July 17-19, 2026: The home of peppermint oil, this festival in Lyons has been growing each year and features vendors, food, a parade and a huge firework show on Saturday evening.

 
The Peppermint Story: In 1839, Hiram G. Hotchkiss founded The Hotchkiss, International Prize Medal, and Essential Oil Co. in Lyons and by 1844, he employed more than 100 people and produced more than 1,000 pounds of oil annually.


By 1860, Mr. Hotchkiss produced more than 1/3 of the Peppermint Oil in the United States and owned over 100 acres of peppermint fields in Lyons. Mr. Hotchkiss was so internationally renowned as the leader of the peppermint oil industry that he was often called the Peppermint King!