It's Lilac Festival Time!
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Past Presidents ride in the 2018 Parade
Photo Courtesy of Hawkinson Photography
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It's here! The 81st "We Are Spokane" Lilac Festival week is upon us. We have already had a great week of events (keep reading to learn more) and we are just getting started! All of our amazing events will lead up to the Nation's Largest Armed Forces Torchlight Parade this Saturday, at 7:45pm.
If you are unable to make it to the Parade but want to see it, no worries, we have you covered! Below are ways that you can catch it on both TV and Online.
TV:
SWX
(Check with your provider on channel number)
Online:
Connected TV App OTT (Roku)
Facebook live
Stream on Watch SWX App
Re-air Dates:
Tuesday, 5/21 at 7 PM
Sunday, 5/26 at 9 AM.
&
Available on the Watch SWX app for a month.
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What Has Happened So Far?
We are a little over half way through our Festival week, and it has been a busy one!
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First Row:
2019 Golf Tournament & Junior Lilac Parade
Second Row:
2020 Lilac Legacy Artist, Gloria Fox and President-Elect Dan Ver Heul & the Royal Court with President Kristy at City Hall for the Lilac Festival Week Proclamation.
Third Row:
President Hamby speaks to attendees at the AGC Luncheon & Queen Madison with Past Presidents at the Past Presidents Reception
Fourth Row:
Princess Grace 2019 Let Freedom Ring Breakfast attendees
Photo Courtesy of Hawkinson Photography, Christy Snow, Kristy Hamby and Clare Patton
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- Friday, May 3rd - Golf Tournament – it was a beautiful day at Qualchan Golf Course and we had a sold out number of participants! Everybody had a great time of golf, prizes, catching up and raising money for the Wing Morale Fund. Thank you to our Golf Tournament sponsor, MultiCare. It was an amazing day thanks to you all!
- Saturday, May 11th - Junior Lilac Parade - it was a hot one for sure! Our Lilac Directors and Volunteers had a great time walking along side our Lilac Royalty Court and Jr. Princesses. We were honored to take home 1st Place in the Club/Scout/Organization category. Our team works so hard to make our floats beautiful and it shows! Thank you and congratulations to the Spokane Rotaract Club for pulling off another successful Junior Lilac Parade!
- Monday, May 13th:
- Mayoral Proclamation - the Royal Court along with President Kristy and President-Elect Dan headed down to City Hall to officially join the Mayor and the City Council on the reading of the Spokane Lilac Festival Week Proclamation.
- Lilac Legacy Juried Art Show - we had an amazing group of entries this year and they were all so wonderful. We did not envy our judges who had the task of selecting the official 2020 Lilac Legacy Artwork. This year's winner was Gloria Fox, who entered a gorgeous watercolor piece named "Lilac Time in the Spokane Region." Thank you to all those who entered this year's competition and those who attended this great event. A big thank you to our host, Paint & Pints as well as our caterer, CH Catering!
- Tuesday, May 14th - Associated Garden Clubs of Spokane Luncheon - once again, the AGC team pulled off another fun, delicious and beautiful luncheon filled with amazing floral arrangements both as centerpieces and auction items. Our Royal Court were honored guests and the keynote speaker Kay Lester (Past AGC President), gave a great presentation on the history of the Lilac Festival. Even those from the Lilac Festival attending learned something new!
- Wednesday, May 15th:
- Past Presidents Reception - well, this is always a good time. Every year, past Lilac Presidents, First Ladies & Gents gather to celebrate together and officially get the Festival Weekend started!
- Past Royalty Reunion - another great event that Lilac hosts to make sure we are all staying in touch. Past Princesses and Queens met at The Onion Downtown to catch up and look back on the year they were on the Court. We are so fortunate to have such amazing women still involved near and far with the Lilac Festival!
- Thursday, May 16th - Let Freedom Ring Breakfast - this morning, the Lilac Festival teamed up with Greater Spokane Inc (GSI) to honor our local military and first responders. This event is very special to us as we can not thank these men and women who help serve and protect us every day. Be sure to wave and recognize the Military and First Responders of the Year that will be riding in the Parade on Saturday!
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What's Still To Come?
Oh, we are just getting started!
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- Friday, May 17th:
- 11:30am – Queen’s Luncheon, Historic Davenport Hotel, Marie Antoinette Ballroom
- 5:30pm – Spokane Lilac Festival Gala, Historic Davenport Hotel, Grand Pennington Ballroom
- Saturday, May 18th:
- 9am-4pm – Float Viewing, 4th Ave. at Jefferson Under the Freeway
- 10:30am – Rose Planting Ceremony, Manito Park Rose Garden
- Pre-Parade Events, Riverfront Park
- 10am-6pm Cruizin’ the Falls Car Show, Spokane Falls Blvd.
- 11am-8pm Lilac Festival Food Truck Rally, Howard St. Bridge | Click Here for More Information
- 7:45pm – 81st ANNUAL SPOKANE LILAC FESTIVAL ARMED FORCES TORCHLIGHT PARADE | Click Here to Purchase Reserved Bleacher Seats
- Sunday, May 19th:
- 8:30am – Farewell Breakfast, Historic Davenport Hotel
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First Row:
2018 Gala and Queens Luncheon
Second Row:
2018 Royalty Reunion and Armed Forces Torchlight Parade
Photo Courtesy of Hawkinson Photography
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Lilac Office Closed Friday
Our office staff will be busy downtown prepping for all things Lilac! We will be checking emails intermittently. If you have an emergency, please call the Lilac cell at 509-951-6317. We will reopen Monday at our normal time, 10am-2pm.
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2019 Coloring Contest Winners
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Grand Prize Winning Entry by Lydia Shepherd, 13, Spokane, WA
Image Courtesy of Spokesman-Review
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It was another amazing turn out for our coloring contest this year! We had over 100 entries that were all very impressive. The Lilac City has some talented artists!
We want to thank everyone who participated in this year's contest and congratulate all of our winners. Thank you to our Partners, The Spokesman-Review for helping us with our contest again this year!
If you will be downtown this weekend, stop by River Park Square to see a display of all our finalists and then some! And make sure to wave to our grand prize winner, Lydia, as she strolls by on the Parade Route!
Grand Prize Winner
Lydia Shepherd
Age 13
Spokane, WA
18 & Older Winner
Amitti Johnston
Age 29
Spokane Valley, WA
13-17 Winner
Seth Bromley
Age 13
Spokane, WA
8-12 Winner
Lily Holman
Age 12
Spokane, WA
5-7 Winner
Zoe Simmons
Age 6
Spokane, WA
4 & Under Winner
Lauren Berndt
Age 4
Spokane, WA
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From Left:
2019 Royal Court with Co-VP of Royalty Clare Patton and Chaperone BJ Sebo at the AGC Luncheon
Photo Courtesy of Christy Snow
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We sound like a broken record, but, boy are these ladies busy! Of course, this is the week they have been looking forward to as a Royal Court and you can feel their excitement!
They kicked the week off with riding in the Junior Lilac Parade with their newly crowned Jr. Lilac Princesses. All our our Court members absolutely loved guiding their Jr. Princess on how to do their best Princess wave and smile. It was a warm morning but that sunshine really helped all our Royalty members shine that more brightly!
On Monday, they headed to City Hall to meet with the Mayor and City Council to officially proclaim the start of the Lilac Festival Week. A wonderful tradition we are honored to be a part of each year.
Tuesday, they were honored to be the special guests at the Associated Garden Clubs of Spokane's Luncheon. The ladies enjoyed seeing all of the donated floral and plant arrangements that were up for auction and raffle. We are pretty sure a few Royalty parents went home with some beautiful baskets. The ladies had the opportunity to introduce themselves to attendees and show off some of their many talents (including accordion & ukulele performances, poetry and a comedic act). Thank you again to the AGC for your continued support to the Festival and our Royalty Scholarship Program!
