Get Your Stroll On

The sun’s scheduled to be stunning, the shops are ready to shine and Newport is open for business. Tomorrow’s Spring Stroll, taking place along Bellevue Avenue and William Street, welcomes the season with grand openings, in-store promotions, refreshments and nibbles from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lisa Sarro Fitzpatrick, co-owner of Wish, the much-loved upscale consignment boutique, says the brand new William Street location is stunning and stocked with designer duds and fabulous shoes. Marcela Calvet’s eponymous luxe handbag boutique will officially open its doors at 59 Bellevue (here’s the story I broke on her arrival), and while you’re down in that end of the neighborhood, be sure to stop in the gourmet trio of La Maison de Coco, Le Petit Gourmet and the Newport Wine Cellar.

On the opposite end of Bellevue, but sure to pop by Sequin and the newly opened Sara Campbell (I got the scoop first on her foray into Newport-here’s the skinny), Twig, and across Memorial Boulevard, the shops on the Casino Block are ready to rock. Papers and Lulubelle’s will be welcoming strollers, as will J. McLaughlin, which is hosting a Sip & Shop event to benefit the American Cancer Society (15% of your purchase will be donated to the ACS). Denim doyenne Laura Jean will be serving refreshments and offering free chair massages by massage therapist Julie Basil Pierce, and The Linen Shop has a great sale and fresh linens for spring.

Head down William Street where you’ll find the aforementioned Wish, plus It’s My Party Bake Shoppe and the fabulous Rib & Rhein. At Wag Nation, your fashionable four-legged friends will be doted over and as I suspect, showered with treats. Look for the balloons for shops participating in the stroll.