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 Laura Elaine Bryan, 2023 Texas Rose Festival Queen |
Texas Rose Festival
The rose industry has been a major industry in the Tyler area for decades. The Texas Rose Festival is an annual celebration of the rose and its importance to Tyler! Located adjacent to the famous Tyler Rose Garden is the Tyler Rose Museum, which showcases and documents the history of the rose festival.
When is the 2023 Texas Rose Festival?
The 90th Texas Rose Festival was held in Tyler on October 19-22, 2023.
The 2023 Festival Queen and theme were announced on January 5, 2023 at the Festival's Winter Gala at the Willow Brook Country Club. Laura Elaine Bryan is the 90th Rose Queen, and this year's theme is "The Story of Film".
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What Events were Featured in the 2023 Texas Rose Festival?
For detailed information about events, schedules, times, locations, and tickets, we recommend a visit to the official website of the Texas Rose Festival at |
The 2019 Texas Rose Festival Court at the Queen's Coronation at the Cowan Center in Tyler
Tyler Rose Garden grounds during the Texas Rose Festival |
Texas Rose Festival parade float entering Rose Stadium |
Photo op at the Tyler Rose Garden with the Texas Rose Queen and her court (Photo by Travel Texas)
Where is the Texas Rose Festival Parade Held?
 Molly Louise Berry, 2022 Rose Queen |
The parade assembles at Front Street and Glenwood Boulevard, and then follows a route west on Front Street, through the East Texas State Fairgrounds and ending inside Rose Stadium.
The most recent Rose Festival Parade was held on October 21, 2023.
There is always free parade viewing along the route, and reserved seats can be purchased for the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.
The annual parade features more than 100 entries including custom floats for the Queen and her court. It also includes marching bands, walking groups, drill teams, mounted horse clubs, and vintage cars.
The parade is typically televised and sponsored by KETK - NBC56.
In the earlier years of the parade, rose growers supplied hundreds of dozens of rose blooms, and garden clubs worked through the night before the parade to decorate floats using the roses.
Today, rose growers still offer blooms and volunteers still help decorate floats with live roses.
| Scenes from the 2023 Texas Rose Festival Parade | |
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Texas Rose Festival History
The festival is a celebration of the rose industry that thrives in Tyler. Seven Tyler-area companies process and distribute several million roses each year, making the city deserving of its “Rose Capital” title.
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About 75% of all roses in the country are handled in Tyler.
The first Tyler Rose Festival was organized by Tyler Garden Club members, local rose growers and the Chamber of Commerce in October 1933 to showcase the importance of the rose industry to Tyler.
The theme of the event was "Festival Fairyland", and included a parade, rose queen's coronation and a rose show.
The first festival was a success, and the decision was made to continue the event, and the 1934 festival had as its theme "A Garden in Venice".
The annual event was renamed the Texas Rose Festival during the Texas Centennial in 1936.
Tyler Rose Museum
 The Tyler Rose Museum |
Located on the grounds of the Tyler Rose Garden is the 7,500 sqft Tyler Rose Museum, and across the street is the new W.T. Brookshire Conference Center,
The museum is run by a nonprofit organization operated with private donations. Its purpose is to showcase the rich history and tradition of Tyler, the rose industry and the Rose Festival.
Opened in 1992, it been visited by over 300,000 people, and is a major tourist attraction in Tyler. The Rose Museum tells the story of the hardships and successes of the rose-growing industry, and the elegance and tradition of the Rose Festival.
The museum features a large collection of photographs, videos, audio, music, newspaper clippings, rose memorabilia, and of course the jeweled festival costumes, which are changed quarterly.
A gift shop is located adjacent to the museum. Stairs and an elevator for the handicapped take visitors down one level to the Tyler Rose Garden.
The museum is located at 420 Rose Park Drive. For details and hours, call the museum at 903.597.3130. A small entrance fee is required.
Map to the Tyler Rose Museum (Courtesy of Google Maps)
Tyler Municipal Rose Garden
 All-America Rose selections in the Tyler Texas Rose Garden |
Established in 1952, the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden is the nation's largest rose garden, spanning 14 acres. The gardens include over 38,000 rose bushes and over 600 different varieties, as well as reflecting pools, walkways and fountains.
The Rose Garden is open from dawn until dark, seven days a week. Admission is free.
It is one of 24 All American Rose Selection (AARS) test gardens in the country, and also includes a unique Idea Garden created and maintained by the Smith County Master Gardeners.
Where to Stay When Attending the Rose Festival
 One of the many fine lodging options in Tyler ... the Residence Inn near South Broadway Avenue (Staff photo) |
Tyler offers a variety of hotels, motels, inns, extended-stay suites, RV parks, and other accommodations situated near the major tourist, business, shopping, and medical centers of the city. Bed & Breakfasts around the Tyler area offer exceptional amenities and services.
Many hotels are concentrated in the "South Broadway Avenue Corridor", near Tyler's main shopping, dining and business districts. Here you will find hotels such as the Hilton Garden Inn, Residence Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Best Western, Comfort Suites, and others.
Where to Dine During the Rose Festival
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Tyler has a wide variety of restaurants, cafes, grills and other dining venues, from small local eateries to national chain restaurants.
With over 200 restaurants to choose from visitors will surely enjoy dining while in town for conventions or business meetings.
Cuisine choices include traditional American fare, Mexican, Tex-Mex, Italian, Bar-B-Que, hamburgers, seafood, Asian, Greek, and more.
And don't miss the best of Tyler, like Stanley's Famous Bar-B-Que on Beckham Avenue and Kiepersol at the vineyards.
Historic Postcards of Tyler Roses
Greetings from the Tyler Rose Festival |
Entrance to the Tyler Municipal Rose Garde |
The Elegance and Color of Roses
The YouTube video lasts only a couple minutes, and has some easy-listening music. So turn up your volume, and enjoy some beautiful roses!
More About Tyler Roses |