You just knew it couldn't last forever — the excellent spring weather of the last week or so has given way to a weekend forecast of partly sunny skies and the threat of rain. Still, the rain should hold off long enough to get out to some of the outdoor activities on the slate for Bristol and Warren — and there are plenty of indoor things happening to dodge the drops. Click each blue link for more information — and be sure to call ahead to confirm. Friday, May 10: 10 am: Spring Book Sale at Rogers Free Library. All sorts of tomes for sale. Stock up for summer, or get something for Mom. Buy a…

  This week felt like the first real taste of spring [never mind the season starting back in March], and this weekend's forecast is likewise a treat, with sunny skies all weekend and temps hovering around 70. If that weren't enough, Bristol and Warren are hosting healthy slates of activities featuring local artists, shopping destinations, and the waterfront, so get out and enjoy! Click each blue link for more information — and be sure to call ahead to confirm. Friday, May 3: 10 am: Sidewalk Sales at various spots in Bristol. Check out the Bristol Merchants Association Facebook page for more …

  Are you putting together your weekend planner in Bristol and Warren? The forecast is for sun through the weekend with daytime highs in the lower 60s. So check out this list of local events — and get out and enjoy! Click each blue link for more information — and be sure to call ahead to confirm. Friday, Apr. 26: 7 pm: Open Mic Night at The Coffee Depot. Check out the local talent — and share yours. Free. 7:30 pm: Avenue Q performed at Roger Williams University. Described as Sesame Street for adults. $10 per person. Also on Apr. 27 at 7:30 pm. Saturday, Apr. 27: 9 am: Earth Day Event at Mount…

  Are you putting together your weekend planner in Bristol and Warren? The forecast is for a chance of rain Friday with sunny skies on Saturday and Sunday with highs in the 50s. So check out this list of local events — and get out and enjoy! Click each blue link for more information — and be sure to call ahead to confirm. Friday, Apr. 19: 4 pm: Earth Day Celebration at The Children's Workshop in Warren. Win a tree to plant or other green and growing things. Free. 7 pm: Evening Service for Boston at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Bristol. Reflections, meditations and prayers. 7 pm: Open Mic…

  Are you putting together your weekend planner in Bristol and Warren? The forecast is for a chance of rain Friday with sunny skies on Saturday and Sunday with highs in the 50s. So check out this list of local events — and get out and enjoy! Click each blue link for more information — and be sure to call ahead to confirm. Friday, Apr. 12: 9 am: Religion and State Conference at Roger Williams University Law School, 10 Metacom Ave. Guest speakers, presentations of articles, and more focusing on the church-state relationship around the world. Walk-ins welcome. $100. Also Saturday and Sunday, Apr…

  In the wake of last week's lock-down at the University of Rhode Island, Bristol-Warren Patch contacted Brian E. Clark, Director of Public Affairs at Roger Williams University, to ask about how RWU handles its safety and security procedures. As it happened, the university had a scheduled safety review on Friday, one day after the URI incident which appears to have started with an off-hand remark by a student and led to the cancellation of classes. "We are conducting customized Building Safety Training sessions for our campus buildings (this is what is scheduled [Friday] afternoon, for one …

  Starting to put your weekend plans together in Bristol and Warren? The forecast is for a 40-percent chance of rain today, with sunny to party cloudy skies on Saturday and Sunday with temps in the 50s — so get out and enjoy! Click each blue link for more information — and be sure to call ahead to confirm. Friday, Apr. 5: 5:30 pm: Painter Mark Freedman at Roger Williams University. Freedman is an urban scene artists whose work has been featured in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Free. 6 pm: Willy Wonka Jr. performed by Guiteras School students at Reynolds School, 235 High St., Bristol. $10 …

  It's perhaps the first thing visitors see when they arrive on the Prudence Island Ferry — the iconic Bristol Marine Armory, perched just a few feet from the harbor with imposing turrets evoking Revolutionary War-era architecture. The building's history seems to seep from every corner — although its age, too, is showing: plywood doors on bathroom stalls, aging woodwork around the windows, and protests from the squeaky staircases hint at better days gone past. Currently, the Armory houses what could charitably be called a hodge-podge: a large gymnasium where local kids can shoot hoops; the …

  Getting your weekend plans together? The forecast is for sunny skies and temps in the 40s all weekend, with windy conditions on Saturday — so get out and enjoy! Click each blue link for more information — and be sure to call ahead to confirm. Friday, March 22: 9 am to 2 pm: Estate Sale in the Barn, 132 Bay View Ave., Bristol. Antiques and other items for sale — including a 1987 Corvette. $1 and up. 5:30 pm: Open House Celebration at Harbor Bath & Body. Special discounts, food, raffles. Please bring items to donate to Bristol Animal Shelter. 7 pm: Open Mic at Coffee Depot: Bring your …

  So, just when is the first day of spring? The time and date seem to change every year — that's because the first day of spring is also the vernal equinox, which means “spring” and “equal night,” and changes every year. This year, spring officially starts at 7:02 am tomorrow, March 20. The vernal equinox means that that are exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness in the Northern Hemisphere – the same as the autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere. That’s when the sun passes directly overhead at noon if you are standing on the equator. The two equinoxes also see the sun rise…

  Thinking of what to do this weekend? A mix of sun and clouds is the forecast for Saturday and Sunday, plus it's St. Patrick's Day weekend — so get out and enjoy! Click each blue link for more information — and be sure to call ahead to confirm. Friday, March 15: 1 pm: It's a Beautiful World Exhibit Submissions Accepted: Hope Gallery has issued the call for art [except photography] for the new showing entitled "It's a Beautiful World" set to begin in May. $35 for up to three pieces. 6:30 pm: 2nd Annual Alumni Wrestling Match: Mt. Hope High School's wrestling squad hosts a motley crew of …

You know the old saying: "Fall back, spring forward." Well, it's almost time to spring forward.  Officially Daylight Saving is 2 am on Sunday. This year, we move the clocks overnight on Sunday, March 10, in advance of the official Daylight Saving Time of 2 am. [Last year, it was on March 11.] Don't forget to move your clocks ahead one hour before going to bed Saturday night. Moving the clocks ahead does mean we all lose an hour of sleep, but in return it will be light later in the day. Besides, the lost hour falls on Saturday night — so just sleep in a bit on Sunday before getting up and …

  Students in Bristol-Warren public schools will get a long weekend starting March 8, as the regional school district has a professional development day scheduled. The school department calendar lists Friday as the last of three "PD Days" held during the 2012-13 school year. Friday is also one of two scheduled days off for the district; the other is Good Friday, which this year falls on March 29. [And for parents — and kids — wondering about the next vacation week, it's scheduled for April 15 to 19.]

Around the Christmas season, the Warren Post Office is swarmed by hundreds of letters to Santa Claus from children announcing their Christmas list and defending any questionable behavior; but what happens from there? If Warren's postmaster, Lawrence Kirby, has anything to say about it, these letters do not go ignored. Every letter to Santa that comes through the Warren Post Office with a return address gets a response. Members of the Post Office staff take turns working on the responses. "Everyone pitches in; it happens almost magically," said Kirby. "The custodian might take a few in the …

Its crazy to imagine life without a cell phone these days, especially when you're like me; running between 3 jobs, and a (now semi-defunct) social life, not to mention the constant flood of unmotivated calls and texts from friends, family, and the ever-important Twitter update. Having a reliable cell phone seems to be a critically important part of our tech-based lives, but having a phone without reception? It's torturous. To try and rid the world (well, I'll start with the East Bay) of crappy cell reception, I filled my pockets with borrowed phones, proclaimed myself "Cellphone Girl," and …