THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, April 7, 2023 Page 11 The Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler Good morning, Saugus! Happy Spring! Happy Easter! Happy Passover! Happy Ramadan! And wishes to all people celebrating other religious holidays this weekend. The daffodils are in bloom and were very noticeable as I traveled about town this week. They are my favorite of the spring. Back in the early to mid-1990s, when I was editor of The Nantucket Beacon, I developed a deep love of these yellow babies. They were sprouting all over the island, thanks to the Nantucket Garden, which had bombarded the island with thousands of daffodil bulbs many years ago. The ladies knew what they were doing, knowing that the deer and other wild creatures would seldom touch the daffodils, and they preferred to prey on tulips. What a colorful sight it was to walk all over the island and see the daffies displaying their colors. Islanders love the daffodil so much that they celebrate a special festival – the Annual Daffodil Festival. It all started back in May of 1975. If you love daffies and want to see something spectacular, take a day trip down to Hyannis and board a ferry to the island so you can watch the Annual Daffodil Festival on April 27-30. There will be a Daffodil Festival Parade, featuring classic cars, floats and ordinary cars decorated with daffodils and driven by people dressed in yellow. Even the dogs out for a walk with their owners will have yellow or daffies on their collars. And many people – islanders and spectators – will be decked out in yellow that day. In the seven-plus years I’ve been editor of The Saugus Advocate, I’ve written about the daffy mania that grips Nantucket and I’ve mentioned that I would love to see the Saugus Garden Club try to replicate the daffy plantings on the mainland of Saugus. Here’s hoping they do some day. One week until Books in Bloom! One of the great events that promotes reading and gardening in the spring is right around the corner. The Community Room at the Saugus Public Library will be hosting the always festive Books in Bloom event next Friday, April 14, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 15, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This event is free and features literary-themed floral displays throughout the library and is sponsored by the Saugus Garden Club. Stay tuned for more details. I have attended most of these during my second go-around covering Saugus. And it’s quite a colorful, worthwhile event. Town Meeting convenes on May 1 We’re less than a month away from one of the most important civic events in Saugus – the Annual Town Meeting, which is set for the first Monday in May – May 1. The 50-members who make up this town legislative body have the responsibility for passing the town’s municipal budget. They also have the responsibility for approving various articles, including zoning articles. Selectmen closed the warrant on Tuesday for the Annual Town Meeting. One of the major items this year will be a package of zoning regulations crafted specifically for Cliftondale Square. Precinct 2 Town Meeting Member Joe Vecchione – the driving force behind the most recent Cliftondale revitalization effort since getting first elected to Town Meeting in 2019 – is behind the Cliftondale zoning proposal, which is controversial and is expected to draw considerable debate on the floor of Town Meeting. Stay tuned. A Special Opening Day for Saugus Little League Next time you’re in Saugus Town Hall, go up to the second floor auditorium, take a look at the wall to the right of the door and you will see this giant photo of the baseball team that made the summer of 2003 a memorable one. We’re talking about the team from Saugus that traveled all the way to Williamsport, Pa., to compete in the Little League World Series that year. Plans are already in the works to invite the 12 boys, their coaches and manager to help kick off this year’s Little League season. The 20th anniversary of that special team will feature a “duck boat” as the signature piece of this year’s Little League Parade, which kicks off from Anna Parker Field on Saturday, April 22, at 10 a.m., heads through Cliftondale Square and marches down to Hurd Avenue for the opening ceremonies, which will honor the 2003 team. Anyone who loves Little League baseball should circle this event on your calendar. There will be a food truck and a DJ entertaining the crowd. If the weather cooperates, this should be a great event for the town. In the event of rain, a makeup date is scheduled for April 23. “Saugus Over Coffee” This is a reminder to our readers that the next edition of “Saugus Over Coffee” will be for Precinct 4 on Tuesday, April 25, and THE SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 13
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