MACON, Ga. — It's practically standing room only as folks wait to get into Carolyn Crayton park every day at noon.
A big part of the draw? Food.
Three guys have quite the stories to tell. Donald Wadell could never forget Macon. He walked into a roasted corn food booth 26 years ago and got a job during Cherry Blossom.
“This is the best year of corn we've ever had,” he said, proudly holding up an ear.
Now, he tours the country year after year in the big yellow booth. “To me this is a special spot I look forward to this one more than any of them," he said.
Nick Strates takes the cake if you're talking about Cherry Blossom veterans. “I think it was 90 or 91, I used to come here with my father when I was a kid,” he reminisced.
He began as a teenager - slinging burgers and fries in what was then Central City Park.
“I've seen a lot of changes this park is incredible they've done a great job with it, back then I would not believe this is the same place, he explained.
Brian Gillette never figured back in 1991 that he would serve up pickles on a pie. “There was a long building and we'd camp behind it,” he recalled.
Along with the eye candy of the trees puffing out in white and pink, he says Macon is always a reunion of sorts on the food circuit.
“We see a lot of vendors come and go but there are always a few vendors that stand the test of time,” he reasoned. “This festival is special because it's ten days and most of them are two to three days and you're just a number. They don't even know your name even from one year to the next," he said.
Decades ago, the Cherry Blossom sported bands, hot air balloons, and a street party.
Today some things are different, but the reputation of the Cherry Blossom to out-of-towners is always like the cherry on top.