Ask a Local: Your Guide to the Cherry Blossom Festival

Alex Habersham, publisher of Macon-Middle Georgia Black Pages and former festival chair, enjoys the many events offered during the festivities — and the food.

“I love the cinnamon rolls and other foods. Everything is just so much fun … it means so much to the community. It gives people from all walks of life something to do … [and it] brings the community together.”

Anita Howard, district attorney for the Macon Judicial Circuit, and her husband are both foodies and love the Food Truck Frenzy.

“There are so many wonderful options from which to choose, and we love trying the regional food offerings.”

Moises Velez, founder of the local Que Pasa newspaper, said he likes to attend the annual parade.

“You see the whole community participating. Black, white, Hispanics — I think the parade is a mirror of the city.”

DeMarcus Beckham, cofounder of Macon Pride, recommends a stroll through downtown to see the weiner dog race and pink poodles walking down the street. He also suggests trying the various food options offered during the festival.

 “The food is so good. This is the only time of the year where you can have a pink beer or some special loaded french-fried dish from Macon Water Ice. You can get a delicious pink bun burger. You have to go to places where the gimmick is around colored food; it’s so nice and so cute.”

Asha Ellen, executive director of Keep Macon Beautiful, suggests that visitors explore Macon’s museums and visit places you won’t find anywhere else.

“We have a lot of history here in Macon from downtown, from the Tubman Museum to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, even the Douglass Theatre. Learn about our history and take advantage of tours … enjoy a Nu-Way hot dog, go to H&H  … enjoy all that Macon has to offer.”

Oby Brown, director of communications for the Historic Macon Foundation, remembers when James Brown was in town to perform for the 1994 festival and had a bridge in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood dedicated to him.

“I remember because I had my young son, I put him on top of my shoulder, so he could see better … [they] had a crowd right at the bridge. They had grandstands set up … I remember Carolyn Crayton let out a whoop of ‘I feel good!’ It was really funny and just great.”

A fond festival memory for Clarence Thomas, Frank Johnson Recreation Center supervisor, was a day out with his daughter at Carolyn Crayton park about nine years ago.

“Watching her ride her first roller coaster was priceless. She was all smiles as it rounded the small bends and went over the mini-hills of iron … great daddy-daughter day and moment made by the fest!”

Melody Blake is not a Macon native but has lived here for about a decade. She finds the cherry blossom trees unique because prior to moving here, she had only known about the trees in the nation’s capital.

“I had no idea how beautiful the South is in the springtime. When all those cherry trees and those azaleas go … the beauty of it just overwhelmed me the first time. Having this festival that celebrates that was quite spectacular. It is just such a beautiful time of the year and then the city of Macon just shines.”

For JP Haynie, artistic director at Macon Little Theatre, Macon has “pockets of amazing” throughout the city, particularly in its music and live theater scene.

“When people tried to ask questions about where I was from, who didn’t know Macon, the No. 1 thing that I would tell them is that it is a disproportionally large arts community for a town this size and there’s so much talent in music theater, visual arts, the museums — it’s so much bigger than you would expect from a town the size of Macon.”

Richard Frazier-Sostillio, artistic director at Theatre Macon, said he sees a beautiful collaboration happen around the community during this time.

 “Cherry Blossom is very similar to Christmas in the way that Macon celebrates the holidays and people really come together. My favorite part is going to visit the local businesses and supporting them because I know that it’s an important time for a lot of those businesses.”

Elaine Lucas, Macon Water Authority board member, said she appreciates Carolyn Crayton’s idea to create the festival as a way to bring the community together. She also notes that, as the festival goes on, it becomes more diverse.

“Any opportunity that we have for people to mix and mingle and see commonalities, we need to invest in that and continue to support it. Over the years, there has been a real effort to include as many different people as possible. The very best thing is that all people feel now that they are included and they are welcome to come and attend all of the different events.”