2015 Daffodil Festival Royal Court
Each of these ladies were selected from 24 Pierce County high schools and were brought together to become the 2015 Daffodil Festival Royal Court.
Athena Sok
Bailee Towns
Kenzie Bjornson
Kyla Farris
Ransom Satterlee
Samantha Ward
Lincoln High School
2015 Daffodil Queen - Ashley Becker Bonney Lake High School
Pelumi Ajibade
Stadium High School
Rachel Price
Eatonville High School
Cascade Christian High School
Bethel High School
Graham-Kapowsin High School
Rogers High School
Sumner High School
The 2015 Daffodil Royalty serve as the official Ambassadors of Pierce County and will volunteer more than 6,700 hours of community service at over 260 appearances during their reign.
Bailey Rasmussen
Emily Inskeep
Jaskirat Kaur
Kaitlin Ringus
Kasey Hewitt
Lyndsay Zemanek
Maddi Gordon
Maddie Lindahl
Maddy Zahn
Nicole Ripley
Shannon Woods
Sharon Washington
Taylor Trujillo
Tia Robbins
Victoria Ann Tirado
White River High School
Curtis High School
Mt. Tahoma High School
Chief Leschi High School
Wilson High School
Washington High School
Emerald Ridge High School
Puyallup High School
Spanaway Lake High School
Fife High School
Orting High School
Franklin Pierce High School
Lakes High School
Henry Foss High School
Clover Park High School
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Engaging the Young Readers DAFFODIL FESTIVAL CONTINUES ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH PIERCE COUNTY AND TACOMA LIBRARIES Daffodil Royalty getting a photo with soldiers from the National Guard after a VIP tour of the Army Aviation Support Facility on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
It was about ‘Community’ 82 years ago, and it still is today The Daffodil Festival originated in 1934 as a celebration of the agriculture industry in the Puyallup and Sumner area. The Daffodil Parade became an annual event where the community gathered, and the daffodil was the exalted symbol. The celebration gradually grew to make its way through four Pierce County cities in a single day. Despite the loss of the daffodil farmers throughout the years, Pierce County is still fertile ground, continuing to sprout new ideas and ways of thinking, ingenuity, industry, and innovation. The parade still hosts the beautiful golden flowers, but the true celebration continues to revolve around the community from which it originates, and the people whose hands have built the festival from the very beginning. The high school bands, floats, businesses and local organizations, all hold strong ties
to the streets they march, walk, and ride over in the parade. It is for this reason that the Daffodil Festival still flourishes. This Festival thrives, when Pierce County is at its strongest; when the support and spirit of its diverse communities come together. When they share their talents, and take part in a grand tribute to the land they live in, magic happens. That is more than the Parade, it is a Festival showcasing a community at its best. Recently, the Daffodil Festival has been replanted in the same fertile ground in Pierce County where the daffodils once were plenty. It has a fresh start, plenty of water (and rain), and a new-found support structure, with plenty of ideas for continued growth. The Daffodil Festival is about community. It is about a celebration and a promise to serve our community.
Daffodil Royalty working at the Emergency Food Network on a repack project for the community.
The farming industry has changed, and this festival has embraced and evolved with what the community needs. The flower is our symbol, not a requirement for survival. We are a Celebration of our Community. The parade showcases our community at its best. And these young women that serve as its Royal Court are some of the best in our community. We take 24 talented, diverse, gifted, and willing young ladies and present them to our community. They lead, serve, and inspire thousands of people, young and old, each year. Where this festival has evolved is in the work that we do. The Royalty program has grown from 30 appearances a year to, this year, over 260 appearances this year. This court will spend over 7,000 hours loving, teaching, encouraging, serving and inspiring our community before they hand over the keys to the 2016 Royalty in October. 82 years ago, the plan was to unite this community by celebrating a flower. Today, this festival continues to unite this community by humbly serving those that need it and celebrating those that live in it. Royalty volunteering at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital.
Daffodil Royalty are well known for their commitment to community and dedication to education across Pierce County, and no alliance better integrates both of those aspects of being a Princess, more than the Daffodil Festival’s partnership with Pierce County and Tacoma Libraries.
On specific Saturdays in February and March, the Princesses appeared at 82 libraries though the Princess READ program and for a United Way campaign celebrating Dr. Suess on his birthday. These popular events offer a unique opportunity for close inter-
READ 2015
Commitment to Education
action between the Royal Court and their young fans, and involve not only exploring new stories and learning new things, but emphasizing the importance of education, by way of meaningful conversations with the children, based around the books they’ve just discussed. “One little girl came up to me and said she wanted to read. I assumed she wanted me to read to her, but when we sat down, she sat right on my lap and started reading to me,” says Maddi Gordon, the 2015 Daffodil Princess from Henry Foss high school. She describes the library experiences as one of her “favorite parts of being a Princess so far this year.”
