16 Biggest Lifestyle, Music and Arts Stories of 2016

16..

SNL's Casey Affleck Does Hilarious Dunkin' Donuts Skit 

Saturday Night Live's Casey Affleck nailed it in the role of a Dunkin' Donuts customer. 

It was perfect. 

15.

Dale LePage Launches New England Pride TV 

Dale LePage launched his new show "New England Pride TV."

The goal of the program is to have a significant impact on perceptions and relations in and outside the gay, lesbian and transgender community, “Lets just say I hope it will be able to inform, entertain and maybe just maybe get to help some people that may be struggling and guide them to the information that may help them in their journey,” said LePage. 

14.

PVD Fest 2016 

The second Providence International Arts Festival rebranded as "PVDFest" took place from June 2-5 and featured a mix of local, national, and international acts on with artists coming in from Cuba, Holland, Haiti, Ghana, India and more. 

The festival also featured art shows, dancers and much more throughout the city of Providence. 

13.

RI Music Hall of Fame Inducts 8 New Members

The Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame inducted eight new members for their 2016 Hall of Fame Class.

The inductees were Greg Abate, Frankie Carle, Bill Harley, Carl Henry, Carol Sloane, Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Richard Walton, and The Young Adults / The Fabulous Motels / Rudy Cheeks.

12.

Newport Jazz Fest Brings in Over 24,000 Fans 

Over 24,000 fans turned out for the 2016 Newport Jazz Fest that was held at Fort Adams State Park and the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino from July 29 to the 31st.

Highlights of the 2016 festival included performances by Jazz legend Jimmy Heath, who thrilled the Harbor Stage crowd when he joined the RI big band for a portion of the set.

Other highlights included new works by bassist Ben Williams, pianist Peter Apfelbaum, drummer Tyshawn Sorey and pianist Sullivan Fortner. 

11.

Billy Gilman Advances to the Finals on NBC's "The Voice"

Rhode Island's Billy Gilman advanced to the final round on NBC's "The Voice" where he finished runner-up.

Gilman was born in Westerly, Rhode Island in 1988, recording his first single, "One Voice," at 11 years old. "One Voice" became a top 20 hit on the Billboard country music charts making Gilman the youngest singer to have a top 40 hit on the country music charts. 

After taking a break from music from 2009 to 2013, Gilman released a new single in 2014 titled "Say You Will."

10.

Rhode Island Pridefest 2016 

Thousands turned out for the 41st annual Rhode Island Pridefest was held in the city of Providence in mid-June. 

The festival featured a live performance by Sarah Potenza as well as a parade, costumes and much more. 

9.

Robert Redford Thanks Newport for Great Filmmaking Experience 

Actor Robert Redford wrote a letter thanking the city of Newport for their hospitality while he was shooting the movie "The Discovery." 

The Discovery is an upcoming romantic science fiction film that is directed by Charlie McDowell and stars Jason Segal, Rooney Mara, Jesse Plemons and Riley Keough. 

Production on the film concluded on May 1 with the film set to be released in 2017.

The Discovery is Redford's second shoot in Newport following The Great Gatsby in 1974. 

8.

Matunuck Oyster Bar Named One of Best Seafood Restaurants in U.S.

Matunuck Oyster Bar in South Kingstown was named one of the 21 best seafood restaurants in the country, ranked 16th, by timeout.com.

About Matunuck Oyster Bar, Timeout.com wrote the following:

Like Boston’s Island Creek, Matunuck Oyster Bar was founded by an actual oysterman. But the similarities pretty much end there. Located right on Potter Pond along with his shellfish beds and organic produce farm, Perry Raso’s place is a naturally laid-back affair: the picturesque setting provides all the mood lighting and decoration it needs, and the passing of the seasons determines only minor tweaks to the menu, as the staples are the staples for a reason. Aside from oysters in every way, shape and splendid form, you’re bound by unwritten state law to order the fried calamari with cherry peppers, the clear clam chowder and at least a couple of stuffies (stuffed and baked quahogs), Rhody classics all. After that, potato- or pistachio-crusted cod’s a favorite, as is pure and simple boiled lobster with lemon and butter, followed by the white chocolate-dipped key-lime pie—on a stick! Given the extra-casual context, you wouldn’t expect a solid wine selection, but there is one. Still, an oyster-garnished Bloody or regional craft beer proves just the patio pounder.

