A Visit to the Lilac Festival

 The Lilac Festival has been an annual event in Rochester (NY) for over 100 years. Actually since 1898. It takes place in Highland Park which is home to more than 500 varieties of lilacs and other flowers, flowering trees, and shrubs. Frederick Law Olmstead designed this park and other outdoor spaces in Rochester, NY. He is renowned as the architect/designer of Central Park in New York City.

It is a feast for the eyes, and a hike of colossal proportions, up and down hills. I guess that's why it's called HIGHland Park. 650 acres of hills, garden walkways, stairways, flowering trees, tulip and pansy beds, shrubs, carnival and street-food vendors, live music, children's entertainment, horse and buggy rides, food trucks, etc. On the two weekends of the festival, there is an arts and crafts show. That was really what I was interested to see.

I made my little venture on Saturday last - an overcast day - the best kind for walking around outdoors. After spending an hour looking for a "convenient" parking space, I parked on a residential street that was actually off limits to festival traffic but I sneaked in and found a spot at the end of the street right next to Highland Avenue and the festival.

I enjoyed browsing the vendors at the art show and seeing their wares and getting a view of what's new and trending in the art/craft market at this time.  

Horse and buggy rides

looking up at a cherry tree in flower

streets are closed to all but pedestrian traffic

Art and Craft Show section

two of the more than 500 varieties

I enjoyed my little Saturday afternoon outing and as far as seeing any art or craft that is emerging into the market, I did not. In one booth, I did see a collection of burlap tote bags of all sizes, burlap purses of all sizes and types. All of them bearing interesting, and sharp graphics. They were undoubtedly new burlap and recently stamped with bright colors in the graphics. A riff on something I sell in my etsy shop but I use repurposed/vintage 100# coffee bean bags with faded blue graphics stating the country of origin of the beans. Mine are authentic. The bags - a real conversation piece and a treasure.                              



SPRING TIME IN WESTERN NEW YORK – ROCHESTER IN PARTICULAR

Rochesterians , myself included, so look forward, with great anticipation, to Springtime. Winter seems so long and drawn out. As soon at the temperatures start to reach 45 degrees, everyone breaks out the shorts and sandals.

This milestone could happen in April, but it’s not to be trusted, because snow may appear out of nowhere at any time. I remember having snow on Mother’s Day once.

Rochester has 3 seasons: Spall (combination of Spring and Fall), Summertime and Wintertime. Spring is so short as to be almost un-noticeable. We go from snow plows to planting peas in the blink of an eye. Fall is a bit longer. Lasting from about the end of September to the end of October.

I must confess that I do remember golfers out on the links at Thanksgiving time but that is a huge fluke. Oftentimes, there’s snow on the ground in November. November is the beginning of winter and it lasts until mid to end of April. Followed by the “S & P” of Spall, which is like a flash of lightening.

All our Spring flowers make their seasonal appearance in May. Tulips, forsythia, lilacs, the flowering trees (including fruit trees), magnolia and dogwoods. If the weather is too hot, these Springtime bloomers bow their heads and wilt. Here’s what’s blooming in my yard.

Pictures: in order of appearance.....Quince Bush, Forsythia, Dogwood Tree and Lilacs 

Summertime is a riot of all kinds of flowers and fruit trees.  Summertime’s calender is mid to end of May, June, July and August and about half of September.  Right now in early May, the temps are hovering around 70. June normally is 80, July could be 90’s, and August starts to think about Spall but still has temps from 75 to 85.

Pumpkins, other squashes, and apples come in the “ALL” part of Spall (2^nd half of September and October). 

Rochester is famous for its lilacs and the spectacular park (HIGHLAND PARK) designed by the Frederick Law Olmstead, who also designed Central Park in NYC and the gardens on the Biltmore Estate in NC.

  

 The Lilac Festival is an art, music, food and flora festival hosted annually in early May in Highland Park in Rochester, New York. It is the oldest festival of its kind in North America, drawing spectators from all over the globe. Highland Park possesses a huge collection of lilacs, featuring more than a thousand bushes and hundreds of different varieties. Early May is the season that lilacs are blooming in Rochester.

The festival was informally started in 1898 when 3,000 people came to the park one Sunday in May to see the lilacs. Since then the number of viewers has grown to over 500,000 and the festival plays out over the course of ten days. The modern day festival is started with a parade and frequently hosts concerts and other attractions during the week. The Highland Park arboretum is toured free of charge and is open to all visitors. The fields surrounding the arboretum host a myriad of vendor's tents and food stands. 

https://www.facebook.com/RochesterLilacFestival