Stratford Daffodil Day blooming big success

Members of the Stratford Daffodil Day committee were surrounded by the yellow flowers on Friday.

It's safe to say the members of the Stratford Daffodil Day committee painted the town yellow on Friday, with balloons, streamers, flags and plenty of the eponymous flowers to be seen throughout Stratford on the day.

Raewyn Rooney, chairwoman of the Stratford Daffodil Day committee, says she and her colleagues were all delighted with how the day went in Stratford.

"It's always quite overwhelming on the day seeing how many people get dressed up or do something to mark the day, and we had so many people come in for the lunches this year it was amazing."

She says the luncheon was as popular as it always has been, noting they had even more people come in this year.

"Plus the takeaway lunches were popular as well, not only did we have the preorders, but we had people who came for the sit down meal then buying a takeaway lunch to take home or for someone else."

Raewyn says the final total has yet to be calculated, with money still to come in from a range of events and fundraising sources such as school or business mufti days.

"So while we don't have a final total yet, we can announce we have already raised an impressive $18,379,00 which is just incredible.

Thank you to every single person who helped us get to this amount. Be it by buying a daffodil or some of the merchandise, buying a raffle ticket or donating a prize, putting money in a collection tin, or coming to the lunch itself, every dollar donated has made a difference and together we have done our community proud."

Raewyn says the children's disco, which took place on Friday evening, was a great success. "It was great to see children coming along, dressed up and ready to support the cause as well."

The merchandise stall during the day was constantly busy, says Raewyn, who urges people to contact her if there were items they didn't get on the day because of the queue.

"A final thank you must be said to the wonderful committee who worked tirelessly behind the scenes for months as well as on the day itself. Without them, this event would not have been possible and they really are a great bunch of people to work with."

Raewyn can be contacted on 06 7657110 if you want to purchase any Daffodil Day merchandise.