Here’s how I’ll celebrate the ‘Pinkest Party on Earth’
If you haven’t already painted your minivan with cherry blossoms, built your soapbox derby car, or purchased your tickets for the much anticipated George Clinton extravaganza — you still have time to create an exhaustive and amazing itinerary.
I don’t know about you, but most of my friends are yammering this time of the year about their Cherry Blossom Festival must-do-list. Whether you are waking up early for the pink pancake breakfast or you are setting your lunch schedule to the free sweets in Third Street Park, this festival has something for everyone!
For me, my stomach starts to grumble and my thumb turns green. I have begun coordinating opportunities to eat — if my schedule allows I am totally scarfing down some little sandwichs at the Downton Abbey Tea, plowing thru the food vendors at Central City Park, and sampling the spectrum of deliciousness at the Food Truck Frenzy.
But nothing represents Cherry Blossom Festival season more than the “outsideness” of it all. I love love love the season. After being locked inside during the winter — not because it was cold or anything, but because it was 95 outside and everything looked dead and drab — I love seeing the green and hearing the birds and the sounds of spring.
When the festival hits, Macon explodes with the wonderment of the region. You can enjoy the beauty of the Ocmulgee River during the Duck Dash, get lost in the history of the mounds during the Ocmulgee Lantern Light Tours, or wander through the glorious neighborhood forests of trees on the Cherry Blossom Trail.
If you haven’t set up your calendar yet, do so. You can find all the events here in Out & About and referenced throughout the week at macon.com/CBF.
I know one thing: With all the choices, this family will have no shortage of options. We will of course buy our annual cherry trees — take three home, plant two and one will survive. But that is the joy of our annual trek to the Mulberry Arts and Crafts Festival, where my wife and I fight about how we do or do not need one more cool thing at our house. (I plan on winning this year!)
Chris Tsavatewa is the director of experiential learning at Middle Georgia State University, and an overly engaged citizen who’s volunteering gets in the way of his volunteering. Follow him on twitter @chiefchippy.
This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 7:08 AM with the headline "Here’s how I’ll celebrate the ‘Pinkest Party on Earth’."