2023 DATE: May 13, 2023
This post documents my experience on May 12, 2012.
In the 1920’s, Defiance’s then-mayor, Ed Bronson, who happened to be president of the Defiance Garden Club, made the lilac the city’s official flower.
This might not have seemed to be of any great significance at the time…
…save some extra floral decor…
…but those seeds would eventually sprout and blossom in the city some 90 years later…
…as a sweet-smelling Lilac Festival.
Taking place in downtown Defiance in its 7th year….
…the one-day festival consisted of vendors lined along the sidewalks…
…selling wooden furniture…
…stainless steel art (Artist – Alex Stoll)…
…and lilac-inspired paintings (Artist – Susie Lowder).
But lilacs weren’t only present on canvases…
…they were represented via postcards…
…candles…
You could also find them decorating downtown business windows…
…and a community booth raising money for a new downtown clock.
And, if you weren’t one of the first 500 visitors to receive free lilac seeds…
…you could buy your own lilacs at this local business.
.I, personally, decided to drink some lilac at Komfort Tea Spot….
.…where I got a free sample of lilac tea..
One reason that I enjoyed the festival’s downtown location was so I could easily explore some of these downtown businesses…
…which may have offered festival discounts…
…a needed pick-me-up…
…or even a pork brain sandwich (Kissner’s).
Read that again, folks.
A
pork
brain
sandwich.
I love it!
Of course, the festival did offer food fare for the not-as-adventurous….
…including locally made ice cream (Eric’s Ice Cream Factory)…
…local BBQ (Nickerson)…
…and your standard festival grub.
The dinner entertainment….
…performed by Garcia and Scott, made the festival only sweeter.