About 20,000 visitors are expected to converge on Young over the three day festival.

Young tourism manager David Newberry said he hoped the town would throw its full support behind Young’s biggest event.

“We’re looking forward to it with a sense of great  anticipation,” he said.

“There are a lot of people around picking cherries and a lot of the businesses seem to be getting a lot of visitors.

“We’ll be in for a cracking festival. Its a great opportunity to showcase the town and the cherry industry.”

David said this year will see an all new entertainment precinct at Anderson Park.

There has also been unprecedented demand for stalls for the markets running at Anderson Park and Town Hall.

But of course the street parade will take centre stage at the festival, with float registrations still coming in yesterday. 

And while the weather looks unpredictable at best, David said rain or shine, nothing will put a dampener on the festival. 

The festival comes on the back of a recent sharp rise in visitor numbers - based on the Young Visitor Centre’s own accommodation motel occupancy report - which is attributed to promotions specifically targeting the Canberra, Sydney’s western suburbs and the Illawarra Region.

The rise is well above the previous year, with an increase of 14, 10 and nine per cent recorded respectively in September, October and November. 

Poppa’s Fudge Factory has already noticed a boost in visitors to the town, with about 20 per cent more coaches booked in compared to last year.    

Owner Vicki Powderly thinks this is a result of a more positive cherry season and well targeted marketing from the tourism office. 

“I think just the whole atmosphere of the festival is really starting to show, they’re (visitors) loving our town and they’re loving the people,” she said.

“We’re expecting to have thousands of people through our doors on Saturday.”

Mayor John Walker said the atmosphere was already building in the town.

“It’s most important it promotes Young but most importantly it promotes the cherry industry,” he said.

“We just look forward to sharing the festivities with the many visitors in the area.

“We’ve had very positive comments from several businesses saying they’re well up on last year.”

NSW Cherry Grower’s Association president Tom Eastlake said the festival was a crucial event for the industry. 

“It’s a small industry compared to other horticultural industries, it’s important for us to have a way to showcase it,” he said.

He said the recent wild weather hasn’t had a major negative impact on harvest, with a strong season still expected.

“The rain for the most part has been well received…[but] it is probably getting to the stage where we won’t want much more.

“Wind is a problem especially when you get hot days, it can put the trees under a bit of stress...we’re happy to be through that.”