Daffodils - or not - the show must go on!

Just prior to her leaving Laurie Rich Salerno, the former editor of Meriden Patch, asked me to blog about the upcoming Meriden Daffodil Festival. Having been a volunteer and on the operating committee  for some 20-plus years she thought I might have some interesting stories and anecdotes. And yes, I do.

People whom I've run into at the Festival have asked if we spent all week planning the event; which brings a chuckle as we reply sarcastically, nah, we took Wednesday off and went to NYC for a cup of coffee. Obviously it takes more than a week to produce what has become two weekends of diverse and totally opposite types of public entertainment. If you have been to or by Hubbard Park since yesterday, Monday, April 16, you'll note that the tents are up in preparation for the inaugural events of the Festival, beginning this Saturday. All of the information I will offer you is available on our website www.daffodilfest.com and I encourage you to check it out for dates and times of our offerings to the public. 

As soon as the Festival wraps up the Committee is hard at work going over notes on what worked and what was a bit off. Every member is encouraged to submit a critique so we can offer the finest entertainment for the discriminating public. The Festival has been nicknamed Meriden's Premier Event and is the largest and most popular public entertainment venue in the central Connecticut area, not counting some of the fairs, but that's another story.

As I recall some of the past events, we've been through what seemed like monsoons, extreme heat, no daffodils (this and about 3 other years), yet the all-volunteer Committee keeps coming back and does their best so the citizenry of the local area is well sated with music, food and a lot of diverse activities in-between. And, with the exception of food, crafts, rides everything is FREE. Free off-site parking, free shuttle service and free admission with continuous musical entertainment on three stages. An unheard of phenomenon that is one of the huge draws of the event. This year all the bands are Connecticut based with a few from the old hometown of Meriden.

This Saturday, April 21, the kickoff event is Connecticut's largest Tag Sale under the Festival Marquee and on the tented tennis court area. Approximately 135 vendors in one spot. Also a fishing derby for children on Mirror Lake and on Sunday, the Meriden Rotary hosts a fun run for children and 5K for adults. We encourage you to check our website for times and upcoming happenings: www.daffodilfest.com

This is the 34th annual Festival - it began on a Sunday afternoon in April with daffodils in full bloom - a group of civic-minded individuals came up with the idea of celebrating spring. To make it more interesting they chose young ladies from local public and parochial schools to vie for the title of Little Miss Daffodil. Finalist entrants were chosen by lot and LMD was randomly drawn from the finalists. She and her parents enjoyed a horse drawn wagon ride around Hubbard Park and then all participating were treated to an old-fashioned hot dog roast; so it began.

Now encompassing two weekends, with the Tag Sale, Fishing Derby, Road Race as a start point the festivities continue into the week when the Festival reverts to its roots on 4/25 with the Little Miss Daffodil/Honor escort ceremony @6:30 P.M. (public invited). Then the Chamber of Commerce business expo 4/27 and the actual Festival 4/28-29.

The Committee invites all to Hubbard Park - our theme song this year is Pete Seeger's composition - "Where have all the Flowers Gone? - wherever they went - no worries - the show will go on - hope to see you in the next couple of weekends.

Anyone have any questions - I'll be monitoring the blog a couple of times a day - feel free to ask....thanks.