Celebrate peach blossoms with festival at Lane Southern Orchards

Looking for something to do outside with the family now that the weather’s getting warmer? The fifth annual Peach Blossom Festival will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lane Southern Orchards’ roadside market in Fort Valley.

“The event is our attempt at bringing back what was originally the first Peach Blossom Festival,” said Wendy Barton, marketing and public relations director.

The festival began in the 1920s and was originally held early in the year when there weren’t any peaches. Barton said the festival was eventually changed to June, when peaches were available, and is still held in June each year in Fort Valley as the official state Peach Festival.

“What we wanted to do is celebrate the peach blossom,” she said. “It’s really an opportunity to celebrate Georgia’s fruit. We have so many visitors who called and wanted to see the peaches in bloom, so we wanted to have a festival to celebrate.”

In 2013, the Peach Blossom Festival was brought back and scheduled during the time of blooming peach trees, which is typically around March 15, depending on the weather, according to Barton. This year’s unseasonable warm temperatures, however, have been an exception. As a result, the blossoms started earlier than usual.

With more than 30 varieties of peach trees, the peach blossoms bloom at different times, explained David Lane, logistics manager.

“This is a very unusual year,” he said. “I think on a normal year ... the weather is starting to break in March ... and (the festival) is a prelude to spring,” Lane said. “It’s family-oriented. It’s children-driven. It’s a fun, safe atmosphere. It’s getting out and getting outside.”

More than 40 vendors ranging from food to arts and crafts will be on site at the festival. The vendors will be placed in an open, grassy area and live entertainment will be booked throughout the day with local artists, dance groups and guitarists performing. Local musician Kaleigh Courson and her band will close out the entertainment by performing from 3-5 p.m.

“We will offer the blossom tours if the weather cooperates and there are blooms on the farm,” said Barton, explaining that the farm tour bus cannot go out on a public street.

Law enforcement also will be present talking about driving safety, and fire trucks will be on site as well. Barton also said a huge kids play zone will be set up with bouncy houses, the American Ninja Challenge, a 128-foot obstacle-type course, and a Nasa Slide, which is 28 feet tall. Tickets for the kids zone are $10 for the entire day.

Other activities include wine tasting, face painting and photo opportunities with well-known characters as well as local and state pageant queens.

“We will, of course, be selling our famous peach cobbler and ice cream by Lane Southern Orchards,” said Barton. “It’s just a fun day on the farm all day long with activities for everybody.”

This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Celebrate peach blossoms with festival at Lane Southern Orchards."