Dates 1926-present Years active 83 | Location Pierce County, Washington | |
 | ||
Genre Community Festival, Royalty Program | ||
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.
Contents
History
The Puyallup River valley, in which part of Tacoma, and all Puyallup, Sumner and Orting lie, has rich glacial soil. In 1925 the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommended bulb growing to replace the decaying hops industry.
Soon, the trademark bulb fields sprung up, most notably Van Lierop's bulb farm in Puyallup, along Shaw Road. Daffodils and tulips became the best crops.
The Daffodil Festival began on April 6, 1926 as an annual, when Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Orton were hosts to civic leaders from 125 towns in Western Washington. In 1934 the parade section of the festival was established, as a procession of automobiles decorated with daffodils.
Parade
The Grand Floral Parade travels through Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner and Orting in one day. The concept of "four parades in four cities in one day" is unique to the Daffodil Festival. The parade is held every year on a Saturday in April.
Participating high schools
As of 2012, the participating high schools are: