Annual Dahlia Festival Returns at Swan Island Dahlias
By Peter Zinn, The Canby Chronicle
Hundreds of varieties of dahlias stretched across nearly 50 acres as visitors wandered between blooms ranging from tennis-ball-sized pom-poms to dinner-plate flowers nearly a foot across. Swan Island Dahlias opened its Annual Dahlia Festival on Aug. 1 to celebrate the season of dahlias in peak bloom. Through August and September, the farm will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for viewing.
Visitors can wander among row upon row of dahlias ranging from small lilac puffs to glorious golden dinner-plate blossoms, and nearly every shape and color between. Guests are free to walk along the sides of the fields to take in the blooms as long as they don’t enter the carefully tended rows. They can also visit a smaller display garden tucked into a quiet corner of the farm where there is a large variety of what the farm has to offer without the long trek through the full fields. Nearby, visitors can find the trial garden, certified by the American Dahlia Society. While open for display, these flowers are not for sale. This specialized garden is used for judging cultivars, or new breeds, of dahlias. Here judges will rate blooms on their form, color, stem strength, uniqueness, and a variety of other criteria. Dahlias that receive high enough scores over multiple consecutive growing seasons to prove stability can then apply to be included in the official American Dahlia Society registry.
Even visitors with no gardening experience, much less official dahlia judging experience, are likely to notice that no two sections of the fields look alike. One row may be filled with perfectly round pompoms of a dark violet color, while the next features sprawling cactus dahlias with long, pointed petals mimicking a children’s drawing of the sun. Deep reds, bright yellows, soft pinks, purples, and countless blends of color create a display which changes with nearly every turn.
The fields may be the main attraction, but the festival experience expands beyond the blooms. After walking the farm, families can be found lingering in the shade with lunch from the nearby food carts while children move between face painting and flower displays. Live music plays nearby from groups such as Cherry Tree Road, which some may recognize from the Slice of Summer concerts at Wait Park. Kids can dance to the music or go to nearby tents to get henna or face paint. Adults can enter the mercantile after lunch for souvenirs and fresh-cut flowers.
While the point is to appreciate the blossoms, classes are also offered over the duration of the festival. These classes cover directly related topics such as dahlia tuber dividing, as well as more tangential offerings such as needle felting to bring home a felt bumblebee or watercolor painting for a beautiful dahlia landscape. While admission to the festival is free, not all of the scheduled events are. Some events may require a purchased ticket and pre-registration.
As August progresses into September, the fields will continue filling with new blooms, rewarding repeat visitors with an entirely new experience from week to week before the festival concludes later this summer.
