Except for a rainy Sunday morning weather for the 70th annual Creston Valley Blossom Festival couldn’t have been much better.
“I think the organizers did a wonderful job, as always,” Mayor Ron Toyota said on Tuesday. “Congratulations to all the volunteers who worked so hard to make the event a success.”
The official opening of the festival, dedicated to the memory of former mayor Lela Irvine, took place on Friday evening at Prince Charles Theatre. Toyota, RDCK directors John Kettle and Larry Binks, and emcee Chuck Truscott declared the Blossom Festival to be open.
Long-time Creston resident Norm Husband was named citizen of the year in a presentation made by Creston Valley Rotary Club president George Green. Green cited Husband’s long history as a volunteer after he left the army following World War II. (See next week’s Advance for the full story.”
Friday night’s festivities included a concert by Canadian folk music icon Valdy, who kept the large crowd singing and laughing throughout.
“Better than ever,” was the way Couns. Judy Gadicke described the festival on Tuesday. “I was so impressed with the organization—as I wandered around events from Canyon Street over to Millennium Park everything seemed to be just humming. There were good crowds everywhere.”
On Saturday afternoon, a full Creston Room and the community complex enjoyed a first for Creston, a “70 and over Ladies Pageant” sponsored by the GoGo Grannies. Ten candidates, most of them sponsored by local service clubs, competed in several events before judges made their final decision. (See next week’s Advance for complete details.)
“It’s clear that when Lela Irvine worked so hard to save the Blossom Festival that she knew what she was doing—visitors love to come for the events and it gives us a chance to remember how fortunate we are to live in the Creston Valley,” Toyota said.