Specifications include, but are not limited to: Highland Park is located in Rochester, New York and is now an integral part of Monroe County's 21-Park System. Highland Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the "Father of American Landscape Architecture." The first lilacs, just 20 varieties in all, were planted in 1892, shortly after the park's opening. A few years later, in 1898, the first "lilac festival" of sorts began, informally and spontaneously, when about 3,000 people gathered on a Sunday in May to stroll amongst the lilacs in Highland Park. Now, 114-years later, the Lilac Festival is widely regarded as our community's "signature event." It was estimated that our present day Lilac Festival drew over 400,000 visitors in 2012 over a 10-day period, from near and far, to celebrate the largest and finest collection of lilacs in the world, which now number over 500 varieties and 1,200 bushes. LFI seeks a qualified contractor to produce a safe, family-friendly festival during the month of May, which will encourage a renewed community celebration of Highland Park's historic and famous collection of Lilacs.
