Spring into pink with Cherry Blossom Festival

On the weekend of March 25 and 26, the Georgia International Horse Park will host almost 300 food, arts and crafts, and business vendors in addition to entertainment showcases for a crowd that the organizers hope is bigger than last year’s.

“We are hoping that we can surpass 35,000 people, and we can get a good crowd for our vendors,” said event coordinator Jill Miller.

The fair will be celebrated with the theme “Spring into Pink,” which Miller says really represents her staff’s “enthusiasm for this year’s event.”

Guests are requested to wear and/or decorate their strollers or wagons in cherry blossom colors – pink or green. Prizes for best outfits and decorated strollers or wagons will be given out.

The first 100 guests to stop by the festival information booth each day will receive a shopping bag for the chance to find gift certificates usable for purchasing items with the art and craft exhibitors. Cherry Blossom trees will also be on sale, courtesy of the Master Gardeners of Rockdale.

A scavenger hunt for a pink kimono; a 30,000-square-foot area of rides, games and activities for children; local bands; karate demonstrations; clogging groups; stilt walkers; the Ultimate Air Dog Show; the Southeast Reptile Show; and an act by Lew-E the Clown are some of the featured events at the festival. Bluegrass, country, folk, and rock musicians will also be taking the center stage.

International cultures and diversity will also be in the spotlight with performances of German folk music, Indonesian traditional dance, Italian cuisine, Latin folklore, and traditional Japanese dance and martial arts.

The Japanese culture has always been centrally embedded into the festival. When Maxell Corporation, an audio tape manufacturer from Japan, established an office in Conyers in 1981, its then-president Hideo Ogino donated to Conyers its first Yoshino cherry trees. The first festival was subsequently organized to nurture that friendship and exchange of Japanese culture.

“It’s an amazing undertaking – one that the city has always been very proud of,” Miller said.

“We try and keep it fresh, which is hard after 36 years, but we do. I look forward to keeping it fresh and keeping people interested.”

A variety of events and activities are hosted in the weeks prior to and following the event. The season was kicked off through a Miss Conyers Cherry Blossom Scholarship Pageant on Feb. 25. The second annual Student Photography Contest hosted by Conyers-Rockdale Council for the Arts and Atlanta Celebrates Photography was held at the Corner Market this past Saturday. Students displayed photographs with the motif - “Acts of Kindness through Photography.”

The Kiwanis Club’s Annual Cherry Blossom Golf Tournament is scheduled for March 31 at Cherokee Run Golf Club. The Kimberley Chance Atkins Foundation’s 2017 Walk with Angels breast cancer walk to raise funds for a mobile mammography unit for the community is also planned with the date yet to be determined.

Rounding out the Cherry Blossom event season will be the Heartland Women’s Club hosting its annual Cherry Blossom Croquet Tournament on May 20.

Since its initiation, the festival has amassed massive success and popularity, having been named as a Top 20 event in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society. Recently it added another set of accolades through the Southeast Festivals and Events Association’s Kaleidoscope Awards, in Lexington, Ky., on Feb. 21.

The judges looked for originality, creativity, media impact, volunteer programs, and the overall impact to the community, and awarded the Cherry Blossom Festival bronze for Best TV Ad or PSA, gold for Best Marketing Campaign and silver for Best Festival in the Southeast.

To take a look at how those accolades were earned, the festival can be visited between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m this Saturday and Sunday. Entrance to the festival is free but a $5 parking fee will be assessed for one-day parking or $8 for both days. Pets are not allowed at the event.