Pear Blossom Festival brings festive Rogue Valley enjoyable in April

As the flora of the Rogue Valley blooms with the spring season, organizers are gearing up for the 73rd annual Pear Blossom Festival in Medford.

The yearly competition is among the area’s most attended occasions and can embody near a dozen totally different actions and packages all through the month of April.

“The Pear Blossom Festival is Medford’s oldest tradition and it started as just a small parade with a junior (pageant) king and queen,” mentioned Darcey Mann-Self, president of the Pear Blossom Festival Association for the previous 40 years. “I think it’s important to people; it makes them proud of their community and brings a togetherness and a bond.”

The competition’s culminating occasion, the Pear Blossom Parade, is about to have greater than 110 entries and floats because it streams by downtown Medford.

“Looking at the weather, its supposed to be fairly mild and we expect anywhere from 20,000 to 25,000 (attendees), which is our usual crowd,” Mann-Self mentioned.

Some of the parade entries folks can anticipate are the Children’s Festival’s Rosabelle dragon float, marching bands from excessive colleges and center colleges of the Rogue Valley, native dance teams and rather more.

The Pear Blossom Festival may have a number of occasions from April 10-25.

“We try to have something for everyone in the community,” Mann-Self mentioned.

The checklist of occasions embody: Smudge Pot Stroll (5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, April 10); Pear-A-Fare (3 to six p.m. on Friday, April 10 and 10 a.m. to six p.m. on Saturday, April 11); avenue truthful (midday to 10 p.m. on Friday, April 10 and seven a.m. to six p.m. on Saturday, April 11, in downtown Medford); Cornhole Tournament at Rogue X (begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 11); Pear Blossom Parade (11 a.m. on Saturday, April 11); Pear Blossom Run (7 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 11); golf event at Stone Ridge and Centennial golf golf equipment (Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19) and the Tour De Pear bike trip (begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 25).

The Pear Blossom Festival’s junior and senior royalty pageant competitions occurred on March 21.

For the complete particulars, together with occasion areas, registration data and extra, go to pearblossomparade.org.

The theme for the 2026 competition is “Pear-ing Homes With Humanity,” with Habitat for Humanity Rogue Valley being the grand marshal.

“Over the last several years, the Pear Blossom Festival highlights an organization or business in the community that we feel sometimes doesn’t get the recognition that they deserve … Habitat is a big one in the community and we want more people to know about it and the work they do,” Mann-Self mentioned.

The Pear Blossom Festival is nearing three-fourths of a century because the Rogue Valley’s greatest celebration, and the Pear Blossom Run will have fun its fiftieth yr in 2026.

The competition started in 1954 after representatives of a number of Medford civil teams such because the Fruit Growers League and the American Legion determined to dedicate an occasion to the spring blossom season.

Starting with 30 floats that first yr, the parade grew to 100 entries in 1956 and has continued to construct its fame over time.

Multiple notable folks have served as parade marshal, together with presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in 1960, Leonard Nimoy, greatest recognized for taking part in Spock within the unique “Star Trek” sequence, in 1967, long-distance runner Frank Shorter in 1977, and Oregon Gov. Robert D. Holmes in 1957.

“I think it’s awesome that people think about the tradition and care about the community and being apart of things to support the festival,” Mann-Self mentioned.

Over the years, the competition has added packages such because the Pear-A-Fare round 20 years in the past and the Smudge Pot Stroll a pair years after that.

“We haven’t added any new events (recently); we’re at capacity for what the volunteers can do,” Mann-Self mentioned. “We’re just trying to make what we’re doing bigger and better every year.”

Speaking of volunteers, the competition’s workers are all the time on the lookout for folks to pitch in and assist run the occasions.

For these taken with volunteering, name 541-840-7327.

The Pear Blossom Festival not solely serves as a cultural illustration of Medford and the Rogue Valley, but additionally as a method to fundraise and help the youth within the area.

The competition’s junior and senior royalty scholarship competitors, which Mann-Self co-founded with Val James and the late Patti Bills, has given out greater than $200,000 in scholarships to greater than 250 younger ladies within the Rogue Valley, together with different fundraisers in the course of the competition.

“I have a great board (of directors) and we have a good time together, everybody’s dedicated to putting it on. When it’s the weekend of the festival, just seeing the whole community come together and everyone downtown is amazing,” Mann-Self mentioned.

Reach reporter James Sloan at [email protected].