By Khalida Sarwari
A new exhibit at the Saratoga History Museum pays homage to one of the city’s oldest and most popular festivals, celebrating the end of a two-year drought and the resulting beauty of the blossoming orchards.
The exhibit, titled “Blossoms, Sunshine, and Saratoga: Remembering the Blossom Festival,” traces the historic event that brought governors and senators, among others, to see the orchard blossoms of Saratoga, in the form of photos, artifacts and memorabilia.
“Visitors can see the original programs and invitations, as well as some of the important people in Saratoga at that time,” said Annette Stransky, president of the Saratoga Historical Foundation.
The exhibit will appeal to people of all ages, Stransky said. Aside from the items on display, the museum will also host interactive activities including potato and egg races, a game of Quoit and a jigsaw puzzle assembly.
The Blossom Festival was started in 1900 by Edwin Sidney Williams, a retired Congregational minister who became known as Sunshine Williams and the “father of the blossom festival.” Williams had intended to put together an old-fashioned country picnic where people could come together and see Saratoga’s famous blossoms.
“It wasn’t all a single crop–sweetly scented white almond blossoms would be followed by cherries, then the pink and white blossoms of apricots were followed by the deep pink blossoms of peach trees,” Stransky said. “The most spectacular display would be the prune trees–a sea of white blossoms as far as the eye could see.”
After Williams proposed the idea, invitations were sent out, and in 1901 about 2,000 people came by train, cart and bicycle to see a blossom tour of the orchards, have lunch and enjoy an afternoon of athletic events and exploring the local gardens.
According to Stransky, the Peninsular Interurban electric train brought people from San Jose, Los Gatos, Cupertino and as far as Palo Alto to the festival. Governors of the state attended each year. Williams called the event a “Thanksgiving jollification.”
The festival was held over the next 40 years, growing larger each year, and at its peak drawing a crowd of more than 20,000 attendees. Highlights over the years included the Foothill Study Club arranging a parade with a California theme in 1912 and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra playing in 1926.
But there were also some drawbacks over those years. In 1907, rain destroyed the festivities, and in 1915 Vice President Thomas Marshall, who was invited by Sen. James Phelan, was unable to attend due to an illness. Then, with the onset of World War II, the festival came to a halt in 1941.
This year’s festival will be held on March 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Saratoga Civic Center and Heritage Orchard. Produced by the Saratoga Historical Foundation, the festival will feature a maypole dance, music from the 1930s and 1940s, vintage cars, crafts and a parade of blossom paintings.
The exhibit is expected to run through the end of May. Entrance to the exhibit is free.
The Saratoga History Museum is at 20450 Saratoga-Los Gatos Road in Saratoga and open from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
