The first weekend in May- a stimulating time for any city, but exponentially so it would seem for a budding PVD.  After a long, dark winter, once naked trees are gussied up in their pastel ruffles, occasionally loosening a few satin buttons to shower spring adventurers in their dreamy hue.  The world has brightened its lens, and our little city is embracing this seasonal shift in conjunction, it would seem, with a timely boost into the national spotlight.  Blossoming in more ways than one, if you’ll excuse my trite pun. (And that unintentional rhyme.)

With festivities like Westminster Street’s Cinco de Mayo (on el segundo) block party this past weekend, Narragansett Beer’s Neighbor Days Block Party on Thayer Street coming in a couple weeks, and a Providence/Boston food truck showdown at India Point sponsored by Sam Adams Beer already penciled in for the first week of June, it’s safe to say PVD enjoys its fair share of spring and summertime libations celebrations.  But rest-assured it’s not all about the boozing for Providencers (Providencians? Provites?)…locals of little Rhodie’s ahsty capital are flocking to hip destinations in all of PVD’s “burroughs” from the clever gift shops of Hope Village to the impeccably designed coffee shops of Fox Point.  Families, college students, and artists alike are reveling in the unremitting freshness of this seasonal change, embracing the thawing of our neighborhoods with bare shoulders and full social calendars.

Saturday’s Cinco de Mayo bash was the first of many warm-weather activities to be enjoyed in Providence this season.  Vendors lined historic Westminster Street (my favorite downtown stretch), an impressive spread featuring the work of local artists, vintage pop-up shops, and of course a selection of PVD’s nationally recognized food trucks.  It was the Talulah’s Taco stand and the fresh margarita’s being served up in Grant’s Block, though, that won the event for me.  Friends old and new, ballet, business and otherwise congregated between beautiful brick buildings to bond over salsa and our common reacquaintance with the sun.  An authentic mariachi provided musical accompaniment, and vibrantly face-painted children fed the festive spirit of this dappled assembly of fun-seekers.  An excellent (re)introduction to a well-loved, if most often hibernating, season of vibrance for this little city I love to call home.

Stay tuned for more news about Providence’s buzzing social scene as the summer unfolds.