A little occasional rain this past weekend didn’t keep people from enjoying the annual Gloucester Daffodil Festival, which was held in modified form Saturday and Sunday due to the pandemic.
There was no in-person parade, no food and no entertainment. But the weather was mostly sunny and warm, and the 40 participating vendors were friendly and welcoming. A video of the virtual shoebox parade can be found online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCZu7TYEYks.
Festival-goers with first-ever Daffodil Festival tickets lined up at the information booth in the pocket park adjacent to the Court Circle to be checked in and get wrist bracelets, and were allowed into the vendor areas on the Court Circle and nearby Carriage Court in groups of about two dozen or so. Everyone was masked and appeared to be adhering to requirements for social distancing.
Karen Gellatly, left, of Karen’s Glass out of Richmond demonstrates the effect the sun has on one of her creations as Sherman Roane of King and Queen, right, watches, and Jo Pomponi and Linda Miller of Gloucester examine some of the other pieces.
Gloucester’s director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Katey Legg said 3,600 free tickets were available for residents who wanted to attend, and around 2,300 people showed up. “We are really pleased with the way the event turned out,” she said.
A lot of planning went into making sure the festival was both safe and enjoyable, said Legg. Last year’s festival was canceled just three weeks ahead of time, and it was immediately turned into a virtual festival.
“We were on the leading edge of what would be the ‘norm’ for this year,” she said. “Overall, we heard many, many compliments from vendors and attendees, thanking us for having an event of some type. And many vendors were pleased with sales. For some, this was their first event back since the start of COVID.”
Legg said the annual Daffodil Show was held at Newington Baptist Church this year, with exhibitors dropping off their stems. The show was photographed and videoed and will be available on the Daffodil Festival website by next week.
“We believe there has been no other daffodil show in the country this year,” said Legg, “so once again, Gloucester has been able to step out with a modified event.”