Beautiful roses abound during Thomasville’s Rose Show & Festival, and this year’s event will include new traditions to celebrate its 101st year. Event organizers are excited to bring back traditional Rose Festival favorites and look forward to creating new activities for the community to enjoy.
“When you have an event centered around a Rose Show that’s been around for over 100 years, you definitely want to uphold that legacy and look for ways to attract new generations of people,” said Madison Eaton, Tourism and Events Manager for the City of Thomasville. “We have not been able to host our traditional Rose Show & Festival since 2019, so we’re excited to bring this event to Thomasville in its full capacity this year.” COVID safety concerns and heavy rains affected the festival in 2020 and 2021.
New this year will be one large parade on Friday, April 22, that will combine the Rose Bud Parade with the traditional Rose Parade. “We reached out to our school systems and surveyed area businesses and organizations participating in our parades over the years,” noted Eaton. “The feedback we received mentioned combining the parades to create a new, larger parade experience.”
Eaton also mentioned parade entries would be judged this year with cash prizes of up to $300 provided to winners. “Adding the judging component this year will help to elevate the parade entries and encourage creativity and community interest,” stated Eaton. This year’s parade theme is “Where Roses Reign…New Traditions Bloom.”
The “Queen Award” will be given for best overall parade entry, and the “King Award” will be given for best use of the parade theme. “We created the names of these awards to continue to honor our 101-year-old Rose Show,” noted Eaton. Queen and King Awards are traditionally the two highest awards given during the Rose Show. A special “Rose Bud” award will be given to the best children’s entry and will also be a way to pay tribute to the Rose Bud Parade.
New on Saturday, April 23, will be the Rose Fest Market at The Ritz Amphitheater. This outdoor artisan market will feature handcrafted artisans and makers with their handmade goods for sale, and guests can enjoy food trucks, children’s activities, music, and fun throughout the afternoon. The Civic Garden Club’s Flower Show, traditionally held at Paradise Park, will also be held this year close to The Ritz Amphitheater at the intersection of Remington Avenue and Stevens Street.
“Feedback from our community included making activities more cohesive,” noted Eaton. “Moving events originally held at Paradise Park to The Ritz Amphitheater provides more opportunities for visitors to walk between activities and creates an enjoyable day.”
Fireworks at The Ritz Amphitheater will cap off what is hoped to be a fantastic event for the community. “The fireworks have traditionally been a part of our Street Dance on Friday night, but it made better sense to move them to Saturday night to help close out the event,” noted Eaton. The event concludes Saturday night with fireworks and a live concert by The Company Band.
The Rose Show, Orchid Show, Street Dance featuring the Swingin’ Medallions, and the Antique Car & Truck Show will help round out this two-day event, slated for April 22-23 in Downtown Thomasville. Admission is free and open to the public. To complete a Rose Parade application or view a full itinerary of events, visit thomasvillega.com/rose. For additional information, contact the Thomasville Visitors Center at (229) 228-7977.