A PASSION FOR PEONIES
INAUGURAL INDIANA PEONY FESTIVAL COMING UP MAY 22 women’s event, she couldn’t stop thinking about peonies.
Writer / Ria Rebein Photography Provided
Noblesville resident and Kit publisher Kelly McVey discovered her love of peonies 13 years ago. She and her sisters, Carla Crask and Kari Nickander Perry, had set out to farm annuals and perennials on a 10-acre plot in Cicero, Indiana. The experiment went south when the sisters couldn’t agree on what to plant — but not before they fell in love with one flower in particular: the peony. “I didn’t know much about the peony, our state flower,” Kelly says. “I thought of peonies as a grandma flower.” But she quickly learned about the perennial’s historical significance, diversity, hardiness and beauty, not to mention its thousands of varieties, which she could look forward to reappearing in her garden every year. Kelly filled her garden with peonies and started hosting “peony parties,” where friends and family would gather to assemble bouquets and celebrate the state flower every May. One year her family sold peonies at the Noblesville Farmers Market, where she met fellow peony lovers: The flower always seemed to remind people of their mother, their aunt or someone special in their life. All this got Kelly thinking: ‘Why don’t we celebrate our state flower more, especially in May, when thousands flock to Indiana for the Indianapolis 500?’ “I used to preach this to everyone I knew!” Kelly says.
A FLOURISHING FRIENDSHIP Kelly had long wanted to share her passion for peonies in a more meaningful and far-reaching way. One spring, while driving to a
She arrived at the Starkey Entrepreneurial Woman Award (SEWA) Luncheon to discover a bouquet of peonies as the centerpiece and a peony farmer seated next to her. Pamela Parker of JP Parker Flowers won the SEWA award that day, and Kelly and Pam became instant friends. The two chatted about Kelly’s dream of hosting a local peony festival. “We were immediate soulmates and best friends because of our love of peonies,” Pam says. The next year, when giving a speech at the SEWA awards, Pam spoke the festival into existence. “I talked about so many good things had happened in the past year, like meeting Kelly McVey and sharing our love of peonies,” she says. “I said it in my speech: We’re going to have a peony festival!” Thanks to Pam’s encouragement and their connection, the festival began to take shape.
BREAKING GROUND One of the most exciting things about the peony festival is the way that the Hamilton County community came together to support the idea. In 2019, one of Kelly’s friends, Esther Lakes, was on a planning committee to renovate Seminary Park in downtown Noblesville. “She said that she wanted to plant peonies — and I wanted to get involved!” Kelly says.
6 / NOBLESVILLE MAGAZINE / MAY 2021 / TownePost.com
