WEST PITTSTON — The ground was wet and the sky was dark, but it looked like the rain would hold off for the 46th annual Cherry Blossom Festival.
Unfortunately, it didn’t.
Despite the wet conditions, hundreds of people gathered for the annual event to enjoy food, play games, listen to music and see the crowning of Mia Bovani, 6, of West Pittston, as the new Little Miss Cherry Blossom.
Mayor Tom Blaskiewicz was thrilled with the turnout and said it spoke volumes as to how dedicated residents are to the borough.
“It’s fantastic to see the residents of this community come out and support this organization,” he said. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; this town has a lot of spirit and a lot of enthusiasm. It’s evident throughout all of our wonderful organizations that we have in town.”
The event kicked off at noon with the annual parade that began on Exeter Avenue before making its way onto Wyoming Avenue, proceeding to Philadelphia Avenue and concluding at the festival grounds on Susquehanna Avenue.
Two residents involved in the parade were none other than Tony and Irene D’Angelo, the oldest married couple in the borough.
The Cherry Blossom Festival Committee chose to recognize the couple, who have been married for 67 years and have been West Pittston residents since 1949, by naming them Outstanding West Pittston Citizens.
“It’s a great honor,” said Tony, 92.
The couple said it was their first time riding in the parade and they enjoyed every minute of. Irene, 91, specifically enjoyed waving to the people.
“It was very nice,” she said. “Everybody was so responsive and waved back. They seemed thrilled to see us.”
As the festival was underway, the two said they had a lot to look forward, specifically seeing old friends.
“I love seeing all of my friends,” said Tony.”It’s like a family reunion.”
Cherry Blossom Committee member Gina Malsky, who also coordinates the Little Miss Cherry Blossom event, kicked things off my introducing committee chairperson, Pat Messina.
Messina did his best to keep the audience smiling despite the wet conditions, injecting humor in his speech.
“It’s not a very good day,” he said afterwards. “Everybody is standing out there with umbrellas and we have to get their spirits up. The only way to do that is to get out, do something and be involved. Don’t go home because it’s raining; stick around because we have all of these programs going on.”
After his remarks, he turned the microphone over to Bob Messina, one of the parade’s grand marshals, who spoke to the audience about volunteering.
“I find that we need more volunteers,” Bob Messina said. “The biggest thing is that you have the same five or 10 people doing the volunteer work. Because I belong to so many organizations, I often see the same people doing the hard work. So, what I’m asking you all is to please volunteer whether it’s the church, school, Scouts, Cherry Blossom or anything. It’s the greatest feeling in the world, helping people.”
Ralph Salerno, the other grand marshal, gave remarks, as well, and spoke about how his family, particularly his parents, encouraged him to volunteer.
“They instilled in me a long time ago about volunteering in your community to help make it a better place,” Salerno said. “You get more out of it than you put into it, and it’s so true. I’ve built friendships that have lasted my lifetime with people I’m very close with and proud to call my friends.”
After the opening remarks, Salerno joined his fellow Barbershop Quartet singers in entertaining the crowd as everybody waited in line to enjoy food and other events.
With more of the festival to come, Pat Messina said he was thrilled with the turnout, despite the rain and knows it will be a good festival.
As for what he’s looking forward to most, he didn’t shy away from the truth.
“I’m looking forward to 5:00 on Sunday,” he said with a laugh. “We’ve been here since Wednesday setting up, so it’s been a long week. We can’t wait for 5:00 so we can say ‘That’s it! Rip it down!’”
