Van Wert Peony Festival

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About the
Van Wert Peony Festival

The Peony Festival originated in 1902 when the first Sunday in June was designated as "Peony Sunday". In 1932, the Van Wert Men's Garden Club determined that Van Wert should provide some form of entertainment for the large number of visitors touring the many commercial Peony farms which flourished in the Van Wert area. During the 1930's, the Festival became a major event with crowds estimated at over 100,000 people. Two parades were held at the time, one in the afternoon and an illuminated parade in the evening. Each parade had over 40 bands and 45 floats. A 1938 newspaper article stated that the Peony Festival had more quality floats than the Mardi Gras! Between the afternoon and evening parades, the visiting bands performed a mass concert at the football field, with as many as 3,000 musicians performing. Corporate floats from all over the country were present, such as the Berely Orange Juice float from Hollywood, California and the Ocean Breeze float from Camp Jester, Florida.

One of the highlights of the Peony festival was the crowning of Queen Jubilee, named after the Jubilee Peony which was grown commercially in Van Wert.

During this era, Van Wert became widely know as "The Peony Capital of the World." With the advent of World War II, the Peony Festival was discontinued after the 1941 event.

In 1955, a group of Van Wert businessmen revived the Peony Festival and by 1959 over 200,00 people attended. By 1960, all of the commercial Peony farms in the area had ceased to operate and once again the festival was discontinued.

Thirty-two years later, in 1992, the Peony Festival was resurrected for a third time. The Festival has grown steadily since then, with over 70,00 people attending in 1996.

The Peony Festival is held the first weekend in June each year.

	Copyright © 1997-2009 Van Wert Peony Festival