Malvern Blooms Festival: Far More Than Flowers

Now in its sixth year, the will host its biggest festival ever on Sunday, May 6.

The event includes a beer garden, antique car show, a baseball batting cage—provided by Grand Slam, with contests and prizes—a musical main stage (along with a side stage), sweepstakes, 140 crafts and clothing vendors, and "basically any kind of food you can think of," said John Lotz, who handles marketing for the festival.

Oh, yeah—the festival also includes some flowers.

A Backyard Grilling Contest was canceled due to lack of sign-ups, but the scheduled judges will still attend. They include "Philly Foodies" host Tim Furlong from NBC 10 and "Worst Cook in America" finalist Vinnie "The Crumb" Caligiuri, who will perform a grilling demonstration.

"It's a great way to see and get to know downtown Malvern," Lotz said of the festival. "Too many people pass by on Route 30 and don't actually get into the borough. Malvern has a great little downtown, small town feel."

Lotz encouraged people to come out and "get to know Malvern"—but for residents and frequent visitors who already know the town, the festival provides a chance to meet and greet friends, do some Mothers Day shopping—at the 140 arts, clothing, crafts and jewelry tents—and also enter for the chance to win a number of sweepstakes with prizes totaling $500. (The grand prize is a $750 certificate to Woodlawn Landscaping and Nursery.)

A portion of the proceeds from the festival will be donated to Teach Anti Bullying, Inc., which works to educate parents, children, administrators and teachers on the affects of bullying.

When: Sunday, May 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: There will be three sections of the festival: East King Street, West King Street, and , in Malvern Borough. 

[Edited 5/2/2012 11:40am to reflect that celebrity guests will still be coming despite cancellation of grilling contest.]