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SHIP’S LOG
Good morning from the shoreline.
Trying out a new design this week. Let me know what you like or what is missing!
Friday night, Ocean Beach Park does fireworks over the boardwalk with an Elton John tribute in front of them, free with regular parking. Saturday, Mystic Seaport throws a birthday party for the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaleship left anywhere, launched 185 years ago this week. And the vineyard calendar is as full as it gets: sets at Saltwater Farm, Stonington Vineyards, Kingdom of the Hawk, and Jonathan Edwards, most of them free with a glass in hand.
Here’s what I’ve surfaced this week.
Weather watch: Saturday storms could move Floatswella to Sunday. Check before launching.
START HERE
The weekend in 30 seconds
THE MARQUEE
Fireworks over Ocean Beach
Friday · 8pm · New London
Ben Eramo’s Elton John tribute on the boardwalk, fireworks after the set. Included with regular parking admission. Details are in the Friday listings below.
FOR FAMILIES
Saturday · 10am–5pm · Mystic
A birthday party at Mystic Seaport for the last wooden whaleship on earth. LEGO boats, Brick Bingo, and cake.
BEST VALUE
Thursday · 6pm · Noank
Tonight at Esker Point Beach: he fills rooms on his own; here it’s the Sound behind him. Bring a chair.
SLOW SUNDAY
A vineyard afternoon
Sunday · from 2:30pm · Stonington
Big Lux at Deans Mill Farm (2:30pm), Nick Bosse at Kingdom of the Hawk (3pm), David Swanson at Saltwater Farm (3pm). Pick a lawn.
COMMUNITY FUNDRAISER · SUPPORTED BY SHORELINE CREW
Sip, Sway & Support
Friday, July 24 · 5–9pm · Saltwater Farm Vineyard, Stonington
Wine, Tox Brewing pours, live music from Eric Nicolas, the Rolling Tomato food truck, and a basket raffle. Tickets are $35, with proceeds benefiting the Arthritis Foundation.
The fundraiser was created to find a cure for people like Gracie, who was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis at 11 and still lives with its effects at 19. Her family is raising money for research toward better treatments and, ultimately, a cure.
EDITOR’S PICKS
The Digest
SATURDAY, JULY 18 · 1–10PM · FIREWORKS 9PM
Niantic closes Main Street for Celebrate East Lyme
Main Street · Niantic
Celebrate East Lyme gets nearly a mile of Main Street on Saturday, with more than 200 vendors plus live music and performance stages running from 1 to 10pm. Fireworks go up over Niantic Bay at 9. This is the one to plan the whole evening around.
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
The Thames gets the full history treatment
Thames River · New London & Groton
Saturday, In Our Nation’s Defense: Military Stories on the Thames runs at 11:30am, and Mohegan Life on the Massapequatuck departs the Submarine Force Museum at 3pm, telling the river’s oldest story from the water. Sunday morning, The Gilded Age on the Thames walks the mansions-and-money side of New London at 11:45. And the hop-on, hop-off harbor cruise runs both days from 11am, with 20-plus heritage sites on both sides of the river. If you’ve only ever crossed the Thames on the Gold Star Bridge, it’s time to see it from the water.
THE FULL RUNDOWN
This week’s events
Thursday, July 16
DPNC: Seeds on the Move
11am · Mystic & Noank Library · nature center program for the kids · MYSTIC
Sing Sea Shanties with the Mystic Seaport
2pm · Stonington Free Library · STONINGTON
Plant Swap
3pm · Public Library of New London · bring a cutting, leave with someone else’s · NEW LONDON
Local Journalism, Community Impact with CT Examiner
5pm · Stonington Free Library · how local news gets made · STONINGTON
Violet Theory at Saltwater Farm Vineyard
5pm · 349 Elm Street · STONINGTON
Thirsty Thursdays at Deans Mill Farm w/ Nick Bosse
5:30pm · Deans Mill Farm · STONINGTON
Summer Evening Sailing
5:30pm · Mystic Seaport Sailing Center · MYSTIC
Summer Beats: Wicked Peach
6pm · Charter Oak · NEW LONDON
MISFIT Karaoke
7:30pm · The Misfit Club · MYSTIC
Friday, July 17
Ethan Joella Author Talk and Signing
6pm · the novelist behind “The Top of the World” · MYSTIC
Summer Concert Series
6pm · McCook Point Park bandshell · free night by the water · EAST LYME
Sounds by the Seaport
6pm · NEW LONDON
Whiskey Boulevard, City of Groton Concerts in the Park
6:30pm · free, on the grass · GROTON
Fireworks Night + Elton John Tribute with Ben Eramo
8pm · Ocean Beach Park · fireworks follow the set · NEW LONDON
Saturday, July 18
Latino Outdoors CT × Adventure Mystic Kayaking
9–11am · Adventure Mystic, 15 Holmes Street · free, gear provided, ages 3+ · MYSTIC
Charles W. Morgan Birthday Weekend
10am · Mystic Seaport · the whaleship turns 185: LEGO boats, Brick Bingo, and cake · MYSTIC
Hop On, Hop Off Harbor Cruises
11am · runs Sunday too, 20-plus heritage sites on both sides of the Thames · GROTON & NEW LONDON
In Our Nation’s Defense: Military Stories on the Thames
11:30am · NEW LONDON
Floatswella 2026
1pm · paddle flotilla on the Mystic River; Sunday is the rain date · MYSTIC
Relief Printing 101
1pm · MYSTIC
Celebrate East Lyme
1–10pm, fireworks 9pm · featured above · NIANTIC
Faith Trumbull Huntington: Beloved Governor’s Daughter
2pm · Fort Griswold Monument House Museum · GROTON
Mohegan Life on the Massapequatuck: Origins of the Mohegans
3pm · departs the Submarine Force Museum · Mohegan history told from the water · GROTON
Beach Party: O’Neill Summer Gala
6pm · Eugene O’Neill Theater Center · WATERFORD
Craftwork & Community + Sights & Sounds opening receptions
6pm · Hygienic Art · two openings, one night on Bank Street · NEW LONDON
Dance Saturday at The Misfit Club
7:30pm · MYSTIC
Carl Ricci & 706 Union Ave.
