One of the joys of spring is seeing the grass turning green, flowers popping through the soil, and the West Pittston cherry blossom trees fully bloom all along the Susquehanna River.
With that said, it isn’t spring until the West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival takes place. Some years the festival is lucky to have the trees bloom at the same time of the event and some years, the timing may be a bit off, but you can’t predict what Mother Nature will do.
I’ve been attending the festival ever since I could remember and of course, later in life, cover it for the paper. I’ve seen the highs and the lows when the festival wasn’t even held due to the pandemic.
The first Cherry Blossom Festival took place in 1971 when the West Pittston Women’s Club, the Senior Women’s Club, and Borough Council joined forces to present the inaugural event.
It was such a great event in its heyday, and everyone in the borough banded together and supported it for decades. They still do, but over time, the population of West Pittston has dipped — and so had attendance in recent years.
This year is a pivotal year for the festival. There will not be a food tent this year, and food trucks are replacing it. It will be different, but the committee had to scramble to go to Plan B.
After soliciting many caterers and food services in the industry, it looked like Plan B is it for this year. The food tent may make a re-appearance, but for this year, it’s food trucks.
After this year’s festival, committee people will gather to reassess the pluses and minuses and readjust for 2025.
The festival is still a great celebration of West Pittston, and I would love to see more residents and those from the surrounding communities support it.
There has been a renewed interest by some of the residents, and the festival may move in a different direction — one that may add some appeal to get more people from the Greater Pittston area to stop by.
The festival is looking for parade participants, Little Miss Cherry Blossom contestants, event sponsors, and of course, volunteers — the backbone of any event.
I believe the 2025 Cherry Blossom Fest will see new and improved events and attractions.
I attended the last festival committee meeting, and a lot of great ideas have been passed around and discussed. Although many of those ideas may be late in the game to put into play for this year, next year would be a better choice.
Some of the ideas tossed around are more attractions for the little ones like a petting zoo, perhaps a touch-a-truck event, and even games for the other folks.
Changing the step-off time for the parade on Saturday, was also tossed around. This idea makes sense and may be implemented as early as this year.
It’s also possible a Cherry Blossom Festival 5K race could happen on the second day of the event that would finish at the festival site.
From what I gathered, the food trucks will be placed on the west side or house side of Susquehanna Avenue, leaving the street emptyand eliminating all the parked cars from vendors along the street as in the past.
In the future, you may see all types of contests such as pie eating or even cornhole. Again, just ideas thrown out there.
It’s possible to see Cheery Blossom Fest items for sale such as Christmas ornaments, magnets and even a cookbook or how about T-shirts?
It would be great if area businesses would step up and provide sponsorships for the entertainment, the parade, the crafts tent and even the food trucks.
They say it takes a village to put on an event and that is what will be needed to help give the Cherry Blossom Fest a shot of adrenaline. They need volunteers and ideas and even more volunteers to implement those ideas.
If you are your company would like to be a sponsor, you can get in touch with anyone from the festival committee such as Toni Valenti, Gina Malsky, Lori DeAngelo or Amy Musinski, for example.
There is another possibility, and it concerns the site. They may have to move it when the bridge construction begins. I’m not sure when that will take place, but when it does, the committee will have to find a site. One possibility would be the former armory on Susquehanna Avenue.
Actually, for me, the site would be perfect with plenty of land and of course, the armory itself could make the event a rain/shine event, holding many of the activities inside, including the entertainment.
I believe the borough holds the deed to the property, and there are a few ideas on what to do with that land, but in the meantime, I’d like the festival away from the corner of Luzerne and Susquehanna avenues.
One thing that is successful is the crafts tent where locals sell their wares. There are a lot of vendors, and the quality of work is excellent. There will always be a crafts tent.
You can visit the West Pittston Cherry Blossom Facebook page for the latest information.
Quote of the Week
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Thought of the Week
“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” – Winston Churchill
Bumper Sticker
“Nothing changes if nothing changes.” – Courtney C. Stevens
