Annual Lilac Festival is approaching.....!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rochester Celebrates Spring during the annual Lilac Festival, May 11-20th, 2012.  We encourage tour groups to pre-register with Visit Rochester in order to provide you with the following complimentary services:

• Guided Tour of Festival Grounds
• On-site complimentary Bus Parking
• Preferred Bleacher seating for the Festival Parade, Saturday, May 12th.
• Arts and Crafts are featured Saturdays and Sundays during the Festival
• Services of Visit Rochester staff member to assist in coordinating your visit

Pre-registation form can be found here!

To enhance your group experience we recommend:

• A visit to the Lamberton Conservatory located directly on the festival grounds. There is a nominal admission to the Conservatory.
• The Vietnam Memorial is also located on the Festival grounds and is easily accessible to your groups. Free of charge.

Visit the Lilac Festival web site to obtain a schedule of complimentary musical entertainment.

For information on group friendly restaurants, area attractions and special events going on in and around Rochester during the dates of the Festival contact the VisitRochester Tourism Department at 585-279-8305 or 585-279-8309 or e-mail us directly at paulas@visitrochester.com

---

Special Features for Student Groups:

VisitRochester is excited to present our NEW Student/Youth Tour Planner. Over 50 tour ideas for the Student/Youth market! Click here to view!

Custom tour planning for curriculum based tours • Specializing in history, photography, music, art & agricultural tours, sports travel, Native American and Underground Railroad themes • Interactive programs • Hands on learning experiences • Many performance venues available May through October • Soft adventure tours, which include hiking, biking, white water rafting, kayaking, downhill skiing, and sailing • Our community is deeply rooted in the music industry, which includes: The Eastman School of Music, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Hochstein School of Music and Dance, Garth Fagan Dance • Rochester Music Coalition, Rochester Oratorio Society, The Commission Project and several recording studios • We provide familiarization tours for educators and site visits for tour operators

Services:

• Site visits and fams for Tour Operators and Educators 
• Itinerary planning
• Curriculum-based tours
• Step-on guide service
• Receptive services
• Youth tour portfolio
• Youth friendly hotels, restaurants and attractions

---

Rochester, located on the southern shore of the Great Lake Ontario, is just 90 minutes east of Niagara Falls via the beautiful designates American Byway called Seaway Trail. Rochester has become the perfect staging area for trips to the magnificent Finger Lakes Region, the Genesee Valley and Niagara.

Rochester is an important historic, educational and cultural American city. The mix of a beautiful agricultural setting, along with a vibrant city, creates a perfect sample of true American life. Rochester sits at the middle of what has been called the 100 must-see Miles of the Erie Canal. Today, the historic Canal thrives as an active and recreational waterway with towpaths, shops and charming towns telling America's story of "how the West began!" The "American Castle" home of Eastman Kodak's founder is now the George Eastman House/International Museum of Photography and Film-a major visitor attraction. Strong- National Museum of Play is one of our nation's leading institutions of popular family-based American culture; it is also home to the National Toy Hall of Fame.   The Rochester Museum & Science Center offers three floors of hands-on exhibitions exploring science and technology, natural science, and our region's cultural heritage. Fall foliage, garden tours, American Indian and African American cultural programs, ski tours and water excursions are popular programs.

Rochester also boasts eighteen colleges and universities including the renowned University of Rochester and its Medical Center; Eastman School of Music; as well as Rochester Institute of Technology and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Many companies and educational institutions host international guests for special technical and educational tours.

Rochester is a friendly, safe city and easy to navigate during every season of the year. It has over 6,000 rooms available in a wide variety of hotels and inns. VisitRochester (formerly Greater Rochester Visitors Association, Inc.) has a wide range of trade and media support services available including brochures, images, text, packages, and itineraries. Site visits and familiarization tours that include Rochester, Niagara Falls, the Seaway Trail and Finger Lakes Region are easily arranged.

---

VisitRochester is a proud member of: