The 33rd Annual Cherry Blossom Festival is underway in Macon, Georgia. There are lots of ways to "Party Till You're Pink" with nightly concerts, food trucks and fair food, amusement rides, a parade, arts and crafts, luncheons, and tours of historic homes, churches, theaters, and museums. There is truly something for everyone to enjoy...to celebrate spring and the beautiful cherry blossoms.
In 1949 the late William Fickling, Sr. discovered the first Yoshino Cherry tree in his back yard. During a trip to Washington, DC in 1952, he spotted a tree that looked exactly like his tree. On a return trip, he compared a cutting from his tree to those around the tidal basin. It was a perfect match! Upon his return to Macon, he learned how to propagate the Yoshinos and began freely sharing them with the community. There are now 300,000-350,000 Yoshino Cherry trees in Macon.
Pink bows are tied to any and everything here in middle Georgia and talented artists have painted the cherry blossoms on automobile windows and business storefront windows. The whole town is decked out in pink!
My mailbox is adorned with a pink mesh bow and cherry blossoms.
Of course, if you have a festival and a parade in the South, you simply must have a queen. Congratulations to Queen Jaedyn Ellis and the Cherry Blossom Royalty!
The Queen and her Court: (left to right) Tolu Sogade, 3rd runner-up; Valerie Davis, 1st runner-up; Queen Jaedyn Ellis; Kiara George, 2nd runner-up; and Savannah Alday, 4th runner up.
The Cherry Blossom Festival will be going on now through April 4, 2015.
