About This Festival
Previous Location
Noyes Boulevard and Frederick Avenue|Frederick Ave & N Noyes Blvd, Saint Joseph, MO | Map
Everfest's Take
From the Organizer
The Apple Blossom Parade is the 3rd oldest apple blossom festival in the United States. It is a nonprofit volunteer operation led by a small group of dedicated local residents who support the parade traditions and believe in their community. A key element of every year's festivities is the Apple Blossom Pageant, which includes three divisions: queen, junior queen, and princess. Entries for each division are limited to 20 each year. The Apple Blossom royalty participate in local parades and attend various community gatherings. Dozens of accounts of the parades over the years are ample evidence that people of every generation seem to abide by the adage that everyone loves a parade. It is striking at how often superlatives have been used in news accounts to describe the event. Each year is the best, the biggest, the most lavish, the longest. Spectators typically outnumber those of the previous year -- or at least they seem to. And the joy and pleasure that the Apple Blossom brings to this community is always unmatched. Yes, to some the Apple Blossom may be just a parade. To most of us, though, the Apple Blossom is the annual rite of spring, the coming together as a community, the celebration of life for the kid in all of us.
