33rd Annual Meriden Daffodil Festival

Saturday, April 30 through Sunday, May 1, 2011

Location:

Hubbard Park (directions)
Meriden, CT

April 30, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and May 1, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

FREE


This spring marks the 33rd year for the Annual Meriden Daffodil Festival. The Meriden Daffodil Festival is a family oriented event, alcohol free, with plenty of food, crafts, fireworks, children’s activities and a parade. The food tent houses up to 50 food vendors all from community non-profit agencies, each selling at least one unique food item.

For Rob DeRosa, this is his 13th year as Entertainment Coordinator. He definitely keeps busy in the local music scene, playing Connecticut bands on his radio show Homegrown on WESU-FM and releasing music on his label Thin Man Music. Plus, he'll be MC'ing on the third stage at B.O.M.B. Fest this year, introducing George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic among others. It is largely due to DeRosa's decade plus involvement that live music became a major part of the festival. "We started with two stages, now there's three. We'd do another if there was enough room, but there just isn't." DeRosa works closely with anywhere from thirty to forty volunteers at a time, often including the bands themselves, helping to make the Daffodil Festival a successful event that draws upwards of 100,000 people. And lucky for festival-goers, the weather forecast for this weekend looks like it will be near-ideal conditions.

Saturday night ends with a fireworks display, which will begin as The Stepkids performance finishes. "As things get darker and darker," DeRosa mentioned, "things will look better and better" with the projections that will be happening behind The Stepkids segueing into the fireworks. The Stepkids will also be playing Daniel Street, on May 2, opening for Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and then again at Trinity College on May 3.

Don't forget to check out the merch tables. In particular, The Ivory Bills will be celebrating the release of their new album at the festival this year.

Here is each stage, with performers:

DAY ONE

Welcome Stage:

Freshly Squeezed
The Furors
The Ivory Bills
Eran Troy Danner
The Stratford Survivors
The Reducers
Echo & Drake
The Stepkids

Bandshell Stage:

Surge Chamber
The Frank Critelli Band
The Manchurians
Columbia Fields
Kicking Daisies
Jimmy Hat

Food Tent Stage

Chico & Friends
The Gonkus Brothers
The Church Street Revue
River City Slim & the Zydeco Hogs
Raise the Rent
Caravan of Thieves

DAY TWO

Welcome Stage

John Fries & the Heat
The Sawtelles
Plume Giant
Heirlooms
The Zambonis

Bandshell Stage

691
The Michael Cleary Band
Ticket to Ride
The McLovins

Food Tent Stage

Tommy Lourdes
Just Friends
The River Street Band
The Shinolas
Kelli, Sean & Wayne