Yesterday, Queen Madison made a stop to the Past Presidents Reception to introduce herself to those who have not met her yet and thank them for their service and continued support to the Festival. Then she was off to meet up with the rest of the Court to say hello to all the Past Lilac Royalty at their reunion. This was a great opportunity to meet other members of a fantastic group of alumnae that stay close and continue to treasure and support the Lilac Festival.
And as you have seen above, they are just getting started! Next up is the official Festival Weekend where they will barely sit still. It may seem overwhelming to others, but these young women continue to impress us with their energy and love for the Festival and are taking in each event they are attending. Great job ladies, keep it up!
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First Row:
Our Royal Court , Jr. Princess and Directors/Volunteers enjoy a beautiful day at the Junior Lilac Parade
Second Row Left:
Queen Madison receives the Proclamation Certificate from Councilwoman Candice Mumm (also a Past Lilac Royalty Member)
Bottom Row Right:
Princess Grace poses by the POW/MIA table at the Let Freedom Ring Breakfast where she had the honor of singing the National Anthem.
Photos Courtesy of Hawkinson Photography, Kristy Hamby and Clare Patton
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Who's Hungry?
Make Sure to Stop by the
2019 Lilac Festival Food Truck Rally
Parade Day, May 18th
11am - 8pm
Orange Bridge (Howard St. Bridge)
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The Spokane Lilac Festival wishes our friends with birthdays in May
& June a Happy Birthday!
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May:
- Gloria Fox 5/2
- Ron HArdin 5/5
- Kathy Weinman 5/12
- Sharon Meier 5/14
- Darla DeCristoforo 5/17
- Robert Altmaier 5/18
- Guy Perham 5/20
- Patt Hooker 5/25
June:
- Sydnee Stelle 6/1
- Dawn Altmaier 6/6
- Angela Wray 6/11
- Bob Hull 6/12
- Dan Ver Heul 6/14
- Tracei Scofield 6/22
- Pat Cadagan 6/26
- Jason Armstrong 6/27
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May:
- Lilac Festival Week
- Friday, May 17th - Queens Luncheon, 11:30am, Historic Davenport Hotel | Click Here for Tickets
- Friday, May 17th - Spokane Lilac Festival Gala, 5:30pm, Historic Davenport Hotel | Click Here for Tickets
- Parade Day, Saturday, May 18th
- Float Viewing - 9am-4pm, 4th Ave. at Jefferson Under the Freeway | Free to Public
- Rose Planting Ceremony - 10:30am, Manito Park Rose Garden
- Cruizin' the Falls Car Show - 10am, Spokane Falls Blvd.
- Lilac Festival Food Truck Rally - 11am-8pm, Orange Bridge
- 81st "We Are Spokane" Spokane Lilac Festival Armed Forces Torchlight Parade, 7:45pm | Click Here for Bleacher Seats
- Sunday, May 19th - Farewell Breakfast, 8:30am, Historic Davenport Hotel | Click Here for Tickets
- Sunday, May 19th - Float Clean up, 10am, Float Barn
- Friday & Saturday, May 24-25 - Hyack Festival, New Westminster, BC
- Monday, May 27th - Memorial Day, OFFICE CLOSED
- Tuesday, May 28th - Executive Committee Meeting, 6pm, Lilac Office
- Thursday, May 30th - Parade Krewe Wrap-up & Party, Time & Location TBD
June:
- Monday, June 3rd - Hosting Committee 5:30pm, Lilac Office
- Tuesday, June 11th - Directors Meeting, Time & Location TBD
- Friday & Saturday, June 15-16 - Strawberry Festival, Marysville, WA
- Saturday, June 22nd - Skyfest
- Monday, June 24th - Finance Committee Meeting, 5:30pm, Lilac Office
- Tuesday, June 25th - Executive Committee Meeting, 6pm, Lilac Office
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Spokane Lilac Festival
3021 S. Regal, Suite 105
Spokane, WA 99223
509.535.4554
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