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The Daffodil Festival
The Daffodil Festival
Genre	Community Festival, Royalty Program
Dates	1926-present (except 1943–1945, 2020)
Location(s)	Pierce County, Washington
Years active	91
Website	The Daffodil Festival instagram.com/daffodilfestival/

The Daffodil Festival is a regional festival and royalty leadership program. The Grand Floral Parade is held in Pierce County, Washington, every April. It consists of a flower parade and a year-long royalty program to select a festival queen from one of the 24 area high schools. Each year, the Royal Court spend thousands of hours promoting education, community pride and volunteerism in the county. In 2012, the Royal Court was named the "Official Ambassadors of Pierce County" by the County Executive and the Pierce County Council.^[1]

History

The Daffodil Festival came into existence because of the bulb industry between 1922 and 1925. It followed a severe infestation of ‘hop lice’ that destroyed the area's hop crops and Prohibition. The US Department of Agriculture recommended bulb planting to Valley growers because of the mildness of the climate and ideal soil conditions. The climate conditions of the Puyallup River Valley produce blooms about 2–3 weeks earlier than other areas, in plenty of time for the mid winter markets. The area quickly became the nations ‘bulb basket’ producing 50% of the nations daffodil bulbs, over 50% of its bulb iris and 80% of the nations tulips. About 300 of the 12,000 varieties of daffodils were grown in the Valley. The most popular and most locally grown is the King Alfred.

Between 1928 and 1933 a Bulb Sunday and bulb banquet were held. Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Orton hosted civic leaders from 15 towns in western Washington in 1926. In 1927 the Sumner Chamber of Commerce sponsored the first Bulb Banquet. Free daffodils were given away to visitors. The roads became increasingly congested each year as people drove out to see the colorful fields. Reaching a peak of 30,000 vehicles. A local photographer Lee Merrill suggested a parade be held to " take the daffodils to the people". He organized the first event in 1934, this was the first festival as we know it today. Lee decided every festival needs a queen so as he was driving through Puyallup he saw a pretty girl and stopped and asked her if she would be the queen. Her reply "I’ll have to ask my husband". Elizabeth Lee Wotten became the first Daffodil Queen at the age of 28. She had only 4 days to find a proper gown. She stood on a reviewing platform with her flower girl and princess to watch the parade in downtown Tacoma. Supporters of the festival included the Chambers of Commerce of Tacoma, Puyallup, and Summner. In 1937 the Daffodil Festival was made into a non-profit corporation. Funding came from donations and the sale of memberships.

An annual event, the festival encompasses the whole of Pierce County. Originally five participating cities included Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, Orting and Fife joined in 1959. The Daffodil Festival grew to become the 3rd largest floral festival in the US by the 1960s. With the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and 1943-1945 due to the Second World War, the Daffodil Parade has been held each year since 1934.

The first daffodils and narcissus were planted in 1910 by George Lawler at Gardenville, now the location of the Poodle Dog Restaurant in Fife. Many of the earliest bulbs were imported from England and the Continent, sometimes at a cost of $75 a bulb. In 1911, Lawler purchased 9000 bulbs of all varieties and kinds and hand planted them Dutch style. These plantings grew to 15 acres in North Puyallup, and finally to about 100 acres on the banks of the Nisqually River near Roy. Other early growers were Charles and Ed Orton, Frank Chernenko, H.F. Groningen and L.M.Hatch. The largest growers were Harold Knutson in Sumner, Van Lierop in Puyallup, and Wally Staazt at Orting. The best viewing times are from March 15- April 1.

Parade

The Grand Floral Parade travels through Pierce County, WA, with four routes in: Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner and Orting in one day.

Participating high schools

As of 2023, the participating high schools are:

Bethel High School (Spanaway)
Bonney Lake High School (Bonney Lake)
Chief Leschi High School (Puyallup)
Clover Park High School (Lakewood)
Curtis Senior High School (University Place)
Eatonville High School (Eatonville)
Emerald Ridge High School (Puyallup)
Fife High School (Fife)
Franklin Pierce High School (Parkland)
Graham-Kapowsin High School (Graham)
Harrison Preparatory School (Lakewood)
Henry Foss High School (Tacoma)
Lakes High School (Lakewood)
Lincoln High School (Tacoma)
Mt. Tahoma High School (Tacoma)
Orting High School (Orting)
Puyallup High School (Puyallup)
Rogers High School (Puyallup)
Silas High School (Tacoma)
Spanaway Lake High School (Spanaway)
Stadium High School (Tacoma)
Sumner High School (Sumner)
Washington High School (Parkland)
White River High School (Buckley)

