This weekend brings the return of the Gloucester Daffodil Festival and with it, the promise of additional great things to come. From now until late fall, our community will host repeated events to celebrate the outdoors, areas, history, heritage, houses and downtowns.

We can’t begin to name everything that will be planned and opened to the public, but among the big ones that follow the Daffodil Festival are Historic Garden Week (grandmama of them all), May Faire, the Gwynn’s Island Festival, Independence Day, Mathews Market Days, the Gloucester Wine Festival, Guinea Jubilee, and Made in Mathews art studio tour.

In addition, schools, churches, clubs will all have special events. All will unfold along with the year, and all provide opportunities to showcase the community, and to get out and be with our neighbors.

Four years ago, the arrival of COVID-19 put a temporary halt on these neighborhood celebrations out of concern over spreading the deadly virus. Thankfully, we are in a...