In the pink: Plans in the works for 2024 Dixon Petunia Festival

DIXON – Just three months away from the start of the 60th annual Dixon Petunia Festival, its organizers continue to release details about the festival’s events and have announced the 2024 Petunia Festival Royalty.

“We’re very excited to be bringing the 60th annual Petunia Festival to town,” said Debbie Bay, president of the Dixon Petunia Festival Executive Volunteer Board. “We’ve been planning this special anniversary festival since last year’s event ended! It takes a lot of work, but we have a great group of board members who are dedicated to making this the best event in the Sauk Valley area.

“Our theme is ‘Peace, Love, Petunias’, so dust off your best bell bottoms and get out those tie-dyed shirts. We can’t wait to see you July 3rd through the 7th.”

This year’s festival court includes Tyler Zepezauer, Tya Collins, Owen Winters, Elyse Stevens and Emma Olson.

Zepezauer, Petunia Festival king, is the son of Christy and Paul Zepezauer. He is a student at Dixon High School, where he participates in Key Club, student council and theater. He has served as a class officer since his freshman year, and has been on the DHS football and track teams. He works at the Sterling-Rock Falls YMCA as a lifeguard and plays on the Jr. Rockford Icehogs hockey team. After high school, he plans to attend a four-year college where he will study engineering or earn a technology degree.

Collins, Petunia Festival queen, is the daughter of Lauren Cecchetti and Tyron Collins. She attends Dixon High School, where she plays golf and is on the track and dance teams. This year, she has enjoyed spending some time in elementary classrooms during her school day, where she works with students and pursues her interest in education. She works at Dairy Delite and My Play Village. After high school, she plans to stay close to her family while pursuing a degree in political science or elementary education.

Olson, Pinky Petunia, is the daughter of Amber and Corey Masters and Zachary Olson. She is a student at Dixon High School, where she participates in volleyball, track and Key Club. She also played club volleyball in Rockford and danced at Centerstage for many years. She works at Arthur’s Garden Deli in Dixon. After high school, Olson hopes to attend Northwestern University or Purdue University Northwest to study to become a nephrologist.

Owen Winters, Petunia Festival attendant, is the son of Jackie Krull and Nathan Winters and attends Dixon High School, where he is involved in the music and theater departments. He has participated in the DHS Honors Choir, ILMEA Chorus, Dixon Madrigals, DHS plays and musicals, as well as community theater in Dixon, Polo and Sterling. He also is a part of Key Club, student council, choir board, Tri-M Music Honor Society and the tennis team. After high school, he plans to study music education.

Stevens also is a Petunia Festival attendant. She is the daughter of Angie and Jeremy Allison and Kirk Stevens and attends Faith Christian School, where she plays volleyball and is on the school’s trap shooting team. She also is a part of the Key Club and student council. She has a love of music, playing guitar, bass, piano, drums and ukelele. She is on the praise team at her church, oversees the chapel band at school and is employed at Culver’s in Dixon. After high school, she plans on attending Oral Roberts University to major in early childhood education and minor in music.

Festival history

Each year’s festival honors a group of public, spirited men and their project, which earned the town national recognition as the state’s official “Petunia City.”

“It all began in the late 1950s when a combination of Dutch Elm disease and major highway expansion caused the removal of all trees along the community’s major roadways,” according to the festival’s website. “The Dixon Men’s Garden Club, which for several years had worked on small flower beds scattered throughout the city, decided to do something about the barren look of the highway approaches.”

In 1960 and 1961, the club planted 4,000 petunias along both sides of about 1/2-mile of the principal north-south route, South Galena Avenue. The next year, club members put 6,000 more petunias on the 3/4 of a mile of North Galena Avenue.

The plantings and hanging petunia baskets have spread out to other approaches to the city and now extend along principal streets, the Galena and Peoria avenue bridges and First and Second streets. Most of Dixon’s 15,000 residents have taken part in one way or another, according to the festival’s website.

“We can’t hold a great festival without the support of our community,” Bay said. “If you would like to volunteer, we would love your help! We need adult help at our gates and ticket booths, parking areas, with the parade, grounds clean up, and more. If you are in high school, we have an Ambassadors program where you can also volunteer your time. Visit our website for more details on both types of volunteering.”

2024 festival activities

Here is a list of activities planned for this year, according to the Dixon Petunia Festival’s website:

• A cruise-in style car show, sponsored by Ken Nelson Auto Group, will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, July 5, in John Dixon Park. Early registration entry fee is $25. Early-bird registration ends June 30. The entry fee will be $30 the day of show. Capacity is limited to 120 entries. Cars and motorcycles will be allowed. To sign up for the show, go to petuniafestival.org/2020/05/05/cruise-in-style-car-show.
• The volleyball tournament will begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, July 6, at Plum Hollow Courts. Players must register at petuniafestival.org when the form becomes available. Cost is $25 per player.
• A bags tournament will start at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 6, and bingo play begins at noon Thursday, Friday and Saturday, July 4, 5 and 6 at the Dixon Elks Lodge, which will open its doors at 10 a.m. each day.
• The carnival hours are 5 to 11 p.m. Wednesday, July 3; 1 to 11 p.m. Thursday, July 4; 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, July 5; 5 ro 11 p.m. Friday, July 5; 1 to 11 p.m. Saturday, July 6; and 1 to 11 p.m. Sunday, July 7. The carnival will be set up on Lincoln Statue Drive between Dixon High School and the riverfront. Carnival wristbands will cost $35 and available each day from open to close. Individual ride tickets will be one for $1, 21 for $20 and 44 for $40. North American Midway Entertainment Carnival will operate the carnival. Vouchers for daily wristbands will be available at a discount before the festival for $30 each at the Petunia Festival Headquarters Office during its hours of operation in June. There is no cost to walk through the carnival.
• As a special note, when the carnival is open from 2 to 4 p.m. July 5, it will observe quiet hours. Parents will need to come to the Petunia Fest headquarters to sign up their child plus one adult for admittance to the carnival. They will receive special wristbands that will only be valid for the two hours designated for quiet time.
• The Reagan Run 5K will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, July 6, at the Ronald Reagan home. Registration begins at 6:30 a.m. at Haymarket Square.
• A fishing derby will be from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, July 6. Registration is at 7 a.m on the north side between the Galena and Peoria bridges by the Old Settler’s Log Cabin.
• The parade will begin at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 7, at St. Mary’s Catholic School, move north on Peoria Avenue and end at Dixon High School.
• Fireworks will start at 9:30 p.m. Sunday, July 7, over the Rock River.
• Other events in the works include painting the sidewalks from 9 a.m. to noon July 4 during the Brush and Bloom event, a craft and vendor show, crafts with the Royalty at the Dixon Public Library, a disc golf tournament, a Dixon Municipal Band concert and an ice cream social. Reagan Home tours, the Pancake and Petunias pancake breakfast, Old Settlers log cabin tours, an outdoor art show, tennis tournament and the Al Morrison Baseball All-Star Weekend also are listed on the roster of activities.
• The festival’s music performers will be announced soon. Bands have been secured, Bay said.

To learn more about the festival or to volunteer, call 815-288-7465.