Michigan in bloom: 8 flower festivals to check out in 2025

Flower festivals are beginning to bloom all across Michigan. Here are eight to add to your calendar in the spring and summer of 2025.

Spring in the Mitten has so many perks, it’s hard to know where to begin. From the warming weather to the longer, sunnier days, to the sounds of birdsong filling the air as migratory birds fly north once again, there’s plenty to make everyone smile. But what about spring’s most famous feature? That’s right—flowers!

Well, floral enthusiasts, you’re in luck. Michigan spring brings beautiful blooms, from wildflowers popping up on hiking trails, to carefully cultivated blooms in well-tended gardens. Better still, spring is the start of the flower festival season! From celebrations of a specific bloom, to get-togethers for gardeners, Michigan flower festivals have beautiful scented surprises for everyone to discover. So, without further delay, let’s check out the 2025 lineup of flower festivals in Michigan:

Flower festivals in March 

Spring Flower Show at Hidden Lake Gardens: March 8-23, Tipton

Hidden Lake Gardens is owned and operated by Michigan State University, but you don’t need to be a Spartan to enjoy the annual Spring Flower Show. At this annual fair, the garden’s conservatory is in full bloom with daffodils, hyacinths, tulips, amaryllis, and more blossoms in celebration of the season. Admission to the show is included with your admission to Hidden Lake Gardens, so you can check out the beautiful floral displays alongside all the other attractions the gardens have to offer!

Flower festivals in May

Tulip Time Festival: May 2-11, Holland

Ready to “Go Dutch?” Holland, Michigan, has a very subtle clue in its name that this is a town that celebrates its Dutch heritage—including with their annual Tulip Time festival. This beloved floral festival celebrates one flower in particular, and that’s the tulip! Visitors to Tulip Time can marvel at over five million tulips on display, as well as a full slate of festival attractions. Check out the historic tall ships and dockside tours, a “tulip run,” and the chance to try traditional Dutch food, music, and dancing. You can also enjoy live music, fine art and craft exhibitions, a class to paint your own wooden clogs, and, on the last day of the festival, be sure to stick around for the evening fireworks display!

Flower festivals in June

Alpena Flower Festival: June 6-8, Alpena

Every June, downtown Alpena comes into bloom for the Alpena Flower Festival. This annual event features a trail of larger-than-life floral displays made by Alpena’s florists, along with a range of floral-themed activities. You can pick up a grab-and-go bouquet, listen to live music and watch local artists create floral-inspired paintings and stone carvings live, while enjoying one of the many food and drink specials available for the event. Flower-themed martini with a barbecue platter, anyone?

Mackinac Island Lilac Festival: June 6-15, Mackinac Island

Sun, shoreline, tandem bikes, fudge … Mackinac Island in June has plenty to love, even before you get to the annual Lilac Festival. With over one hundred different varieties of lilac on display, you’ll be dazzled by the shades of purple. As one of the biggest attractions of a Mackinac Island summer, the ten-day festival includes the crowning of the Lilac Festival Queen, a cornhole tournament, specialty food and drink, and the centerpiece, the Lilac Parade! Remember, there are no cars on Mackinac, so parade floats are typically built into horse-drawn carriages!

Art in the Garden Festival: June 28, Otsego

Not quite a traditional flower festival, not quite a conventional art show, the one thing you can be certain to expect at the Art in the Garden Festival is to be surrounded by beauty. This one day only event is small but mighty, with the Otsego Conservation District accepting applications from local artists working in a wide array of mediums, with all works themed around nature and conservation. Visitors to the festival will be able to enjoy art which celebrates nature surrounded by the blooms of the Otsego County Demonstration Garden. Visitors can also enjoy food and drink, a silent auction, and a stage with attractions ranging from live music to a “vampire fish” display of sea lampreys!

Flower festivals in July

Garden Club Flower Show: July 14-19, Spring Lake

In Spring Lake, the annual Garden Club Flower Show is a grand affair that’s been running for over six decades, complete with an annual theme. While the theme for 2025 has yet to be announced, 2024 saw the “Garden Olympics.” Entry to the show, which is traditionally held at the Spring Lake District Library, is always free to enjoy local florists’ and botanists’ displays of horticulture, flower arrangements, and more.

Flower festivals in August

Frankenmuth Flower Festival: August 1-3, Frankenmuth

Frankenmuth may be famous for its Bavarian heritage and delicious fried chicken, but they are also home to a lovely annual flower festival! Held on Grandpa’s Tiny Farm, the flower getting its moment in the sun at this festival is none other than sunflowers! Visitors can enjoy a stroll among the sunflower fields, or even enjoy a meal at the Dinner in the Sunflowers event. Other activities include a fun run, picking your own bouquet of sunflowers, yoga among the sunflowers, and a variety of food and craft vendors.

Dahlia Show: August 23-24, Grand Rapids

Another single-flower spectacular, Grand Rapids is welcoming its 24th annual dahlia show this August. Located in Frederick Meijer Gardens, this festival comes courtesy of none other than the West Michigan Dahlia Society. This is a show for those who are serious about flowers in general and dahlias in particular, with awards for best dahlia varietals. While you’re there, you can also view the beautiful floral displays by members of the Dahlia Society, and chat with them about their favorite flower.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.