8pm · Hygienic Art Park · NEW LONDON
Sunday, July 19
The Gilded Age on the Thames
11:45am · mansions-and-money walking history · NEW LONDON
The Web They Wove: Women & Their Wardrobes During New England’s Revolution
4pm · 35 Broad Street · GROTON
Monday, July 20
Tweens & Teens Pop-Up Art Studio: Hand Sewing Workshop
2pm · Mystic & Noank Library · MYSTIC
Sabino Music Cruises
5:30pm · Mystic Seaport · live music and a cash bar downriver · MYSTIC
Adult Racing
5:30pm · Mystic Seaport Sailing Center · MYSTIC
Blue Monday Concert Series: Sugar Ray & The Bluetones
6pm · free roots music, throw a few dollars in the bucket for the food bank · STONINGTON
Mystic Schooners vs Valley Blue Sox
6:30pm · Fitch Senior High School · cheap summer ball under the lights · GROTON
Trivia Night at Friar Tuck’s Tavern
6:30pm · MYSTIC
Tuesday, July 21
Food Explorers: Italian Fruit Tarts Baking Workshop for Kids
3:30pm · Mystic & Noank Library · MYSTIC
Waterford Community Band: Summer Sounds
7pm · Mystic Seaport · MYSTIC
Trivia Night at The Jealous Monk
7pm · MYSTIC
Wednesday, July 22
The Whalemobile at Stonington Free Library
4pm · a life-size inflatable whale you walk inside, the right chaser to the Morgan’s birthday · STONINGTON
Tim Stawarz Emerging Musician Summer Concert Series
6–9pm · Hygienic Art Park · NEW LONDON
Food, drink & music
FRIDAY NIGHT
Tequila and mezcal, taught properly
Chef Anthony Caporale, Mystic’s own master mixologist, runs a guided tasting and mixology class on agave spirits Friday at 6pm. If your margarita game has been the same since college, this is the fix. Classes are small. Details →
FRIDAY ON THE LAWN
Azalea Drive at Stonington Vineyards
The summer concert series continues Friday from 6 to 9pm: lawn chairs and picnics welcome, $10 in advance or $15 at the door, and 20% of proceeds go to The Warm Center. Pack dinner and let the evening run long. Details →
SUNDAY NIGHT
Shovels & Rope in a small room
The husband-and-wife duo land at the UNITED Theatre’s Black Box in Westerly Sunday night, doors 7, show 8, all ages. They put on one of the best live shows in roots music, and the Black Box is small enough to feel every bit of it. Tickets run $45–52 and this one will move. Tickets →
WEEKEND MARKETS
Two farmers markets for the weekend
Get the week’s produce local. The Stonington Village Farmers Market sets up Saturday at 9am, and the Denison Farmers Market runs Sunday at noon on the Denison Homestead grounds in Mystic.
Full live-music list at wailingcity.com →
If you miss the lineup reply and let me know!
CREW PROJECT
The Crew dinner: an update
Thanks to everyone who voted over the last two issues. About two-thirds of you said yes: enough to prove the idea has legs. But summer calendars are already packed, so I’m holding the first dinner for fall rather than forcing a date half the Crew can’t make. The idea is very much alive.
This week, something easier. The lawns are loaded every night, so settle it:
Peak vineyard season — what's your setup?
SAVE THE DATE
On the horizon
JULY 23–26
Blessing of the Fleet returns to Stonington Borough, the shoreline’s oldest working-waterfront tradition: the 5K Thursday at 6pm, the Portuguese Holy Ghost Society’s food and music Saturday, and the Fisherman’s Mass and blessing procession to the Town Dock Sunday. Told you last week: this is the year.
JULY 24
Everclear plays Jonathan Edwards Winery in North Stonington at 7pm. ’90s alt under the stars at one of the area’s best vineyards. 21 and up.
JULY 25–26
International Sea Glass Festival on the Village Green at Mystic Seaport, 10am to 5pm both days: 50-plus juried artisans, talks, and a sea glass contest down by the water. One ticket covers the whole weekend.
COASTAL WEATHER
The weekend outlook
FRIDAY
83°
Sunny, hazy start
SATURDAY
79°
Showers likely, storms late
SUNDAY
83°
AM showers, then clearing
That’s your week: fireworks over the boardwalk Friday, a 185th birthday Saturday, Shovels & Rope Sunday, and a vineyard set every night in between.
Pick one thing off the list and get out the door.
What’s the one summer thing around here you keep meaning to do and still haven’t done this year? Hit reply and tell me. I’ll nudge you before the season runs out.
Talk Thursday.
Reach shoreline locals every Thursday
Presenting partnerships, featured events, Crew Corner campaigns, and local notices are available.
