Lilac Festival

The officials in charge of the Lilac Festival have announced that the annual fair will return this year after being cancelled due to COVID-19. Organizers confirmed that the proposed plans were approved by Monroe County and New York state. The 123rd Rochester Lilac Festival will take place in May, over three weekends: May 7-9 May […]

Many people from in or around Rochester look forward to the Lilac Festival which is held annually in May every year. Each year the festival attracts around 500,000 to Highland Park to enjoy music, food, and of course, the beautiful flowers in Rochester. The event is free to attend, and over 500 variations of lilac […]

We have had a few discussions on the Watercooler in the past about the Lilac Festival and some of the incidents that occurred at the yearly festival. We’ve also mentioned in years past that change will come and folks won’t like it when it happens and guess what?!… Change is here.  

Due to heavy, continuous rain over the past several days and tomorrow’s forecast, Rochester Lilac Festival Producers and the Monroe County Parks Department have made the difficult decision to close the Festival for Monday, May 13.