Happy New Year, everybody.
If you chose to go out last night for New Year’s Eve, I hope you brought 2025 to an emphatic close.
As for myself, I’m usually either all-in for New Year’s Eve or all-out, and this year I was all-out. Which meant a kind of melancholy evening for me as I sat in front of a cozy fire, but definitely a much more cleared-headed New Year’s Day morning than I had a year ago.
It’s a bit of a cliche, for sure, but New Year’s Day always makes me think of the Southern staples of collard greens and black-eyed peas, which I really did consume as a kid growing up in Wilmington in the 1970s and ’80s.
The way I always heard it, the greens symbolized paper money and the peas stood for coins, which is probably why I remember my grandfather forgoing the black-eyed peas on New Year’s and filling his plate with collards. He didn’t have time for change, he just needed that cash.
Anyway, here’s to wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2026. Now let’s see what the first weekend of the year has in store.
Weekend weather outlook
It’s shaping up to be a bit of a rainy weekend in Wilmington. Overcast and cool Friday, highs in the upper 50s, with a near-100% chance of rain Saturday, highs in the low 50s. Rain moving out Sunday, and we could end the weekend with some sun in the afternoon, high near 50.
Go | See | Do
If you didn’t get your fill of going out on New Year’s Eve, or you chose to skip the festivities this year and stay in, this weekend offers some options. For starters, we’ve got a big ol’ rock ‘n’ roll stage musical; a rare Wilmington performance by a locally based, nationally touring stand-up comic; a range of live music, from jazz and blues to Southern and garage rock; a notable film screening/fundraiser; and even a chance to get out into nature. Full list below.
The Dish with Port City Foodies
A downtown Wilmington restaurant has closed after a decade in business. Food writer Allison Ballard has the story. Plus, a look at which Wilmington-area chain restaurants have the best reviews on Yelp, and we remember two local restaurant owners we lost this year.
Getting to know Wilmington history
These days in Wilmington we’ve got a couple of different YMCAs to choose from. Back in the day, however, there was only one YMCA, and it was in the heart of downtown Wilmington.
News you can use
We look ahead to some Wilmington-area anniversaries we’ll be marking in 2026, and back at some notable folks we lost in 2025. Plus, the new North Carolina laws to know for 2026.
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