A fragrance to remember







For years, my sister-in-law and niece have raved about the Lilac Festival held each May in Rochester, NY. 2019 is my lucky year! I was in town in May and the festival truly was as spectacular as they had promised.






One of my earliest memories is the spring smell of lilacs. When I was young, we had one big lilac tree (as least it seemed really big at the time) at the back corner of our house. Nothing says spring to me more than that heavenly smell. I'd open the back door and there it was! It's as much in my memory as the smell of my mother's apple pie and fried chicken.

That fragrance enveloped me again as we walked around Highland Park in downtown Rochester. According to Highland Park's website (https://www.highlandparkconservancy.org/lilacs), the park's twenty-two acres is home to 1,200 shrubs with more than 500 varieties of lilacs.

John Dunbar planted the first lilacs at Highland Park in 1892. Since the first lilac celebration in 1905, hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors have enjoyed the sights and smells each spring.

The festival runs for ten days in mid-May and if you plan to be anywhere close, put it on your itinerary for next year.


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