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Daffy Days
More than a million daffodils will spread sunshine across Aquidneck Island for the Newport Daffodil Days Festival April 24 through May 3. “It’s our
seventh year, and the Daffodil Festival is growing every year along with daffodils,” says the festival’s project coordinator, John Hirschboeck. “After a long cold
winter, it’s one of the first things in spring that brings us outdoors and brightens up our day.” There’s a whole bouquet of events (most are free) happening across
the city by the sea, including the kickoff, a Daffy Doggie paw-rade from Bannister’s Wharf to Queen Anne Square, a stroll and shop event with “daffily decorated”
storefronts, the Driving Miss Daffodil classic car parade, a garden party with ballet dancers on the lawn of Bellevue House and much more. Newport’s Daffodil
Days Festival is an all-volunteer event and now a partnership between Newport in Bloom and Daffodillion. “It seemed that our purposes of beautifying Newport
are analogous and we ought to join forces,” Hirschboeck says. Newport in Bloom beautifies Newport with hanging flowering baskets and a garden contest,
while Daffodillion previously used funds raised from the festival to buy daffodil bulbs to plant throughout the city and surrounding areas. “We have been planting
about 200,000 a year for the last five years or so,” he says. “People ask, but how do you know there are 1,195,509 daffodils? It’s because I have receipts for all
the bulbs purchased.” This year’s profits from the festival will benefit Newport in Bloom so the organization can continue to beautify the city, while Daffodillion
will continue to donate free bulbs for people to plant this October around their homes in Newport and surrounding Aquidneck Island. For the full schedule of
events, go to newportdaffydays.com. —JAMIE COELHO
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY
l APRIL 2020 15
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