Macon, Georgia, the Cherry Blossom Capital of the World, is home to around 350,000 cherry trees, many of which are on Wesleyan College’s campus. For the third consecutive year, Visit Macon and Wesleyan College have teamed to bring live cherry blossom bloom views to people all around the world via Visit Macon’s bloom cam. The webcam is set up to record the bloom cycle of the cherry trees in Fickling Grove, located behind Wesleyan’s Candler Alumnae Center.
Fickling Cherry Grove was designed by Macon native, architect, and Wesleyan alumna Ellamae Ellis League, Class of 1920. League was the first woman elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in Georgia and the eighth woman nationwide. The fourth woman registered as an architect in Georgia, she served as the first president of the Georgia Council of Architects and was known as "one of Georgia and the South's most prominent female architects." In her 50-plus-year career, League designed original buildings and renovation plans for dozens of structures. In 1975, the year she retired, she became the first Macon architect to receive the AIA-Georgia Association’s Bronze Medal for service to the profession.
Wesleyan College is honored to host several Cherry Blossom Festival events on campus every year. This year we are particularly excited to host award-winning soprano Courtney Huffman-Frye in concert Saturday, March 19 / 5pm and for a Masterclass Sunday, March 20 / 3pm. Both events will be held in Pierce Chapel. As part of Wesleyan College's Norman McLean Masterclass Series, Huffman-Frye will perform a selection of arias and art songs, including Gwyneth Walker's jazz and blues-tinged cycle "No Ordinary Woman!" set to text by the distinguished African American poet, Lucille Clifton. Professor Nadine Cheek ’79 (mezzo-soprano) and Dr. Chenny Gan ’02 (piano) of Wesleyan College will also be guests on the recital. The events are free and open to the public.