Lilac Festival

Lilacs have always been a part of the Mackinac Island allure.  What began as a simple conversation in the 1940s is now a fantastic ten day event with lots of family friendly activities and fun things to do.  Evangilene “Ling” Horn and Nurse Stella King spoke with veterinarian Dr. Bill Chambers, when he was a teenager, about having a Mackinac Island parade on Lilac sunday.  Dr. Bill now is the attending veterinarian for the Mackinac Island Carriage Tours and a proud participant in the Lilac Festival.

The concept for the ten day festival was simply to invite people to the Island to enjoy a great horse drawn carriage parade amidst the lovely lilacs which bloom and fragrance the Island in June.  What began as a conversation evolved into a one day event called the Mackinac Island Lilac Day and has now blossomed into a fun-filled ten day festival.

The Lilac Festival is always begun with the coronation of the Lilac Festival Queen in a twilight ceremony.  The annual queen is chosen by local Mackinac island school children each lilac season and receives her crown at Windermere Point (weather permitting) or even the weather is not cooperating at the Windermere Hotel.  From then on, the jazz music concerts, lilac walks and tours, horse-drawn carriage parade, and crafts and arts booths take over the city providing hours of sweetly perfumed entertainment, novelties, and fun.

The Lilac Festival official web site is http://www.mackinacislandlilacfestival.org and provides information about all of the festival’s events, activities, and performances.  Why not come smell the lilacs and enjoy a good ole fashioned horse drawn carriage parade in June?  What better way to start off the summer than with a fabulous flower festival and relaxing visit to Mackinac Island.
 

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