- The Cherry Blossom Festival sadly is over. Mel and I were only able to do a couple of events, but as usual, the event lived up to its local and worldwide hype. And why wouldn't it? I have been meaning to post this, but it seems as of late, my life appears to be a little close to hectic. So, read away and maybe you can plan on being apart of the festival next year.
Macon, Georgia calls itself the, "Cherry Blossom Capital of the United States". And each year for the last 30 years, it has held a festival in honor of these trees. In 1952, William A Fickling, Sr., discovered a Yoshino Cherry Tree in his backyard, which is very rare in Macon, and decided that one of his missions in life should be to plant as many of these said trees in his favorite town along with founding the largest reality company in the state of Georgia. By the year 1973, Fickling and many others had planted 500 trees all around the Macon area. And along with the help of the "Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission" began the now famous festival in 1982. It had very humble beginnings, but now is one of the Top 20 events in the South and in the Top 100 events in America. It began as a three day festival with 10 events to a ten day festival with somewhere near 500 events for all ages and activity levels.
Instead of spending a lot of space writing about how much we here at HTH love the Cherry Blossom Festival, I've decided to list my top seven events. So, here they are:
1. The Ocmulgee National Monument Lantern Tours: This is a one mile tour done at night and you get your own lantern. Read that last sentence again. You get your own lantern! The guided tour last about a half hour and it is awesome. You get a full history lesson and many historical anecdotes concerning the area and the monument. It is usually beautiful and it is so peaceful to sit on top of the largest mound and lookout over the city of Macon and know that people have been here for hundreds of years. There is something reassuring about that.
2. The Cherry Blossom Road Race: This is a great race. It is a flat and fast course that is both exciting and challenging for beginners and veterans alike. There is a 5K, 10K, and a mile race for the kids. The race is only in its second year, but a race during the festival has legendary lore that goes with it. Macon used to have a half marathon and a full marathon that took place during the yearly festival. The races were last run in 2003 because the only people who were running it were those who wanted to brag that they finished because the course was so hard. They tried reviving some sort of race in 2009, but forgot how angry people get when they sign up for a 15K (9.3 miles) and end up running 11 miles. It died, but with the help of several determined Macon Tracksters, a race was born that has been a huge hit. I didn't get to run this year due to a track meet, but heard it was awesome. And who wouldn't run 3 miles for a chicken biscuit from Chic-fil-a?
3. Tunes and Balloons: I could write several paragraphs about this alone, but I'll spare you. However, this just may be one of the coolest events that Mel and I have gone to while here in Macon. A neat, small portion of the Cherry Blossom Festival revolves around hot air balloons. On the first Saturday of festival, "Tunes and Balloons, is thrown and it is a celebration of hot air balloons, music, picnics, and the Cherry Blossom Festival.
4. The Old Book Sale: For Melissa and myself, there are few things that beat an old book sale and this book sale doesn't disappoint. It is put on by the Middle Georgia Library System. They gather books for a year, divide them into their specific genres, and then for four days during the Cherry Blossom Festival, they sell them to you for nickles on the dollar as they say. We didn't get to go this year, but we went last year and spent $11 for 8 books, which is awesome considering a new book cost $15.
5. Dixie Disc Dogs Championships/Central Georgia's Strongest Man: Jack and I practiced this since I walked away from this competition last year. Jack was ready to go. He had gotten it to where he could catch 5-7 throws out of 10 and we were ready to bring home a trophy. We then had to attend something, so we will have to wait till next year. This is held in Central City Park and it is the perfect spectator's event; especially if you have ADD. If you get bored watching dogs do tricks while catching Frisbees, then you can turn your head slightly and see the biggest, strongest men of Middle Georgia doing the craziest of feats. Last year, Mel and I watch them pull an R.V. and pick up concrete balls that weighed around 500 lbs. It was incredible.
6. Third Street Park Festivities: I used to love this when I was in college, but haven't had a chance to attend these since we moved back to Macon, but Mel has let me know how things are. She said this year did not let you down. And how could it? Imagine free Coke, free Mayfield ice cream, and Spring weather. The folks from Coke, Mayfield, and from the Cherry Blossom Festival get together everyday from 11:30-1:00 everyday and hand out Coke and ice cream. And they usually have the people dipping the ice cream dressed like cherry blossoms which is a sight to behold. And this year, they upped the ante, the two bakeries in town baked thousands of cupcakes this year and added them to the spread.
