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🐝 More Butterflies, Bees, and Wild Color

🐝 More Butterflies, Bees, and Wild Color

Warm Blankets, Native Gardens, Team 870 Heads to Houston

Thomas Loncar
April 02, 2026

Together With

Good Morning, North Fork! Yesterday we may have briefly turned the North Fork into a toll road in your imagination. Before anyone starts calling town hall, we should clarify: it was an April Fools’ joke. No tolls, just the usual traffic and questionable left turns.

In today’s North Fork Buzz:

Warm Blankets
Native Gardens
Team 870 Heads to Houston

Ready, Set, Go!

The Lowdown

Warm Blankets 🏥

The Mattituck Lions Club is putting another $10,000 behind Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital, this time to help buy a blanket warmer for the emergency department. The upgrade is meant to keep patients more comfortable during treatment, especially those dealing with trauma, illness, or longer waits.

Hospital officials said the donation is the latest in a long line of support from the Lions Club, and one that will have an immediate effect on the patient experience in Greenport. A warmer blanket may not sound flashy, but in an ER, it goes a long way. ($)

Get the full story 👉 Suffolk Times

Native Gardens 🌱

Last summer, a quiet shift started taking root across the North Fork, and now it’s getting hard to miss.

Native plant gardens, once a niche hobby for a handful of environmentally minded locals, are popping up everywhere from backyards to public spaces. Fewer manicured lawns, more butterflies, bees, and wild color. And a lot less watering, chemicals, and maintenance.

At the center of it all is ReWild North Fork, a growing network of volunteers and community gardens that’s helped expand the movement to roughly 15 sites and counting.

This spring, a new native plant garden is set to go in behind Southold Town Hall, a sign that what started as grassroots is now getting municipal backing. Schools, wineries, and civic groups are jumping in too, turning the movement into a full on community effort.

It’s not without its quirks. Native gardens can look a little, chaotic in the offseason. But come spring and summer, supporters say the payoff is worth it, months of color, buzzing pollinators, and a landscape that actually works with nature instead of against it.

Get the full story 👉 North Fork Sun

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Happenings: Weekend Preview

Friday

🛍️ Spring Refresh A little retail thaw is happening in Southold, with sidewalk sales popping up along Main Road and at Feather Hill Shopping Center on Friday and Saturday as local shops clear out the last of winter and make room for fresh arrivals. More Info

🍽️ Mediterranean Dinner for Two If your ideal Friday or Saturday night involves skipping the dishes, North Fork Shack is putting together a Mediterranean dinner for two that checks all the boxes. Herb roasted leg of lamb, paired with whipped eggplant and toasted pita, roasted fennel with a bright grapefruit vinaigrette, thyme roasted vegetables, and a melon, feta, and mint salad. More Info

🍽️ American Beech Reopens Spring has officially made it to Greenport, and the American Beech Restaurant is back in action. The restaurant is reopening for the season with a refreshed menu that leans into bright, coastal flavors while keeping plenty of the favorites that made it a go to in the first place. More Info

Saturday

⛵ Greenport Boatbuilding If you’ve ever walked past the harbor and wondered how those classic wooden boats actually come to life, this one’s worth a spot on your calendar. The East End Seaport Museum is hosting a Spring Speaker Series talk with Donn Costanzo, diving into the story behind Kid II, a Gil Smith catboat replica that was built right here on the North Fork and launched in Greenport. More Info

🚗 Defensive Driving Course A little less exciting than a weekend winery run, but arguably more useful long-term. The Mattituck-Laurel Library is hosting a 6-hour defensive driving course designed to save you money and clean up your record at the same time. More Info

🦪 Oyster Dregs Hunt & Beach Clean Up A solid way to do something good for the shoreline and reward yourself after. Head out to help protect the Peconic beaches with a morning cleanup. Then, once the work is done, stick around for the payoff: beer and oysters. More Info

🥂 Wine & Macarons If your ideal spring activity involves something bubbly and a little sweet, Sparkling Pointe has you covered. The experience kicks off with a welcome toast before moving into a tasting flight of three sparkling wines, each paired with a French macaron. More Info

🍫 Chocolate Fondue Some plans don’t need much explanation: chocolate, wine, and a vineyard usually does the trick. Pindar Vineyards is teaming up with The French Picnic for a chocolate fondue experience. More Info

Sunday

🍳 Easter Brunch If you’re in charge of Easter plans this year, here’s an easy win. Little Fish is hosting brunch with their usual coastal spin on brunch favorites plus Keri’s Old Bay Bloody Mary bar. More Info

🥚 Brunch & Egg Hunt If you’re looking to lock in Easter plans and be done with it, The North Fork Table & Inn is putting together a prix fixe brunch that’s got it all. Full grazing table with house made pastries, cheeses, cured meats, and spring vegetables from local farms. Show up early and there’s even an Easter egg hunt. More Info

🥞 Spring Brunch For a no stress Easter plan, The Halyard is hosting a brunch that covers all the bases. It starts with a full continental spread, then moves into your choice of a featured entrée. More Info

🥞 Brunch Buffet & Prix Fixe If you’re trying to cover both ends of Easter without overthinking it, American Beech is doing both brunch and dinner. During the day, they’re offering a family friendly, affordable brunch buffet running until 2:30 PM. Then in the evening, they switch things up with a $45 prix fixe Easter dinner. Brunch | Dinner

🍽️ Three Course Dinner If making a decision at dinner feels like a full time job, Southold Social is simplifying things with a three-course menu that does the planning for you. More Info

🍽️ Easter Dinner If dinner is the main event this Easter, aMano is offering a special prix fixe menu that keeps things simple and well executed. Choose your thee options, and let the courses roll out. More Info

^{_{Nothing in this section is sponsored. They’re just fun things you need to know. I’ll always let you know when something is sponsored}}

Local Spotlight

Team 870 Heads to Houston 🤖

Southold Robotics Team 870 is officially headed to the FIRST World Championships in Houston after taking home the title at the FIRST Long Island Regional. Teaming up with an alliance captain from Kings Park and a partner team from Southampton, the local crew powered their way to victory and earned a spot on the world stage for the 10th time. Not bad for a group of students who’ve been putting in long hours after school and on weekends while the rest of us were debating takeout.

Now, Team 870 is working with the Southold School Educational Foundation to help raise funds for the trip, which will send 26 students from Southold, Greenport, and Mattituck high schools to Houston, where they’ll compete alongside more than 600 teams from around the world. They’ve launched a GoFundMe through the Southold School Educational Foundation to help cover the cost of getting those students to Houston.

For anyone looking to support something local with a big impact, this is one of those feel good efforts that’s easy to get behind.

^{_{Nothing in this section is sponsored. They’re just fun things you need to know. I’ll always let you know when something is sponsored}}

Live Music + Fun Breakdown

Thursday

Friday

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THANKS!

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Tom Loncar- Publisher
Nicole Loncar- Editor + Partnerships

🐝 More Butterflies, Bees, and Wild Color

Warm Blankets, Native Gardens, Team 870 Heads to Houston

Together With

Sponsored By Party Animal North Fork

Where North Fork Parties Begin 🎉

The Lowdown

Warm Blankets 🏥

Native Gardens 🌱

Sponsored by Quilts by Kate Douglass

Happenings: Weekend Preview

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Local Spotlight

Team 870 Heads to Houston 🤖

Live Music + Fun Breakdown

Thursday

Friday

THANKS!