April 19 in Westerly — 11am, 12pm, and 1pm sessions plus walk-ins. Tickets via link in bio.

Earth Day Expo — Groton Public Library, April 25. Free.

Abbott's Opens May 1 — Lobster rolls are back at Abbott's Lobster in the Rough in Noank. First day of the season, plus the annual First Customer Race. Mark it.

Kentucky Derby Parties — May 2. Hats, mint juleps, and watch parties across the shoreline. We'll have the full list in the newsletter closer to race day.

Mother's Day Reservations — May 10 is coming fast. If you're planning brunch or dinner out, book now — the good spots fill up weeks ahead.

Pirate Days at Mystic Seaport — Treasure hunts, cannon drills, a pirate parade. April 16–17. If you have kids, this one's worth planning around.

Sushi, Sips & Island Vibes — Hands-on sushi-making with tropical cocktails at Rum Tropic Distillery in Stonington. April 19. No experience needed.

That's your week. Spring break starts Monday, Sedaris is at the Garde Saturday, and the events list is the longest one I've put together yet. Plenty of reasons to get out the door.

A question for you, what's your go-to spot when you have people visiting from out of town? The place you always take them. Restaurant, beach, bar, hike, whatever it is. Reply and tell me. I'm collecting answers for an upcoming issue.

See you out there!