WESTFORD CENTER – Dozens of floats lined Westford’s Main Street on Saturday for the town’s 57th annual Apple Blossom Parade.
Hosted by the Westford Kiwanis Club, the parade featured appearances by dozens of groups from around town.
The Westford Police Department Honor Guard and police cruisers led this year’s parade, which featured long-time Westford resident Marilyn Frank as the 2026 Kiwanis Person of the Year. Frank was seen riding in a vintage blue Corvette.
Westford Academy’s Blake Krikorian and Nashoba Valley Tech’s Lena Wilcox were also featured in the parade as the Kiwanis Star Award recipients, while the Westford Colonial Minutemen, Westford Academy student athletes and the school marching band, the Stony Brook & Blanchard School Marching Bands, local Cub Scout bands, the Westford Sportsmen’s Club, Good Pickin’ Farm, Flowers to Empower, Walking Uncle Sam, Rockland Trust, the J.V. Fletcher library, WestfordCAT and The Westford Villager were all among the participants in the parade.
The parade marks the end of Westford’s annual Apple Blossom Festival. Dating back to 1935, the festival was originally known as the Nashoba Apple Blossom Festival, which was started by local apple farmers from Westford and several surrounding towns, celebrating their harvest and looking to promote the local apple-growing industry.
During World War II, the festival went on hiatus for several years. It was later revived in 1968 by the Kiwanis Club, who turned it into an annual town tradition.
This year’s festival ran from May 13 through May 17, with Fiesta Shows Carnival operating throughout the week, including evening hours Wednesday through Friday, extended hours on Saturday and afternoon hours on Sunday. The festival also included a fireworks show on Saturday.
The festival and parade attracts thousands of attendees and spectators from Westford and the surrounding area each year, making it one of the largest events that takes place in town each year.
Following the parade, members of the Westford 300th Anniversary Committee spoke to the The Westford Villager and said they plan to combine the town’s 300th anniversary celebrations in 2029 with the Apple Blossom Festival and Parade that year, turning it into one big day of festivities.
