State Center Rose Festival

Reminiscing with Roses

third weekend in june

June, 17-20, 2010

State Center was officially and formally dedicated as The Rose Capital of Iowa on Saturday, June 27, 1959 at 2pm in the State Center Rose Garden. The first parade was celebrated in 1958.The idea of a town in Iowa being known as the Rose Capitol of Iowa originated with Mrs. W. A. Norcross of Cedar Falls, IA a former president of the Iowa Rose Society. Mrs. Norcross visited State Center, among several other towns and after considerable investigation and thought brought the matter before the Iowa Rose Society asking that State Center be designated the Rose Capital because it was in the heart of Iowa, it was located on Highway 30, the town was small enough to be literally covered with roses and a new park which had not yet been landscaped was ideal for a formal rose garden. Even though State Center today may not be "covered with roses" it still makes a big hoopla about the flower. The rose garden board has given away hundreds of roses to residents to promote private planting throughout town. To celebrate its status as Rose Capital, the town holds a Rose Festival the third weekend in June.

2009 Rose Queen Darrah Schlichte