Pekin Marigold Festival

    The 2022 Marigold Festival Parade Line-Up is posted below.  We are looking forward to this 50 Th celebration! Parade participants must start lining up beginning at 8am and be in their place no later than 9:30am .  Look for the bright orange shirts to locate your line-up area when you get to that general area (see map) REMINDERS: All entries must be pre-registered with the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce including payment and a detailed description of the entry for the parade announcer.  The Parade Committee expressly reserves the right to restrict, limit or reject any entry that is considered potentially disruptive, offensive, or in poor taste and not in keeping with the tradition of the Marigold Festival or does not abide by the rules and regulations. DO NOT start distributing candy, trinkets, etc. until after your entry has passed the 14 th street intersection. These requirements are necessary to...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:       Pekin Marigold Festival Announces Grand Marshal Jim Fairchild is announced as the 2022 Pekin Marigold Festival Grand Marshal   Pekin, IL, June 13, 2022- The Pekin Marigold Festival is proud to announce Jim Fairchild as the 2022 Pekin Marigold Festival Grand Marshal. Jim Fairchild truly represents the best of our community. In-line with this year’s theme of “Back in Time: 50 Years of Marigold Memories”, Jim has been a beloved member of the Pekin community who has touched the lives of hundreds of young people here.   Jim and his wife Patty have been married for 47 years and have four children and eight grandchildren. Jim taught at Pekin Community High School for 41 years, first as a history teacher and then as a guidance counselor, retiring in 2010. He was also a Student Council advisor for 19 of those years and was a school bus driver for 39 of them. Additionally, Jim was a teacher for homebound students and a su...

    Pekin Community Selects Winning 2022 Pekin Marigold Medallion Design A medallion designed by recent PCHS graduate Curtis Cook will represent the 2022 Pekin Marigold Medallion Hunt.  Pekin, IL May 18, 2022 - The Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce congratulates recent Pekin Community High School graduate Curtis Cook for his winning Pekin Marigold Medallion design.  Nearly one dozen fused glass artworks were submitted to the Pekin Marigold Festival Committee, with finalists posted for a live poll on the festival's social media. All potential medallions were designed by PCHS art students, a tradition started just more than a decade ago.  Curtis began art classes with the high school in his freshman year, focused on completing the program and attaining an independent study course offering. Glassworks however was the class he most looked forward to. His design centers around a Pekin icon: the Mineral Springs Lagoon dragon paddle boat. The medallion is a "full fused gl...

    50 th Pekin Marigold Festival Will Be Held This Fall, September 8 th – 11 th   Pekin Marigold Festival announces theme of 2022 Festival: “Back in Time: 50 Years of Marigold Memories.”   Pekin, IL - On September 8 th – 11 th the Pekin Marigold Festival will celebrate its 50 th year honoring Senator Everett Dirksen. This year’s theme, “Back In Time”, will reflect on how the Pekin Marigold Festival has become a cherished tradition in the Central Illinois region. Beloved by his hometown, Pekin hosted the first festival in 1973 as a celebration of the late Senator’s legislative legacy. The Pekin Marigold Festival was named after Senator Dirksen’s love for marigolds, and to this day Pekin is recognized as the Marigold Capital of the World. Senator Dirksen was most known for his key roles in passing the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963), the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Open Housing Act of 1968. Chairperson of the 2...