Macon’s 44th annual International Cherry Blossom Festival begins Friday and will run through March 29, with many events and new activities to make it a unique experience for Mercer students and Maconites.
Hannah Theus, the Cherry Blossom Festival's director of marketing, says there are a lot of attractions returning this year.
“Our shows and attractions, our nightly concert series, and the food and retail vendors,” are the main attractions that have always headlined the event, she told The Cluster
Theus added that new shows, vendors and games are taking place this year in hopes of adding more “variety and something that everybody can enjoy.”
“We have a Bengal tiger coming, so that’ll be fine for all ages to enjoy. We have pig races, we have a couple of thrill shows, but we also have a circus coming this year. So we’re really excited for that. We have some new food vendors that are going to be here with us, too, this year.”
The Cherry Blossom Festival will also feature local concerts every night on the Coca-Cola Entertainment Stage, Theus said. The concerts will take place in Carolyn Crayton Park each evening. The first, scheduled for Friday, will begin at 8:00 p.m.
The first weekend will feature a weiner dog race, bed race, the annual Cherry Blossom Parade and a dog diving competition, all of which will take place in downtown Macon on Sunday. A full list of events, their times and locations is listed on the festival’s website.
Theus shared her ideal day at the Cherry Blossom Festival, starting from the morning and going all the way to the night.
“I would get up early on Saturday, March 21st, and I would go down to have pink pancakes at the pancake breakfast hosted by the fire department at Luther Williams [Field],” Theus said.
Afterward, she said would “ride some rides, grab some pickle pizza from Gillette, walk around, get a moose juice slushy and kind of have that fun, fair environment.”
Outside of the opening weekend, Theus said the festivities will continue throughout the week and should continue to attract attention. Among them, Thursday, March 26 is College Day from noon to 9:00 p.m., during which Mercer students can enter the event for free with their Mercer ID.
“Definitely come to food truck frenzy the second weekend too. We have more vendors than ever, so it’s going to be all over again,” she said. “We even have a new kid zone and an egg roll place coming and they are outstanding.”
