Fast Facts

Blossomtime Festival of Southwestern Michigan
1906-2006

Contact: Jamie Brock
Blossomtime’s 100th Celebration co-chair
269-926-7397

The first event was held in 1906 when the Reverend W.J. Cady urged his parishioners to drive thru the orchards and view the blossoms. Rev. Cady termed the blossoms “symbols of life renewed” and his sermon is credited with the birth of Blossom Sunday.

There have been several locations for the Blessing of the Blossoms. Some of the locations include:

Walter Miller Farm on Hillandale Road
Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm on Eureka Road
Nye’s Apple Barn on Niles Road
St. Joseph High School on Stadium Drive
John E.N. Howard Band Shell
Riverview Park on Niles Road
Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center (formerly Walter Miller Farm)

In 1924 the first Miss Blossomtime Catherine Burrell was chosen by a newspaper ballot. In a conversation with Phyllis Dowsett in the late 1970’s, she was quoted as saying, “My dear, it was no big deal to be the first Miss Blossomtime.” It may not have been a big deal for her, but it was to the thousands of young women who have aspired to that goal since her reign.

Miss Blossomtime 2006 will be the 74th queen selected.

Between 24 and 35 local contests were held each year

Blossomtime Contestant Statistics
Est. # of Communities	Est. # of Contestants	Est. Yearly Contestants	x # of years	Total Est. Contestants
24	15	360	74	26,640
24	20	480	74	35,520
28	20	560	74	41,440

The Miss Blossomtime Pageants have been held at:

The Liberty Theatre
Benton Harbor High School Gymnasium
Lakeshore High School Auditorium
Lake Michigan College Mendel Center

Grand Floral Parade
In 1923 Fred L Granger, a local fruit processor and the Reverend Joshua O. Randall conceived the idea of a floral parade to promote local commerce. The first parade was held on a Wednesday in 1923. The second parade, on May 14, 1924 had 30 floats, two marching bands and hundreds of private automobiles, which toured the blossom trails of southwestern Michigan. The Grand Floral Parade is traditionally held on the first Saturday in May. There are between 110 and 125 units in the parade and there has been only one year in the history of the parade that it has to be postponed due to rain. Weather is a very important factor when it comes to the number of spectators that view the parade. A 70 degree day can encourage as many as 250,000 people to crowd the streets of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. Despite rain, snow and high winds, the parade goes on and the devoted fans show up and dress appropriately.

Initial publicity consisted of driving a decorated truck around Chicago’s Loop inviting Chicagoans to come to Benton Harbor and St. Joseph.

The Indianapolis Motorcycle Drill Team have been the first entry in the parade for 43 years.

Some of the Governors of Michigan who have served as Grand Marshall of the parade include:

G. Mennen Williams
George Romney
William Milliken
James Blanchard
John Engler

Some of the Celebrities who have been in the parade include:

Michael Landon-Little Joe
Ernie Banks-Chicago Cubs
Ed O’Neil-Detroit Lions
Bob Golic-New England Patriots
Gary Frank-Family
Judy Norton Taylor-Walton’s
Orion Samuelson-WGN-TV
Greg Landry-Detroit Lions QB
Susan Richardson-Eight is Enough
Dick Van Patten-Eight is Enough
Bob Avellini-Chicago Bears QB
Al Kaline-Detroit Tigers
Kevin Dobson-Kojack
Will Geer-Walton’s
Bob Lanier-Detroit Pistons
Dave Madden-The Partridge Family
Sam Melville-The Rookies
Judy Strangis-Room 222
Bart Starr-Green Bay Packers, QB
Frazier Thomas-Garfield Goose
Chet Walker-Philadelphia 76ers
Bill Bixby-My Favorite Martian
Jay L Schadler-ABC News
Gary Fencik-Chicago Bears
Mickey Spillane
Eric Hipple-Detroit Lions QB
Deborah Norville- MSNBC
Taylor Miller-All My Children
Richard Anderson-Six Million Dollar Man
Joshua Bryant-St. Joe Native-Columbo
Jack O’Callahan-USA Olympic Hockey Team
Brenna Margol USA Lunge Team
Sammy L Davis , United States Army, Congressional Medal of Honor