London Nix and Carla Fussell, foreground, prepare bouquets on Monday at Cullman Florist for Wednesday's “Petal It Forward” event. (Nick Griffin for The Cullman Tribune)
CULLMAN – After the success it had last year, Cullman Florist will once again participate in the nationwide event “Petal it Forward” this Wednesday, Oct. 24 . During the event, florists will surprise people on the street with two bouquets, one for them to keep, and one for them to share. Whether you share it with a family member, friend or just someone who could use a pick-me-up, the goal is to spread the joy of giving flowers throughout the community.
Cullman Florist is one of just three florists in the state participating in the event and will be stationed at a few locations across town during the day. Those locations are currently unknown. Cullman Florist participated for the first time last year and handed out 30 bouquets, but they were gone so quickly, and the demand was so high, that this year there will be 100 bouquets given in an effort to spread even more joy.
Event Coordinator London Nix knew that after the response Cullman Florist got a year ago, it was going to have to bump up the number of bouquets for this year.
“We gave out 30 bouquets last year around the Warehouse District and people were just over the top,” Nix said. “At first people were kind of nervous to take them, but once they saw other people start to take the flowers, more people got involved and they really weren’t out there that long before they’d given out all 30 of them.”
Store Manager Carla Fussell recalled one of the bouquets given out last year and the effect it had on someone’s day.
“One lady was actually going to meet a sick friend and she said, ‘I know just what to do with these,’” Fussell said. “Everybody immediately started thinking of someone they could give them to and make their day.”
Nix is excited for Wednesday and she can’t wait to see the flowers brighten people’s days across the community.
“I think it’s just knowing that we’re putting joy in people’s lives and then they can share it,” Nix said. “I think there’s a generational gap with flowers at this point, and tons of people haven’t experienced the joy of receiving flowers, let alone giving flowers, so that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Learn more about Petal It Forward at https://safnow.org/petalitforward.
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