What did I do over the weekend?

I enjoyed some smooth jazz at the Newport Jazz Festival and some mild and sharp cheeses at the ACS Cheese Camp in Providence.

Thousands of jazz fans, me included, plus many from outside Rhode Island enjoyed the incredible jazz pianist Hiromi, singer Cassandra Wilson, Dr. John, Arturo Sandoval and many others under sunny skies in Newport.

Meanwhile, back at the Rhode Island Convention Center, over 1,000 cheese makers, distributors and aficionados from all over the world gathered to sample just about every kind of cheese ever made.

How lucky we are to live in a state with such diversity in entertainment and culinary arts.

Thousands and thousands of dollars were pumped into our economy by tourists who have indeed “discovered Rhode Island.” What amazes me are the predominance of out-of-state license plates, especially in Newport, where many of the best musicians from all over the world play to a largely outside-Rhode Island crowd.

George Wein searches out the newest and the best to perform at the Jazz and Folk Festivals. While the Folk Festival sells out before the lineup is even announced, tickets were still available at the gate for the Jazz Festival, which draws an older crowd to Newport.

Buy your tickets to next year’s festivals early. You know the lineup will be great.