Hello Fellow Islanders,

Spring has sprung again and all around the island are signs summer will be here before we know it! Our summer wildlife including the osprey have returned, yardwork is well underway, and homes closed for the winter are opening again. We are all hoping the community can continue to get back to some form of normalcy this season.

The PIA board has been checking some items off our seemingly never-ending list of long-term goals. Seventeen years ago, we started having the PIA property surveyed. The purpose of the first survey was to understand and make public what land was protected for all island residents and their guests to access the shoreline as written in our deed.

The 2nd survey conducted on the property around PIA hall was to understand where our property lines are to best utilize our community space. We are pleased to say that after 17 years and 2 lawsuits the property lines are marked with a rustic looking fence and will be preserved for future generations.

For those who don’t yet know or anyone who may have forgotten, the east side of Narragansett Ave from Homestead to Sand Point (except for property in front of 0436 & 0442 Narragansett Ave) is owned by the PIA. This land is to be used by all islanders and their guests to have shoreline access and enjoy our beautiful island home. Please use this space for daytime parking only as needed. There is no overnight parking without written permission from the PIA board. (If permission is needed due to hardship, please email PIA.board@gmail.com and situations will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.) The east side of Narragansett is an appropriate place to park when attending PIA events. Please do not park on the west side of Narragansett as that is private property, and it is important to respect those homeowners and to keep the road open for emergency vehicles.

Inside the PIA hall we have checked more items off our to-do list. All the lights in the hall have been replaced with LED fixtures and the old wiring removed. Our fire alarm now has a radio box attached. If the fire alarm goes off, Portsmouth fire station will immediately be notified, and it will get toned out to PIVFD. Outside, the basketball light timer has been fixed and cannot be turned on between 10 PM and 8 AM.

The parking area north of the basketball court is still a work in progress but is coming along.

I think this should get everyone caught up on our behind-the-scenes work. Please read the rest of the newsletter for important information on our upcoming events. We look forward to seeing everyone back at the PIA hall and wish everyone a great summer season!

Weekly Friday Night BINGO starts Friday June 3, 2022! BINGO will be looking more "normal" this season, but we will still be watching COVID-19 numbers and following State guidelines. These guidelines are frequently changing so the PIA is prepared to be flexible to meet whatever restrictions may or may not be put in place.

As of May 2022, we are back to full capacity, and we will no longer be limiting the number of players per table. The table layout will remain the same as last year. We ask that the only tables that get pulled together are the ones against the east and west walls, so the BINGO workers can easily move around the room.

Regardless of the COVID restrictions, to maximize the number of people allowed to play BINGO we will be allowing only those actively playing BINGO to be in the hall, so no non-playing adults and no children will be allowed indoors during BINGO.

Flow of traffic in the hall will be the same as last year. Players will enter through the east facing doors and exit through the south doors.

All players must be PIA members.

This year all family and individual memberships must be purchased by midnight the Wednesday prior to that Friday’s game. No annual membership sales will take place on Thursday or at BINGO. Non-members can purchase a one-night membership for that evening in order to play.

We will be playing the popular Queen of Hearts game again this year! Tickets will not be sold with your BINGO packet but can instead be purchased at their own table in the southwest corner of the hall. No online or pre-reservations are required for BINGO this year. Packets will be sold at the hall on BINGO nights. Doors open at 6:30pm for packet sales and calling starts at 8pm. Feel free to come early to get your packet and save your seat by placing your packet on the table. You do not have to stay until calling if you write your name on the back of your packet and leave it at your spot. Just make sure to be back before calling starts!

We are closely monitoring the guidelines, adapting as needed, and we are really looking forward to seeing our members and some new faces as well!

$25 Family Membership - 2 adults and children under 18 years of age.

$15 Individual Membership - 18 years old and older.

