Visitors, locals enjoy the parade and carnival at Macon’s Cherry Blossom Festival
Macon was alive Sunday with carnival rides roaring, marching bands booming and children laughing as the annual Cherry Blossom Festival carried on through the weekend.
Started in 1982, the Cherry Blossom Festival happens each spring as thousands of Yoshino cherry trees blossom, covering the city in a sea of glorious pink blossoms. This year, the festival lasts from March 15-24 and includes the usual repertoire of games, performances, rides and tours to showcase Macon.
Despite Sunday morning’s rain, families packed Carolyn Crayton Park for the festival’s carnival. Many dressed in pink for the festival, with the occasional splash of green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day overlapping.
Sheri Selkirk drove from her home in Birmingham, Alabama, to bring her daughters to the festival. Her parents live in Macon and attend the festival every year. She has joined them with her family since 2016.
“We’ve been coming for years,” Selkirk said. “It’s just fun, it’s just a good time.”
The Cherry Blossom Festival has become a major event for the Selkirks, with the family dressing up just for the occasion. Selkirk wore a pair of cherry blossom-shaped earrings and a pin depicting the cherry trees in bloom.
Selkirk’s daughter Reagan, 11, brought a friend from Birmingham, Emerson Maske, 9, to enjoy the festival for the first time. Maske said she enjoyed the spinning rides at the festival, and even convinced Reagan — who normally stays away from the faster rides — to join her.
“[Reagan] likes roller coasters, she just doesn’t love them as much as I do,” Maske said.
Some families were attending the festival for the first time ever. Rebecca Silverstein drove nearly an hour with her husband and daughter to the festival after seeing a post about it on Facebook. Her daughter had never been to a carnival before and was excited for the shows, which included a human cannonball and a dog show.
Macon residents came out in force for the festival too. As the Cherry Blossom Parade began to move down Cherry Street around 3 p.m., residents and their families crowded the sidewalks, some bringing picnic blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy the festivities.
Local businesses, hospitals, charitable organizations and schools contributed floats covered in pink blossoms and marching bands, with friends and relatives gathering to greet loved ones as they appeared in the parade.
Carol Vonceil, a longtime Macon resident, sat in a lawn chair on a street corner as her daughter, a senior at Central High School, appeared as a dancer with the marching band for a final time.
“This is her last year, so I’m all teary-eyed,” Vonceil said.
The Cherry Blossom Festival’s activities promise to continue the excitement through the week. Information on the festival and a full calendar of events can be found online.