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The 82nd Annual Grand Floral Parade Entries include: 56th Army Band Afifi Shriners American Heritage Girls American Legion 4th District Astoria Clowns Astoria Regatta Festival Autumn Leaf Festival - Leavenworth Aylen Junior High School Marching Band Ballou Junior High Marching Band Bethel Community Float Bethel High School Air Force JROTC Bethel High School Band
Bethel Middle School Marching Band Bonney Lake High School Panthers Camp Fire Orca CAN-AM Spyders OF Puget Sound Capital Lakefair Cascade Christian Schools Float Central Pierce Fire & Rescue Century High School Band and Colorguard Chief Sealth Band City of Sumner Float Clan Gordon Pipe Band Clover Park High School Marching Band Clover Park School District Colors of Hawaii Pa’u Riders Columbia Junior High Marching Band Community Grand Marshal - Bill Sterud Congressman Denny Heck Cowichan Lake Lady of the Lake CRISTA Camps Curtis High School Marching Band Curtis Senior High School Float Daffodil Festival - Queen’s Float Daffodil Festival President - Debbie Barbara Daffodil Festival Traveling Float East Pierce Fire & Rescue Eatonville Communtiy Float Eatonville High School Marching Band Edgemont Junior High School Marching Band Educators of the Year Emerald Ridge High School Band and Cheer Fathoms O’Fun Festival Ferrucci Junior High School Marching Band Fife Community Float Foss High School
Foss High School Band Franklin Pierce High School Franklin Pierce Schools Community Float Frontier Middle School Marching Band Girl Scout Brownie Troop 44112 Girl Scout Troop 40619 Girl Scouts of Western Washington Glacier View Junior High Band Graham-Kapowsin High School Grand Marshal - Jerry Korum Harnish Auto Peoople Matter Heritage Bank Honorary Grand Marshal - Claude Brown Hyack Festival Association Immanuel Royals Cheer Team Integrity Homeschool Drill Team JBLM Bettie Brigade JBLM Stryker Unit Kalles Junior High Band La Senoritas Saber Drill Team Lakeridge Middle School Marching Band Lakes High School Band and Dance Team Lakes High School JROTC Lincoln High School Army JROTC Lincoln High School Band Marysville Strawberry Festival McKenzie View Acres - COAR
Metro Animal Services Military Color Guard Mount Tahoma High School Mountain View Middle School Marching Band Moxee Hop Festival Mrs. Tacoma Muckleshoot High School Cheerleading Navy Band Northwest NW Small Equine Club Obot Electric / Orting cub scout troop 560 Old Coots on Scoots Orting Chamber Community Float Orting cub scout troop #560 Orting High School Marching Band Orting Lacrosse Club Orting Mayor - Antique Fire Orting Middle School Band Pat McCarthy & John McCarthy
Peer to Peer Home School Drill Team Pete the Putter Pierce County Mustang Club Pierce County Sheriff’s Mounted Posse Puget Sound Energy Puyallup Bark Supply Puyallup Cheer Academy Puyallup City Council Puyallup Community Float Puyallup Elks Puyallup High School Marching Band Puyallup Mayor - John Knutsen Puyallup Tribe Rainier antique tractor club Rainier Council Square Dancers Rally Point 6 Relay for Life of Puyallup Relay for Life of Tacoma Rogers High School Band Ronald McDonald Royal Rosarians Seafair Foundation Seafair Pirates Seattle Seafair Commodores Seattle-Tacoma Cobras CLASS Program Sequim Irrigation Festival Sons & Daughters of the American Revolution Sons Of Norway Sons Of Norway South Sound Nighthawks Spanaway Lake High School Spirit of the Lake - City of Kelowna Spring Fair Float Springfree - Jump Into Spring Stadium HS Navy JROTC Stahl Junior High Marching Band Sumner Co-op Preschool Sumner High School Spartan Marching Band Sumner Mayor - Dave Enslow Sumner Middle School Marching Band Tacoma Fire Department Tacoma Lariettes Tacoma Mayor - Marilyn Strickland
Tacoma Rainiers Baseball Club Tacoma School District Float Tacoma Yacht Club Tacoma Yacht Club The Lady’s of Elegance
The Little Gym of Puyallup The Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse The Pirates of Treasure Island The Princesses of Elegance Thunderbird Battalion Tiffany’s Roller Skating & Family Fun Center USS Nimitz Honor Guard Veterans of Foregin Wars
VIP/ColorGuard/Territorial Flag Team WA Diamonds Drill Team and Drum line Washington Explorer Search & Rescue Washington Fallen Heroes Banners Washington High School Band Drill Team Wenatchee Apple Blossom West Seattle Hi-Yu White River High School White River High School Marching Band Whole Foods Market Wilson High School Band Windmill Gardens
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Media Partnership with KING 5 Television continues to grow MEDIA: Daffodil Festival builds with a strong media partner in KING 5 Television The Daffodil Festival is practically synonymous with springtime in Pierce County, and nothing gets in touch with the historical roots of those fantastic flowers than the 82nd Festival theme, “Shine your Light with Service.” This year’s televised event will be hosted by the on-site talent of
Enjoy the 82nd Annual Daffodil Parade in one of the four cities and in the comfort of your home. Daffodil Festival mainstay and KING 5 sports anchor, Chris Egan, as well as KING 5 morning news traffic anchor, Tracy Taylor-Turner. The partnership between the Daffodil Festival and KING 5 is in its third year, with the local news provider serving as official broadcasting sponsor of the Grand Floral
Saturday, April 11th 8:00 PM Hosted by: Chris Egan and Tracy Taylor-Turner Parade. This exclusive partnership brings KING 5 talent to many of the Festival events throughout the year. The Parade will be filmed during the second of the four legs of the parade in downtown Puyallup along South Meridian. The Parade airs on KONG 6/16 on Saturday, April 11th at 8:00 PM.
