Celebrate spring at Blossomtime Festival
By Sandie Parrott
Special to 21st Century Newspapers
 

The Grande Floral Parade is the premier event that draws 200,000-plus spectators and travels 2 1/2 miles.

Michigan's oldest and largest multi-community festival is celebrating its 98th anniversary this year. Twenty-four communities in southwest lower Michigan come together to celebrate the spring blossoms of their heritage through spectacular parades, beauty pageants, fashion shows and carnivals.

Most people think of blossoms as roses and cut flowers, but the blossoms celebrated here are the special fruit tree and berry varieties. In fact, they were responsible for the festival's debut. In 1906, the Rev. W. J. Cady suggested that his parishioners should drive (horse and buggy) among the orchards and view the fruit blossoms. Cady termed them the "symbols of life renewed," and his sermon is credited with the beginning of the festival.

Here are some of the many events taking place during the festival. Plan on a long weekend if you want to experience the festival and the pride of everyone living in this area.

A blessing

The official kickoff of the festival is the Blessing of the Blossoms on April 25. Several months of serious planning, rehearsals and beauty pageants have occurred prior to this date. According to Gretchen Gilmore, Blossomtime Festival executive director, "We are very proud of our beauty pageant, we would put it up against any held on TV."

Beauty pageant winners are selected based on modeling, their communication skills and how photogenic they are.

The blessing is a nondenominational ceremony of choirs, music and scripture reading. The 24 queens representing their communities bring bouquets containing the blossoms of the fruit trees and berries. Paul Florin, 82, a member of the board of directors of the festival since the 1960s, introduces each queen. Paul said he is involved with this event because, "It is like a birthday party for Blossomtime and the community." Care is taken to rotate the clergy and participants among the villages and towns, according to Florin, "To get all of the 24 communities involved."

Youth parade

The bud princess and prince are the grand marshals for the half-mile long youth parade. You won't want to miss this event. Children of elementary to junior high school ages and sometimes a few younger sprouts make up the parade of Scouts, 4-H groups, bands, floats, marching units, decorated bikes and wagons and pets in costume. Floats must be mounted on wagons that can be pulled by the participants, according to Gilmore. "The youth version was started because the Grand Floral Parade was too long for the children to walk," said Gilmore.

Grande Floral Parade

This is the premier event that draws 200,000 plus spectators and travels two and a half miles through St. Joseph across the bridge and into Benton Harbor. The parade was begun in 1924 and has grown to 125 units of floral and animated floats, bands, comic characters, antique cars, clowns and equestrian groups. Bob Braamse, 70, parade coordinator with parade involvement since 1958, says this is "a family parade, and Blossomtime is a family event."

A longtime favorite since 1963, according to Braamse, is the Indianapolis Police Department Motorcycle Drill Team. Alva Brewer, now deceased, brought the team to southwest Michigan after his involvement with President John F. Kennedy's inaugural parade in 1961. The team consists of trained traffic police in regulation dress uniforms on their Harley Davidson Road King motorcycles. A maneuver called Split the Rail gets the crowd on their feet. One officer standing on his moving bike's seat with arms outstretched travels between two rows of cycles under power.

Carnival

What is a festival without the smell of cotton candy, hot dogs and funnel cakes, or the blinking twirling lights and rider's screams, or groans from the losers at the balloon or water games? This one is on Silver Beach at a spot that used to be an amusement park. Take a stroll along the beach while the kids try out the Round Up or the Tilt-a-Whirl. Maybe walk out to the St Joseph lighthouse, which was featured in a series of U.S. Postal stamps in 1995 and is open to the public.

Other fun things to do

Go swimming at Silver Beach, a mile and a half of powdery sand, volleyball nets, playground equipment (on the sand), bathhouse, covered shelters and lifeguards in summer.

To see blossoms of a different sort, visit Fernwood Botanical Gardens and Nature Preserve in nearby Niles. In the spring the Emma Watson Lilac Garden is filled with 50 types of blooming lilacs. The hosta bowl has hundreds of daffodils blooming throughout April. The fern house is always a tropical pleasure and the trails that lead to the St. Joseph River are always fun to explore for wildflowers.

Rent an apple tree at Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm in Eau Claire. For $50 to $120 a year, you can have your very own tree. In the fall you come back to harvest your apples. The farm has an open house on Mother's Day, May 9. Herb Teichman says, "We feel friendly toward mothers on that day and we open up the farm so you can drive through with your mother and look at the blossoms. If you don't have a mother, we can find you one!"

If you go

Blossomtime events

Blessing of the Blossoms - 2 p.m. April 25 at the Southwest Michigan Resource and Extension Center of Michigan State University in Benton Harbor. Event is open to the public at no charge.

Youth Parade - 4:30 p.m. April 29 at at Fairplain Plaza, Benton Harbor. Event is open to the public at no charge.

Fashion Show - 7:30 p.m. April 30 at Lake Michigan College, Upton Hall. Admission is $10 and the public is welcome.

Grand Floral Parade - 1 p.m. May 1 at downtown St. Joseph across the bridge and into Benton Harbor. Save your spot along the way with a blanket or chair, which cannot be placed any sooner than 6 the morning of the parade. Some tickets are sold for prime seats. Call (269) 926-7397 for more information.

Carnival - Daily from April 29 to May 2 on Silver Beach. Call (269) 926-7397 for more information.

For more information

Southwest Michigan events, accommodations (including dog-friendly places), dining and entertainment - www.swmichigan.org or call (269) 925-6301

General information - Write to Blossomtime Festival, 151 E. Napier Ave. Benton Harbor, Michigan 49022, call (269) 926-7397 or e-mail info@blossomtime.org. Web site is under repair but should be up soon at www.blossomtimefestival.org

City of St. Joseph - www.sjcity.com/community/links.phtml or call (269) 982-0032. St. Joseph lighthouse and area information: www.sjtoday.org/sj_htm/lighthouse

Harbor Country Information - www.harborcountry.com/activities/tourism.html or call (269) 469-5409 for a booklet

Fernwood Botanical garden and nature Preserve - www.fernwoodbotanical.org or call (269) 695-6491

Michigan wineries - www.michiganwines.com. Fill out brochure request or call (800) 292-3939.

Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm - for information on the 250 varieties of mostly heritage apples and other fruits, events and location, visit www.treemendus-fruit.com or call (269) 782-7101.

(Sandie Parrott is a freelance writer and Master Gardener living and working in Clarkston with her husband and zany Cairn Terrier, Abbey. You can contact her at info@SandieParrott.com)