Dolgeville Violet Festival 2026: What to Know Before You Visit

The Dolgeville Violet Festival returns the weekend of June 12, 13, and 14, 2026. Three days of parade, more than 75 vendors, a 5K, a princess pageant, community-wide garage sales, live entertainment, and the Dolgeville Walking Tour. The festival draws over 10,000 visitors to the Village of Dolgeville for what is one of the longest-running and best-loved hometown festivals in Herkimer County.

Dolgeville is about 20 minutes northeast of Grand Colonial, which makes the inn a quiet, comfortable base if you’re traveling from out of the area for the weekend.

About the festival

The Dolgeville Violet Festival is a year-round volunteer effort by the residents of Dolgeville that culminates in a three-day celebration on the second Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of June each year. The festival preserves the village’s rich horticultural history. Dolgeville was once a major center for floral cultivation in upstate New York. That heritage shows up throughout the festival in educational displays, a flower show, and the community traditions built up over decades.

Expect:

• The parade: 80+ organizations participate; the route runs through the village and is one of the festival’s centerpieces
• Vendors and craft booths: more than 75, including artisans, crafters, a flea market, food vendors, and a horticulture section
• Run for the Violets 5K, plus a kids fun run for the youngest visitors
• Princess & Little Mister Pageant
• Live entertainment: local musicians on stages throughout the weekend
• Community-wide garage sales held in conjunction with the festival; map and listings released closer to the date
• Poetry contest
• Basketball tournament
• Dolgeville Walking Tour: a guided historical walk through the village highlighting Dolgeville’s industrial-era heritage
• Raffles and baskets donated by local businesses

For the most current schedule, vendor lineup, and entertainment details, see the festival’s official site: dolgevillevioletfestival.com.

From the inn to Dolgeville

Grand Colonial Bed and Breakfast is at 112 W German Street in Herkimer, NY. Dolgeville is roughly 12 miles northeast, a 20-minute drive along NY-29 (or via the back roads through Manheim if you’d rather take a slower route). Parking on festival weekend is mostly along village streets and side lots near the firehouse and Main Street.

If you want to combine the festival with broader plans for the weekend, our distances and drive times page shows where everything else around the inn sits, including Cooperstown, the Erie Canalway, the Herkimer Diamond Mines, and more.

Why stay at Grand Colonial for festival weekend

Hotel rooms in Dolgeville itself are limited, and the festival weekend draws thousands of attendees from out of the area. Booking 20 minutes away in Herkimer means:

• A quiet morning before heading to the parade or the 5K, with our made-from-scratch breakfast on the table at 8 a.m.
• Four guest rooms in a restored 1890s home with a real porch and parlor. See the rooms.
• Whole-house rental available for families or groups attending together (up to 10 guests). See group stays.
• Best rates and free perks when you book direct instead of through a third-party site

Planning the rest of your weekend

The Violet Festival is a perfect Saturday focal point, but mid-June in Central New York gives you a lot of options to round out the trip. The Erie Canalway Trail is in full summer form. The Herkimer Diamond Mines are open daily for hands-on hunting. The Glimmerglass Festival opens in Cooperstown the same month. See our June 2026 in Central New York guide for the full month’s events.

Ready to book?

Call us at (315) 982-5004 for festival-weekend group rate questions, or book direct online for the best available rate on individual rooms. June second-weekend rooms book up. Earlier is better.