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<p>WEST PITTSTON &#8212; With spring comes cherry blossoms, and the borough&#8217;s accompanying festival in honor of them.</p><p>The 45th annual West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re really thrilled; it&#8217;s a festival that seems to stand the test of time,&#8221; said festival committee President Ralph Salerno. &#8220;There are so many festivals around the area that are no longer here. I was born and raised in West Pittston and there were so many. To see ours still going is pretty impressive.&#8221;</p><p>Festival activities kick off at noon Saturday with the parade beginning at Cenera Auto Parts Parking Lot, traveling down Exeter Avenue to Wyoming Avenue and then to Philadelphia Avenue. The parade then goes over to Susquehanna Avenue and ends at the festival grounds near the firefighters memorial bridge.</p><p>There will be no parking allowed on the streets involved between 11 a.m. and the conclusion of the parade.</p><p>Salerno will offer an introduction at 1 p.m. The parade&#8217;s Grand Marshal <a href="http://psdispatch.com/top-stories/39941/pack-302-cubmaster-rosalie-messina-named-grand-marshal-of-annual-west-pittston-cherry-blossom-festival-parade" target="_blank">Rosalie Messina</a> will offer remarks, followed by playing of the &#8220;Star Spangled Banner&#8221; and the announcing of the festival&#8217;s scholarship <a href="http://psdispatch.com/news/40194/wyoming-area-senior-nico-vasquez-awarded-west-pittston-cherry-blossom-festival-scholarship" target="_blank">winner</a>.</p><p>The Little Miss Cherry Blossom C<a href="http://psdispatch.com/news/local/40090/batch-of-greater-pittston-youngsters-will-compete-for-annual-little-miss-cherry-blossom-april-30" target="_blank">ontest</a> takes place after the introductions and there will be performances throughout the afternoon from members of the David Blight Dance Studio, the Emerald Isle Step Dancers, the Perfect Harmony School of Music and magician Joe Housey.</p><p>The Wyoming Area Drama Club will kick things off at noon Sunday by performing scenes from the musical &#8220;Grease,&#8221; followed by the West Pittston Cherry Blossom&#8217;s Got Talent event.</p><p>There will be performances throughout the afternoon by members of the Dance Theatre of Wilkes-Barre, the Perfect Harmony School of Music, the Dynamic Duo and the Irrefutables.</p><p>Food vendors will sell hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, halushki, sausage and peppers throughout both days and there will also be arts and crafts vendors.</p><p>The festival will close at 5 p.m Sunday.</p><p>Salerno credits the borough and its workers for cooperating with the festival committee.</p><p>&#8220;The borough is really great with us,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They cooperate 100 percent &#8212; the police department, public works and our mayor and council. We&#8217;ve never had an issue.&#8221;</p><p>Salerno, who has been on the festival committee since 1981, also acknowledges the hard work of his fellow committee members &#8212; Dan Didgeon, Toni Valenti, Lynda Hyzinski, Terri Zezza, Charlotte Keeney, Bob Messina, Becky Didgeon, Lori DeAngelo, Amie Strobel, Gina Malsky, Pat Messina and Chris DeNardi.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve been doing it for so long; we have a system down that we know what needs to be done,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Salerno calls the event a &#8220;family reunion&#8221; for the borough.</p><p>&#8220;I like to call it a huge family reunion because it&#8217;s the first outdoor festival that&#8217;s going on,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Everyone&#8217;s been cooped all winter and they can&#8217;t wait to get out. Usually, the weather is nice and people who live out of town come back in. That&#8217;s what I really enjoy.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Sandra Pacovsky, of West Pittston, fries hamburgers on the grill under the food tent during the 2015 West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_SD_WPCBF-Day-2_3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Sandra Pacovsky, of West Pittston, fries hamburgers on the grill under the food tent during the 2015 West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis File Photos | For Sunday Dispatch </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_SD_WPCBF-Day-2_5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hannah Hinkle, right, Bella Waltz, both of West Pittston, and Erica Gallagher, of Wyoming, walk along the vendor tents at the 2015 West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_SD_WPCBF-Day-2_5.jpg</photo1><caption1>Hannah Hinkle, right, Bella Waltz, both of West Pittston, and Erica Gallagher, of Wyoming, walk along the vendor tents at the 2015 West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis File Photos | For Sunday Dispatch </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_SD_WPCBF-Day-2_7.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Macie Kivler, of Hughestown, peeks over the top of the giant inflatable slide at the 2015 West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_SD_WPCBF-Day-2_7.jpg</photo2><caption2>Macie Kivler, of Hughestown, peeks over the top of the giant inflatable slide at the 2015 West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis File Photos | For Sunday Dispatch </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Borough cherry blossom festival returning for 45th year Saturday and Sunday</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jimmy Fisher</p><p>jfisher@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jimmy Fisher at 570-704-3972 or on Twitter @SD_JimmyFisher</p></shirttailMeta></div>

45th Annual West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday