Gloucester County is asking residents to think small when it comes to submitting entries for this year’s Gloucester Daffodil Festival Parade.
Think “no bigger than a breadbox” small.
Like last year’s virtual Christmas and Holiday Parade that was organized by the Gloucester Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department in December, the “Little Gem of a Festival” Mini Virtual Parade will use shoebox-sized floats, which will be filmed and then broadcast for all to see.
Friday, March 12 is the deadline to come up with your entry in the parade, which will debut at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 27 on the county’s website, social media and cable channels 47 and 48.
All floats entering the parade should be the size of a rectangle tissue box or a women’s size 11 or men’s size 9 shoebox and should include the theme, “Daffodil Memories.” The maximum height for the float is 12 inches from the floor and the bottom of the float should be flat so it can be pulled along the platform for filming. Working wheels are okay, but not required.
“Even though we cannot offer the traditional in-person parade this year, we hope our community members will still help us celebrate the spirit of the full event by highlighting their memories of festivals past,” said director of Gloucester PRT Katey Legg. “We had such innovative entries in our last shoebox-size parade, and we’re hoping to see even more for this one.”
The bottom of each entry should be labeled with your name and phone number. The parade will travel left to right across the screen, so please decorate accordingly.
This year’s “A Little Gem of a Festival” will be held March 27-28 and will be modified to help mitigate ongoing pandemic concerns. Due to COVID-19 regulations, this year’s festival will be unable to host live entertainment, food vendors and amusement. However, it will feature 40 handcraft and art vendors located in three market areas. Vendors will be spaced out within the Court Circle, along Carriage Court and in the green space behind the Gloucester Museum of History.
Festival hours will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 27 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 28. Festival guests will be required to pre-register for their festival visit. A total of 190 guests will be permitted per two-hour festival visit. Registration is free, still open, and can be taken through the Eventbrite link on the festival’s website, www.daffodilfestivalva.org.
For more information about the festival and complete guidelines for the parade, visit http://daffodilfestivalva.org/parade or call 804-693-2355.