The can’t-miss dahlia festival in Oregon: Canby, OR’s annual floral festival

The good thing about flower festivals—well, one of the many, many good things—is that just about everyone likes flowers. So what’s not to love about the annual dahlia festival in Oregon, where fireworks-like flowers bloom in every color of the rainbow?

Swan Island Dahlias, the dahlia farm in Canby, OR that hosts the festival every year, is just a half-hour’s drive from Portland. That made a quick drive to the flower festival a no-brainer for our family.

The trick is that the dahlia festival in Canby is super-short: It is open for only the last weekend in August and the long weekend of Labor Day. That means, unfortunately, that the festival is done for this year. But you’ll want to put the festival on your calendar for 2020!

(I have a shockingly easy but very effective tactic to not miss events like this one that only happen every so often: You’ll want to read about my google calendar hack to never miss one again!)

If you didn’t make it to see the dahlias in Oregon this year, why not feast your eyes on a little flower eye candy? Photos aren’t as good as going to the dahlia festival in person, but I hope these suffice until next year’s event. And when you pin this post for later, you can come back to find out everything you need to know before going to the dahlia festival in Canby: its hours and opening days, parking, festivals, cut flowers and more. Finally, I’ll share how to see these dahlias even if you’re not in town for the festival.

Dahlia Festival, Oregon: What to expect

When you arrive at Swan Island Dahlia Farm in Canby, OR, you’ll park in the field next to the festival. We arrived around noon on the last day of the festival and had zero troubles finding a parking spot that was just a few minute’s walk away from the flowers.

Level 10 travel tip: Try to park on the farthest row, which means you’ll walk a little farther—but increases the chances your car ends up in the shade in the afternoon!

Instead of walking toward the red banner that signals the entrance to the festival, head straight toward the flower fields. You’ll walk among 40 acres of dahlias, each variety different. Edie, our 6-year-old, got a kick out of reading some of their names—Awe Shucks, Bee Happy and Cupcake, to name a few. Maxine and I kept identifying new favorites. We would announce we’d found the most beautiful dahlia in the field, and then a few steps later find a variety that was even more stunning!

You’ll notice that Swan Island Dahlia Farm in Canby has asked that visitors stay on the paths and not walk into the flower rows, unlike my favorite Oregon peony farm. I had to remind the kids a few times, but then they learned quickly.

We entered the dahlia fields closest to the parking lots and then looped around to the other path through the fields, back toward the gift shop and stalls. This gave us a tour of all the 360 varieties growing in this dahlia farm.

Know, though, that these fields are in full sun. It gets quite hot on warm summer days, so plan accordingly!

Features of the dahlia festival in Canby

If you’ve come to the Swan Island Dahlia Festival, you’re definitely here for the flowers. There are even more reasons why we had a great time at this event in Canby.

Live music

Max, Edie and I love dancing to live music so we were thrilled to boogie down at the dahlia festival. The band jamming out while we were there played excellent covers. Yep, I 100% broke out in dorky mom moves—only my kids are still little enough to not be embarrassed by me!

Display garden

Right next to the live music area, a display garden shows how different types of dahlias may grow in a variety of ways. While the flower fields grow entire rows of the same kind of flowers, the display garden displays how you’re more likely to grow them. They’re all labeled, making it easier for those with green thumbs (i.e. not me) to choose which tubers to order for planting.

Stalls + vendors

This dahlia festival in Oregon cultivates a fair feel, in part because of the food and retail vendors. I loved that you could buy food and drinks (from strawberry lemonade to local beer, wine and cider). After all, the festival got warm in the sun—and what better way to cool down than with a real fruit slushie?

The girls, of course, immediately spotted kids with balloon animals and face paint. They dragged us over to a kids’ booth, where they each got a balloon puppy on a leash. (Edie’s dog popped before we even got back to the car, which of course made her sob. Why oh why do I still get them balloon animals?! And am I the only one who feels this way?)

Floral arrangements

In an indoors (and blessedly cool) room, more than 400 floral arrangements were on display. I’m actually complete crap at making flower arrangements, so I was doubly in awe of the gorgeous displays.

The ramp down to the floral arrangement room is very, very steep, though. If you or someone in your group is using a walker, cane or wheelchair, ask a festival staff member for help. I saw an employee help a woman with a walker go down the ramp—slowly, slowly!—so she got to see the flowers, too.

Details for the Dahlia Festival in Oregon

By now you can’t wait to go to the Swan Island Dahlias festival! I don’t blame you. Photos can’t even do this annual event justice. Here’s everything you need to know:

Dahlia festival dates

The dahlia festival happens the weekend (Saturday-Monday) before Labor Day and Labor Day Weekend (Saturday-Monday). In 2020, the dahlia festival dates are:

August 29-31, 2020
September 5-7, 2020

Dahlia festival hours

The dahlia fields are open 8am – 6pm during the festival dates. The indoor display areas are open 10am – 6pm.

Admission to the dahlia festival

Admission and parking are free at the Oregon dahlia festival, making this one of my favorite free family activities near Portland! Swan Island Dahlias partners with a local food bank and accepts donations at the event.

Food and drink at the festival

Food and drink vendors, including wine, beer and cider, keep visitors fed throughout the festival.

You are welcome to bring your own food and drink from home. The many picnic tables throughout provide the perfect place for a meal al fresco! Know, though, that outside alcohol is not allowed.

Dogs at the dahlia festival

Dogs on leash are welcome in the outdoor areas of the dahlia festival, which means they can’t go into the indoor displays. I wouldn’t have brought our dog, Finn, though. The festival is crowded, and I’d be nervous he’d get stepped on or tripped over. What’s more, the festival can get very hot, and I wouldn’t want him to overheat.

Whatever you do, do not bring your pet and leave it in the car while you go to the festival. The parking area is in full sun, and cars heat up to dangerous levels within minutes—even if you leave the windows down.

What if I missed the annual dahlia festival?

If you didn’t make it to the Oregon dahlia festival this year, try a few of these other ways to take in these gorgeous flowers.

1. Run a race through the flower fields

Every August, the Canby Dahlia Run sends athletes jogging through town, the woods—and of course through fields of the gorgeous blooms. The route is either for a 10k or half-marathon race.

2. Visit the dahlia farm 7 days a week

You don’t need to wait for the dahlia festival to visit the farm in Canby; it opens to the public August 1. The fields might not be in full bloom that early, but you can walk through the fields and even eat a picnic lunch on the farm 7 days a week, from 8am – 6pm.

3. Bring cut flowers home

From the end of July through first frost, Swan Island Dahlias sells cut flowers for you to take home. I love having fresh flowers on my kitchen table or counter—they’re just so cheerful!

4. Grow your own dahlias

Swan Island Dahlias is the largest dahlia farm in the US, and they ship dahlia tubers all over. What’s more, this dahlia grower in Oregon develops 5-15 brand-new hybrids each year. So you can order flowers that are exclusively sold from here!

Planning for the dahlia festival in Canby, Oregon

Red, orange, yellow, purple, pink, white—no matter your favorite color, you’re sure to find a whole bunch of dahlias that will make you fall head over heels for this annual event in Oregon.

If seeing these blooms makes you want more, don’t miss my post on the best flower festivals in and near Portland, Oregon!