This Saturday, April 12, the Grand Floral Street Parade will travel through Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner and Orting as the highlight of Daffodil Festival Week.  More than 40 floats and more than 80 other entries, including marching bands, drill teams and even a Chinese dragon or two, will wind their way through throngs of boisterous crowds eager to help celebrate the festival’s 75th year anniversary.

In Tacoma, the parade starts at 10:15 a.m. at 11th and Pacific avenues and travels along Pacific to South 21st Street where it finishes. Parade participant staging is between 7th and 11th on Pacific Avenue.

Parade-goers will be watching for the Daffodil Festival Queen and her court riding atop a float near the front of the parade line-up blanketed with bright yellow, freshly cut daffodils. Olivia Anderson of Cascade Christian High School in Sumner was crowned the 75th annual Daffodil Festival Queen during a coronation ceremony held at Four Square Church in Puyallup last month. Anderson was one of 23 young women, a record number, vying for the title of queen and was awarded a $10,000 scholarship. She will represent the Daffodil Festival during the year and participate in numerous parades throughout the Pacific Northwest. The remaining 22 debutantes will serve as the queen’s court.

Anderson is the first princess from Cascade Christian. Upon being awarded the crown she said, “I just want to say how blessed and honored I am to be selected as queen. I just can’t believe I was chosen out of a group of such awesome young ladies.”

This year the Daffodil Foundation presented $52,000 in scholarships with each of the princesses receiving a minimum $1,000 scholarship. The first runner-up, Anna Anderson from Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup, was presented with an $8,000 scholarship. 

Illustrating how the parade has consistently brought together generations of Washingtonians throughout its long and respected history, parade watchers will also see another awesome lady being celebrated during the festivities. Patricia Ritchie Randall, the 1934 Flower Girl for the first Daffodil Festival Royal Court, will be honored as the Daffodil Festival Grand Marshal and will participate in all four parades. Her participation is in keeping with the festival’s theme this year, “75 Years: Remembering Your First Daffodil Parade.”

A mainstay of the Daffodil Festival for 30 years, Puyallup tribal member Ron Simchen is the 2008 Daffodil Festival President. While he said he doesn’t remember his very first parade, he does remember attending many with his family when he was young.

“Back when it was a big parade, before television, I remember our family used to go up to 21st and Market (streets) and we’d watch the beginning of the parade every year.”

He’s been extra busy these past few weeks helping to construct and decorate three floats in time for the parade: the Puyallup Tribe’s float, the Educator of the Year float and the float reserved for the queen and her court.

After the parade, revelers are encouraged to stick around for the Gray Sky Blues Festival being presented by Tacoma Events Commission. More than 15 Northwest musical acts will perform in almost a dozen venues throughout downtown Tacoma with free admission - Harmon Brewery, Swiss Pub, Cutter’s Point Coffee, La Costa Mexican Restaurant, Indochine Restaurant, urbanXchange, Paddy Coyne’s Irish Pub, Varsity Grill, El Gaucho’s and The Vault. Headlining will be Teddy Lee Hooker performing 6-7:30 p.m. at the Swiss.

As part of the Blues Festival, a classic Mustang car show will be held across the street from the Harmon Brewery (1938 Pacific Ave.), and a classic Corvette and Harley show on Jefferson in front of the Swiss Tavern (1904 Jefferson Ave.).

For complete Daffodil Festival and Grand Floral Parade information, visit www.daffodilfestival.net.