May 6, 2003
Familiar Fragrance at Lilac Fest
Familiar Fragrance at Lilac Fest By Stuart Low and Doug Mandelaro Democrat and Chronicle www.rochesterdandc.com/news/0506story6_news.shtml (May 6, 2003) — As the Lilac Festival nears, the flowers are on schedule and a heady whiff of the pa…
Familiar Fragrance at Lilac Fest
By Stuart Low and Doug Mandelaro
Democrat and Chronicle
Democrat and Chronicle
(May 6, 2003) — As the Lilac Festival nears, the flowers are on schedule and a heady whiff of the past is in the air.
The event's official perfume, Highland Lilac, will be reintroduced after 30 years. The blend of seven Highland Park lilac varieties was created in 1967 by Charlotte marketer Dan Morgan, and it was carried by major department stores and presented to five first ladies.
"But it wasn't pushed in terms of marketing," recalls Morgan, now a Florida resort developer. "Its manufacturer, International Flavors and Fragrances in New York City, stopped making it."
Two years ago, Morgan attended his 50th reunion at Charlotte High School, and a few classmates expressed nostalgia for the vanished fragrance. Morgan called International Flavors, where a 50-year employee had the original formula on microfiche.
Ted Collins, owner of Lilac Hill Nursery in Perinton, carried the lilacs needed to re-create the blend. It'll make its debut at the festival and eventually be presented to Laura Bush and five former first ladies. It also will be marketed on the Web at www.highlandlilac.com.
But be warned. Highland Lilac is not for wimps. Its fragrance is strong and long-lasting, and the price is equally potent: $49.95 for an ounce ($39.95 at the festival).
Meanwhile, the flowers are right on target as the Lilac Festival nears.
"We're probably as close this year as we have ever been," said Tom Pollock, superintendent of horticulture for the Monroe County Parks Department. "We're right on the money."
The Lilac Festival, which draws several hundred thousand people, begins Friday and runs through May 18.
Pollock said the lilac collection of more than 1,200 bushes is made up of early, mid- and late-bloomers. The early bloomers, about 10 percent of the entire collection, are already in bloom, sending the first wafts of that unmistakable scent drifting through Highland Park.
More than 500 varieties of lilacs cover 22 of the park's 155 acres. Within the first few days of the festival, and if temperatures remain spring-like, Pollock expects about 65 percent to 70 percent of the entire collection to be in bloom, with the rest to follow by festival's end.
The forecast is lilac-friendly: temperatures in the mid-60s and low 70s over the next week.
Waiting and weather- watching is half the fun, Pollock says.
"It is always the anticipation of the bloom that makes it exciting," he says.
Come lilac time, Rochester-area people attend the festival in droves, but apparently also want a few lilacs of their own.
"We sell hundreds and hundreds of lilacs, and one of the sparks for buying is always the Lilac Festival," said Dennis Keady, general manager of the Garden Factory, 2126 Buffalo Road, Gates.
Customers' favorite color?
That old standby, Keady said: purple.
The event's official perfume, Highland Lilac, will be reintroduced after 30 years. The blend of seven Highland Park lilac varieties was created in 1967 by Charlotte marketer Dan Morgan, and it was carried by major department stores and presented to five first ladies.
"But it wasn't pushed in terms of marketing," recalls Morgan, now a Florida resort developer. "Its manufacturer, International Flavors and Fragrances in New York City, stopped making it."
Two years ago, Morgan attended his 50th reunion at Charlotte High School, and a few classmates expressed nostalgia for the vanished fragrance. Morgan called International Flavors, where a 50-year employee had the original formula on microfiche.
Ted Collins, owner of Lilac Hill Nursery in Perinton, carried the lilacs needed to re-create the blend. It'll make its debut at the festival and eventually be presented to Laura Bush and five former first ladies. It also will be marketed on the Web at www.highlandlilac.com.
But be warned. Highland Lilac is not for wimps. Its fragrance is strong and long-lasting, and the price is equally potent: $49.95 for an ounce ($39.95 at the festival).
Meanwhile, the flowers are right on target as the Lilac Festival nears.
"We're probably as close this year as we have ever been," said Tom Pollock, superintendent of horticulture for the Monroe County Parks Department. "We're right on the money."
The Lilac Festival, which draws several hundred thousand people, begins Friday and runs through May 18.
Pollock said the lilac collection of more than 1,200 bushes is made up of early, mid- and late-bloomers. The early bloomers, about 10 percent of the entire collection, are already in bloom, sending the first wafts of that unmistakable scent drifting through Highland Park.
More than 500 varieties of lilacs cover 22 of the park's 155 acres. Within the first few days of the festival, and if temperatures remain spring-like, Pollock expects about 65 percent to 70 percent of the entire collection to be in bloom, with the rest to follow by festival's end.
The forecast is lilac-friendly: temperatures in the mid-60s and low 70s over the next week.
Waiting and weather- watching is half the fun, Pollock says.
"It is always the anticipation of the bloom that makes it exciting," he says.
Come lilac time, Rochester-area people attend the festival in droves, but apparently also want a few lilacs of their own.
"We sell hundreds and hundreds of lilacs, and one of the sparks for buying is always the Lilac Festival," said Dennis Keady, general manager of the Garden Factory, 2126 Buffalo Road, Gates.
Customers' favorite color?
That old standby, Keady said: purple.
BizNetix is proud to have designed and developed the Highland Lilac Web site. Check it out at http://www.highlandlilac.com