LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — A Cherry Blossom Festival without cherry blossoms - is better than no festival at all.
"It's nice, it's a surprise, and it's just nice to be here and be a part of this, you know?" said Cassidy Graham with Twenty Seven Art.
Organizers pushed the springtime-centered festival to late summer over COVID-19 concerns, but canceling wasn't an option for them. This is the 50th anniversary.
"We had to do what we thought was safe and what we thought the community would enjoy. This is our, as I'm calling it, 'half a cherry blossom,'" said Lori DeAngelo, Cherry Blossom Festival president.
Though they're missing the start of the show, organizers say the festival is more about the community than the cherry blossoms anyway.
Plus, they're able to provide some much-needed foot traffic to small businesses that have struggled during the pandemic.
"Normally, the cherry blossoms are on the riverbank. They look beautiful. We knew that, obviously, we weren't going to have the cherry blossoms. We usually have 60 or so vendors. This year we have less than half of that," said DeAngelo.
The vendors that are here were happy the festival returned even out of season.
"Well, it's a gorgeous day, and we're happy to be here. Get out of the shop a little bit, do something a little different. It's nice, with everybody cooped up, that everybody can enjoy something like this again," said Valerie Schultz with Ballyhoo Ice Cream Store.
Organizers say in 2022 - the Cherry Blossom Festival should be in bloom in the spring as usual.