      Queens                           Theme

1934 Elizabeth Lee Wooten Puyallup
1935 Margaret Thomas. Sumner
1936 Helen Edgerton. Puyallup
1937 Dorothy Lyons. Sumner
1938 Bliss Lundrigan. Puyallup
1939 Bette Lee. Sumner
1940 Marge Roscoe. Puyallup
1941 Pauline Martin. Sumner
1942 Shirley Newman. Puyallup
1943 no parade
1944 no parade
1945 no parade
1946 Gloria Dinwiddle. Sumner
1947 Joan Edison. Puyallup
1948 Doreen Moody. Sumner
1949 Mary Jean Grooper. Puyallup
1950 Nancy Davis. Sumner
1951 Elaine Chipps. Puyallup
1952 Eva Beattie. Sumner — Alfred in Wonderland
1953 Joan Marie Dennis. Puyallup - Washington Territorial Centenial
1954 Mary Carlisle. Sumner - Vacation Land
1955 Elvira Sommer. Puyallup - Golden Future
1956 Margaret Strachan. Stadium — Story time in Daffodils
1957 Janice Methven. Lincoln - Melodies in Daffodils
1958 Gretchen Brockhoff. Stadium - Fairytales in Daffodils
1959 Carol Mills. Franklin Pierce - Daffodils Salute Alaska
1960 Diane Harkness. Lincoln — Daffodils Salute Hawaii
1961 Carmel Mackin. Puyallup - Wonders of the world
1962 Sharon Silvernail. Orting - Daffodils Salute Century 21
1963 Gail Belknap. Mt Tacoma - Great Moments
1964 Karen Goettling. Puyallup — Nations on Parade
1965 Kay Bryson. Sumner — Masterpieces
1966 Susan Bona. Wilson — This Land of Ours
1967 Carol Parcheta. Franklin Pierce - Fun and Fantasy
1968 Cheryl Lamka. Stadium — Tales and Legends
1969 Linda Michael. Puyallup — Down Memory Lane
1970 Shelly Grobey. Mt.Tahoma —- Greatest Show on Earth
1971 Jean Fink. Lakes —- Nature Our Greatest Heritage
1972 Paula Achziger. Wilson. — Proudly We Hail
1973 Sherri Murray. Fife. — Happiness Is
1974 Lori Weber. Wilson. — What the World Needs Now
1975 Wendy Van Noy. Franklin Pierce — Remember When
1976 Renee Hopp. Rogers — America’s 200 Years
1977 Carol Glenn. Bethel — Puget Sound USA
1978 Janice Ash. Wilson — Free Spirit
1979 Paula Nelson. Curtis — Northwest Paradise
1980 Robin Asbjorsen. Puyallup — Magic Moments
1981 Cindy Kovalenko. Sumner — International Interlude
1982 Sandy Furtaw. Bethel — Daffodil Festival Salutes Country Western
1983 Jeanene Dryer. Bethel — Golden Memories
1984 Jeanette Hopkins. Gig Harbor — Tomorrow’s Dreams
1985 Jayme Marty. Clover Park — Spring & Alive in ‘85
1986 Kristen Marcrander. Lakes — Golden Enchantment
1987 Deborah Harlan. Puyallup — A Quest For Peace
1988 Heidi Johnson. Curtis — My Favorite Things
1989 Lea Snider. Puyallup — Sentimental Journey
1990 Kelly Parkhurst. Fife — Puget Sound Parade
1991 Ensung Kelly Nah. Wilson — For Kids of All Ages
1992 Brandi Rector. Orting — Rediscover America
1993 Erin Haynie. Rogers — Pure Imagination
1994 Julie Frye. Rogers — Let The Good Times Roll
1995 Cynthia Gee. Henry Foss — Fields of Dreams
1996 Hillary Faulk. Sumner — Fun & Fascination
1997 Jennifer Brown. Sumner — Symphony in Spring
1998 Allison Porter. Curtis — Up and Away
1999 Jeanna Little. Sumner — Romance in Bloom
2000 Tiye Smith. Henry Foss — Century of memories
2001 Tara Faw. Orting — Headin’ for the Future
2002 Katrina Woldseth. Franklin Pierce — 2002 Reasons to Smile
2003 Angie Voiles. Sumner — It’s Magic
2004 Romelynn Eleno. Lakes — It Was All Just Rock n’ Rol
2005 Jessica DeWitt. Mt Tahoma — Dreams Come Alive in 2005
2006 Mollie Ruiz. Curtis — Daffodil Delights
2007 Michelle Wood. Sumner — All That Jazz
2008 Olivia Anderson. Cascade Christian — Remembering Your First Daffodil Parade
2009 Melanie Stanbaugh. Emerald Ridge — Swing Into Swing
2010 Annie Jeong. Stadium — Carousel of Spring
2011 Claire Fleming. Curtis — Spirit of Adventure
2012 Sarah Karamoko. Foss— Believe(Don’t Stop Believing)
2013 McKenna Erhardt. Rogers— Magic of Music
2014 Marisa Modestowicz. Emerald Ridge — Ready Set Grow
2015 Ashley Becker. Bonney Lake — Shine Your Light With Service
2016 Emily Oliver-Adams. Spanaway lake. — Fun in The Sun
2017 Marin Sasaki. Orting. — Daffodil in Paradise
2018 Allie Brooks. Lincoln — Traditions in Bloom
2019 Katie Gilbert. White River. — A Heart of Service
2020 no parade. Honoring the Past
2021 Katie Rose Abegglen. Puyallup — Reach For Your Star
2022 Clara Blakeslee. Curtis— Hope Rises
2023 Vivian Lorens Hernandez. Lakes — 90 Years Around The Sound
2024 Alejandra Gonzalez. Puyallup — Time To Shine