Shine your Light with Service 2015
Celebrating Military Service Parade now a summer fixture for Tacoma
BY SAVANNAH FRY The folks of Pierce County have always been known for loving a good parade, as the annual turnout for the Daffodil Festival Grand Floral Parade proves every spring. However, this past August, Pacific Avenue in Downtown Tacoma found itself hosting the Daffodil Festival’s second annual “Celebrating Military Service” Parade. Pierce County is home to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, one of the largest joint bases in the country, and to have that many military personnel in such a close proximity going widely unrecognized, made for the advantageous decision to honor them on one special day during the summer, with their own community-wide celebration. JBLM houses more than 44,000 active military personnel on base, making it one of the largest employers in the county, as well. More than 100,000 people make up the base population, and in addition to the large number of veteran’s organization that also make up part of our community, the military population in Pierce County is a grand one. Last year’s parade featured participants from almost every branch of military and historical organizations you could name, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force Reserves, Army National Guard, Navy Reserves, Washington Air National Guard, Canadian Regiments, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and American Legion. While no tanks took part in the display, as they might have caused damage to Pacific Avenue, the military came in full force with their own means of transportation, including Historical Vehicles, Military Vehicles, Mounted Units, Strykers, and more. The Daffodil Festival Queen’s Float, which provides transportation for the Royal Court each year, instead served as a means of conveying injured veterans, honoring the Warrior Transition Battalion, a different
kind of community leader than the float’s traditional occupants. In total, over 71 organizations were represented in the day’s festivities, bringing together an impressively diverse and varied group of military branches, communities, and families – from Buffalo Soldiers on horseback to Mothers of Fallen Soldiers - to share in a celebration of how much Pierce County has to be proud of, in its military history and future. The event was put on by The Daffodil Festival in conjunction with the City of Tacoma.
FUTURE MILITARY PARADES The status for a 2015 military parade this summer will be determined in May. Executive Director of the Daffodil Festival Steve James said, “After the Daffodil Parade, I will sit down with Tacoma Mayor Strickland and we will discuss all possibilities. We have thoroughly enjoyed the planning and execution of this event for the last two summers. It is an honor to celebrate current and retired military personnel.” James continued, “But this comes down to resource allocation and community participation. Last year one was much greater than the other.”
Daffodil Festival Sponsors Emerald Queen Hotel & Casino . Heritage Bank . Puget Sound Energy KING 5 Television . Washington State Fair . Nike South Sound Running Pierce County . City of Tacoma . City of Puyallup . City of Fife City of Sumner . City of Orting Additional Sponsors . Adriatic Grill Nordstrom . Knutson Farms . Sound Transit Port of Tacoma . Tacoma Weekly . The News Tribune Educators of the Year Sponsors Lexus of Tacoma in Fife . Pierce County Mustang Club Organizational Partners Boys and Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound . Pierce County Library Tacoma Library . YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties . Puyallup Library Emergency Food Network . Pierce County Parks . Tacoma-Pierce County Chaplaincy . Pierce County Fire . United Way
SPRING FAIR HOURS: Thursday 2pm - 10pm Friday & Saturday 10am - 10pm • Sunday 10am - 8pm
Thank you to all of the people who contribute time, money, and resources to the Daffodil Festival that limited space here did not allow them to be listed in this publication. The Daffodilians, Chaperones, and volunteers are the backbone of our organization.
Thank you to our Facility Sponsors for the Daffodil Parade
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