Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon canceled due to coronavirus concerns
Organizers announced Friday morning that Macon’s International Cherry Blossom Festival has been canceled due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
The festival typically brings millions of dollars into Macon.
The 2020 Cherry Blossom Festival would have been the 39th festival since it started in 1982. William A. Fickling Sr. started the distribution of Yoshino cherry trees after he found one in his backyard, according to the festival’s website.
Carolyn Crayton, the executive director of the Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission at the time of the festival’s beginning, asked Fickling to provide trees for the Wesleyan Woods neighborhood.
After the trees were planted in 1972, she proposed the idea of a festival to honor the trees and Fickling for bringing them to Macon.
More than 350,000 cherry trees are planted in Macon today, according to the festival’s website.
The Cherry Blossom Festival is not the only organization to cancel events. Dublin suspended St. Patrick’s Day events on Thursday, and the University System of Georgia has suspended classes for two weeks. Wesleyan College decided to extend spring break until March 22.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 10:29 AM.