Newport, Rhode Island’s calendar is packed with signature happenings that repeat year-after-year, giving visitors a reliable rhythm of cultural, culinary, and coastal fun in every season. From glittering holiday lights and springtime blooms to world-class music festivals, regattas, and harvest celebrations, here’s the perennial lineup you can count on—plus richer detail to help you decide which festivities to build a trip around.
Winter
Newport Winter Festival
New England’s largest cold-season celebration transforms the city into a 10-day playground of more than 150 events: think headline concerts, hot-chocolate-sipping chili and chowder cook-offs, penguin plunge, ice-sculpting contests on Bowen’s Wharf, and family fun at marble mansions and museums. Bundle up for City-by-the-Sea discounts (“Winterfest button” perks) on tours, dining, and shopping. Click here to learn more.
Newport Burger Bender
Dining takes a playful turn each February when restaurants from dive bars to upscale bistros battle for bragging rights in a people’s-choice burger competition. Order the limited-time creations, vote online for your favorite, and track the real-time leaderboard to see who takes the golden spatula.
Tree Lighting at Bowen’s Wharf
The first Saturday after Thanksgiving, a 30-foot spruce sparkles to life beside historic waterfront warehouses. Carolers, visiting schooner-mast Santa, complimentary cookies, and hot cider kick off a month of harbor-side merriment. Click here to learn more.
Newport Illuminated Boat Parade
Dozens of decked-out sail and power boats circle Newport Harbor in late November, competing for “Best Decorated” honors while spectators cheer from Perrotti Park, Bowen’s and Bannister’s Wharves, and the Goat Island causeway. Free, family-friendly, and very Instagram-friendly.
Holidays at the Newport Mansions & Sparkling Lights
The Breakers, Marble House, and The Elms trade gilt for garland: 30+ lavishly themed Christmas trees, poinsettia “pyramids,” and twilight light trails turn Gilded Age estates into winter wonderlands from mid-November through New Year’s. Evening “Sparkling Lights” walks at The Breakers add thousands of LEDs to the 13-acre grounds. Click here to learn more.
Longing for a trip to Newport? Check out hotel availability here!
Spring
Newport Daffodil Days Festival
More than 1.4 million blooms erupt across Bellevue Avenue, Cliff Walk, and the wharves in April. Enjoy “Driving Miss Daffodil” classic-car parades, garden parties, and a Yellow Petal Party downtown—an easy, photogenic way to welcome spring.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
For over six decades, bagpipes, Irish step-dancers, antique fire engines, and kilted marching bands fill Lower Thames Street and Carroll Avenue. Post-parade, many pubs offer corned beef specials and live trad music.
Newport Craft Beer Festival
Held the final weekend of April on the lawn at Fort Adams or Newport Storm Brewery, the festival pours 250+ brews from regional and national standouts, pairs them with food-truck bites, and crowns “Fan Favorite” beers. Tip: grab VIP tickets for an early-access hour and a keepsake tasting glass.
Newport Flower Show
Rosecliff mansion’s ocean-side terrace becomes a floral fantasy each June, blending competitive horticulture displays, designer gardens, and botanical shopping with lectures and an elegant opening-night gala. Themes change yearly (“A Floral Fair,” “Back in Bloom”), but Gilded Age glamour is guaranteed. Click here to learn more.
Newport Oyster + Chowder Festival – Bowen’s Wharf
Each May, Bowen’s Wharf turns into a harborside tasting tent where local oyster farms shuck thousands of briny beauties alongside award-winning red, white, and clear chowders from area restaurants. Pay-as-you-go tasting tickets, full bars, and live coastal-rock and folk bands keep the atmosphere lively, while grower booths share the story of Rhode Island aquaculture. Free to enter, it’s the unofficial kickoff to Newport’s summer season.
Summer
Newport Jazz Festival
The granddaddy of jazz fests debuted in 1954 and still draws legends and rising stars to Fort Adams’ three stages, with Narragansett Bay sailboats bobbing in the background. Bring chairs, explore the non-profit “Storyville” talks, and sample Rhode Island food-truck fare. Click here to learn more.
