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Festival Season

In Rochester we have 4 seasons: Fall, Winter, Winter II, and Festival. This year's Festival Season is underway with the Lilac Fetival now in full swing. Highland Park, site of the festival, boasts over 1,200 individual Lilac bushes in over 500 varieties. The lilacs are at their peak right now!

Other festivals this summer will include:

Rochester International Jazz Festival, June 4 - 12

I've mentioned this one before. 99 jazz concerts over 9 days.

Maplewood Rose Festival, June 18 - 20

Set in Maplewood Park, one of the city's first parks and designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, this festival picks up on the Lilac festival's floral theme. Other highlights include: arts and crafts, music, Genesee River Gorge tours, home tours, roses, roses, and more roses.

Corn Hill Arts Festival, July 10 & 11

This is Rochester's most popular summer event, typically drawing 250,000 people over the course of two days. Over 500 artists and craftspersons, music, and lots of festival food make this the "must-do" event of the summer.

Rochester MusicFest, July 16 - 18

A three-day celebration of R&B. The headliner this year is Earth, Wind & Fire.

Park Avenue Summer Art Fest, August 7 & 8

This festival has been growing in recent years, but can't quite rival the Corn Hill festival. Despite its name, the recent trend of the Park Ave Fest has been toward a higher concentration of food and music over art.

Clothesline Festival, September 11 & 12

If the Lilac Festival marks the beginning of festival season, the Clothesline marks the end. The largest of the festivals in terms of exhibitors, the Clothesline is also the most serious, screening exhibitors and charging admission. Plenty of art and crafts, some food, only a single stage for entertainment.

And that's just within the city limits. The surrounding suburbs host additional fun-filled events such as Spencerport Canal Days, Fairport Canal Days, Chil-E Fest, Hill Cumorah Pageant, and cetera. Might as well unplug the cable TV for the summer and get out and have some fun!