Lilac Festival May 12, 2005

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.

http://www.lilacfestival.com/