What You Need To Know Before You Go The Lilac Festival This Year

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.  

The organizers of the Lilac Festival announced teens 16 and under MUST be accompanied by a parent or guardian who is over 21 at ALL times while attending the annual celebration.

Organizers said teens will have to provide identification in order to enter the festival in order to ensure the safety of festival goers.

Last year there were ten arrest and out of the ten, seven were under 18 and in past years most of the fights were juveniles.

The Monroe County Parks & Recreation director Larry Staub said in a statement to 13WHAM,  “Youth have to be in the company of those adults…They can’t just be dropped off and say ‘Oh, yeah, mom and dad or junior’s coming into the festival.’ They have to be with the adult throughout the time they are there.”

Another you thing to know if you plan on attending with young folks is that if any teens are found by themselves or in a group after entering they will be asked to provide ID.

Organizers said they will have extra staff and security at the 10 day event to help with the verification process.

In short, if you plan on attending and you plan on taking your family make sure you are prepared to have your kids with you at all times, bring patience, and bring your ID.