Beginning in 2017, the Gallatin County Extension Council partnered with the City of Warsaw, Gallatin County Tourism, and several agencies to plan and coordinate the Gallatin County Spring Peony Festival.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the 2020 Spring Peony Festival was cancelled. This caused many of the festival coordinators worried that the festival may suffer due to a lack of momentum. Fortunately, nothing could have been further from the truth!

The festival was held in downtown Warsaw; the City of Warsaw actually closed 2 city streets adjacent to the Courthouse in order to expand the festival area.

Festival attendance is hard to figure, but local law enforcement estimated the crowd at its peak at over 900.

The 30+ vendors at the festival were very successful. One food vendor in particular estimated that his family cleared over $2,500.00. And while other vendors weren't as open to releasing their profits, most simply said "we did pretty well".

Of course, all the vendor booths weren't selling things; many were sponsored by community agencies who were advertising services and distributing information.

During the course of the day, the Gallatin County Extension Service offered educational programs on home gardening and meal preparation. The Gallatin County Homemakers coordinated the 5k run/walk. These programs were well attended.

Other activities at the festival included horse and carriage rides, an antique tractor show, an inflatable fun zone for the kids, and musical concerts. The festival coordinators also gave away over 300 free peony plants!

The festival takes its name from the peony flower, a perennial that boldly blooms during mid-May each year. The peony is also a very long-lived perennial, as long as a hundred years. And like the peony, we hope the festival repeats itself for many years to come. And perhaps someday, Gallatin County will become known as the "Peony Capitol of Kentucky