Peekskill Rotary Cherry Blossom Festival & Plant Sale

Celebrate Spring at the 2nd Annual Cherry Blossom Festival & Plant Sale on Saturday, April 27 at the Peekskill Riverfront Green (steps from the Peekskill train station). The Rotary Club of Peekskill planted 100 cherry trees at the Riverfront over the past five years, a gift valued at over $80,000, to commemorate their 100 years in Peekskill.

Festivities include a plant sale, bouncy rides and face painting for children, ceramic pot painting, cherry tree tours, food trucks, raffles, silent auction, craft vendors, a children’s book drive, and more. The event is free, from 10 am – 5 pm, and will go on rain or shine.

The Rotary Club plans to hold a Cherry Blossom Festival & Plant Sale every April, and envisions the event growing every year, along with the trees. Rotarian Chappy Manzer, owner of Peekskill-based Manzer's Landscape Design & Development, Inc., who secured the trees wholesale and planted them at no cost, said “The long-term goal is to bring a multi-week cherry blossom festival to Peekskill. We want it to become better than what goes on in Washington, DC.”

This year, Dain’s Lumber and Dylan’s Wine are participating and many other local merchants are expected to join in the cherry theme Spring celebration.

This year’s book drive is to benefit newborn through age 12 children in the Peekskill area. The Peekskill Rotary Literacy Lovers, a subgroup of the Rotary Club, has recently collected and distributed over 18,000 new or gently used books through their Golden Bookshelves project. Their aim to increase literacy skills in Peekskill among pre-school and school age children. Consider bringing a few new or gently used books for newborns through age 12 to the event.

The Rotary Club of Peekskill was chartered in 1919, and gives scholarships, grants, and gifts such as the cherry trees locally, as well as funds for international projects. There are currently 90 members from the Peekskill and Cortlandt area who volunteer their time to make the community and world a better place.