Although the annual Daffodil Days Festival has been canceled due to COVID-19, don’t tell that to over 1,200,000 daffodils ready to burst forth in a riot of blazing yellow throughout April. 

To celebrate their arrival, for the first time Daffodillion and Newport in Bloom are teaming up to present “NEWPORT DAFFODIL DAYS”, a variety of free, safe-distanced activities throughout greater Newport during the month.

Among the activities planned:

The shops of Newport will be competing for “Best Daffy Dressed” awards by decorating their storefront windows.

On April 10th, Bike Newport will hold their annual Tour de Jonquilles, cycling past fields of daffodils throughout the City.

On April 27th, the Green Animals topiary garden will go daffy with a curated tour among 11,000 daffodils featuring 29 different varieties.

Want to guess how many daffodils are blooming this April? The Newport Recreation Department and Daffodil Days will post a number at six major daffodil fields – add them all up to find the exact total number of daffodils in bloom – and a chance to win a grand prize – plus a free Daffodil pin. 

The Black Dog, Newport Mansion Store on Bannister’s Wharf, and the Bowen’s Wharf Pilot House will all be selling commemorative daffodil pins. Those wearing the pin will receive discounts at select retailers throughout the City.

Organizers say that all donated funds during the month will go to purchase daffodil bulbs for the annual free bulb giveaway in October.  The greater the contributions, the more bulbs will be given away.

For more information, visit http://newportdaffydays.com/

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...