Word on the

Street

Though I know you are probably weary of hearing about the Daffodil Festival, no great event is complete without the ever popular “wrap-up” meeting where folks in the know discuss the good, the bad and the solutions. I was fortunate enough to attend two wrap-up meetings regarding the parade this week.

The first was hosted by the Daffodil Festival and included input from multiple cities and organizations. I loved learning there were about 100,000 people who came to watch the parade in all four cities. The second meeting was sponsored by the TV Tacoma production crew to discuss how next year’s coverage of the Grand Floral Street parade might be improved. A big thank you to the TV Tacoma broadcast hosts and production team, Benji Bittle, Carol Wolfe, Amanda Westbrooke and Fred Yomes. They did a bunch of pre-parade research to ensure that the running commentary was a great promotional tool for the Festival.

And while watching TV this weekend I happened upon the channel 12 South Sound Business Report only to see our own Ben deGoede being interviewed and asked for comments about how the agricultural industry is doing in Pierce County. Great interview, Ben, though I was a little disappointed they never referred to you as the “Float Meister.”

Another fun wrap-up meeting last week was hosted by the CFF committee. CFF stands for Communities For Families and is led by Marilee Hill-Anderson and the Sumner School District. At the meeting, attendees discussed the recent annual community summit where two of my favorite people, Barb Bitteto and John McDonald, were recognized as two of the five unsung heroes in the community this year.

The summit produced an abundance of good comments including reports of great attendance by youth and adults alike in the Sumner and Bonney Lake communities. If you missed the summit this year, mark your calendars for next March and watch for this important event and learn what resources are available in the community.

And lastly, I have been meeting with the Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse folks about some of the events coming this year. Everybody knows how much fun can be had at the Cannery, not to mention some great furniture finds, but I think they’ve really outdone themselves in the last couple of weeks. I knew they had the Easter bunny at the Cannery for photos with the kids and a petting zoo of small animals for everyone to enjoy, but I didn’t realize the animals were actually found in the warehouse. Talk about fun! But it’s my understanding that one of the little pygmy goats got out of its pen and went searching for a comfortable place to sit, much to the chagrin of at least one showroom salesperson.

I have a huge grin on my face when I type “only in Sumner.” Thanks, Jackie, for the tour and funny story. And to rest of the crew at the Cannery, thanks for creating another reason why folks like to spend some time in Sumner, not to mention the Cannery.