18th Annual Event Takes Place Sept. 14 on Norfolk’s Town Common and Library

By Grace Allen

Each September, Norfolk plays host to a unique event: a festival celebrating cacti and succulents. The humble plants have a devoted, passionate following, and the festival attracts both aficionados and the simply curious. 

“These plants are breathtaking, like living sculptures,” enthused Laurence Magner, the festival’s coordinator. “It’s not like going to any other plant show at all.”

The festival will take place on Saturday, Sept. 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Norfolk’s town common and in the adjacent public library. Inside the library, hundreds of plants will be on display, while outside on the common vendors and artisans will offer horticultural-themed items and gifts, along with cacti and succulents for sale. The Norfolk Lions will be grilling hotdogs and hamburgers, and there will be fresh local produce available, too. Admission is free, and the festival will be held rain or shine.

The festival is the premier event of the Cactus and Succulent Society of Massachusetts, which meets monthly at the Norfolk Library. The group is an affiliate club of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America. Magner serves as vice-president of the Massachusetts group, which draws from all over New England. The group has 200 members.

People are surprised, says Magner, to learn that the Northeast has such a large and active group focusing on plants many think of as native to the Southwest. Not true, he says, noting that Massachusetts has its own native cactus, the prickly pear, and succulent, the yucca plant. Cacti and succulents can grow almost anywhere on earth, which is why they are considered a low-maintenance plant.Magner, a Norfolk resident, even created a desert filled with the plants in his own backyard.

“I call it ‘Little Arizona,’” he said. “There is zero maintenance. They are rabbit-proof, deer-proof, little-kid proof. They don’t care about the cold, they care about the amount of water, and for the most part they don’t want a lot at all.” 

Magner fell in love with the plants while he lived in San Diego over 50 years ago. He did a lot of hiking, and while hiking in Mexico became fascinated with the variety of desert cacti he saw. When he came to Massachusetts in the late 1980s, he connected with Art Scarpa, the so-called “Cactus King” and Boston resident who had begun to gain acclaim in the plant world. Scarpa started the Cactus and Succulent Society of Massachusetts, which moved to Norfolk in 2014, and Magner now counts him among his closest friends. 

 According to Magner, education is the primary purpose of the yearly festival, as well as raising money for the club’s programs. Festival attendees can talk to club members and learn about the various plants, many of which are award-winning and museum quality. All plants for sale are grown by the club’s members.

The monthly meetings of the Cactus and Succulent Society of Massachusetts average about 60 to 70 people. Meetings take place the third Saturday of each month and revolve around a member plant show and competition, raffles, and an auction. Nominal club dues help bring in guest speakers, professionals from around the world, who present to the group via Zoom. Dues also support initiatives to help save endangered cacti and succulents from global trafficking. An illegal plant trade and active black market is flourishing, and some plants, dug up and smuggled out of the desert, sell for over $1,000 to collectors in Asia and Eastern Europe.

From the saguaro cactus, the iconic hallmark of the American West, to hens and chicks, the common succulent in many home gardens, the plants are fascinating to experts and laypeople alike. Legends surround many of the plants, which add to their appeal. 

“I just love their attitude,” says Magner. “They can live in the worst places in the world, like the desert or up on mountain peaks in the Andes, under the snow. Their spines defend them from predators, and they grow and thrive. Then as a bonus, many of them grow the most beautiful flowers you’ve ever seen, a symbol of good luck. Every cactus and succulent has a story.”

Symbolizing resilience and strength, offering medicinal benefits, cleaning the air—just some of the qualities long associated with cacti and succulents. Is it any wonder they are so popular? When many garden clubs and horticultural groups folded during the pandemic, the cactus and succulent societies survived, says Magner. People flocked to these interesting plants with the easy-care reputation, and now they’re hooked. 

“We not only survived, we thrived,” he said. “Because cacti and succulents are fascinating, perfect plants. You don’t fertilize them, most need little water, and some live for hundreds of years in the same pot. They are amazing, amazing plants.”

For more information about the Cactus and Succulent Society of Massachusetts, as well as the festival, visit https://cssma.org. Questions? Send an email to [email protected].