About International Vinegar Museum
Roslyn, South Dakota, did not choose a broad theme for its signature museum. It chose vinegar. The International Vinegar Museum bills itself as the world’s first and only museum devoted entirely to the acidic liquid, and it has turned that narrow subject into one of the strangest small-town attractions in the state.
The museum opened in 1999 after a local nonprofit group partnered with vinegar enthusiast Lawrence Diggs, known as the Vinegar Man. They converted Roslyn’s historic auditorium into a home for bottles, displays, demonstrations, and a surprisingly deep look at how vinegar is made and used. Visitors can see vinegars from around the world, learn about production methods, sample different varieties, and inspect unusual objects made with vinegar, including paper and ceramic pieces.
The obsession spills into the street each June during the annual Vinegar Festival. The event has included a parade, tastings, cooking demonstrations, and the crowning of a Vinegar Queen. Past festival royalty has also included titles such as Princess Pickle, Princess Sour Patty, and Princess Vinaigrette, proving that once Roslyn committed to the concept, it committed completely.
The museum operates seasonally, generally during the summer. It is a modest place with an aggressively specific mission, which is exactly what makes it memorable. Plenty of museums can explain broad sweeps of history. Roslyn built one around the contents of a condiment bottle and somehow made an entire town festival out of it.