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Date: 6/15/2022
WILBRAHAM – After two years, a traditional sign of summer in Wilbraham, the Peach Blossom Festival, will return to the campus of Wilbraham-Monson Academy on June 18, from 12 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
“I think people are ready to be outside and enjoy themselves,” said Jennifer Powell, a member of the Wilbraham Peach Blossom Festival Committee, the group that organizes the festival.
New This Year
The highlight of the festival will be a portion of the AIDS Memorial Quilt that will be on display in Rich Hall as part of the “Paradise of Patchwork: Quilting in Art, Fashion, Decor and Activism” quilt show. The quilt is on loan from the Library of Congress.
The quilt show will include hors d’oeuvres from The Federal Restaurant, beer and wine, a guest speaker and a raffle. Tickets cost $15 and the proceeds will go to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. They can be purchased at https://peachblossomfestival.org.
Visitors are invited to write messages on quilt squares to be assembled and create a quilt from the people of Wilbraham.
Another new feature of the festival is a cookbook of local recipes that the Wilbraham Peach Blossom Festival Committee created by crowd sourcing recipes from the community. All the profits from the sale of the cookbooks will go to local charities.
Vendors
Craft vendors have traditionally been a part of the Peach Blossom Festival, but this year has seen an influx of over 80 vendors interested in participating in the event. The craft fair portion of festival will run from the start of festivities until 5:30 p.m.
“People are anxious to get back out there,” after missing two craft seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic, Powell said.
Affordable Entertainment
Powell said one of the core parts of the committee’s mission is providing affordable entertainment. The festival is not a fundraiser for the committee, and the prices are as low as feasible. “You’re not going to find any $6 hot dogs,” Powell said.
Parking for the event, available on Mountain Road behind Smith Hall, is $5. At the Kids Carnival, which runs from noon until 5 p.m., tokens are $1.
Powell said the committee worked hard to come up with entertainment that was family-friendly and kept minimum COVID-19 safety precautions in mind. Except for the quilt show, the entertainment is outdoors. The event begins with a flag-raising ceremony and a salute to the Armed Services at 12 p.m. There is a free “Spouse Carrying Race” at 3:15 p.m. Powell said the activity is exactly what it sounds like, and the fastest couple will win a pool.
Entertainment for the “middle teens” age group is always difficult to plan, Powell said. This year there is a free Frying Pan Toss competition for those 15 years of age and older that will begin at 1:15 p.m. “They can sit around and watch people throw frying pans,” she said, adding that the committee had considered pie throwing, but could not figure out how to have it be safe in the age of COVID-19.
Town Involvement
Several community groups and town departments will be at the festival, including the Wilbraham Women’s Club, Minnechaug Music Association, Fishing Friends, and the Wilbraham Police Department. Rice’s Fruit Farm will have a food truck on site. According to Powell, the truck’s proceeds are being donated to Mental Health Associates of Springfield.
For the first time, the Wilbraham Peach Blossom Festival received a grant from Wilbraham Cultural Council. The funding allowed the committee to hire a band of 20-30 musicians to play big band music.
Powell said the Wilbraham Police Department will be on hand doing community outreach, so residents can, “get to talk to the police one-on-one.”
Sponsors and Volunteers
Despite the involvement of town departments and groups, the Peach Blossom Festival is organized by private volunteers. “We’re just eight ladies and a husband. We call ourselves the Peaches,” Powell said. Because the committee is small, she said, sponsors and volunteers are even more important.
“Our banks really came through this year,” Powell said of Luso Federal Credit Union, Country Bank and Monson Savings Bank. “Without them, there wouldn’t be a festival this year.”
Other sponsors include Sampson Family Chapels, Margolis Orthodontics, Vanguard Dental, Giombetti Associates, Noonan Energy, Secure Energy Solutions and Route 20 Bar and Grille.
Powell also thanked WMA for hosting the event. “WMA lets us use their property for free. They really have it in their head that this is a community event.”
She went on, “We hope [the festival] will grow with grow with more volunteers,” Powell said, adding that they need people to volunteer their time and give back to the town. That is the meaning behind the organization’s motto, “practice what you peach.”