The flower at the root of The Delray Affair once filled 1,600 acres of farmland
Next weekend, the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce will be celebrating the 63rd year of the 'Greatest Show Under the Delray Sun' — aka The Delray Affair.
From Friday, April 4, through Sunday, April 6, seven blocks in the heart of the city's historic downtown will be closed to traffic in favor of almost 500 booths selling an eclectic mixture of art, crafts and funky products from around the world. There also will be food booths, a beer garden, music and other types of entertainment, as well as sales and other specials in the shops that line Atlantic Avenue.
Organizers expect more than 110,000 visitors during the three-day event, making it one of the largest arts festivals in the Southeast United States.
The Delray Affair has received numerous kudos over the years, including awards from the Florida Festivals & Events Association, the International Festivals & Events Association, and America's Best Art Fairs.
But many might be surprised to know that the Delray Affair is technically much older than 63.
In fact, its roots lie in the long-forgotten 1947-1953 South Florida GladioliFestival and Fair.
While the Gladioli Festival was originally meant to be a small-town flower exhibition with a few concessions, the event quickly blossomed into an annual phenomenon dubbed 'The Mardi Gras of Flowers.'
Welcoming movie stars such as Vera Ellen (best known for her roles in 1949's "On the Town"and 1954's "White Christmas) to West Atlantic Avenue, it was a modern-day fair, with special exhibits and farm animals. The Gladioli Festival Parade was the biggest event in town, with lavish, flower-covered floats built by local businesses and clubs, and an annual crowning of a Gladiola Queen. (Fun fact: Delray Beach native Roy Simon, who died in 2024 at age 93, told the Palm Beach Post in 1992 that "one Gladiola Queen, Dorothy Steiner, became runner-up in the Miss America Pageant.")
The Festival also featured regatta races on Lake Ida, a polo match at the Gulfstream Polo Club, and nightly prizes, including a deep-freezer, an automatic washing machine, a sink, and Samsonite luggage.
The main attraction, however, were the gladioli, brightly colored flowering plants from Africa that were first cultivated in 1939 in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. The gladiolus's heyday was in 1940s and 1950s, with at least 11 nurseries growing 14 varieties — making Palm Beach County the leading source in the nation for the popular flowers.
By 1950, Delray producers were shipping out 2 million gladiolus bundles and paying $500,000 in annual wages. About 1,600 acres were under cultivation, producing varieties such as the salmon-colored Picardy, the magenta Paul Rubens, the delicate pink Rose Van Lima, the Morning Kiss and the Snow Princess.
However, the 1950s also ushered in a shift in Palm Beach County from agriculture to tourism, with both economic and political headwinds dooming the flower-themed festival.
But the event's popularity never waned. So, in 1962, community leaders organized a committee to revive it as an arts-and-crafts extravaganza. Committee members wisely decided to schedule the event later in the spring, effectively extending the tourist season by tempting snowbirds to stay until after Easter. Originally christened "Farm Products Week," the festival officially became "The Delray Affair" in 1966.
For many years, gladioluses were still offered for sale on Atlantic Avenue and on the grounds of Old School Square (they were shipped in from Fort Myers), with festivalgoers leaving with handfuls of the colorful stalks.
However, more recently, the flowers can only be found at the Delray Beach Historical Society, 3 NE 1st Street. The 1-acre campus also features a heritage garden and three historic cottages that house the city's archives as well as special exhibits, including one specifically detailing the Gladioli Festival — the corms from where it all sprang.
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: How Delray Affair grew from roots in town's 40s Gladioli Festival
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