Daylily Festival set for Saturday in downtown Abbeville

Rain or shine, Magdalen Square in downtown Abbeville will be filled with the color that has become common to this time of year.
The annual Daylily Festival and Garden Show is set for this Saturday, May 31, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Magdalan Square in downtown Abbeville. More than 50 vendors are expected to attend.
“We are hoping to get some perfect weather,” Abbeville Main Street Manager Charlene Beckett said, “but we are going to be out there, no matter what.”
Abbeville Main Street, along with the Vermilion Chamber of Commerce, are presenting the festival. The event is sponsored by the City of Abbeville, Gulf Coast Bank, Lafayette Master Gardeners, the Abbeville Garden Club and the Vermilion Parish Tourist Commission.
“It’s a huge turnout,”
Beckett said of the crowds the festival draws.
The region does help create a demand for what the festival provides.
“We have the perfect climate to have really nice yards and gardens,” Beckett said. “People spend a lot of time outside working in their yards.”
Dan Devenport, an expert on the subject, will be presenting an educational session on vegetable container gardening. That is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. at the Abbeville Cultural Center, located across from Magdalen Square.
The session will focus on planting vegetables in containers, with smaller yards becoming a growing trend around Acadiana. Points that will be covered will be type and size of container, proper soil mix, including different forms of fertilizer, sun exposure, and selection of proper vegetables to plant. Tips will be given on appropriate watering of plants which is a very important factor in growing successful plants.
Devenport, a graduate of Cornell University in New York, where he earned a Master’s degree in Floriculture & Ornamental Horticulture, has worked for the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and is now with the LSU Ag Center as our Assistant County Agent for Vermilion Parish.
The event offers much of what a garden enthusiast would be looking for. One need not have dirt under his or her nails to enjoy the festival, though.
“There is so much to offer,” Beckett said. “There will be vendors selling yard art, arts and crafts and food.
“There will be something for everyone.”