7.

Brown Grad Shruti Nagarajan Crowned Miss RI 2016

Brown grad Shruti Nagarajan was crowned Miss Rhode Island 2016. 

Nagarajan is an alum of Brown University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 2014. Nagarajan's talent was Bollywood fusion dance and her platform was "Upward Mobility: College Access for Low-Income and Minority Students."

Kate DePetro, Miss West Bay's Outstanding Teen, was crowned Most Outstanding Teen.

6.

Newport Folk Fest 2016

The Newport Folk Festival was another big hit in 2016, bringing stars like Norah Jones and Jay Sweet and well-known bands like Flight of the Concords. 

Friday's show saw a surprise appearance from legend Kris Kristofferson who played a full set, including the folk-rock classic "Me and Bobby McGee" creating new memories for Folk Festival diehards.

GoLocal's coverage of the Saturday shows can be seen here. 

Coverage of the Sunday shows can be seen here. 

5.

Local Comedians Spoof “We are RI” Tourism Video

Local comedians Derek Moore and Dan Paswell put together a parody of the original video that had been pulled by the Commerce Corporation after it was revealed that the state's video had used footage from Iceland.

"What happened was, Dan saw the original video first on Tuesday, and he tagged me in a comment -- I'd seen the logo and the spoofs on it already. So he asked, what are you doing between 4 and 8?  We have to make a spoof this video. I said really? He said, just watch it again, we've got to spoof it. I just grabbed a few different clothes and we took off. It's just the two of us," said Moore. 

4.

Bon Appetit Names Providence Restaurant 7th Best New Spot in America

One of America’s preeminent foodie magazines named Providence’s Oberlin one of the best new restaurants in America.

Bon Appetit named Providence's Oberlin restaurant on Union Street as the 7th best new restaurant in America.

About Oberlin, Bon Appetit wrote, “So grab a stool at the crudo bar for some raw fish and a bottle off the surprising sake list, but don’t stop there. As masterful as Sukle is with the raw, his skills with the cooked—­especially house-made pasta—may be more transcendent.

Pillowy gnocchi with littlenecks in a chive-flecked broth (the only clam chowder I’ll ever crave) should be inducted into the better-than-the-original hall of fame."

3.

Stan Lee Comes to RI Comic-Con 

In the history of Rhode Island Comic-Con, one could argue that comic book legend Stan Lee is the biggest name to ever come to the event. 

Lee along with artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko created the Marvel Comics universe which includes characters such as The Amazing Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor, X- men and many others.

He was at Comic-Con all three days and signed autographs and took pictures with hundreds of fans. 

2.

25 RI Supermarkets with the Highest Number of Health Violations

As part GoLocalProv's ongoing series of review state health inspections,including restaurants and school cafeterias, GoLocalProv reviewed the Rhode Island Department of Health’s inspection reports for the past three years which included over sixty stores from such chains as Aldi’s, Brigido’s, Dave’s, Price Rite, Seabra, Shaw's, Stop and Shop, and Whole Foods. 

Click here to see the violations.

1.

#DSTRONG Movement 

Dorian Murray of Westerly, was diagnosed with stage four cancer at the age of four.

At the age of eight, Dorian wished to become famous and that wish went viral. 

Sports stars, music stars, television celebrities and people all over the world have posted photos to Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag DSTRONG.

Dorian passed away in March.

GoLocalProv put together a slideshow of all the celebrities that posted photos with the sign #DSTRONG.