April 2015

Rochester is known as “Festival City,” and for good reason!  We’ve got festivals for everything from film, to ribs, to craft beer, to jazz and tons of cultural festivals, too!  But perhaps the granddaddy of them all is the famous Lilac Festival.  This year, it’s being held from May 8th through May 17th at Highland Park, which is right around the corner from Elmwood Manor.  It’s a two minute drive and also happens to be easily within walking distance.  This marks the 117th Lilac Festival held here, and it promises to be a good one again.

As always, there will be all kinds of activities going on for the entire 10 day run of the festival.  Obviously, there are the glorious lilac gardens themselves, which attract thousands to Rochester each year (we set a Guinness World Record in 2014!).  But there are so many other wonderful events to check out while there, including live music (here’s the mainstage schedule, as well as the kid’s stage lineup), a wine and chocolate tasting, arts and crafts shows, and a craft beer festival!  If activity is more up your alley, there’s the Lilac Parade and the Lilac Run, which features both 5K and 10K races.  The Lilac Festival is truly an exceptional way to spend a day or two outside with friends and family.  A map can be downloaded here.  Come on out and enjoy the sun and gardens!