Every year, too, for 61 occasions, Alexandra has celebrated its blossom festival. Last year, when the 60th was marked, bumper crowds turned out and a celebratory hangover was feared for this year. Not so. Numbers were well down on 2016, but the about 8000 tickets to the festival in the park last Saturday exceeded expectations.
It is to Alexandra's credit the show has kept on going, for the ride has been bumpy at times.
Its very existence was threatened in 2010 after the festival was declared insolvent after three successive years of losses. A bail-out by the Vincent Community Board and support from the community was essential for it to continue.
Then there was the time in 1971 when disruption followed more than 200 bikies arriving unexpectedly in town. By the mid-1980s drunk and disorderly behaviour became an issue. In 1987 at one stage a dozen men were held in the Alexandra police station cells. In 1991, 42 people were arrested during the weekend.
A culture change was engineered, and arrest numbers in recent times have been minimal.
There are so many events on about the South these days that Alexandra has to fight all the harder to attract audiences. New events and innovative ideas - like the BMX event, the pro-wrestling and the Wings 'n' Wheels this year - have been introduced, while old favourites like the procession and Festival Queen competition remain.
The procession itself has changed in character, and the number of ornate floats is not what is once was. In its prime, the intricacy of many floats and the thousands upon thousands of hours involved was phenomenal. The procession is still, nevertheless, a centrepiece.
As usual, keys are good organisers and lots of volunteers. They work diligently and, hopefully, enjoy the camaraderie of working together in common cause for their community. Hopefully, too, their efforts are appreciated.
In an era of online and on-screen entertainment, there remains much joy in community get-togethers and community festivals. Long may they continue.
When the local Jaycees came up with the original idea of the festival all those years ago, they might have been surprised at how the festival has evolved. And they would have been pleased to see its longevity.
This spring festival remains an important fixture on the southern calendar. Congratulations and thanks should go to all those who have kept it going and who keep it fresh.
