{"id":32298,"date":"2013-03-04T13:01:08","date_gmt":"2013-03-04T21:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.57.196.122\/~gdatwofo\/theavtimes\/?p=32298"},"modified":"2013-03-04T13:01:41","modified_gmt":"2013-03-04T21:01:41","slug":"countdown-to-almond-blossom-parade-and-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2013\/03\/04\/countdown-to-almond-blossom-parade-and-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Countdown to Almond Blossom Parade and Festival!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The Almond Blossom Festival began in 1949 as a way to celebrate the first signs of spring. This year’s event is expected to draw up to 4,000 people, organizers said. (Contributed photos)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

QUARTZ HILL \u2013 All roads will lead to Quartz Hill this upcoming weekend for the 64th annual Almond Blossom Parade and Festival.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s event, themed \u201cAlmond Blossom\u2026 Springtime in Quartz Hill<\/em>,\u201d is expected to draw thousands of attendees to George Lane Park for food, live music, a carnival, local vendors, a beer garden, a classic car show and more, according to organizers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s strictly a community event that\u2019s fun for all,\u201d said event director Dennis Bogard, adding that the event is open to the entire community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re the only free festival in the Antelope Valley. We don\u2019t charge for admission and we don\u2019t charge for parking,\u201d Bogard continued.<\/p>\n

The event takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (March 8, 9 & 10) at George Lane Park, located at 55th Street West and Avenue L-8 in Quartz Hill.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A carnival of rides and games opens from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, but the Almond Blossom Parade and Festival officially kicks off on Saturday, Bogard said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Parade<\/a>Festivities on Saturday begin at 9:30 a.m. with a Pet Parade that starts as 50th Street West and Columbia Way (Avenue M) in Quartz Hill.<\/p>\n

The Pet Parade will be followed by the Almond Blossom Parade at 10 a.m. featuring numerous floats, classic cars, marching bands and community queens. Both parades will travel north on 50th Street West and then west on Avenue L-8, ending at George Lane Park and marking the official beginning of the 64th annual Almond Blossom Festival, Bogard said.<\/p>\n

Seven bands will perform live throughout the course of the festival, and there will also be special performances by AV Dance Studio 81, Dance Evolutions and the Halau Hula O Kanoelani dancers.<\/p>\n

There will be puppet shows in between the live performances that should keep the little ones entertained, Bogard said.<\/p>\n

The 64th annual Almond Blossom Parade and Festival is presented by the Quartz Hill Chamber of Commerce with the support of local businesses and the community.<\/p>\n

For more information on this event, contact Dennis Bogard at the Quartz Hill Chamber of Commerce at 661 722-4811 or visit http:\/\/quartzhillchamber.com\/almond-blossom-festival\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

QUARTZ HILL \u2013 All roads will lead to Quartz Hill this upcoming weekend for the 64th annual Almond Blossom Parade and Festival. This year\u2019s event, themed \u201cAlmond Blossom\u2026 Springtime in Quartz Hill,\u201d is expected to draw thousands of attendees to George Lane Park for food, live music, a carnival, local vendors, a beer garden, a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32298"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32298\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}