One weekend. The Saenger reopens. Riverdance closes. The Gulf Coast is moving.

It was a Wednesday evening on the canal in Cherokee Glenn. The hamburgers were done. The dog was barking. The TV was on.

These things happen simultaneously all over Ocean Springs on a Wednesday. The dog barking gets tuned out. The burgers get eaten. The TV show — The Pitt, a medical drama, if you're wondering what was on while our boat was being stolen — continues without interruption. This is the ordinary texture of life on the water in this town, and it is, generally speaking, pretty good.

My wife got up first because she is more attentive than I am and because the dog had been barking for long enough that it stopped being background noise and started being a request. She went out to the patio — the one that looks over the canal and the boat lift — and she saw a man in our boat.

Not on the dock. In the boat. Lowered from the lift. In the water. Moving.

She screamed at him. He did not look up.

By the time she came back inside and told me and I ran out to the patio, he was already 200 feet down the canal. I screamed. He heard me — I know he heard me because his body changed, the way a person’s body changes when they know they’ve been seen — and then he hit the throttle and was gone.

I stood there on the patio in the dark above the empty lift, and I had the thought that every boat owner on a canal probably has eventually: I left the keys in it. That was on me. You get comfortable living somewhere that feels safe, and then you learn something about comfortable.

I posted about it on Facebook that night. By morning, a hundred people had shared it. This is the part of the story I want to make sure doesn't get lost in the rest of it.

A hundred people. On a Wednesday night on the Gulf Coast, a hundred people saw a post about a stranger’s stolen boat and decided to pass it along. One of them had been at the Ocean Springs Yacht Club and had seen a boat come under the bridge, pause, and take on a passenger. They messaged me with what they’d seen.

The next morning the police hadn’t called. I posted again — this time on Ocean Springs Talk of the Town — and the same thing happened. The community moved. And then a photo arrived in my messages: my boat, grounded on Big Island, fifteen feet into the marsh.

I called the police. I called DMR. They went out, confirmed it was empty, confirmed the boat was there. They told me I could retrieve it.

Here’s where the Gulf Coast decides whether it’s going to help you or not: there are times when a boat fifteen feet into marsh grass is a boat you’re not getting back without a crane and a miracle. The tide was going to be extremely high at noon. I called my friend Bobby.

Bobby showed up. The tide showed up. We pulled the boat out.

This is the part of the story that deserves its own paragraph, because it is the most Gulf Coast thing that happened.

A charter captain — early morning, heading out to get bait for his trip — saw my boat grounded in the marsh. He came closer to check it out. A man popped up from the boat holding a flare and asked if he could help him get to shore. Said he’d run aground.

The captain brought him to shore. Handed him a phone. The man called his sister. The sister didn’t answer. The man just stood there on the dock, and the captain had a trip to run and clients waiting and the Gulf doesn’t wait, so he left.

He came back in the afternoon. By then, he’d found out. The boat he’d seen was stolen. The man he’d brought to shore — the one who’d asked for help with complete calm, flare in hand — was the one who’d taken it.

The charter captain tracked down what he knew. Got information about the man, and about the sister. Called the police. Gave them everything: a name, a face, a phone number for family.

The police now have a photograph and a name.

The boat is back on the lift. The keys are not in it.

I want to be clear about something: the community did more to recover this boat than I did. A hundred people shared a post. Someone at the Yacht Club was paying attention. Someone cared enough to send a photo of a grounded boat with a tip attached. A charter captain, with clients waiting and a full day ahead of him, stopped his boat, helped a stranger get to shore, handed over his phone, and then — when he found out what he’d been part of — went back and did the right thing anyway.

I was naïve. The Gulf Coast was not.

If you have any information about this incident, contact the Ocean Springs Police Department.

Good Thursday morning from The Seawall. The Saenger opens this Saturday.

Eight years. That's how long the marquee at 170 Reynoir Street in downtown Biloxi has been dark. This Saturday evening — June 6 — The Homecoming kicks off the grand reopening of the Biloxi Saenger Theatre. Two hours, all ages. Nataliya Molsbee opens the show with Ave Maria. Co-directors Anthony Starcher and Rafe O'Neal have called it a celebration of 50 years of performances under that roof, featuring the Biloxi Civic Orchestra. Tickets are $25 and still available at biloxisaenger.com via TKOtix.

One note on the weekend: Riverdance 30: The New Generation is also at the Beau Rivage Saturday — both a 2 PM matinee and a 7 PM evening show. Two marquee performing arts events on the same Saturday on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Tomorrow night: The Ocean Springs First Friday Art Walk runs on Washington Avenue — galleries, studios, and boutiques open for the first Friday of the month. Free to walk. If you're staying on the Coast for the Saenger Saturday, the Art Walk Friday night is the warm-up.

The full weekend below.

⚓ Hancock · 🦀 Harrison · 🌊 Jackson

Friday 6/5

Saturday 6/6

Sunday 6/7

Editorial pick this weekend: If you have a ticket to the Saenger — that's your Saturday night, and it's a once-in-a-decade evening. If you don't: Riverdance at the Beau Rivage (7 PM Saturday, still has seats) is the legitimate alternate. Ground Zero on a Saturday night hasn't let anyone down.

