Leos selling town tulips at Spring Market

Selling recycled town tulip bulbs to raise money has become a spring tradition in Niagara-on-the-Lake, this time involving the St. Davids Leos, says Bradd Anderson, leader of the local youth branch of the Lions.

Residents and visitors have long admired the tulips on Queen Street, and several years ago, The Niagara-on-the-Lake Horticultural Society began organizing a sale of the bulbs once they were dug up by town staff, which they do every spring before planting again.

When the horticultural society didn’t want to do it anymore, explains Betty Disero, the town was preparing for a Communities in Bloom Competition, and the Rotary Club of NOTL offered to take it on, both as an example of the town recycling and to help beautify local gardens.

During the Rotary years, funds from the sale went to the town’s tree fund.

Last summer, Disero was asked if the Leos could take it on, and she committed to letting them take it over as a fundraiser.

As the tulips were dug up, the bulbs were delivered to the St. Davids Lions Hall, where volunteers helped sort and wash them the first day, including Disero and Coun. Adriana Vizzari, who did some sorting and demonstrated how to clean them.

More than 1,200 bulbs have been boxed and are being stored in a cool, dark place, says Anderson, ready for the Leos to sell at the St. Davids Lioness Lion Club Spring Market this Saturday, June 3, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Leos also held a dog wash recently, taking over the dog wash stations at Pet Valu in Virgil for a day. “It was an overwhelming success,” says Anderson. “People trusted the Leos with their pets, and the Leos did a great job and had a lot of fun, and staff at Pet Valu bent over backwards to help them.”

“The staff and dog owners were really pleased by how well the Leos did,” he added.

Leos also organized the annual Walk for Dog Guides, and although only four people showed up for the walk, along with Leos and their families, “the online donations exceeded our expectations,” said Anderson.

The Leos have been raising money to help train dog guides, and also to donate to the building of a new, state-of-the-art Lions Foundation facility for dog guide training in Oakville.

The tulip sale, however, is for another one of the Leos’ causes — a McMaster Children’s Hospital oncology clinic for teens. St. Davids and other district Lions Clubs have contributed to the building of the clinic, and the Leos also decided they want to help out by supporting the clinic so that teens dealing with cancer and cancer treatments could have their own space.