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The Swan Island Dahlia Festival

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This enormous photo dump of a post is brought to you by my visit to the 2026 Swan Island Dahlia Festival on Michael Jackson’s Birthday Eve (Friday), a field trip I’ve been meaning to take for the last four summers. I went early (right when they opened), stayed for two and a half hours, and could’ve stayed longer had I not had to leave to make it to an appointment. I will absolutely be back.

Mural painted on a wall at the Swan Island Dahlia Festival that both looks like a postcard and serves as a background to take photos/selfies.

Along with my phone, I brought my Instax and a disposable camera. I’d planned to bring the disposable with me to the festival last summer, as evidenced by that May 2025 date stamp on the Post It note stuck to the packaging. I didn’t because I didn’t go. And of course, even though I remembered to bring it with me on Friday, I didn’t take very many photos with it. Oh well. I’m excited to see how the few I took turn out, once I use up the few remaining exposures and have the roll developed.

My hand holding up in front of the postcard/photo wall a disposable camera with a sticky note attached to the box that reads "angel's rest, swan island dahlia festival" and that's stamped May 2025.

I thought about bringing my “real” camera (an old Canon Rebel I bought at Target about 12 years ago). Because I was already carrying the Instax and the disposable and my phone and a water bottle and a bunch of other shit in my small tote bag, I didn’t. I wish now that I had. Almost all of the photos I took on Friday, I took using my phone. They turned out fine enough. I think my DSLR—or even a pocket-sized, point-and-shoot digital camera— and I could do better.

White dahlias.
White dahlias with streaks of hot pink.
Orange dahilas.
Pink dahlias that turn orange and then purple toward the center.
Pink dahlias that turn orange and then purple toward the center.
Pink dahlias that turn orange and yellow, and then purple toward the center.
Pink dahlias that turn orange and yellow, and then purple toward the center.
A field of dahlias.
Light pink dahlia with a cream-colored center.
Dusty pink dahlias with a purple center.
Dusty pink dahlias with a purple center.
Bright pink dahlias.
A field of dahlias.
Light pink dahlia with tones of light butter yellow and magenta.
Soft white dahlias with soft yellow and pink centers.
Soft white dahlias with soft yellow and pink centers.
Dark purple dahlias.
A field of dahlias.
A pink dahlia with a lime green center.
Various shades of pink dahlias.
Various shades of pink dahlias.
Various shades of pink dahlias.
Various shades of pink dahlias.
A field of dahlias.
A field of dahlias.
Soft white dahlias with soft yellow and pink centers.
Cut dahlias lying in the bed of a truck with a field of dahlias in the background.
Butter yellow dahlias.
A field of dahlias.
Soft white dahlias with soft yellow and pink centers.
Light purple dahlias.
Light purple dahlias.
Purple dahlias.
A field of dahlias.
My hand holding five Instax photos fanned out against a field of purple dahlias.
Close-up photo of three Instax photos I took at the dahlia festival: dahlias, me standing in front of a field of dahlias, and a field of dahlias.

The two best things about the festival: it’s free to attend (and to park!), and I saw Michael there twice.

My hand holding up a 3x4 photo of Michael Jackson kneeling on the floor of a hotel room and praying before a show in front of a variety of dahlias named "Bookie Nites."
My hand holding up a 3x4 photo of Michael Jackson kneeling on the floor of a hotel room and praying before a show in front of a variety of dahlias named "Diva."

All of the photos in the post are straight out of my iPhone. No editing, no cropping, no resizing, etc. I say this to reiterate my belief that you don’t need a “real” camera to document your life and the things that are important to you. Is a DSLR nice to have? Yes. Is it necessary for the average, everyday person, or for memorykeeping? No.