Mum Fest 2026 Preview: Blossoms of Liberty

Annual Tipp Festival Celebrates 250 Years of American Independence

If it’s September, it must be time for the annual Tipp City Mum Festival. This year’s theme, “Blossoms of Liberty—250 Years of American Independence,” means visitors can expect a patriotic overtone in what has become the crown jewel of Miami Valley fall festivals. This is their 67th year, and the attendance and participation keeps growing. Somehow the Mum Festival Committee manages to make sure things run smoothly, in spite of unexpected road bumps.

Amber Corkhill is the 2026 Mum Festival President. This is her second time serving in that capacity, with the first being in 2009. She has been a member of the festival committee in some capacity since 2004, when she chaired the MumKids Land activity.  

“The key to the longevity of the Mum Festival is community involvement,” she said during a recent conversation. “The community is always there to help, and they always show up when we need them. They support our fundraisers, which we’re doing again this year, selling T-shirts and banners. The T-shirts will be available before the festival, and we’re selling the same banners we had last year. Tipp City Community Services is handling the sales. The Boy Scouts (Troop 586) are taking orders for their fundraiser, Adopt-a-Mum. Normally they would’ve been painting mums all over town by now, but the rain caused problems.” 

Familiarity is a factor in the festival’s continuing success, as it offers the public what they’ve come to expect. The 67th festival will stick to that formula. Attendees can expect the 5K Run for the Mums on Saturday morning before the parade (held rain or shine), pageants for Little Miss and Mr. Mum (children ages 5 to 7), Mum Prince and Princess (ages 8 to 10), and the Queen’s Pageant, for young ladies in their High School years.

There will also be the Classic Car Cruise-in on Friday night, from 4 – 10 p.m. People are advised to get downtown early, because the streets close at 4:00 p.m. There will be food trucks and sidewalk vendors, as well as sit-down dining in Tipp City’s restaurants. “This is one of the biggest cruise-ins in the area and the largest festival car show in Ohio,” Corkhill said. “This will be our 33rd annual cruise-in. Last year we had 600 cars.”

One of the popular fundraisers is the Motorcycle Run. “This was originally scheduled for August 22, but due to the weather, we had to use the rain date of September 5. All money raised goes to the Needy Basket Food Pantry. This event was created to help the Needy Basket, and last year’s run netted about $2,000.”

The park will play host to most of the weekend’s activities, including entertainment, MumKids Land, ceremonies for Little Miss and Mister Mum, Mum Prince and Princess, and an appearance by the Mum Festival Queen. They will all be sharing space with a plethora of vendors.

“We have an overabundance of vendors this year, and we will be completely full,” Corkhill said. “There are a few we’re waiting on, and if they don’t come through, we have a waiting list. The number we can accept each year depends on how many trees we have to set up around. We have 279 vendors and 25 food concessions signed up.”

To help ease the registration process for next year, Corkhill revealed that they’re offering this year’s attendees the chance to pre-register. “The vendor committee will go around to vendors and give them the option of signing up for next year. Returning vendors will have first dibs. That will help us in the planning because next year, the city is adding to the park, so that may impact how many vendors we can allow.”

Another staple is the Mum Festival Queen’s Pageant. The pageant itself is held in advance of the festival at an indoor venue—the Arbogast Performing Arts Center in Troy. “This year we’re back at APAC, and we have seven girls in the pageant so far. We always do it a couple of weeks early. The girls have to participate in the parade, the car cruise-in, and the pageant if they’re selected. The ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, September 12 at APAC.”

A highlight every year is the parade that officially kicks off the festival. It will be held on Saturday morning at 10 a.m., following the 5K Run for the Mums. The parade will feature local and surrounding-area bands, floats, clowns, classic cars, and many other entertaining units.

“We’ve had a couple of hiccups this year,” Corkhill said. “The parade route between Franklin Street and Parkway will be closed. We’re going to keep the first half of the parade the same, then we’ll detour on Franklin Street and wind up on Third Street.”

Choosing the Grand Marshall for the parade is always a challenge. This year’s honoree, Dr. William “Bill” Gabel, has been a beloved member of the Tipp City Community for many years. The Dayton native and WWII Navy veteran graduated from The Ohio State University after the war and became an optometrist in Tipp City for over 40 years before retiring. He remains active in the community, and his selection as this year’s Grand Marshall is significant because he was the first Mum Festival President in 1962. 

“He was definitely our choice, the perfect Grand Marshall,” Corkhill commented. “He just wants to serve his community. He’s in a wheelchair, and he still wants to do it all. We’re really excited to have him.” 

Entertainment in the park will begin at noon, following the parade. The Tipp City Community Band will start the program. Visitors will enjoy a variety of entertainment, including Celtic dancers, gymnasts, and area bands covering most music genres. A complete list of entertainment attractions and schedule times can be found on the festival’s website and Facebook page. 

It takes 22 separate committees overseen by a 10-member festival board to plan the festival each year, and they’re busy with details to the last minute. “It seems like everything changes up until Friday night of the festival, but any changes will be updated on the website,” Corkhill said. “After the festival in October, we have a wrap-up party, then we celebrate that we pulled off another festival. We take November and December off, then we meet in January to vote in new officers. We hope everyone feels that the festival was well organized, with a good selection of vendors and food options, and that they made some great memories with their family.”

The Tipp City Mum Festival, “Blossoms of Liberty—250 Years of American Independence,” will be held on September 25 – 27. For more information and scheduled entertainment, visit the festival website, www.tippcitymumfestival.com, or their Facebook page.