Soirée

Imagine walking into an elaborately decorated ballroom with intentions of hours of entertainment and fun ahead of you. As you head to the coat check, the attendant has absolutely no idea what you are here to celebrate or how you stumbled across this party of the year. As a partygoer, you would be a bit baffled, wouldn’t you? Now, let’s walk this scenario into focus a bit…

Modesto is deeply rooted in agricultural industry and innovation. Mother Nature and Modesto area farmers work all year long to put on a spectacular show in early Spring in California’s Central Valley. Visit Modesto leaned into these roots and built an entire pillar of tourism around it known as the Almond Blossom Cruise.

This cruise requires no passport or flotation devices and yet, it draws upwards of 100,000 visitors historically to Modesto and surrounding areas each year in mid-February to mid-March. Visitors come from Los Angeles, Reno, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Portland, Seattle, and so many more to experience and admire the ornate and charming fields of trees in bloom. If you are still uncertain of exactly what all the fuss is about, you can go to AlmondBlossomCruise. com for all information and updates.

You’ll quickly learn that the backdrop to your daily life, routine, and quite possibly well-being is a major tourist attraction with the Almond Blossom Cruise. As business owners, residents, and locals, you are in the unique position to augment the experience of these wide-eyed cruisers because they’ll be all over from Waterford to downtown Modesto and everywhere in between.

These travelers come to be present at the biggest party of the year put on by almond trees in and around Modesto. And no party is complete without some preparations, adventures, and memories made along the journey.

These can be in the form of a weekend getaway complete with overnight stays in a Modesto hotel, a delectable meal at an innovative and exciting restaurant about town, a few photo stops, an ‘it is totally worth it’ indulgence for an almond butter milkshake from Roberts Ferry Gourmet, some retail therapy to grab the perfect scarf to tie up hair so the top can be put down on the convertible for the drive, and a few stops for gas along the way.

Help do your part to ensure everyone coming into Modesto has the best time at the ball. Hospitality shapes experiences and crafts perceptions that last a lifetime. Modesto businesses can bloom with the almond orchards this year if everyone embraces the event. Let’s put on the best celebration yet.