The Moorestown Business Association (MBA) will host Daffodil Day at 10 a.m. Saturday on Main Street.
“I’m always interested in seeing new people from other towns who are coming to visit to stop in and see what we have, but also there’s just so many people from town that you lose touch with over the years,” said Melissa McGrath, event chair.
“ … Lives change, but sometimes at some of these events, everybody comes out and you reconnect with people.”
McGrath was inspired to host the event by the island of Nantucket’s Daffodil Festival. Among the day’s activities will be free horse and carriage rides, live music, artisan demonstrations, family activities and seasonal merchant sales and specials. Daffodils will decorate business fronts and can be bought at the association’s booth.
The Moorestown Garden Club will have a demo and sale station, and Moorestown Hardware will provide a lemonade stand. Bright yellow bows will adorn the street light poles.
“Everybody wants to come out from the dreary days of the winter and all the rain we’ve had, and it’s a chance for the Main Street merchants to showcase what they’re offering to the town,” McGrath explained. “The (Main) street looks very perky, because there’s yellow bows on all the lamp posts. And all of the businesses have purchased daffodils, which are out, and some of the businesses even decorate their windows …
“It’s really a pretty sight to see. Who couldn’t be cheery?”
Artists on hand are expected to include Ellen Barnett; Ester Phillips Clark; Sean Kain; Lisa Matera; Wasiu Ojuolape; Alex Wilkie; Nancy Lee Hartly; Colonial West Jersey Embroiders; and Barb McDonnell, among others. Musicians will include the Glenn Neil Duo, Laura Dishong, the Luck Brothers, Lost in Brunswick, Sax Plus One and Kenya Diggit.
“We’re certainly trying to promote local artists in the community,” noted said Wolf Skacel, Daffodil Day co-chair. “It’s a day to appreciate the arts and get a chance to see some art and talk to an artist … I feel like there’s a hidden pool of artists within Moorestown.
“We have a great deal of talent, and we’re trying to encourage them to come out and be proud of the work that they do and show people what inspires them to do whatever it is that they do.”
There will also be painters, wood carvers, authors and new artists the festival hasn’t had before. Mixing art and music is something Skacel sees as a good balance.
“If you just had one without the other, it might not be as good of an event,” he observed. “The artists bring people to Main Street and frequent the businesses there, and at the same time, the businesses make sure that the artists have the space to work and an opportunity to present their work.”
Skacel encourages the event’s artists and musicians to engage with residents, something that always pays off.
“ … If I had the artist explain to me what they’re thinking and what they’re trying to capture, it would mean more to me, so this is that opportunity to do that,” he said.
For more information on Daffodil Day, visit www.moorestownbusiness.com or visit the MBA’s Facebook page.
