The 2013 Daffodil Festival will be held on Nantucket from April 26-28, 2013

View videos of the 2012 Festival

The last weekend of April, the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce holds their annual Daffodil Festival - a weekend of events to celebrate springtime awakening on Nantucket Island. The first occasion, a very simple affair in the 1970s, included an antique car parade in which islanders showed off their classic cars, followed by a community tailgate picnic in 'Sconset.

In 2013, more than three decades later, the Daffodil Festival on Nantucket includes art shows, tours, parades (including the antique car parade and tailgate picnic), exhibitions, contests, lectures, and, of course, the annual Nantucket Daffodil Flower Show. There are activities for all ages, and faithful festival-goers dress up for the occasion and participate enthusiastically! There is a Daffy Hat Contest, a Children's Parade featuring decorated bikes, strollers, wagons, and other self-propelled vehicles. The Pine Woods Morris Dancers often perform throughout the day at various locations.

The tailgate picnic in Siasconset that follows the Antique Car Parade is a favorite among everyone who attends this Nantucket festival. Picnics can be elaborately staged or simple and casual. Click here for a couple of recipes that you might want to try for your Daffodil Festival tailgate picnic.

Additional special Daffodil Festival weekend events for 2013 include a Daffodil 5k on Sunday morning, April 28, hosted by the Nantucket Triathlon Club. Check our up-to-date Calendar of Events for more activities.

For complete information on visiting Nantucket Island, go to Nantucket.net.

Daffodil Flower Show - 2013

The 39th Annual Nantucket Daffodil Show, presented by the Nantucket Garden Club and approved by The American Daffodil Society, will be held at Barlett's Farm 33 Bartlett Farm Road again for 2013. The show opens to the public on Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 2 pm until 5 pm, and continues on Sunday, April 28 from 10 am to 4:30 pm. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted toward the Garden Club's Daffodil Planting Fund. On Saturday only there will be a free shuttle bus from The Greenhound on Washington Street starting at 1:45 pm. The last bus will return from the farm at 5:00 pm.

Chaired this year by Donna Salvo and Maryann Wasik, the show has an artistic theme of "Nantucket China Trade." In addition to the flower arrangements and daffodil horticulture sections of the show, there will be a special section for Photography entries of daffodils in a landscape, a garden setting, a flower arrangement or a natural or unusual setting. Daffodils must be represented in some form in all
photographs. Find the 39th Annual Nantucket Daffodil Show program here.