Lilac Capital of Ontario
I snap to attention in the back seat. Driving–well, being driven–to Kingston last week for a family gathering, I see this sign as we enter an otherwise unremarkable town(let). For easier driving, we’ve taken one of the innumerable roads less travelled than the 401, whose sign, if there were any emotional truth in promotional signage, would say this:
Welcome to Hwy 401:
One of the Busiest Highways
in North America.
Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
As quickly as we enter the Lilac Capital of Ontario, so do we depart it; it’s fast enough that I don’t capture the name of this metropolis. Dagnab it. A modest capital, I guess, and a town(let) indeed.
But fear not: back home, a search on the interweb for “lilac capital of Ontario” brings up numerous articles on the Village (aha!) of Franktown, in Beckwith Township (here, here, and here, just as examples). (Two mentions of “town” there, if you’re counting, and only a small village to be seen. Just sayin’.) How small is the “small village” of the misleadingly named Franktown? It does not have its own Wikipedia page. I say again, it has no Wikipedia page. Even the “town”ship of Beckwith, the municipal superstructure for Frank”town”, has only a modest one.
It being late June, I’ve missed the 2025 Lilac Festival in Frankwhatever by a full month, but I’ve put it on my calendar for May 2026 which you might think would be the end of it. But here’s the thing: Loving lilacs as I do, how have I lived just 45 minutes away from the self-identified Ontario capital thereof since 2002 without knowing about it? I’ll tell you how. I. Never. Asked.
Now, it’s the job of people holding tourist festivals to promote said festival to potential tourists. But I suspect that if we asked the good-and-few people of Frank-so-called-town, they would say that they do promote their festival to lilac lovers. After all, people show up every May, don’t they? They do, but the rub here is that third-person pronoun. *I* didn’t get the memo.
Maybe I need to get a subscription to Cottage Life. Maybe I need to routinely check the To Do pages for the websites/newsletters of Halton (wherever that is) or the Ottawa Valley or Lanark County (one governance step up from Beckwith alleged-town-ship). Maybe I need to follow the blog of a self-described travelling narcissist. Or maybe I need to think a bit about the things I love besides lilacs, which are now covered, and check them out proactively, rather than waiting to pass by an enticing sign by accident of travel route.
After all, who knows what other wonderful things are waiting for me within 45 minutes of Ottawa? Reflections? Big birds? Bridges? Reflections of big birds on bridges? I’m not saying it’s a fool-proof approach, but it sure never hurts to ask.
While not in Franktown, but in Frankville – who knew both existed?? – a little further south of Franktown there is a sunflower oil farm that produces under the label Kricklewood Sunflower oil.
Not sure if they still do have a festival or not, but they had fields of the usual sunflowers you could walk through, but also various sunflowers species very different from the “ordinary”
Jim R – Ooh. I like fields of sunflowers, too. Thanks!
I just looked online and it seems that the Kricklewood Farm festival is no more, but here’s a link to others in SE Ontario. Check your own provincial tourism sites for similar lists.
https://www.destinationontario.com/en-ca/articles/visit-ontarios-sunflower-farms-and-fields-summer#id-southeastern-ontario
In Calgary we have the Lilac Festival, a street party on 4 Street SW. It is a true lilac festival in that we never know until the designated Sunday whether the flowers aren’t ready yet or have passed or are blooming right on time. This is the natural world. In the unnatural world of scheduling, the festival goes on regardless and lots of people and vendors are there. A bit far for you to drive.
Judith – Yes, documentaries are more reliable but not as much fun as real life. Ottawa solved the scheduling issue for the now 3-week Tulip Festival by doing staged plantings, but bulbs are easier to manage that way than are lilacs.
I imagine a point at which a small locality’s best claim to fame would be kept somewhat subordinate and offered to a more dependable stream of traffic/clientele. Using the lilacs as a background for a decent restaurant comes to mind. The fine food is not subject to the seasons but the enterprise can take advantage of them.
Laurna – Interesting. That could be the strategy – more is not always better.
Isabel – after you check out Franktown in May of 2026, maybe you can check out the lilac bushes at the Experimental Farm, and please provide a comments as to which has more Lilacs.
I can also provide directions to a 100 to 200-foot stretch of hiking trail in the Greenbelt near the Tomlinson quarry and gravel operation that is lined by lilacs each May. To enjoy that you’ll also need mosquito and blackfly repellant.
John – I’ve seen the lilacs at the Experimental Farm a few times over the years – they’re lovely, although there’s no festival as such associated with them. I’ll take your offer of a buggy hiking trail under advisement. 🙂