Outline of a ladybug with the text 'It takes a Children's Garden'.
Logo for Daffodil Dash featuring a cluster of daffodil flowers, with text indicating a 5K and 1-Mile run/walk event.
Black and white logo of Ithaca Garden Club with a circular floral design, the club's name, and established year 1922.

DAFFODIL DASH IV

April 25, 2026 Cass Park in Ithaca, NY

The Ithaca Garden Club’s fourth annual Daffodil Dash raised funds and spirits despite the rainy weather on Saturday, April 25. Community members ran, walked, and strolled along the Cass Park paved course while enjoying 180,000 blooming daffodils planted with the proceeds of past events. Daffodil bulbs will be planted at Stewart Park this fall because community members supported the event as volunteers, donors and participants. 

 Registration for the event hit its limit of 500 within 60 days of its opening this year! A new record! There were 269 5K participants and 82 for the 1 mile event. More than 80 volunteers supported the event from the Garden Club, Ithaca College Physical Therapy department, and members of the community.  

“The Daffodil Dash is a healthy event connecting community members of all ages and abilities with the area’s natural beauty,” expressed the event co-coordinators Sarah Barrows and Joyce Putnam. “Entirely staffed by volunteers, all event revenue funds daffodil bulbs. In fact, each dollar generated converts to three bulbs in the ground!”

Daffodils have been purchased with funding from donors and dash participants, and planted with the help of the City of Ithaca Forester Jeanne Grace at Cass Park and Adam Brickey of the Cayuga Medical Hospital grounds and facilities department. The efforts are also supported by the City Department of Public Works, Ithaca Youth Bureau, and the Ithaca Beautification Brigade. All of the daffodil plantings are implemented by Professor Bill Miller of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences School of Integrative Plant Science, with Cornell students and specialized bulb planting equipment.

Daffodil Dash sponsors include the Triad Foundation, Centralus Health, Tompkins Community Bank, and Orangetheory Fitness. Additional support was provided by GreenStar, Wegmans, Iron Design, and Happily Running that provides Race Roster and event day race support.

Club co-presidents Elaine Alexander and Heather Lane shared that these activities “enable us to continue fulfilling one of our founding missions to ‘beautify the community’.”

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Daffodil Dash Window Display at Handwork,

Ithaca's Artisan Cooperative.

Services were donated by:

Happily Running organized ​​​and timed
the​  event.​
Bangs Ambulance was stationed on site
for medical care.

Food and water donors were:

GreenStar Food Co+Op
Wegman’s Food Market
BJs Wholesale Club.

APRIL 26, 2025

What a day!!!

Thank you to all who participated in the 2025 Daffodil Dash!!!
​
The weather was mild, daffodils were blooming,
and dashers were smiling.
100% of the proceeds from this event transformed
into daffodil bulbs – planted along the
Cayuga Medical Center Hospital entrance October 22!

Since the event is staffed entirely by
volunteers, local businesses donating their
services and products, and generous grants from
the Triad Foundation, ALL proceeds from the
Dashes are used for community daffodil plantings.

Volunteers included:

Ithaca Garden Club members, friends and​ family​
Ithaca Children’s Garden employees and boardmembers
Ithaca College Physical Therapy students
Boyce Thompson Institute employees
Cornell University students
Community members.


Thank you to our sponsors, participants, and volunteers! Due to your generosity and enthusiasm, $15,000 was raised towards planting even MORE daffodils in local parks. 

​Both the 5K and 1 mile events began at the Cass Park pavilion.

Despite the rain, wind, and chilly temperatures, stalwart Ithacans rallied.

DAFFODIL DASH II

April 13, 2024

2024 Daffodil Dash Sponsors:

  • A lush green park with a tree in bloom with white flowers, a wooden fence, and a paved path. In the background, people are walking along the path, some pushing a stroller, surrounded by trees and natural scenery.
  • Cyclist dressed in black jacket, gray pants, and black helmet with goggles, holding his bike on a wet pathway in park, with group of people gathered in the background near a blue tunnel.
  • Group of people participating in a walk or run event along a park path with yellow flowers in the foreground and trees in the background.
  • A smiling woman dressed in a blue rain jacket, black pants, and colorful rain boots, standing outdoors in a grassy field on a rainy day. She is holding a timer with a clear plastic cover and a digital display showing "41:40". She also has a yellow flower necklace and a yellow sign with the word "Dash" on it.
  • Adult holding the hand of a small child in an orange rain suit in a grassy park with trees in the background.
  • People jogging and walking outdoors on a rainy day in a park with trees and yellow flowers.
  • Two women at an outdoor event table with yellow signs, flowers, and bags. One woman in a pink hat and red jacket is smiling and holding flowers and a paper bag, while the other woman in glasses and a dark coat stands behind the table.
  • An elderly woman smiling and holding a yellow sign that reads, "Do It For The Daffodils," in a park during daytime. She is wearing a floral hat and a light blue jacket.
  • A woman participating in a race or running event, climbing over a wooden fence with a child running nearby in rainy weather.


​2023 Daffodil Dash 

Thank you for making the Inaugural Daffodil Dash a tremendous success! 
The permitted 500 registrations was fully maxed out, and with your
​support we raised $5,100 for incremental bulb plantings. Wow!

Ithaca Garden Club’s & Ithaca Children’s Garden’s
Inaugural Daffodil Dash slated for Earth Day

May 1, 2023 – The 101-year-old Ithaca Garden Club and the much beloved Ithaca Children’s Garden teamed up to celebrate Earth Day and Daffodil Week in Ithaca and families and individuals of all ages and stages came out and enjoyed the beauty of springtime. The banner event of the week was the inaugural Daffodil Dash 5K and 1-mile run/walk where participants were delighted at the sight of almost 90,000 blooming daffodils and 75 crabapple trees planted along the Cayuga Inlet by the Ithaca Garden Club’s Daff-A-Dazzle community-wide project team. 

The Daffodil Dash coordinators say this year’s event successfully recognized Earth Day, National Garden Month and the month of reawakening.  Additionally, more than $5,000 was raised to be used for planting even more daffodils in and around Ithaca. 
​

Dr. Bill Miller, Cornell University Professor of Horticulture and Research at the School of Integrative Plant Science and Ithaca City Forester, Jeanne Grace have also participated in the planning and have guided the Ithaca Garden Club in the placement and physical planting of 87,250 bulbs and 75 crabapple trees currently planted along Ithaca’s Waterfront Trail.
The Club’s current project, “Daff-a-Dazzle” has received an incredible boost from Professor Miller’s unique planting machine that can plant 8,000 bulbs in just 11 minutes.

About The Plantings