In 1888, nurserymen George Ellwanger and Patrick Barry endowed the Rochester community with 20 acres of gently rolling hills that are now known as Highland Park. A beautifully landscaped display of shrubs and trees, this was noted as one of the nation's first municipal arboretums.

Renowned park designer Frederick Law Olmstead was responsible for final development of Highland Park. Among his other accomplishments was the design of New York City's famous Central Park.

The park's lilac collection was started by horticulturist John Dunbar in 1892 with 20 varieties, some of which were descendants of slips of native Balkan Mountain flowers that were carried to the new world by early colonists. Thereafter, they were favored as a symbol of good luck.

Today, over 500 varieties of lilacs cover 22 of Highland Park's 155 acres. Rochester's famous Lilac Festival is a lavish array of flowers, attractions, and special events that signal the arrival of spring. The 1,200-plus lilac bushes in Highland Park create a floral rainbow ranging from the deepest of purples to the purest of whites.

The largest celebration of its kind in North America, the Lilac Festival brings visitors from every continent. This creates an exotic spectacle of languages, customs, costumes, and colors that are rivaled only by the exquisite bouquet of the blooms they have come to enjoy.

Since 1892 when the first lilacs were planted at the corner of Highland Avenue and South Goodman Street, hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world have traveled to Highland Park in Rochester, New York to savor not only the delicate fragrances and visual splendor of the world's largest collection of lilacs, but, in recent years, to partake of an endless array of international foods and to enjoy an extensive variety of musical entertainment.

Entertainment
Festival entertainment and activities are located mostly in Highland Park; they are designed to appeal to all interests. A wide variety of free entertainment takes place throughout the day and evening at stages located in Highland Park.

For More Information Visit the Highland Park page on MonroeCounty.gov.

 

On January 27, 1888 Ezwagner /Barry donated 20 acres that soon becomes Highland Park. In 1896 lilacs first bloomed and soon after, the first Lilac Festival was created informally on 1898, when 3,000 people gathered one Sunday in May to see the lilacs.

On May 24,1908 Rochester celebrated it's first "official" Lilac Sunday that later extended to Lilac Week. A Lilac Parade was introduced that began from downtown to the park's summit. In 1930, a Lilac Queen was added to the parade, and the park's hours were extended to the evening with the advent of electric flood lights that lit the park's fountains and flowers.

In 1979, Lilac Week was renamed to the Lilac Festival. Today, the 1,200-plus flowering lilac bushes put on their display for well over a half-million people during the annual 10-day festival.

This family-oriented event is the largest celebration of its kind in North America, and the largest (and longest-running) festival in the Greater Rochester Metropolitan Area. It is one of the few remaining community events in the country with free admission and no charge for all but a handful of attractions.