Cherry Blossom Festival — Local services in Macon

I confess I am not exactly reviewing the festival but to add to an issue that confuses many. Do not go if you're looking for cherry blossoms!! There are better places in the US for this (A glance through Google maps suggests a park near Atlanta has a somewhat better display if you're looking for something within a few hours).

We went on a whim to Macon as our cherry blossom viewing was dark and rainy on most days in Japan last year and Macon's weather was looking nice, and not too terribly far from where we live. From how few photos showed nice blooms in Macon, I knew this wouldn't be great. There were plenty of reviews sharing disappointment (mainly from those who went to the festival but didn't seem to look around). We took our leftover still-edible sakura souvenirs on the road trip. We'd never seen much of Macon. We saw the festival's site had a cherry blossom trail map and decided to check it out.

As for the festival, we knew we wouldn't do any of it. From the road, the carnival looks right for a small town and probably fun for some local families to do once or twice. There was also a market elsewhere that looked okay near a few blossoms.

The so-called cherry blossom trail was kind of awkward to drive while switching between the festival site's map and our GPS map. It was mostly pretty bleak. The best area was a nice neighborhood (I recall Oxford St.). It was very pretty for a few minutes. Those places did well with their trees. Many were fluffy, white.

We looked for parks with blossoms. In the 5 mile radius we looked at online, Macon seems lacking in not only flower-filled parks, but nice parks in general. We went to the big cemetery where I had spotted a few trees and just enjoyed our walk there. It was very interesting!

Most cherry trees in town were a little spindly. Some of this could be that they weren't at their best yet. If you look around, you're likely see one or two near an intersection.

Macon really ought to not boast of its being the "cherry blossom capital of the world." I think this came from the idea that it could become one based on how many trees had been planted or received there over time--not anything current. It's definitely a misleading and silly boast. I'm sure it's probably embarrassing for some locals. It's probably good for local businesses, though, and that's the point of these things (my city has an Asian festival but relatively few Asians. You're likely to experience Zumba with American music. You can get a plate of Indian food, though.). The name of the festival has been around a long time and is probably not changing. Perhaps "spring festival" would be more appropriate, though.

tl;dr Don't go a long distance to Macon for the cherry...

THIS IS A CARNIVAL!! If you are coming from longer than an hour away, be warned….This is not like the Washington DC CBF. This is a fair/carnival!!! This fair has only a few/handful of CB trees blooming. Do not come for the CB trees. Read other reviews about this.

If you are coming for the Carnival… BE WARNED, there is no re-entry!! If you leave, you have to pay to get back in. So, for example, you get here while it’s still day time. Then night comes and it gets cold/windy, so you want to go to your car for your jacket. They will charge you $10 (the re-entry fee) to go to your car, get your jacket, and come back in.

No outside food or drink and everything was VERY expensive!! If there was one, not sure, but I could NOT even find a free water/drinking fountain. Be ready to pay some serious money for food and drink!!

If you are coming for the carnival rides….GET HERE BEFORE 4PM AND PURCHASE THE “Unlimited Rides” pass. It was $25 (weekend rate) and absolutely well worth the money. If you plan on riding more than a handful of rides per person, you better get it.

My advice, MAKE SURE YOU READ THR PARK POLICIES SECTION!! Actually, let me drop it in here for everyone (2022):

All guests are allowed to carry a clear bag. Clear bags do not include tinted plastic, printed pattern plastic, or mesh bags.

Children 15 & under MUST be Chaperoned by an Adult 21+ *Subject to ID Check No Re-entry No Admission or Re-admission 30 Minutes Prior to Closing No Outside Food or Drink (pay attention to this one!!!) No Coolers No Pets No Drones No Offensive Clothing No Ski Masks Subject to...

I had made plans for a girl's weekend with my mother and daughter to visit the Cherry Blossom Festival, since it was so highly rated online. We traveled to Macon for the event. Sadly it was a disappointment. Upon arrival we were not allowed to bring our purse or water bottles in. Also it was a $10 fee to enter, per person. I asked what we were paying to see, in short it was fair rides, and some shows. The shows were probably good, I didn't pay to enter, as I wasn't wanting to ride rides and it was a little cool to sit outside and watch a show. I think we were hoping that there would be vendors with homemade goods or local companies with tents, a "festival feel" that we could walk around. We also missed the cherry blossoms, since they bloomed early in the year. That of course is not anyone's fault, just nature doing it's thing. Also the person taking money to enter wasn't herself sure of the festival events or the location of the events. She wasn't from Macon, but rather Atlanta? I did have the app. downloaded, but it was also lacking information. Especially location information. Addresses would have been helpful. The place you would pay to enter had print outs of the show schedule, basically the same information as the app. Our girls weekend was still nice, because I was with people I love. We did enjoy some local hiking and antiquing in Macon. But I'd say if you are thinking of coming to Macon to enjoy the Cherry Blossom Festival,...