Jackie and Robert “Bob” Beyea of King and Queen have been selected as this year’s grand marshals for the Gloucester Daffodil Festival Parade, which is scheduled to step off from Main Street Center at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 5.

“We’re just a half mile from the border,” said Bob about their proximity to Gloucester.

The Beyeas have spent 23 years in their King and Queen home after moving from Virginia Beach where the couple lived for nearly a decade with Bob’s service in the U.S. Navy. The couple is originally from upstate New York.

“He’s retired military,” said Jackie.

Shortly after moving here, the couple became involved with the Daffodil Festival in the early 2000s through a Vietnam War veterans’ group. Though that group stopped participating in the festival, the Beyeas did not.

“We just switched on over to the Daffodil Festival,” said Bob.

“I was vendor chair for 18 years,” said Jackie.

Bob even served as the festival chairman for seven years. “He would search for entertainment and other things,” said Jackie about Bob’s involvement in the festival. As part of his duties, he attended different festivals to scout out new entertainment.

“I had vendors from California,” said Jackie. “I had them from all over the place.”

In addition to California, Jackie had vendors traveling to Gloucester from as far as Florida and Maine just to participate in the Daffodil Festival.

“I had so many people [vendors] tell me, ‘your people are so nice,’” said Jackie.

One memorable experience the couple reminisced about was when the Daffodil Festival was snowed out in 2007 when the festival was only a one-day event. Bob said that if the festival had been held that Friday or Sunday instead of Saturday, then it could have been held. The very next year, the festival was planned as a two-day event. “It’s been that way ever since,” said Bob.

Another year, Bob suggested that everyone working the festival wear yellow vests and carry radios to deter the stealing that had become an issue during the event.

“It dropped right off,” he said about the theft.

When the couple’s two sons came to visit one year during the festival with their families, Bob and Jackie put them straight to work.

“They all had to work the festival,” said Jackie.

One year, a vendor had wanted ice cream to be sold in the court circle instead of just near the main food area and she was able to honor that request.

“I liked to do what the vendors asked,” said Jackie.

“I survived the Daffodil Festival on ice cream cones,” said Bob, who would visit multiple ice cream vendors throughout the duration of the festival.

The 2019 Daffodil Festival was the last year the couple was involved in the planning and execution of the yearly event.

“Now we’re very involved with the church,” said Jackie. “It was a year-long thing for me.”

“We put in 2,000 hours a year,” said Bob.

The couple has not been able to spend much time at the Daffodil Festival in recent years as Bob’s working with the Gloucester Master Gardeners. As a member of that organization, he provides tours at Brent & Becky’s Bulbs during the festival to show off the many spring flowers at the gardens, which include daffodils.

Since 2012, Bob has been a member of the Gloucester Master Gardeners and maintains an impressive 14,000-square-foot garden at the couple’s home.

“If I can’t eat it, I probably don’t know about it,” said Bob. “I’m the vegetable guy.”

“I have two flower gardens,” said Jackie.

“I do lectures every month at Brent and Becky’s,” said Bob.

Both Jackie and Bob have also been involved with the Gloucester Ruritan Club.

“We’ve both been president a couple of times,” said Bob.

The Beyeas will spend a short time at the festival after the parade before going to Brent and Becky’s to help with the tours.

When they were asked to be grand marshals of the parade, Bob and Jackie were surprised.

“I was shocked,” said Jackie. “He couldn’t believe it either.”

They are both honored to have been selected as the grand marshals for the parade and are excited to return after their many years of service to the Gloucester Daffodil Festival.

“I loved it,” said Jackie. “It kept me busy.”