Know a show we missed? Reply and tell us — we'll add it next week.

Venue owners: Email your weekly lineup to [email protected] by Wednesday noon for Thursday's issue. No charge.

Friday 6/5 — 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, high near 82°F East wind 15–20 mph, breezy.

Saturday 6/6 — Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1 PM, then more storms after 1 PM. High near 83°F · Southeast wind 10–15 mph. Rain chance: 80%. The Saenger is fully indoor — leave early, have a parking plan.

Sunday 6/7 — Showers likely before 1 PM, chance of storms after 1 PM. Partly sunny, high near 85°F · South wind 5–10 mph.

Bottom line: Wet Saenger weekend. Saturday outdoor morning plans should go early. Both the Saenger (7 PM) and Riverdance (7 PM) are indoor — the rain doesn't kill the evening, but give yourself extra time.

Freddie Mac PMMS — week ending May 28, 2026:

Rates are holding. The 30-year has barely moved in two weeks. Hurricane season is active — if you're closing on a coastal property, your wind/hail coverage needs to be bound before any named storm enters the Gulf. That clock is running.

Short answer: it can — but the mechanism is slower than people think.

A performing arts venue reopening doesn't directly change a comp. What it does is signal — to buyers, developers, restaurateurs, and the city — that downtown Biloxi is investable again. Eight years of dark marquee is eight years of foot traffic, dinner revenue, and hotel nights that didn't happen. That suppresses the block's appeal as a walkable neighborhood.

The reopening flips that signal. A functioning Saenger with a summer calendar — boxing, comedy, Preservation Hall jazz — is part of the affirmative answer when buyers ask "is this a real downtown?" It doesn't show up in a weekend CMA. It shows up in 12-to-24-month appreciation in the immediate corridor. Downtown Ocean Springs — which has a functioning arts scene — commands a consistent premium over non-walkable Biloxi comparables. The Saenger is step one of building that on Reynoir Street.

Got a Coast real estate question? Reply to this email — we answer one a week.

If you're on the Coast for the Saenger this weekend and you've been thinking about property, here's what $350,000 gets you one block from the Gulf in downtown Gulfport.

1620 2nd Street is a two-bedroom, two-bath historic cottage — 1,200 square feet, built around the turn of the century, renovated by Carl Padgett in the 1980s and updated again in 2006. High ceilings. Alley access. The Mississippi Aquarium is a five-minute walk. The Harbor is in the same direction. Restaurants, coffee shops, and coastal entertainment on the same block.

This is what the Gulf Coast walking district looks like at an entry price point. Not a flip project — a finished historic cottage on the right block in a city that has been quietly rebuilding since Katrina: a new boutique hotel, a food hall, a Depot District nightlife corridor, and now a revived Biloxi arts scene down the coast.

The Gulf Coast that people keep saying is about to arrive has been arriving. This is what the front of that wave looks like.

Where: 1620 2nd St, Gulfport, MS 39501 · One block from the beach · Harrison County

Listed at: $350,000 · 2 bed / 2 bath · 1,200 sq ft · Historic cottage, turn of the century

Why we picked it: First Gulfport proper HOTW. Saenger opening weekend — the right moment for a walkable downtown Harrison County property at an accessible price.

Hound. Medium. Young Adult. Male. His name is Skip Tickletoes. It has been his name since the day he arrived. He has no notes on this.

Hounds are one of the oldest working breeds on Earth — bred to track, to follow a scent, to go all day without complaint. They are gentle, social, and built for companionship. Skip Tickletoes is young and adult, which is the best possible combination: past the destruction phase, still full of energy, fully formed personality. What you see on day one is what you get on day one hundred.

He needs a yard and someone who will take him seriously as a dog. In return he will be excellent company. He will probably have opinions about the couch.

His name is Skip Tickletoes. Somebody named him that. He lives with it with complete dignity. Go meet him.

🐾 Jackson County Animal Shelter · 4400 Audubon Lane, Gautier · (228) 497-6350 · Mon–Fri 10 AM–4 PM · Sat 10 AM–2 PM

🐾 Adoption fee: $50 · Includes spay/neuter, initial vaccinations, free vet exam · co.jackson.ms.us/162/Our-Animals

SPONSOR

MapPulse Agency helps local businesses get found where it counts — Google, maps, search, reviews, and websites that actually help bring in customers. If your business needs stronger local visibility, they know the terrain.

A FEW LOCAL LINKS WORTH KEEPING HANDY

If you want to go deeper by county, keep these local sites handy:

Jackson County MS
https://www.jacksoncountyms.com

Harrison County MS
https://www.harrisoncountyms.com

Hancock County MS
https://www.hancockcountyms.com

That’s part of the larger idea here too. The Seawall shouldn’t just point at itself. It should help connect people to the broader local web that already exists across the Coast.

SPONSOR

Cornerstone Numismatics works with collectors and buyers looking for coins, currency, bullion, and real numismatic expertise. If you want trusted guidance in the coin world, this is a name worth knowing.

See you Tuesday morning. Happy Memorial Day from The Seawall.

Got news, an opening, or a tip? Reply to this email — every reply goes straight to the editor.

Subscribe a friend: theseawall.beehiiv.com

Rob
The Seawall