The Cherry Blossom Festival on a college budget
March 24, 2017
Macon is home to the International Cherry Blossom Festival that takes place every spring. This year the festival runs from Mar. 24 to Apr. 2 and includes many different events that are happening all over Macon. Even if you’re on a tight college budget you can still join in on the festivities. These are just some of the events that are taking place over the course of the festival.
Laurel Huster
Amusement Park Rides
For the whole 10 days of the festival, there will be amusement park rides in Central City Park during park hours. Most days you can purchase tickets for the rides on the Cherry Blossom website, but they have some days where you can ride for free. On Mar. 26, Mar. 29 and Apr. 2 they will have free rides from 12 – 1 p.m. So, if you want to enjoy the rides, but are on a tight budget you can get an hour of fun in for free. For tickets and schedule information visit cherryblossom.com
Zuzu African Acrobats
For the first time this acrobatic group from Kenya will be performing as part of the festival. They will have several shows each day of the festival and they are all free. On weekdays they will perform at 2:00, 3:00, 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. On weekends their shows are at 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 and 7:00 p.m.
Woodruff House Tour
The Woodruff House is an incredible antebellum mansion that provides a great view of the city of Macon. Tours of this house are free and run everyday of the festival from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Don’t miss your opportunity to tour a wonderful building that holds Macon history.
The Butterfly Encounter
This butterfly exhibit will be in Central City Park and there will be over 200 butterflies there. Visitors even have the opportunity to feed the butterflies and learn about the butterfly lifecycle. This exhibit is free and open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays and 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekends. Their daily showtimes are at 1:00, 4:00 and 6:00 p.m.
Grand Finale
To close this year’s festival out, there will be free live music at Wesleyan College beginning at 4:00 p.m. on Apr. 2. Bring a lawn chair and a cooler to enjoy the music and the fireworks that will close out the last night of the festival.
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