For 106 years the festival has brought hundreds of thousands of people to St. Joseph. The parade has been part of the festivities for 89 of those years.
Barricades were already out along the parade route Friday.
Area Businesses are getting ready too.
Kilwins will have extra hands and extra fudge and chocolate ready to go, Saturday.
"It's the beginning of the summer season," said Janet Dykstra, owner. "[It] brings in a nice crowd, a lot of nice people."
"Usually before the parade and after the parade, we're very busy," said Dykstra.
This is the first Blossomtime Festival since surveys went out last summer to registered voters and business owners in St. Joseph to find out what affect the series of parades and events have there.
Based on the results, the city pulled their funding for the Venetian Fest.
"I had very mixed feelings about that because I know people whose lives were involved in that for years," said Dykstra. "It was really very sad that it did come to an end."
Dykstra said the Venetian Festival did not help her business, but it didn't hurt it either. She added, that was not the case for other neighboring businesses.
Blossomtime, on the other hand, ranked well.
"We're not really sure how the public really views us," said Anna Abdelnour, Blossomtime Festival president. "I was surprised and ecstatic. About 93 percent of them were pleased with the festival and wanted to see the tradition continue."
It's not a surprise for Dykstra either.
Outside of July 4 and the Krasl art festival, Blossomtime is one of her top five business boosters.
