Rosalie Messina, the 2016 West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival Grand Marshall, addressed the large crowd during opening ceremonies of the festival in 2016.
Tony Callaio file photo | For Sunday Dispatch
UNICO took part in a past West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. The 2021 parade steps off at noon on Saturday, Sept. 11.
Tony Callaio file photo | For Sunday Dispatch
The West Pittston Cherry Blossom entertainment chair Gina Malsky is shown crowning the 2019 Little Miss Cherry Blossom, eight-year-old Abigail Hribal.
Tony Callaio file photo | For Sunday Dispatch
WEST PITTSTON — In an unusual circumstance brought on by the pandemic, the annual West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival was rescheduled to Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 11 and 12.
Celebrating 50 years of honoring the Cherry Blossom trees that line the Susquehanna River bank, the West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival was forced to cancel the 2020 occasion when COVID shut down all businesses and activities.
The Cherry Blossom committee rescheduled the event to September, hoping it would be medically cleared to hold the festival.
Longtime Cherry Blossom Festival committeewoman, Toni Valenti, is pleased the event will be held, in particularly because it is the festival’s 50th anniversary.
Valenti said there would be some changes this year due to the pandemic. The food tent will not be set up; instead, food trucks will be available.
Many of the children’s games are being held back this year for safety purposes.
The Little Miss Cherry Blossom contest and entertainment over the two days will continue as unusual.
“When Juanita and Juel Miller had it in the beginning, the festival was mainly art and not too many crafts,” Valenti said. “Other than that and the addition of crafts, the festival has stayed about the same, which is a good thing. What works, you keep.”
According to Lori DeAngelo of the Cherry Blossom committee, the Cherry Blossom Parade will take place on Saturday, Sept. 11, beginning with the line-up at 11 a.m. across from the former Cenera Auto Parts.
The parade steps off at noon, traveling east on Exeter Avenue, and turning right onto Wyoming Avenue before turning left onto Philadelphia Avenue to Susquehanna Avenue.
The Little Miss Cherry Blossom contest will be held as usual and applications are being accepted by Gina Malsky, 115 Spring St., West Pittston, PA 18643. Contestants are asked to bring their own music, cued up and ready to play when asked to perform. Performances are limited to three-minutes. This is a judged contest.
At press time, applicants are still being accepted, taking the first 15 girls from five-years-old to eight-years-old from Greater Pittston who apply. For further questions, email Malsky at lmalsky@aol.com or call 570-332-7817.
Each year, the Cherry Blossom Festival committee honors a grand marshal, and this year, they have chosen all West Pittston frontline workers.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the festival, a reception will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 8, at Fox Hill Country Club from 6 to 8 p.m. The cost is $35, which includes hors d’oeuvres and live entertainment, with the first cocktail being complimentary.
The deadline is today, Sept. 3, for the reception. Call or inquire your R.S.V.P. to Toni Valenti (phone: 570-430-4006 or email at: tvalenti2@comcast.net) or Lori DeAngelo (loridee220@comcast.net) to check for availability.
The Wyoming Area Kiwanis Club (WAKC) will be conducting their annual Duck Derby release on Sunday, Sept. 12, at 3 p.m., which according to Valenti, is not affiliated with the Cherry Blossom Festival, but the WAKC requested to do their event at the same time.
