Annual Washington State Apple Blossom Festival

"For the wise man, every day is a festival."
-Plutarch

We are currently in the throes of winter in central Washington State but come Springtime Wenatchee will be seriously a-buzz. 

It will be literally a-buzz with all the worker bees buzzing around pollenizing the apple blossoms so we have lots of beautiful apples to harvest in the Fall. Every Spring is so beautiful during the bloom period. Besides the apple blossoms, the dogwoods are always a fabulous reminder that Spring is, indeed, here!

Wenatchee has long been known as the Apple Capital of the World. These days, though, trees are being cut down in order to "plant" houses. Apple farmers have so much worldwide competition it is getting more and more difficult to make a profit, so they are selling their land for development. 

Figuratively speaking, the town is a-buzz every year beginning in late April when the 10-day Washington State Apple Blossom Festival festivities start. A royalty Queen and two princesses preside over many events and activities during the 10-day party.  The royalty is selected from a group of students from both Wenatchee and Eastmont (East Wenatchee) High Schools.  The top 10 have already been selected for this year, with the final selection night scheduled for Saturday, February 10th.

This year Apple Blossom will officially be April 26 - May 6.  There are 10 jam-packed days of music and all kinds of events and activities all over town. 

The Festival will climax the first Saturday in May with the Grand Parade. The Grand Parade is a big deal and always the first Saturday of May. The Apple Blossom festivities officially start 10 days earlier, though (on a Thursday). We have a "Kids Parade" the first Saturday.

Another favorite event during The Festival is the "Classy Chassis" Parade held the  Friday night before the Grand Parade.   During the Classy Chassis Parade you can see hundreds of old classic cars driving down Grant Road and Valley Mall Parkway in East Wenatchee. My husband owned two classic cars... a 1972 Buick Riviera and a 1972 Buick Centurion convertible ( originally owned by ex-governor Albert Rossellini. There were years when we entered both cars in the parade and others we just entered one. We entered this parade many years when my husband was alive.  Now, I still enjoy but only as a spectator.

The Washington State Apple Blossom Festival is the biggest event of the year in Wenatchee and brings in thousands of people from all over the region.