Pierce County residents brave the rain to cheer on Daffodil Festival parade
The rain that greeted the Daffodil Festival parade on Saturday did little to dampen spirits. People young and not-so-young stood on the slick sidewalks to watch as the Pierce County procession wound from town to town.
Saturday marked the 91st year of the Daffodil Festival Grand Floral Parade, which stopped in Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner and Orting. In Puyallup, attendees chatted excitedly while waiting for the parade to start at around 12:45 p.m.
Puyallup resident Maranda Kline, 24, used to play clarinet with her high school marching band in the Daffodil parade. This year was the first time that, instead of participating in the event, she could just come out and watch.
Kline brought along her weeks-old son, Malcolm.
“We have a new baby, so we’re kind of living groundhog’s day: Getting up, feeding him, taking care of him — so just free family entertainment,” she said of the parade.
The Daffodil princesses of Pierce County donned yellow dresses and waved from their thrones on an equally jaune float. Beaming cheerleaders revved up the crowd with gravity-defying stunts. Kilt-wearing bagpipe players evoked the sounds of Scotland.
Parade attendees could hear horns blare, cymbals crash and snare drums rat-a-tat as marching bands inched their way up and down the Puyallup roads. A pair of goats even got a moment in the spotlight.
The Daffodil Festival parade was a new experience for some attendees. Amberlynn and Lucas Cline of Fife, both 29, brought their two young kids along: “We’ve actually never been, and we’ve lived here for 10 years,” Amberlynn said.
Lucas said that he and Amberlynn found out about the parade that morning from their sister-in-law. They thought it’d be a good event for the whole family to enjoy on their day off.
“I’m just going into it with an open mind,” Lucas said ahead of the parade. “Just kind of excited to see what they’ve got.”
Amberlynn agreed: “Just along for the ride.”
Denise and Mike McVey, 60 and 53, headed to Puyallup from Spanaway to cheer on their granddaughter as she played trumpet with her high school band. Denise estimated that they’d come to watch every iteration of the parade over the past 20-something years; the McVeys’ kids also used to march in the annual event with their own school bands.
This year the couple pulled up to the parade with their four dogs — two Shiba Inus and two chihuahuas — named Dallas, Fargo, Bella and Chloe. The McVeys looked forward to watching the young parade participants.
“It’s just fun to see and support them,” Denise said, “because if they’re willing to walk in the rain and march, then we can tolerate the rain to support them.”
