The Great Neck Park District Board of Commissioners accepted a gift of at least 100 daffodil bulbs at Thursday’s meeting that will be planted in Lakeville Park as part of “The Daffodil Project.”
Great Neck resident Ellen Charlop facilitated the donation that will be paid for by Congregation L’dor V’dor, Marathon Jewish Center, and Temple Torah.
“The Daffodil Project” is a worldwide initiative whose mission is to plant 1.5 million daffodils to commemorate the children who were lost during the Holocaust.
“The reason for the daffodil is that it symbolizes the six-point Jewish star that Jewish people were required to wear during the Holocaust,” said Charlop.
“The flowers are planted in November for Kristallnacht to bloom in April for Holocaust Remembrance Day,” said Charlop.
This is the fourth year that Charlop’s temple, Congregation L’dor V’dor, has been involved in the global project.
The first year they planted in front of their own temple, then the Marathon Jewish Center, followed by Temple Torah.
This is the first year they are planting the flowers in a community area, said Charlop. “Since the project is to commemorate children, they decided to plant the daffodils in a playground where children play.”
Charlop said Lakeville Park is “held near and dear” to her family and chose the park because “her three daughters grew up and played there.”
The planting ceremony at Lakeville Park will be held on Nov. 4 following the Kristallnacht program hosted at Congregation L’dor V’dor at 1 p.m. At the event, “Music of the Holocaust: Songs of Hope, Fortitude, and Spiritual Resistance,” children of the congregation will perform “archival songs” they learned from ethnomusicologist, Tamara Reps Freeman, who will perform with her viola that was rescued from the Holocaust.
