VW Peony Festival information provided

Van Wert independent/submitted information

The special day of the peony flower has been the first Saturday in June since the late 1900s.

Van Wert County’s peony farms, which grew many varieties of the flower seen as a symbol of romance, wealth, and respect around the world, helped earn the small city of Van Wert recognition as the “Peony Capital of the World” during the 1920, 1930s, and 1940s.

Beginning in 1932, the Van Wert community has celebrated the flower that put the city on the map with a festival.

The original Peony Festival included a queen and her court, a parade, and entertainment. The festival was put on hold during World War II and the early 1950s, but was restarted for a few years in the mid-1950s until 1960.

Resurrected for the second time in the 1990s, today’s Peony Festival still includes a queen and court, a parade, concerts, and now a car show, fishing derby, arts and crafts, bouncy houses, and food vendors during the three-day celebration.

This year’s festival, to be held June 2-4, will also include a tent featuring Peony Festival history items, as well as a beer tent for the first time, following changes to a city ordinance banning alcohol sales on public property.