Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival Returns As Summer Block Party

BROOKHAVEN, GA — The city of Brookhaven's annual Cherry Blossom Festival is coming back in a new form again in July, city officials announced Tuesday.

The Revivalists will headline the Cherry Blossom Summer Block Party, set for Friday, July 30 from 3-11 p.m. and Saturday, July 31 from noon-11 p.m., according to a city news release. The block party will congregate in the Brookhaven MARTA Station parking lot and extend all along Dresden Drive and Apple Valley Road.

The event will also include popular attractions from the Cherry Blossom Festival, such as the Kidz Zone and food trucks. More announcements about the block party are expected "soon," city officials said.

“In addition to the great human loss caused by the pandemic, there has also been a devastating loss to business, industry and community,” Brookhaven Mayor John Ernst said in the release. “This is an opportunity to recognize the resilience of Brookhaven’s residents and businesses and the unity shown throughout this devastating period.”

The Cherry Blossom Festival, the city's popular spring event, was initially canceled in January for the second consecutive year due to rising COVID-19 cases in Georgia. The festival was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic as well.

But now that COVID-19 vaccinations are more easily accessible in Georgia and more people are getting vaccinated, the city is altering the Cherry Blossom Festival slightly — and giving it a new name — to celebrate a "return to normalcy following the global pandemic," the release said.

Roughly 47 percent of eligible DeKalb County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of June 21, according to data from the Georgia Department of Public Health. A total of 41 percent of eligible DeKalb residents have been fully vaccinated as of the same date.

“I am proud that Brookhaven is prioritizing festivals that bring our community together and taking the decisive first step in leading the metropolitan region out of this difficult and costly pandemic,” Ernst said in the release.

“I am grateful for our continuing Cherry Blossom Festival partnership with Live Nation, as our music gets bigger and better every year. After canceling the Cherry Blossom Festival two years in a row due to the pandemic, we are coming back even stronger with this amazing lineup.”

Here's the lineup by day:

Friday, July 30

• Rick Springfield
• The Amy Ray Band
• Baylee Littrell
• Revel in Romance

Saturday, July 31

• The Revivalists (headliner)
• Better Than Ezra
• Jagged Edge
• Saleka
• Hunter Callahan

Attendees are encouraged to take MARTA or the city's shuttle services as there will be no on-site parking for the event. Masks are required on MARTA and the shuttles per federal mandate, and all bags in the music festival lot must be clear — no exceptions. Pets will not be allowed in the concert lot.

Visit the festival website at www.BrookCherryFest.org for more information and for MARTA and shuttle locations.