Payments may be made online here or your check may be mailed to:

President - Pat Rossi

Vice President - Melanie Curley

Treasurer - Linda Mosher

Secretary - Meg Bear

Executive Committee Members: Jayne West, Kristen Koopman and Stephanie Jenness

Dance your way into summer on June 25th. Come join us as the band Mutiny will be rocking the night away to help us raise funds to update basketball/pickleball court. The six-member band which has been together for several years, is led by long time islander Bobby Depalo on the drums. Mutiny met at School of Rock and have been playing together for several years. The band plays classic rock and refers to themselves as a fun band. Music starts at 7:00pm. All donations big or small are welcome and appreciated to help us get this project completed! The kitchen will be open and serving up some delicious food for purchase. So put on your dancing shoes and boogie on over to the PIA for some fun…see you there!

Once again, we regret to announce we will not be having the chowder/stuffie cook off. With continued Covid concerns and the style of the cookoff we feel it is best to cancel this event again this year. Don’t fret, we will be having the Spaghetti and Meatball Dinner in its place so you can have a night out, see some island friends and not have to cook. Last year’s event was a big success, we served over 150 dinners. Salad rolls and dessert will be included. There will also be a penny social table, liquor basket raffles, lottery tree and 50/50 raffle. Donations for raffle prizes are needed and can be dropped off on Fridays during BINGO or with any PIA board member. Thank you and follow us on Facebook for further details.

Every Tuesday night during game night, volunteers will be holding a basketball clinic where kids can work on shooting and dribbling skills, learn the rules of the game, and play in some mini games. We will be playing games like PIG, knock out and around the world. Mid-August the PYO will host a Youth Basketball Tournament for ages 6-18. If anyone wants to volunteer to help with the clinics on Tuesday and/or the tournament, please reach out to Stephanie scmeier@gmail.com.

At our community building we can offer a lot of fun, exciting, and mostly free events for the youth of the island.

We are always looking for new PYO members and invite all kids ages 10 thru 18 to join! Kids can join by coming to a meeting, held at the PIA on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM starting June 29th. Not only does becoming a member look fantastic on a college application or resume,

but you get to come with us on some awesome trips!

Our current board members are:

President: Madeline Emmot

Vice-President: Vanessa Vargas

Treasurer: Emilia Koopman

Secretary: Bella Bear

Game Night for this season begins on Tuesday 6/28/22. Kids BINGO starts at 7pm, this is a free event. Kids under 10 are always welcome but must be accompanied by an adult.

During Game Night, the snack shack will be serving ice cream sundaes, root beer & orange

floats and drinks.

We are always accepting and very appreciative of donations of BINGO prizes for kids ages 5 thru 17. The current PIA Board members overseeing the PYO are Kristin Koopman and Meg Bear.

Movie Night starts Wednesday, 6/29/22. The 1st movie of the night is for all ages and starts at 7pm while the 2nd showing is for kids 13+ and starts approx. 8:30pm. You can check our website for the latest movie showing. Kids under 12 are always welcome but must be accompanied by an adult. The snack shack is open during movie night. All the proceeds from the Snack Shack go back to the PYO.

The Island Treasure & Craft Fair is sponsored by the PYO and donations from vendor tables benefit the kids! This year it will be held on 7/18 from 9am to Noon. We are looking for more crafters to sell their goods at this event. The donation per table is $25 for non-members and $20 for members. If you are interested in a table, please reach out to us at pyo1018@gmail.com.

The PIA & PYO are great for kids and families to gather and enjoy life on the island. To be able to continue offer these fun events we need the community's cooperation by respecting our building’s neighbors, being mindful of the noise level, keeping the area clean, and vacating the property by 10pm each evening. Field trips are one of the PYO member’s favorite parts of the organization! This past summer season PYO members took a trip to Seekonk Grand Prix and all members really enjoyed themselves. Meg and Kristin also set up a pirate themed escape room for the PYO members in the PIA. Thankfully, the kids were successful and were able to get themselves out! There was no winter field trip due to COVID-19 but we are hoping to bring it back this winter. Previous winter trips have been to go skiing and snow tubing!