Mums are in the Air

Among the many fall festivals throughout the Miami Valley, none generates quite as much enthusiasm as the Tipp City Mum Festival. This is the 66th year for the festival, which will be held on September 26, 27, and 28. The theme is Mums are in the Air. The Gazette recently spoke with Kathy Taylor, this year’s President of the Festival Committee. She noted that by the time the festival rolls around, some charitable events will have already taken place. These include the Motorcycle Ride to raise money for the Needy Basket Food Pantry, which was held on August 23. 

“This year we had 40 motorcycles in the run,” she said. “The kickstands went up at 11:30 a.m., and they got back here about 4:30 p.m. They had a police escort through Troy, and the motorcycles know how to block intersections so people can see there’s a lot of cycles coming through. They had a beautiful day, and it was great.” 

Other scheduled events include a 5K Run for the Mums, Mum Festival Queen’s Pageant, Prince and Princess Pageant (for 8- to 10-year-olds), and the Little Miss & Mr. Mum Pageant (for 4- to 7-year-olds). The Mum Festival Queen’s Pageant was held on September 13 at the Arbogast Performance Arts Center in Troy.    

“We’ll have the Prince and Princess Pageant and the Little Miss and Mr. Mum Pageant in the park during the festival,” Taylor said. “The kids are always fun. Some will just stand on the stage and look at you, and some will tell you their life story.” The Queen’s Pageant winner is required to attend the Mum Festival Parade and other activities.

The Friday night Cruise-In, featuring hundreds of classic cars, muscle cars and trucks from every era, is a perennial crowd-pleaser. The downtown event will feature food trucks and sidewalk vendors, as well as sit-down dining in Tipp City’s restaurants.

“The car show is very popular,” Taylor said. “The cars start showing up at 4:00 in the morning to get a good spot along Main Street. The business owners can get a little upset because there’s no place for customers to park, but they do great business once the cruise-in starts. The husbands check out the cars while the wives take the credit cards and go shopping.”

Food and craft vendors will be set up in the park on Saturday and Sunday, and they’re always a big draw. “It gets packed, and if a vendor cancels, we have a waiting list. We’ll have call-offs up until the day before the festival. We have 250 spots available, and we don’t have trouble filling them. It’s always a good response from vendors, usually starting in May. We’ll have some good food there, and I think they’re bringing in Skyline this year. The Tipp City Manager will also have a booth in the park, and they’d like people to stop by and complete a survey for what they want in the city parks.”  

One of the highlights is the Mum Festival Parade. It will make its way through downtown Tipp City on Saturday morning, starting at 10:00 a.m., and will feature local and surrounding-area bands, floats, clowns, classic cars, and other entertaining units. This year’s choice of the Tipp City Community Band for Grand Marshall is a bit different.

“I had to pick a theme, and when I chose something based on music, this seemed like a good choice,” Taylor said. “The Tipp City Community Band was started in 1980, and at the first meeting, they only had eight people show up. Now they’re up to 65, and there are so many people who want to be in it, they have to turn them away. Gail Ahmed, the director, has been involved since 1980. There’s no room for 65 people on the float, so I let Gail decide who would get to ride in the parade. I told her I’m not going to choose.”

Entertainment in the park will begin at noon on Saturday, with acts scheduled through Sunday afternoon. A variety of music will be offered, beginning with the Tipp City Community Band. In addition to music, there are some dance and gymnastic groups scheduled to perform. 

As in past years, the Boy Scouts have been busy painting mums on sidewalks and driveways all over town. “Tons of requests came through here,” Taylor said. “It’s amazing how many people want mums. The Scouts help paint the mums, and they get a certain amount paid into their account, which they can use for whatever they need money for. It helps the kids so they don’t have to do so many fundraisers throughout the year.”

The committee has also been raising money from the sale of banners and commemorative T-shirts. “The banners were available in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, and we brought them back this year. They’re for sale on our website, along with T-shirts, and will be available at the festival. The T-shirts are selling like hot cakes, so don’t wait too long to get one, because once we’re out, we aren’t doing any more.”   

Planning for next year’s festival begins as soon as the dust settles. “The committee will meet in October to review this year’s festival. We review what was good, any problems we had, and how to make sure they don’t happen again. In January, when the new officers are sworn in, the initial planning for next year’s festival begins.” 

Any discussion of this year’s plans included the response to last year’s event, when a thunderstorm blew through the area, resulting in the cancellation of some events. “I’d never seen so many trees fall down in my life in one place before,” Taylor recalled. “The storm did a number on the park, but the city street department cleaned it up quickly. It surprised us how many people we had in the park, even in the rain, walking around with umbrellas. You have to have good weather for this kind of festival. This is the vendors’ livelihood, and it has to be just right.”

The Tipp City Mum Festival, Mums are in the Air, will be held on September 26, 27 and 28. For more information and a detailed entertainment schedule, visit tippcitymumfestival.com, or their Facebook page.      

INFO BOX:

Cruise-In

Friday, 4:00-10:00 p.m.

Run for the Mums

Saturday, 8 a.m.

Entertainment Schedule

Saturday, September 27

Noon-1:00 p.m. – Tipp City Community Band

1:15-1:45 p.m. – Honey Creek Cloggers

2:00-3:00 p.m. – Todd the Fox Band

3:00-4:15 p.m. – Pageant Queen Introduction

4:15-5:15 p.m. – Gem City Gymnastics

5:30-6:30 p.m. – Lauren Kelly

7:00-9:15 p.m. – The Michael Weber Show Band

Sunday, September 28

Noon-1:00 p.m. – Studio Outback

1:15-1:45 p.m. – Celtic Dancers

2:00-4:00 p.m. – Take One Guess Band

4:00-4:30 p.m. – Joyful Soles

4:30-5:15 p.m. – Cory Breth

Vendor Times

Saturday

10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.

Sunday

10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.