News

The Southeast Festivals and Events Association’s annual conference was held February 15^th through the 17^th in Macon, Georgia at the Marriott Macon City Center.  The three day conference included a welcome by Macon Mayor Robert Reichert as well as courses offered by Macon CVB President Janice Marshall, Macon CVB Marketing Director Ruth Sykes, and Cherry Blossom Festival Marketing Director Stacy Campbell. 

The highlight of the annual conference is the Kaleidoscope Awards Dinner which was held on Tuesday, February 16^th.   The Cherry Blossom Festival took home 15 total awards in categories including event programming, marketing, and merchandising.  Submissions were based on the 2009 Cherry Blossom Festival and include people and companies from around Central Georgia who supported the festival and assisted in the success of the event. 

The full list of awards includes:

Gold for Best Vendor or Supplier – Dairyland Ice Cream for the FREE Cherries and Cream Ice Cream

Gold for Best Miscellaneous Print Materials – Macon Telegraph for the Pink Newspaper

Gold for Best Pin or Button – Mark Ballard’s 2009 Commemorative Pin

Gold for Best Other Merchandise – Mark Ballard’s 2009 Christmas Ornament

Silver for Best Festival or Event – Cherry Blossom Festival

Silver for Best Marketing Campaign – Cherry Blossom Festival Marketing Campaign

Silver for Best Sponsor – Budweiser courtesy of Bibb Distributing

Silver for Best Event within an Event – Pink Pancake Breakfast courtesy of the Macon-Bibb County Fire Dept

Silver for Volunteer of the Year – Mark Ballard volunteer for the Cherry Blossom Festival

Silver for Best Green Gig –The Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission

Silver for Best Volunteer Program – Cherry Blossom Festival Volunteer Program

Bronze for Best Print Ad – Macon Food and Culture Cherry Blossom Festival Section

Bronze for Best Event Banner – Cherry Blossom Festival Street Banners

Bronze for Best Solicitation Package – Cherry Blossom Festival sponsor and media solicitation package

Bronze for Best New Event – Cherry Blossom Festival Tunes and Balloons presented by Cox Communications and the Medical Center of Central Georgia

George McCanless, President and Publisher of the Macon Telegraph says of their Gold award for Best Miscellaneous Print Materials for the Pink Newspaper, “We were excited we were to do the paper in pink, but a little concerned not knowing how our readers would react.  But by far the majority of people responded that they loved it, and appreciated our effort to help support the CBF.” 

The Cherry Blossom Festival is pleased to be able to highlight companies such as the Telegraph who continuously support the organization each year.  “We are thrilled the Cherry Blossom Festival won these awards, but what is more gratifying is sharing them with the sponsors, volunteers, board members, and media that made them possible” said Karen Jordan Lambert, President and CEO of Macon’s Cherry Blossom Festival.  Mark your calendars for the 2010 festival scheduled for March 19^th through 28^th!