Pear Blossom Festival: A Gift to the Community! CRT Participates for Second Straight Year

Cascade Relief Team was proud to participate as exhibitors this last Friday and Saturday at the 70th Annual Pear Blossom Fesival (Wow, 70 years!)

Thousands of people converged on downtown Medford Saturday for the Pear Blossom Parade, and the weather cooperated with cloudy skies but no rain. Other events included the 47th annual Pear Blossom Run, the Smudge Pot Stroll and the Pear A Fare tasting event.

It was CRT’s second time at the event and it was great to be have people recognize us, thus demonstrating our ties to the community we strive to serve. It was a pleasant surprise to hear from people who thought we’d been participating in the Festival for many years. Nope, we’re relatively new, but as our supporters and volunteers and the people we help know, we are in wildfire protection and recovery for the long haul.

The parade was lively, with people smiling and happy and obviously enjoying being out in public and interacting again. My main takeaway was seeing the children running around without a seeming care in the world.

People stopped by our booth for information, to take photos at our neat instant photo set-up, to get candy or refreshments, or to get a custom-made balloon animal.

But perhaps most importantly those that stopped by wanted to talk, to share their experiences, commiserate, get advice, and get a hug or two. Empathy was on full display.

As an example, one woman and her family stopped by looking for her son, who has been homeless since December. She has no way to contact him and was hoping to find him either at or through the various service booths set up for the festival. We were able to offer support and advice and perhaps a bit of hope as well, which definitely seemed in short supply.

It’s a reminder, though, that among all the joy and freedom of the festival, people are still hurting, lost, and in need of support.

That makes our participation even more important from CRT’s perspective.

We’re here to celebrate the bonds of the community, but also to ensure those on the margins or in crisis know that we are here, and not going away. We are glad to bolster the one-on-one connection that events like the Pear Blossom Festival give us. On that note, enjoy the blooms – and yes, pear blossoms – of spring!