All About Newport Loyalty Days and Sea Fair Festival

Newport is known to have such vast and interesting history, which is why people flock to the area. Not to mention the fantastic tourist attractions and fishing opportunities! They even have awesome festivals and events to watch out for as well, like Newport Loyalty Days.

If you haven’t heard of Newport Loyalty Days yet, read on to find out more about its origins and what to watch out for!

What is the Newport Loyalty Days and Sea Fair Festival?

To know more about this festival, let’s delve into its origins.

On May 1, 1938, 2,000 people headed to Newport for a free lunch, with 6,000 crabs distributed to visitors for free during the first annual Crab Festival. Why?

Because the prices of Dungeness crabs have hit rock bottom, organizers promoting the festival think that it would increase the craving and demand of this local crustacean. Furthermore, Newport was suffering from the Great Depression, just like the rest of the USA back then. Because of this, it was thought that the Crab Festival would become Oregon’s Central Coast’s economic shot in the arm.

Once World War II broke out, the people of Newport were concerned about the possibilities of enemy invasions. Fishermen begin going off to way while others gave their boats to the military to patrol the coast. Unfortunately, the Crab Festival fell.

But after the war, the Crab Festival revived in a humongous way, and this was when there was a chance to win a new car and when there was a Crab Festival Queen crowned. Unfortunately again, crabs became too pricey to give for free and the festival lost money, making it all impractical.

During that time, the nation became more anti-communist. In 1953, the May Crab Festival was replaced with Loyalty Days, with Lincoln County veteran organizations holding modest parades to support the counter-demonstration of annual May Day Mass rallies and celebrations that communists staged.

In 1958, President Eisenhower then signed a Loyalty Days Proclamation. Rather than the traditional Crab Festivals back then, Newport Loyalty Days became even more fun. In 1970, parade entries nearly reached 100, with the event featuring a Dungeness crab dinner for less than $2.

Newport Loyalty Days Today

However, there was a bit of a lapse in an organization come 1973, so the event went unobserved. Newport High School students were prompted to reach a goal of reviving Newport Loyalty Days, which is what continued to pave the way for this festival for the next decades to come. Now, there are a lot of activities to look forward to, such as crab pot construction and net making or repair demonstrations, along with air shows, horseshoes, boat races, crab running contests, and even scuba diving contests! Local community volunteers and sponsors are to thank for the festival’s continued success.

In 1999, the Loyalty Days of that year crowned a crab queen, and the event was extravagant, filled with boat tours, carnival rides, yacht races, even car shows, and bed races happened. And of course, there was a memorial ceremony held at the ocean to honor the state’s servicemen who lost their lives while they served the country.

Even after the Cold War, Newport Loyalty Days lives on. While there’s no growing need for the patriotic May Day festival, it is still celebrated and continues to grow, with tourists flocking to the area come May to experience and celebrate with the locals.

With Newport Loyalty Days’ roots in the crab festival and the loyalty counter-demonstrations of the past, it has now evolved into a vibrant celebration of community pride and the city’s rite of the spring season.

What to Expect

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Newport Loyalty Days was canceled and most activities were done online for safety purposes. While there were princesses and a coronation of the crab queen, the activities were skipped in hopes to celebrate in 2022.

As of writing, the organization behind the Newport Loyalty Days is currently planning for the festival this 2022. If it is anything like the previous festivals, you can expect a lot of fun and games.

The festival would usually run from May 4-7, filled with various events and the annual patriotic parade. Most events are focused on remembering the veterans and the servicemen who were lost at sea.

Each day is a bit different but all filled with a fun carnival with tons of rides and games, thanks to the Davis Show Carnival, which has continued to visit Newport for Loyalty Days for half a century. Here are the other events to look forward to:

• Queen’s Coronation
• Reading of names to honor veterans from Newport
• Events held by the Newport Fisherman’s Wives group
• Blessing of Fleet activities
• Fisherman’s Memorial
• Fun Run
• Veteran’s Lunch

Besides the carnival, which has tickets usually priced at $20, the events are free and anyone is welcome to visit!

You can learn more and follow the Newport Loyalty Days event on their official Facebook page! While you’re at it and planning to travel to Newport, make sure you also prepare for the other events and activities to do, from visiting the amazing tourist attractions down to hiring fishing charters for some fun on the waters.

 

Wrapping It Up

If you’re looking for something fun to do in Newport, then you must schedule your trip around May next year, when the Newport Loyalty Days Festival comes along! Filled with tons of history to learn and events to enjoy, the entire family or group of friends will surely make new memories.

Besides that, there are even more things to do in Newport, which makes the city a must-visit. Learn more about Newport and what to do from our blog posts and contact us if you’d like more information about the city and if you plan to hire fishing charters. This is your sign to head to Newport soon!