Special Event

Camden Daffodil Festival has more than flowers

Celebrate the approach of spring with steaks and flowers galore at the annual Camden Daffodil Festival.
Celebrate the approach of spring with steaks and flowers galore at the annual Camden Daffodil Festival.

Multiple bouts with winter weather over the last couple of weeks have left Arkansans trapped in what feels like a dark, frigid, eternal winter.

But the town of Camden may have the cure this weekend: flowers and lots of Southern hospitality.

Camden Daffodil Festival

Friday-Saturday

Admission: free; fees for tours and cook-off

(870) 836-0023

camdendaffodilfesti…

Spring is right around the corner and the annual Camden Daffodil Festival (Friday and Saturday) is a perfect reminder.

Event chairman Clara Freeland promises that even the big snow last week hasn't hurt the stars of the show.

"Daffodils love cold weather," she says. "Some of the daffodils may have gotten weighted down with the snow right now, but as soon as that's gone they'll be right back up and then we've got all these coming on. It'll help if anything, more than hurt."

That's good news for flower lovers and for a festival that centers primarily on its garden tours.

"The garden tours and home tours are the main reason for the festival. That's how it all started out," Freeland says.

The festival is a benefit for the Ouachita County Historical Society, which, over the years, has grown and expanded to include more and more activities, while still keeping its heart in an appreciation of the past and the natural beauty around Camden.

Visitors should start at First United Methodist Church at 116 Jefferson St., where tour tickets are for sale. It's also the site of the quilt and art shows and a thriving hospitality centerwith extensive refreshments.

"When our visitors come in they just can't believe it," Freeland says. "A visit to the great hall of the church in itself is really wonderful."

There's much more to see, particularly when it comes to gardens and historic homes. There are three garden tours (9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily; $7 per garden, $35 for all plus cemetery tour), three self-guided farm tours and four historic homes (9 a.m.-4 p.m. daily; $7 per home, $25 for all) that are open during the festival. The Oakland Cemetery, where costumed re-enactors share stories about long-gone Camden residents, is also part of the tour (10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily; $7, $3 for children 6-18, $15 family rate).

All-access festival showcase wristbands ($75) can be bought for entry to all events.

To make getting around from site to site easier, the festival provides shuttle service every half hour, taking ticket holders from one venue to another throughout the county.

It's a good idea to time a visit to the Grace Hill garden for 11 a.m.-2 p.m. That's when lunch is served for Dining in the Daffodils.

"A lot of people will come just to go out there and have lunch," Freeland says. "It's a fabulous place."

Festival organizers are aware that flowers and old homes aren't everyone's cup of tea, so for those who aren't thrilled to be pulled along through the blossoms, the shuttle also makes stops at the antique car show (9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday).

There's also an arts and crafts festival, a quilt show, an art show and sale, music, children's activities, Civil War re-enactments, a Daffodil Junction information area and, to close out the festival, the championship steak cook-off (Saturday; $8 for "grazing" 11 a.m.-3 p.m., $22 for dinner 5-6:15 p.m.).

As Freeland says, "There's something there for everyone of every age."

It's a massive undertaking with so many activities, but it's a smoothly running machine. Mostly.

"After 22 years, we really do have it down to a science," Freeland says with a laugh. "The only thing we haven't been able to control is the weather."

Weekend on 03/05/2015

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