City of Rochester
News Release
(Saturday, June 6, 2019) — Mayor Lovely A. Warren invites the community to celebrate the beauty of the Maplewood Rose Garden, along with the adjacent waterways and historic neighborhood, at the annual Maplewood Rose Festival on Saturday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Attendees will have an opportunity to experience and enjoy the beauty of over 4000 roses representing more than 300 varieties, our city’s spectacular gorge and waterfalls, an award-winning trail system, and some of Rochester’s most architecturally significant buildings and homes.
“The Maplewood neighborhood is one of the most beautiful areas of our city,” said Mayor Warren. “We’re expecting wonderful weather on Saturday, so what better way to spend the day than outdoors enjoying our community’s gorgeous rose garden, the natural beauty of Maplewood Park, and all of the amenities and resources the Maplewood neighborhood has to offer."
It has been 30 years since the Maplewood Neighborhood Association first partnered with the City of Rochester to celebrate the beauty of the Maplewood Rose Garden, the adjacent river gorge and the uniqueness of the surrounding neighborhood. This year’s festival is sure to be an event the entire family can enjoy.
Coordinated by the Maplewood Neighborhood Association, the festival features an assortment of activities that highlight and celebrate our city’s history, ecology, people, and illustrious horticultural heritage. The roses are expected to be in bloom and a full program of activities are planned for the celebration, which takes place in and around Maplewood Park and the Rose Garden.
Throughout the day, festival-goers can take part in a variety of offerings, including horticultural workshops and vendors, children’s inflatables and games, gorge tours, yoga activities and Zumba in the Park with staff from the Maplewood YMCA. There will also be food vendors and wine tastings, along with live jazz music during the afternoon hours.
Tours of historic homes will also be available. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Maplewood neighborhood boasts hundreds of elegant century-old homes that perfectly complement the surrounding park and gardens designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, one of America’s greatest landscape architects.
Saturday’s schedule of activities include:
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.: Tours of the Rose Garden and garden workshops: Learn gardening tips from the City’s horticultural staff and rosarians from the Greater Rochester Rose Society.
10:30 a.m.: Yoga
11 a.m. – 4 p.m.: Genesee Gorge and Falls Tours: Neighborhood docents will lead fascinating, narrated tours of the historic and beautiful Lower Falls Park. Tours are ongoing throughout the day. Last tour leaves at 3:30 p.m.
11:30 a.m. & 12:30 p.m.: Storytime in the Garden: In collaboration with the Rochester Public Library.
11 a.m. – 6 p.m.: Food Vendors (food available for purchase)
11 a.m.: Olmsted Tour: Led by former City Landscape Architect JoAnn Beck.
11:30 a.m.: Zumba in the Park
Noon – 3 p.m.: Children’s inflatable’s & Youth Activities
Noon – 1 p.m.: Classical Music in the Garden
1 – 2:30 p.m.: Historic Maplewood Tour: Walking tour of the historic neighborhood. Experience its beauty and architecture.
Noon – 5 p.m.: Wine, Spirits and Jazz in the Garden: Features area wineries and farmers sampling and selling their wares in the Rose Garden. Jazz musicians perform all afternoon. Featured will be the Darryl Parker Trio (Noon – 2:30 p.m.) and Lady Rose with local jazz musicians (3 – 5:30 p.m.). A fee applies for the tastings, with all proceeds benefiting the Maplewood Neighborhood Association.
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News Media: For more information, contact Press Officer Jessica Alaimo, 428-7135.