Coronavirus Forces Cancellation of This Weekend’s Poppies Festival

Add the annual Poppies Fest to the long list of events falling victim to coronavirus.

The El Paso Museum of Archaeology announced that the 14th Annual Poppies Festival, which had been set for this Saturday, March 21, has been cancelled in the interest of the public’s health and safety from COVID-19.

The decision falls in line with other recent suspensions of city-related events and special programming at parks, libraries, and museums.

While the celebration itself has been called off, the El Paso Museum of Archaeology and surrounding trails are still open to the public.

If you’re still willing to make the drive you can bask in the beauty of the Mexican Poppy bloom, which Jeffery K. Romney, director of the El Paso Museum of Archaeology, tells me is the best, most widespread and abundant poppy bloom he’s seen in many years.

If you do go check them out, please do not sit or lay down in the patches for photos. Smashing plants and flowers hurts seed production. Oh, and don’t pick any to take home. Leave them to propagate in the wild and scatter their seeds for next year's bloom. You can always buy a packet of seeds at the museum.

How to Get There