'It's exciting': Nova Scotia's Apple Blossom Festival ready to bloom after 2 years

Nova Scotia's Apple Blossom Festival is returning after being cancelled the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The festival's president says people can expect a mix of old and new events at this year's event.

“It’s really great to draw people in, not only from the valley, but from different parts of Nova Scotia and the country,” says Logan Morse, the president of the Apple Blossom Festival.

The festival is expected to attract tens-of-thousands of visitors, providing some form of normalcy to the Annapolis Valley following two years of pandemic-related restrictions.

“It’s also in a way saying, we’re getting away from COVID, things are getting back to normal which I think the community wants,” says John Lohr, the MLA for Kings North.

“I think it’s exciting. It’s exciting that people finally have something to look forward to. It’s a big party, it’s fun,” says Annapolis Valley resident Cyndi Ansems.

Local businesses are also looking forward to the rise in customers after struggling to keep their doors open in recent years.

“We haven’t been able to do it the last two years and things are just opening up now, so it means a lot to us because a lot of businesses have taken a hard hit,” says Rhonda McFawn, a bartender at Paddy's Pub in Kentville, N.S.

The 88th Annual Apple Blossom Festival runs from May 25 to May 30.

Opening ceremonies for the festival take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Main Street Station ballroom.