Newport Folk Festival
From Dylan’s famous electric set to surprise collaborations, the folk fest is synonymous with musical discovery. Expect genre-crossing curation, themed “super-jam” finales, and a sustainability-focused vendor village. Tickets sell out fast—join the winter lottery early. Click here to learn more.
Newport Classical Music Festival
For three weeks in July, intimate chamber concerts animate Bellevue Avenue mansions, churches, and coastal lawns. Programs span Baroque to brand-new commissions, many paired with pre-show artist talks. Click here to learn more.
Hall of Fame Open (ATP/WTA)
Grass-court tennis returns the week after Wimbledon in the only U.S. professional event played on grass. Catch induction ceremonies, courtside cocktails, and stroll the International Tennis Hall of Fame museum between matches. Click here to learn more.
Newport International Polo Series
Saturday afternoons from June through September, international teams gallop onto the Glen Farm pitch in Portsmouth. Pack a tailgate picnic, don a fancy hat, and stomp divots at halftime. Click here to learn more.
newportFILM Outdoors
Free Thursday-night documentary screenings rotate among mansion lawns, beaches, and parks from late June to early September, always with live music safes, food trucks, and BYO-blanket picnic vibes. Click here to learn more.
Newport Kite Festival
Colorful stunt-kite competitions and giant inflatable dragons fill Brenton Point State Park’s bluffs on a mid-July weekend, complete with kids’ making-and-flying workshops and sky-high demos. Click here to learn more.
Fall
Newport International Boat Show
One of the largest in-water shows in the U.S., this four-day September expo lines Commercial Wharf with 600+ powerboats, sailboats, and marine gear exhibits. On-water demos, seminars, and America’s Cup history tours sweeten the appeal for boaters and dreamers alike. Click here to learn more.
Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival
Rosecliff’s marble terrace hosts grand tastings, chef demos, and collectible-wine seminars each September, showcasing 100+ wineries and top regional chefs amid Gilded Age glamour. Click here to learn more.
Audrain Newport Concours & Motor Week
Vintage Bugattis meet modern supercars during a four-day automotive celebration in early October, culminating in a Concours d’Elegance on the lawn of The Breakers. Galas, seminars, and scenic tours rev up car culture fans. Click here to learn more.
Bowen’s Wharf Seafood Festival
Dubbed the “Harvest of the Sea,” this free October street party dishes up lobster rolls, stuffies, chowders, raw-bar delicacies, and continuous live music with harbor views. Click here to learn more.
Newport Vineyards Harvest Festival
Celebrate crush season with grape-stomping competitions, live bands, farmhouse bites, and flights of estate wine and Taproot beer. Kid-friendly lawn games make it a whole-family affair. Click here to learn more.
Norman Bird Sanctuary Harvest Fair
Since 1976, this classic country fair has blended hayrides, pie-eating contests, artisan crafts, and live folk music on 300 protected acres of fields and birding trails just north of Newport. Click here to learn more.
Newport Restaurant Week
Every November (and a spring edition, too), 10 days of prix-fixe lunch and dinner menus let you sample upscale waterfront dining and cozy neighborhood bistros at wallet-friendly prices.
Planning Tips
- Book early: Jazz, Folk, and Concours events routinely sell out lodging months ahead.
- Weather watch: Many festivals are outdoors—pack layers and rain gear just in case.
- Go car-free: Newport is walkable, but water shuttles, bikes, and the RIPTA trolley simplify hopping between venues.
- Savings: Off-peak hotel rates in winter and early spring pair nicely with Winter Festival and Burger Bender deals.
With this year-round festival roster, you can plug nearly any weekend into the calendar and find Newport buzzing with music, maritime heritage, and mouth-watering local flavor. Check event websites for exact annual dates and tickets, and start planning your next coastal getaway.
