The Texas Rose Festival is an annual event held in Tyler, Texas, that celebrates the role of the rose-growing industry in the local economy. The festival, generally held during the peak of the rose season in October, draws thousands of tourists each year to Tyler, and contributes to the city's fame as "the Rose Capital."

The first Tyler Rose Festival was organized by Tyler Garden Club members, local rose growers and the Chamber of Commerce in October 1933; it was renamed the Texas Rose Festival during the Texas Centennial in 1936. Aside from the festival's suspension during World War II, it has been an annual event.

Many of the Rose Festival events are centered on the Rose Queen and her court, as well as the lavish costumes they wear. Participants often have long family histories with the Rose Festival, and have played various roles in the events since childhood. The court includes the Duchess of the Rose Growers, who is selected by the Texas Rose Growers Association and is often related to a rose-growing family, as well as out-of-town duchesses, escorts and others.

Rose Festival events generally include:

• Vespers service, held at the home church of the reigning Rose Queen
• The Queen's Tea, in which the public is invited to mingle with the Queen and her court at the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden
• A Men's Luncheon and a Ladies' Luncheon, featuring guest speakers
• Queen's Coronation ceremonies
• A parade featuring floats, bands and a number of community groups
• A Rose Show and gardening seminars
• The Rose Festival Arts and Crafts Show at Bergfeld Park

See also

• List of festivals in the United States

External links

• Official Texas Rose Festival site
• Stories on the 2005 festival, from the Tyler Morning Telegraph
• Brief article and bibliography, from the Handbook of Texas Online