To celebrate spring is to celebrate life.
During the magical months of the year when temperatures increase and flowers begin to bloom, festivals and other forms of outdoor entertainment flourish. These events often offer groups discounted ticket prices and VIP experiences. Centered around flowers, food and entertainment, these springtime festivals across the country are a great way for groups to experience the joys of the season.
International Cherry Blossom Festival
Macon, Georgia
While the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., tends to get a lot of publicity, there’s another festival that celebrates these stunning trees just a few states south of the nation’s capital. In Macon, Georgia, the International Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates the beautiful pink blooms on its 350,000 Yoshino cherry trees.
This prized Macon tradition can trace its roots back to one resident who discovered a single cherry tree in his backyard and loved the flowers so much he learned how to propagate the trees and shared them with others. The community organized the planting of thousands more cherry trees, an effort which has expanded over the years. The first festival was held in 1982, and it has grown from a three-day event to a 10-day celebration, held during the annual blooming of the trees, which usually occurs in late March.
Over the 10-day festival, the city hosts a variety of events on streets lined with cherry trees. There’s a fine arts and crafts show, a parade, concerts, food trucks and tours along the cherry blossom trail. Visitors can use a festival app to find cherry blossom-themed food all around town. The festivities finish with a bang — more specifically, a concert and a fireworks show.
Dollywood Flower and Food Festival
Sevierville, Tennessee
With its 50-plus amusement rides, abundance of live entertainment and free bus parking, Dollywood in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee has long been popular with groups. But in the spring, from mid-April to early June, this Tennessee park is transformed into a vibrant and colorful spectacle during the Flower and Food Festival.
The festival is marked by a change of landscape — specifically, the blooming of half a million flowers planted throughout the park for visitors to marvel at. But the color doesn’t stop there; park guests can stroll under the Umbrella Sky, a canopy of colorful, open umbrellas overhead that make a mosaic of color on the ground and provide a wonderful photo op.
Dollywood’s food is the other draw of the festival. From snack stands with goodies like pretzels, popcorn and ice cream to hearty plates heaped with Southern favorites, the park has dozens of offerings for quick bites and full meals. Visitors can also opt for dinner and a show at the park’s dinner theaters, or they can indulge with a tasting pass, which allows park guests to sample five foods for one price.
There are also special spring performances and all the regular entertainment and amusement rides Dollywood offers. Groups of 15 or more enjoy a discounted rate and can purchase ride vouchers.
Tulip Time
Holland, Michigan
Recalling its Dutch roots, the city of Holland, Michigan, purchased and planted 100,000 tulip bulbs from the Netherlands in 1928. In 1929, the tulips bloomed, and the city decided to create an annual festival inviting visitors to enjoy the flowers. It also became a time to celebrate other Dutch traditions, such as Dutch folk dances, complete with authentic period costumes. Though the festival took a brief hiatus during World War II, it resumed in the following years with more additions of Dutch culture, such as a barrel organ sent from Amsterdam.
Groups discovered Tulip Time in the 1970s, and it became a huge driver of tourism for Holland in the month of May. Today, the festival lasts eight days and is full of entertainment, including arts and crafts fairs, concerts and Klompen dances. Dutch music, food and traditions are on full display throughout the festival. Groups can arrange step-on tours with costumed guides that will take them through Holland’s history. They can visit the city’s historic windmills and take a guided tour of its heritage center. Group meals can also be arranged at local restaurants. Reserved group seating and bus parking are available at Tulip Time’s two parades, Kinderparade and Volksparade.
Portland Rose Festival
Portland, Oregon
In the late 19th century, residents of Portland, Oregon, discovered that the area’s climate was ideal for growing roses. In the decades that followed, the city planted more than 10,000 rose bushes on its fairgrounds gearing up for its World’s Fair. This inspired the creation of the annual Portland Rose Festival in 1907. Later, Portland even became a haven for English roses during the first World War.
The Portland Rose Festival is a highly anticipated event for the city, occurring annually for three weekends following Memorial Day. The festival bridges the spring and summer seasons and brings enthusiasm to locals and tourists alike. It was named the city’s official festival in 2010.
The festival consists of three parades and several events that require months of preparation. Groups will likely prefer the largest parade, the Grand Parade, because it offers covered indoor seating in case of bad weather. If they visit in the weeks before the parade, they may even get to help craft one of the parade’s floats. There’s also an urban street fair that’s held all three weekends of the festival, filled with live music, entertainment and plenty of the diverse food that Portland is known for.
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
New Orleans
The inaugural Louisiana Heritage Festival took place in New Orleans in April of 1970 and featured performances from Duke Ellington and Fats Domino. Today, it’s known as “Jazz Fest,” short for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Each year, it’s held at the city’s Fair Grounds Race Course and is attended by hundreds of thousands of people. It takes place over two long weekends, Thursday through Sunday, in late April and early May.
The festival grounds are massive, with two main stages and several smaller stages. Featured artists cover a wide range of genres, and the 2024 lineup included The Rolling Stones, Chris Stapleton and Hozier.
It wouldn’t be a New Orleans festival if it didn’t involve food. Cajun and Southern cuisine, like po’boys, muffalettas, crawfish, gumbo and beignets, are served by long list of food vendors. Crafts vendors sell wares, such as art, furniture, jewelry, instruments and clothing related to Louisiana’s blend of culture and heritage.
Groups should keep in mind that Jazz Fest is a cashless event as of 2023, and that purchases of food and beverage, crafts and merchandise are not covered in the price of admission.
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Indio, California
Known simply as “Coachella,” the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is one of the most popular music festivals of the 21st century. Frequently featuring chart-topping artists as headliners, the event draws an estimated 125,000 people each day. The festival takes place over two consecutive weekends in April in Indio, California. Indio, a small town at the southern tip of the state, is just east of Palm Springs and not far from Los Angeles.
Because passes to the festival are in extremely high demand, one of the best ways to attend the festival as a group is as part of a larger tour package. These tour packages will often include a stop at the festival as part of a broader Southern California itinerary. Smaller groups can check out resort stays that are bundled with festival tickets and often include shuttle rides to the festival.
