Hey South Shore, last weekend was a quiet one. Not much on Main Street, just one of those rare South Shore weekends where everyone exhaled. We'll take it. Mother's Day is Sunday, and this weekend builds toward it from every direction.

Friday and Saturday give us a Michael Jackson tribute at Patchogue Theatre and Gateway opens its season with West Side Story. Plus tribute shows at Boulton, a downtown sidewalk weekend in Bay Shore, a Mother's Day market at the brewery, and library craft nights built for the lead-up to Sunday. Pick your lane.

If SSD has helped you find a show, plan a Saturday, or land on a Sunday brunch you didn't know about, we'd love to hear it. Hearing from readers is why we do this every Thursday morning. Now let's get into it.

And to every mom on the South Shore, happy Mother's Day on Sunday. We hope someone takes care of you the way you take care of everyone else.

The longest-running Michael Jackson tribute on the planet pulls into Patchogue Theatre Saturday night with the moonwalks, the sequins, and every hit you remember. Twenty-plus years on the road means the choreography is locked in and the band sounds like the record. Expect the room on its feet from the first downbeat. One of those Saturday shows where the lobby still hums an hour after the lights come up.

When: Saturday, May 9 | 8:00 PM
Where: Patchogue Theatre, Patchogue
Price: $$+
🎤 Grab your tickets

Prog rock royalty gets the full-throttle tribute treatment in Bay Shore's most beloved listening room. Awaken plays the YES catalog the way it was meant to be heard: long, layered, played by musicians who know every shift. Boulton's intimate sightlines make this kind of show land differently. A Friday for the listeners.

When: Friday, May 8 | 8:00 PM
Where: Boulton Center for the Arts, Bay Shore
Price: $$
🎸 Reserve your seats

Bay Shore's downtown spills onto the sidewalks Saturday afternoon for a full block of small-business browsing, racks rolled outside, and Main Street at its most alive. Second year for the retailers' run, and last year drew a steady crowd from open to close. Easy way to knock out a Mother's Day gift and stay local doing it.

When: Saturday, May 9 | 12:00 PM
Where: Downtown Main Street, Bay Shore
Price: Free
🛍️ Browse the racks

Gateway opens its season with the Bernstein-Sondheim masterpiece, and few productions on Long Island land at this scale. Full orchestra, full choreography, the snapping fingers in the dark before the first chord. The Jets and Sharks story still hits, and Gateway gives it the polish it deserves. Opening weekend is the one to catch.

When: Friday, May 8 | 7:00 PM
Where: Gateway Playhouse, Bellport
Price: $$+
🎭 See showtimes

Great South Bay turns its Saturday afternoon over to a Mother's Day market with local vendors, gifts, and the brewery's usual easy weekend hum. Bring Mom, bring the kids, browse a few small makers, and stay for a beer. Built for the in-between hours when everyone's already out and about.

When: Saturday, May 9 | 12:00 PM
Where: Great South Bay Brewery, Bay Shore
Price: Free
🌸 See the vendors

Chef Rob runs a hands-on baking class for K-5 families Saturday morning at the Babylon library, and the timing is perfect: kids walk out with coffee cake muffins ready to plate for Mom on Sunday breakfast. Easy yes for parents looking for a real activity, not a screen.

When: Saturday, May 9 | 10:30 AM
Where: Babylon Public Library, Babylon
Price: Free
🧁 Register through the library

A drop-in crafting session for grades 6-12: pouches, mini canvases, heart ornaments, all of it Mom-bound. No pressure, no registration, just a Friday afternoon of teens making something with their hands. Pick-up timing built around the school day.

When: Friday, May 8 | 3:30 PM
Where: Babylon Public Library, Babylon
Price: Free
✂️ See the project list

A teen-focused paint night at the Islip library on Thursday evening, built specifically for moms and daughters to share an easel for a couple hours. The kind of midweek thing that turns into a memory before the weekend even starts.

When: Thursday, May 7 | 6:00 PM
Where: Islip Public Library, Islip
Price: Free
🎨 Sign up here

Vintage comic pages get folded, rolled, and shaped into wall-worthy paper blooms in this craft night at PML. Great Mother's Day-weekend lead-in for kids who'd rather build something than buy something. The finished pieces actually hold up.

When: Thursday, May 7 | 6:30 PM
Where: Patchogue-Medford Library, Patchogue
Price: Free
📚 Reserve a seat

The voice behind "Don't Know What You've Got (Till It's Gone)" plugs back in for a full-band Friday at Patchogue Theatre. Keifer still has the rasp, the band still has the chops, and the catalog plays bigger than nostalgia. One of those nights where a ballad lands and the whole room sings the chorus back.

When: Friday, May 8 | 8:00 PM
Where: Patchogue Theatre, Patchogue
Price: $$+
🎤 Get tickets

A shucker-forward fundraiser at Brightwaters Inn, with bivalves on ice, drinks flowing, and every dollar going back to the bay we all love. Thursday-evening start means it doubles as the soft opener to the weekend. Eat the oysters, raise a glass, support the water.

When: Thursday, May 7 | 4:30 PM
Where: Brightwaters Inn, Brightwaters
Price: $$
🦪 Get the details

Stereo Garden's Friday Night Fever rolls on with Adoni headlining a stacked Latin DJ lineup and what's quietly become the best dance floor on the South Shore. Doors at nine, room fills fast, and the set runs late. Dress for it.

When: Friday, May 8 | 9:00 PM
Where: Stereo Garden, Patchogue
Price: $$
🎧 Reserve a spot

Practical help, weekly meals, and ways to pitch in this week.

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