It takes a lot of supporters for Dixon to uphold its reputation as "The Petunia Capital of Illinois" — and a lot of lampposts. It's a good thing Dixon has both.
With decades of history behind it and the Illinois General Assembly to support it, Dixon is proud of its reputation as "The Petunia Capital of Illinois," a designation bestowed upon the city by state lawmakers in 1999. But it takes a lot of work to keep up appearances, a task that adds splashes of cascading color that overflow from flower baskets hanging from lampposts throughout a city that draws tourists from near and far to visit a president's hometown, and locals by the thousands to celebrate the city's annual Petunia Festival.
So where does all that flower power come from? It starts with a group that's instrumental to the ornamentals with the trumpet-shaped flowers that toot Dixon's horn: Dixon in Bloom.
Dixon in Bloom is a four-person committee that spearheads the petunia project. The current line-up consists of Robin Canode, Laurie McBride, Deb Nagy and Shirley Vivian, who also are members of the Dixon-based Rock River Garden Club and help the Dixon Chamber of Commerce and Main Street's Beautify Dixon Committee, both of which organize other flower-filled beautification projects in the Petunia City.
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