» Information from the Spokane Lilac Festival Web site

According to early records, the first Lilac Festival was in 1938, when a flower show and small parade were staged under the guidance of the Associated Garden Clubs and the Spokane Floral Association and its general chairman, Ethyl Goodsell.

In 1940, Shannon Mahoney was selected as the first Lilac Festival queen. This was the first year that high school bands were included in the parade.

During World War II, no parades were held. After the war, the Spokane Lilac Festival Association was officially formed – in June 1946. However, no queens were selected from 1946 to 1948.

After the war, the third Saturday in May was designated Armed Forces Day, a day of remembrance. In the early 1950s there were two parades on this day – an Armed Forces Day Parade and a community parade.

Lilac Queen candidates were sponsored by garden clubs, civic organizations and service clubs.

Beginning in 1953, the court and the queen were chosen exclusively from Spokane area high school seniors.

By 1955, community and military leaders met and agreed to merge the two parades into a combined Lilac Festival Armed Forces Parade held on the morning of the third Saturday in May.

In 1960 a Thursday night Torchlight Parade began to allow more entries and greater participation. Before this, bands were not allowed to enter the parade if not accompanied by a float.

By 1976, attendance at the Saturday morning parade had dropped substantially, but the Thursday evening Torchlight Parade maintained its popularity, with attendance growing year after year.

The decision was made to combine the Thursday night and Saturday day parades into one Spokane Lilac Festival Armed Forces Torchlight Parade, held the evening of the third Saturday of May.

In 2004, the Lilac Festival dramatically changed its Royal Court program, reducing the court from 13 to seven. Seniors from all 28 Spokane County high schools, as well as home-school students, are now invited to enter the selection process. The number of applicants is narrowed to 14, with the queen and six princesses selected at the Royalty Coronation in January.

Last year, for the first time, a fireworks show followed the parade.