7. International Food Festival/Mulberry Street Art Festival: The Mulberry Street Art Festival is not exactly part of the Cherry Blossom Festival, but each year, it is held during the festival and is a great way to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Mel and I love to go and see the different displays and walk around with a fresh-squeezed lemonade and kettle corn. And as of late, we love the homemade soap. The International Food Festival used to be something to talk about,but over the last several years, locals have taken it over and just attempted to make food that originated from international places, but is cooked like they do it here. This year, Mel and I settled for a couple of corndogs and two lemonades.
Instead of spending a lot of space writing about how much we here at HTH love the Cherry Blossom Festival, I've decided to list my top seven events. So, here they are:
1. The Ocmulgee National Monument Lantern Tours: This is a one mile tour done at night and you get your own lantern. Read that last sentence again. You get your own lantern! The guided tour last about a half hour and it is awesome. You get a full history lesson and many historical anecdotes concerning the area and the monument. It is usually beautiful and it is so peaceful to sit on top of the largest mound and lookout over the city of Macon and know that people have been here for hundreds of years. There is something reassuring about that.
2. The Cherry Blossom Road Race: This is a great race. It is a flat and fast course that is both exciting and challenging for beginners and veterans alike. There is a 5K, 10K, and a mile race for the kids. The race is only in its second year, but a race during the festival has legendary lore that goes with it. Macon used to have a half marathon and a full marathon that took place during the yearly festival. The races were last run in 2003 because the only people who were running it were those who wanted to brag that they finished because the course was so hard. They tried reviving some sort of race in 2009, but forgot how angry people get when they sign up for a 15K (9.3 miles) and end up running 11 miles. It died, but with the help of several determined Macon Tracksters, a race was born that has been a huge hit. I didn't get to run this year due to a track meet, but heard it was awesome. And who wouldn't run 3 miles for a chicken biscuit from Chic-fil-a?
3. Tunes and Balloons: I could write several paragraphs about this alone, but I'll spare you. However, this just may be one of the coolest events that Mel and I have gone to while here in Macon. A neat, small portion of the Cherry Blossom Festival revolves around hot air balloons. On the first Saturday of festival, "Tunes and Balloons, is thrown and it is a celebration of hot air balloons, music, picnics, and the Cherry Blossom Festival.
4. The Old Book Sale: For Melissa and myself, there are few things that beat an old book sale and this book sale doesn't disappoint. It is put on by the Middle Georgia Library System. They gather books for a year, divide them into their specific genres, and then for four days during the Cherry Blossom Festival, they sell them to you for nickles on the dollar as they say. We didn't get to go this year, but we went last year and spent $11 for 8 books, which is awesome considering a new book cost $15.
5. Dixie Disc Dogs Championships/Central Georgia's Strongest Man: Jack and I practiced this since I walked away from this competition last year. Jack was ready to go. He had gotten it to where he could catch 5-7 throws out of 10 and we were ready to bring home a trophy. We then had to attend something, so we will have to wait till next year. This is held in Central City Park and it is the perfect spectator's event; especially if you have ADD. If you get bored watching dogs do tricks while catching Frisbees, then you can turn your head slightly and see the biggest, strongest men of Middle Georgia doing the craziest of feats. Last year, Mel and I watch them pull an R.V. and pick up concrete balls that weighed around 500 lbs. It was incredible.
6. Third Street Park Festivities: I used to love this when I was in college, but haven't had a chance to attend these since we moved back to Macon, but Mel has let me know how things are. She said this year did not let you down. And how could it? Imagine free Coke, free Mayfield ice cream, and Spring weather. The folks from Coke, Mayfield, and from the Cherry Blossom Festival get together everyday from 11:30-1:00 everyday and hand out Coke and ice cream. And they usually have the people dipping the ice cream dressed like cherry blossoms which is a sight to behold. And this year, they upped the ante, the two bakeries in town baked thousands of cupcakes this year and added them to the spread.
7. International Food Festival/Mulberry Street Art Festival: The Mulberry Street Art Festival is not exactly part of the Cherry Blossom Festival, but each year, it is held during the festival and is a great way to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Mel and I love to go and see the different displays and walk around with a fresh-squeezed lemonade and kettle corn. And as of late, we love the homemade soap. The International Food Festival used to be something to talk about,but over the last several years, locals have taken it over and just attempted to make food that originated from international places, but is cooked like they do it here. This year, Mel and I settled for a couple of corndogs and two lemonades.
Make plans and get to the Cherry Blossom Festival next year,
David
Let's plan on it next year and I will push Derek in his NYY stroller! I mean it, let's have a family thing and do all of this!
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