THINGS TO DO
The Audubon Society of Rhode Island will offer school vacation week activities for kids at the Caratunk Wildlife Refuge in Seekonk
Out of hibernation By Elizabeth Morse Read
We’re hearing it more and more these days, but dare not believe it: “there’s light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel!” We all still need to remain vigilant (and get our vaccinations!), but there are definitely signs that social life – restaurants, theatres, public events – are carefully reopening on the South Coast. And what better month to re-emerge from our long hibernation than April, when the flowers are blooming, the weather is warming, the days are longer and everyone is just itchin’ for a chance to socialize again! Mini-feasts and picnic weather
If you’re in the mood for street food, Food Truck Fridays will be returning to the Carousel at Roger Williams Park Zoo this month (rwpzoo.org). The ubiquitous farmers markets and Mobile Farm Stands will be moving outdoors again throughout the region, including Virtual Farmers Markets offering delivery and pick-up options. Find one near you at semaponline.org, newportvineyards.com, farmfreshri.org, and coastalfoodshed.org. If you’re looking for an elegant start to the month, check out the Easter Brunch at Newport Vineyards on April 4 (newportvineyards.com) or else sample the brews at the 20th Newport Craft Beer Festival at the Great Friends Meeting House on April 23-24 (newportcraftbeer. com). And plan ahead for the Food Truck & Craft Beer Festival at Fort Adams
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State Park in Newport on May 22 (foodtruckfestivalsofamerica.com/ newport)! And if you’re not yet ready for indoor dining, show some love for all those local restaurants and food shops that struggled to stay afloat over the past year – pack yourselves a picnic of their most delicious take-out fare and head for the nearest park or beach and celebrate the return of spring!
Flower power!
Nothing says spring more than the sunny yellow daffodils that pop up everywhere on the South Coast in April. Make a reservation online to wander through fields of blossoms at Parsons Reserve in Dartmouth (dnrt.org), or at Blithewold Gardens in Bristol (blithewold.org), or the month-long celebrations of more than a million daffodils during Newport Daffy
April 2021 | The South Coast Insider
Days (newportdaffydays.com). Visit the whimsical Green Animals Topiary in Portsmouth (newportmansions.org) starting April 16. Or get involved in local Earth Day activities on April 22 (earthday.org) or plant a tree on Arbor Day (arborday.org) on April 30.
Get everyone outside again!
No more endless weeks of indoor staycations and online entertainment! With the warm weather here, there will be more and more out-of-the-house activities available for kids, like the annual Easter Egg Hunt at Livesey Park in Fairhaven (fairhaventours.com) on April 3. Purchase tickets online in advance to take the kids to the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford for story walks, scavenger hunts or nature connections activities (bpzoo.org), let them feed a giraffe, meet a sloth or play in Carousel Village at
