Kangaroos among new offerings at upcoming Cherry Blossom Festival
Kangaroos, free parking at Central City Park and an expanded schedule of events are among the new features that visitors can expect at this year’s Cherry Blossom Festival.
Not only will this year’s festival run longer -- March 19 to April 4 -- but it also will have satellite events at other points this year, festival President and CEO Jake Ferro said.
“Our expanded footprint will go beyond springtime,” Ferro said. “But springtime is critical. It’s an iconic event.”
Other events have been scheduled after the festival concludes. For example, the Tunes & Balloons show, which historically closed the festival, will now take place Sept. 12 on the campus of Middle Georgia State College as part of the college’s first homecoming. The change was made in part, Ferro said, because weather conditions are expected to be more favorable in September.
An economic impact study performed last year estimated that the festival had a $5 million to $7 million impact on Macon-Bibb County just in the month of March, he said.
Ferro said he’d like to see the festival’s attendance grow 10 percent each year, and the changes are designed to foster that growth. Last year’s event drew between 180,000 and 200,000 people, and organizers have expanded their marketing efforts into counties around Bibb.
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, Kentucky, draws about 400,000 people each year, and Ferro said there’s no reason the Cherry Blossom Festival -- ranked among the top 100 events in the country -- can’t do the same.
For the first time, parking will be free at Central City Park, thanks to temporary barriers that are being erected for the 33rd annual festival. Instead, the festival will charge $5 admission tickets for adults, while children 10 and under will get in free.
“It’s almost a wash,” he said. “We’ll have higher security with expanding the park. We’re going to have lots of great activities -- probably the most we’ve ever had. Plus, we’ll have a lot of free days.”
The park will host six species of kangaroos, which will have three shows a day and be available for pictures throughout the day. The kangaroos were scheduled to visit last year, but organizers couldn’t get the prospective dates to match the animals’ availability, said Linda Maddox, the Central City Park director for the festival. Organizers booked them last year for this year’s event.
Ferro said it was an easy choice to make Australia the featured nation for this year’s festival because of the kangaroos.
The park’s featured music act will be Radio Disney’s “On the Road to the Radio Disney Music Awards” tour, which will be March 21 from noon-4 p.m. The tour starts in New York City, then comes to Macon, followed by trips to Houston, Texas; Orlando, Florida; and Anaheim, California. The tour features many of Radio Disney’s artists, and the awards show is billed as music’s biggest event for families.
Besides the outdoor activities at the park, such as live music, food and rides, the Round Building will host its share of events, including Ikebana Japanese flowering arrangements, art and jewelry sales, and authors hosting book signings.
Ferro said this year’s event is being dedicated to former Macon Mayor Lee Robinson, a longtime festival board member and former chairman, and Sean Pritchard, the festival’s director of programming. Both men are being treated for leukemia.
To contact writer Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334.
This story was originally published March 10, 2015 at 10:38 AM with the headline "Kangaroos among new offerings at upcoming Cherry Blossom Festival ."