Historical Note
The Flower Festival Society was a Los Angeles women’s association active in the late 19th century. In 1885, it was established to “give the protection and comfort of home life at a reasonable rate to working women, also to furnish situations to those seeking employment, and engage in such benevolent work as the Board may agree upon,” as the constitution of the Society stated. The Society's Advisory Board was composed of the presidents of several local non-governmental organizations such as the Los Angeles YMCA.
Mrs. R. M. Widney was the founding president and the only president of the Society. In 1889, the position of president was replaced by a three-member executive committee without Widney. Miss Mary E. McLellan served as the Financial Secretary when the Society was founded. Since 1885, each April the society would host a flower exhibition, which was named the “Flower Festival” from 1887. As one of the managers of the 1888 Flower Festival, McLellan was in charge of inviting important guests to the Festival’s opening ceremony. From 1889 to 1891, members of the Society also organized the Annual Chrysanthemum Fairs. While the first and the third Fair were held in October, the second Fair in 1890 commenced on October 29 and closed on November 7.
From the guide to the Los Angeles Flower Festival Society Records, 1885-1891, (The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Manuscripts Department)
