The trees are in full bloom, the banners have been raised, and it looks like the weather is willing to cooperate for a while.

Looks like everything is ready to go for the Friday’s opening of the 2014 Dogwood Fine Arts Festival.

This year’s lineup of featured artists and presentations looks phenomenal. We have a Pulitzer Prize winning author, an award winning storyteller, an international rock star and a pair of accomplished chefs visiting the town over the next week.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In addition, there’s the weeklong Art Walk, the first ever Emerging Playwright Award, the venerable tea ceremony, and countless other events.

For me, this year’s festival is guaranteed to be memorable, since this will be my first time I’ll be attending it.

In the interviews and conversations I’ve had with organizers and artists involved, nearly everyone seems to be buzzing with excitement about it. And that excitement has definitely rubbed off on me.

That said, I’ll do my best to capture the experience for our readers, writing stories and taking pictures of the festivities. While it’s going to make for some long days, it’s also going to make for some fun ones as well.

So, if you see a bearded guy with camera, don’t be alarmed. It’s just your community editor trying to get a piece of the action.

Let’s just hope the rain takes the week off.

Ted Yoakum is the community editor for the Dowagiac Daily News. Call him at (269) 588-1040. Email him at ted.yoakum@leaderpub.com.