Lilac Festival | |
---|---|
Status | active |
Genre | festivals |
Frequency | Annually |
Location(s) | Mackinac Island |
Coordinates | 45°50′57″N84°37′08″W / 45.84917°N 84.61889°W |
Country | United States |
Years active | 74–75 |
Inaugurated | 1949 |
Website | www |
The Lilac Festival is a ten-day annual festival held in honor of the common lilac at Mackinac Island in the U.S. state of Michigan. The festival, which has been held since 1949, [1] begins on the second Friday of June and concludes, on the third Sunday of June, with the horse-drawn Lilac Parade.
Americans began widespread planting of the common lilac during the Victorian Age, and Mackinac Islanders soon found that the island's microclimate makes it a healthy location for the common lilac to grow to a larger size and longer life than in most gardens of the United States. Some Mackinac Island lilac trees are original Victorian plantings, dated at more than 150 years old. [2]
Most events were cancelled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but some were held online.
The festival is timed to try to coincide with the week that Mackinac Island lilacs are in bloom, and bunches of white and purple lilac flowerets are used by organizers as the visual symbol of the festival. [3]
As no private motor vehicles are allowed on Mackinac Island, the floats of the Lilac Parade are all drawn by draft horses such as Clydesdales and Percherons. The festival procession is one of the few remaining horse-drawn parades in the United States.
The festival was founded by the year-round residents of Mackinac Island, especially Stella King and Evangeline "Ling" Horn. [1] The festival has been recognized as a "Local Legacy" event by the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. [2]
The Mackinac Bridge is a suspension bridge that connects the Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. It spans the Straits of Mackinac, a body of water connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, two of the Great Lakes. Opened in 1957, the 26,372-foot-long bridge is the world's 27th-longest main span and is the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere. The Mackinac Bridge is part of Interstate 75 (I-75) and carries the Lake Michigan and Huron components of the Great Lakes Circle Tour across the straits; it is also a segment of the U.S. North Country National Scenic Trail. The bridge connects the city of St. Ignace to the north with the village of Mackinaw City to the south.
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Syringa is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly cultivated in temperate areas elsewhere.
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