Everything you need to know to get started
Festival coverage
For the latest news and happenings during the festival, visit macon.com/CBF and read The Telegraph. Our daily coverage online will feature video, photos and more. Also, readers can submit their photos to macon.com/share. Pick up The Telegraph every morning for stories, photos and more.
Cherry Blossom Gift Shop
Official Cherry Blossom Festival souvenirs and cherry trees can be purchased at 530 Cherry St., in the Travis Jean building. Contact the gift shop at 478-845-9099. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily during the festival.
Cherry Blossom Festival Pin
This year’s pin was design by Macon artist Mark Ballard. His inspiration was based on the theme of “Love, Beauty and International Friendship.” The “35” showcases the accomplishment of the 35th anniversary. The leaves represent the span of the festival, with the bottom leaf showing the founding year of 1982 and the top leaf representing the new growth and upward progression to 2017.
Pins are $5 each and come with a discount card to many midstate museums. Purchase them at Middle Georgia Kroger locations, Robins Federal Credit Union branches and the Cherry Blossom Festival Gift Shop. Learn more at cherryblossom.com.
The official 2017 plate and mug were designed by Macon artist Sterling Everett. The 2017 Cherry Blossom Festival Print is titled “Reflections on Love, Beauty and International Friendship,” and was designed by artist Teresa Smith of Macon.
How it all began
Macon’s Cherry Blossom Festival was first organized to celebrate the city’s Yoshino cherry trees and the March 23 birthday of the late William A. Fickling Sr. In 1949, Fickling discovered the first such tree in Macon, although he didn’t know what kind of tree it was at the time. He learned how to propagate the Yoshinos and began sharing them with the community. As the years passed, the number of Macon’s Yoshino cherry trees grew quickly, attracting the attention of longtime residents and newcomers alike. One particular admirer struck by the beauty was Carolyn Crayton, who proposed launching a Cherry Blossom Festival to honor Fickling and to showcase the beauty of the trees. It began with 30 events and about 30,000 trees in 1982.
About the trees
The cherry trees in Washington, D.C., may draw more attention, but word of Macon’s beauty during March has spread far and wide during the years. Macon was designated “Cherry Blossom Capitol of the United States” in the 1983 Congressional Record by former U.S. Rep. R. Roy Roland. Later, the Japanese consul general named Macon “Cherry Blossom Capitol of the World.” The festival is routinely features in national publications and travel guides. Estimates of the number of trees in the city range from 275,000 to more than 300,000. The trees blooms don’t always coincide with the festival, of course. But when they burst forth, they provide breathtaking beauty.
This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 7:09 AM with the headline "Everything you need to know to get started."