The Moorestown Business Association (MBA) will host its sixth annual Daffodil Day on Saturday, April 22.
Event chair Melissa McGrath was inspired by the island of Nantucket’s Daffodil Festival to bring the idea to the township board.
“It was meant for the Main Street merchants to bring people into town in the spring and liven things up and get things going,” she said.
The event begins at 10 a.m. and will include a free horse-and-carriage ride from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Local artists will have displays, demonstrations and sales along Main Street. Merchants and restaurants will offer seasonal items, menus and services, and there will be live entertainment, arts and crafts and plenty of daffodils.
Light posts on Main Street will be decorated with yellow bows. This year’s musical acts include the George Bittner Trio, the Luck Brothers, Lost in Brunswick and the Woods. Artists include painters Bob Minnick, Nancy Harty and Susan Stewart and potters Tracie Muir and Laura Delafranco.
“We really try to promote the local artists and local musicians,” said Wolf Skacel, co-chair of Daffodil Day. “I think with the artists, they maybe had more time on their hands due to COVID, so they maybe painted more. And this is an opportunity to sell off some of the stuff that they decided not to keep.”
The most rewarding part of Daffodil Day for McGrath is seeing people come out and walk along Main Street, and like Nantucket’s Daffodil Festival, she would like to see the event become a weekend affair rather than just one day.
“That would be great,” she noted. “They have cars that are decorated top to bottom, people buy costumes and their hats they decorate all year to wear … It can be really fun.”
The West Jersey Music Academy, the South Jersey Guild of Spinners and Handweavers and Moorestown’s Parks and Recreation Department will also be on hand, and Skacel looks forward to seeing the lineup of artists and musicians expand yearly.
“My hope would be that I get so many artists that are interested in participating, that I end up filling both sides of the street,” he said.
McGrath and Skacel see Daffodil Day as a special spring event that brings a good feeling to the community.
“I’m just glad when everybody’s in place and I see the crowds and everybody looks like they’re having fun,” Skacel remarked.
“It’s pretty and it’s all positive,” McGrath said. “It’s spring and the town looks pretty.”
McGrath and Skacel hope people leave the event feeling Moorestown’s charm.
“We’re so fortunate to have a Main Street, because there’s so many towns around us that are just farm towns and there’s no Main Street,” McGrath pointed out.
“A lot of times, it’s people that have never been here before and they’re finally getting a chance to see what the community is, and maybe they want to become a part of it,” Skacel said.
For more information on Daffodil Day, visit https://www.moorestownbusiness.com/event-details/daffodilday.
