Every Spring in my hometown (the apple capital of the world), they celebrate the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival. When I was a kid, it was the Firemans Parade on Friday (bands and trucks), the Grand Feature Parade on Saturday (bands and floats), and the 'Sunday in the Park' crafts fair on Sunday, and featured big name celebrities as the Grand Marshall and guests. Over the years, the festival has expanded to more events and days, and the big name celebrities have become not-so-big name ones. Still, theres something comforting about a festival that stays essentially the same for 80 years. Apple Blossom was always my revenue generator for the year. I would sell festival programs door to door in the weeks before the festival, and during the parades, I would sell parade seats on the sidewalk in front of my Dad's office and even sodas along the parade route. Those funds paid for things like my first bike and my first stereo. I haven't been home for the festival for a long time (I usually forget about it until its happening). I had hoped to make it home this year, but recent events took precedence. Luckily for me, Dad posted pictures - and even videos - on his blog. (My favorite is the video of the view from their bedroom!) These are some I stole from his site (good thing for my nephew Ryan that I wasn't home to give him a haircut!), but you can see them all on Dad's blog here:

Dad's blog: Apple Blossom posts