Welcome Spring
Spring arrives on the island of Nantucket with a proclamation of brilliant colors. April’s embrace of gentle sea breezes and warm sunshine coax new growth from the island’s sandy soil, adorning the roadsides and gardens with daffodil blooms of bright yellow, organe, white, and pink.
The annual Daffodil Festival is held each year during the last full weekend in April. Favorite events include the Children’s Parade, Daffy Hat Pageant, Antique and Classic Car Parade, and the Tailgate Picnic.
What has evolved into three days of fun began more than 30 years ago. In 1974, Jean MacAusland, Nantucket summer resident and then publisher of Gourmet magazine, persuaded the Nantucket Garden Club to invite the American Daffodil Society to sponsor a daffodil show on Nantucket.
MacAusland and the Garden Club set a goal to plant more than one million daffodil bulbs. The first planting in the autumn of 1974 took place along Milestone Road. Many of the bulbs planted that first year did not survive; they were mowed down before the leaves had a chance to store enough food for the winter. The next planting was done in random clusters farther from the roadbed. This “drift planting” protected the plants and gave them a more natural look.
Photos from Daffodil 2007 (click on thumbnails for larger view)
Each year the Garden Club added thousands of bulbs. In the early 1980s, Jean MacAusland ordered eight tons of bulbs to be shipped here directly from the Netherlands.
Island residents enthusiastically embraced the idea. Many began to join in the efforts: businesspeople donated materials and individuals helped with the planting. Everyone who participated in placing the bulbs along Polpis Road set flags over the spots where they had set their so that no one would accidentally dig up a daffodil while trying to plant another.
This year, the 34th Annual Daffodil Flower Show will be held on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday from April 17 at The Coffin School, 4 Winter Street. The theme this year is “Rainbow of Daffodils.” This year there will be a special section for photography entries of daffodils in a landscape, a garden setting, a flower arrangement, or a natural or unusual setting: daffodils must be presented in some form in all photographs.
Admission to the show is free, but donations to the Island Daffodil Planting Fund will be accepted.
In January of 1978, MacAusland and H. Flint Ranney planned the first parade of classic cars, ending the procession with a tailgate picnic in Siasconset. That first year, 19 vintage autos participated, among them a 1920 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, a 1924 Graham Brothers Dodge firetruck, a 1966 Vanden Plas, and a 1927 LaFrance ladder truck.
In 1989, the Nantucket Antique Auto Club participated in the organization of the event and assumed the responsibility of judging the vehicles. The Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce now organizes the weekend event and does the judging of the cars, parades, and pageants.
Many other activities have been added to Daffodil Weekend during the following decades. Children now have their own parade of decorated, self-propelled vehicles. Adults and children join the Daffy Hat Pageant, sporting a wide variety of hats that range from outrageous to elegant. The Pinewoods Morris Men dancers perform ancient springtime ritual dances throughout town and ‘Sconset. There are raffles, drawings, craft shows, and special exhibits.
New for 2008 is the Daffodil Day Dog Parade. Organized by the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the MSPCA, the parade will feature dogs who play well with other dogs, dressed in daffodil finery (and on leashes). The Dog Parade will be held at 12:30, following the antique car parade, at the corner of Main and Federal streets. Prizes have been donated by Geronimo’s. For entry information, contact the Chamber of Commerce at 508-228-1700.
Across the island, there are now more than 3 million daffodil bulbs that bloom from mid-April into May.
