Mums are everywhere at the 2023 Tipp City Mum Festival.
Sheryl Roadcap | Miami Valley Today
By Eamon Baird and Sheryl Roadcap
TIPP CITY — The 65th annual Tipp City Mum Festival is set to take place at the city park on Sept. 28-29.
The Mum Festival dates to the 1950s when Tipp City’s newly formed chamber of commerce sought a symbol to represent the city. Otto Frings, who had returned from the Tulip Festival in Holland, Michigan suggested the city honor the chrysanthemum.
At the time, the Spring Hill Nurseries in Tipp City were selling the chrysanthemum at such a large rate that before long, Tipp City became known as the “Mum Capital of the World.”
In 2023, the 64th annual Tipp City Mum Festival was held at the city park on Sept. 22-24 with plenty of events and activities all weekend. Last year’s theme was “Tipp City Library: 100 years of Stories,” in honor of the Tipp City Library’s 100-year anniversary.
Jay Taylor, president of last year’s Mum Festival, said of the 2023 event, “The city park is wall to wall with people and it has a really good family oriented hometown feel,” Taylor said.
Annually, the festival starts with the Annual Mum Festival Cruise-In on Friday at 4 p.m. The cruise-in will feature hundreds of classic and muscle cars from almost every automobile era. The cruise-in will be downtown from First Street to Hyatt Street. Food trucks, sidewalk vendors, and Tipp City’s restaurants will be available for festival-goers to enjoy. Merchants and arts and crafts dealers from all over during the festival weekend from 10 a.m. until dark on Saturday and 11 a.m. to dark on Sunday.
Kevin Cox, director of public relations for the 2023 festival, estimated between 20 and 30 volunteers were set to help throughout the weekend.
“We consider this Tipp City’s Super Bowl weekend. We try to make sure everybody onboard, whether it be the police or the fire department, knows the city is all onboard, along with all the Tipp City merchants, and anyone involved with the parade fest,” Cox said.
Saturday always starts off with the Annual Run for the Mums, sponsored by Tipp Monroe Community Services. Run for the Mums is a flat terrain 5K race that begins at 8 a.m. in the city park. The Tipp City Mum Festival, Tipp Monroe Community Services have multiple prizes and raffles at the finish line. The race goes on regardless of the weather.
Following the 5K, the annual Mum Festival Parade is held, featuring bands, floats, classic cars, and more from the local and surrounding areas. The parade starts in the downtown at 10 a.m.
In 2023, the Tipp City Mum Festival partnered with the Boy Scouts of America Troop No. 586 to offer the opportunity to adopt a mum.
Cox gave a special thanks to all volunteers who help with the Mum Festival every year including the Kiwanis Club of Tipp City and the 2023’s grand marshals the Tipp City Library.
“We appreciate everything the non-profits and the businesses that help sponsor this festival. We couldn’t do it without them and greatly appreciate them,” Cox said.
Information on the 2024 Tipp City Mum Festival has not been updated on the festival’s website, but visit https://tippmumfestival.org/ to stay up to date. However, exhibitors interested in being part of the the 2024 Mum Festival are invited to apply for entry and should visit https://tippmumfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Arts-Crafts-Application-2024.pdf
Sheryl Roadcap contributed to this story.
