BEAUMONT (CBS) — The 93rd Annual Cherry Festival “A Slice of Heaven in 2011’ kicks off this week in Beaumont, bringing with it four days of entertainment, carnival rides and plenty of food.

The festival begins Thursday and will be held on the fairground between 8th and 10th streets, and Orange and Maple avenues.

A wide range of activities are on tap, including a pancake breakfast on June 4, from 6:30 to 10 a.m. at the Beaumont Civic Center, followed by the Cherry Festival Parade with Dan and Laura Dotson, hosts of A&E’s “Storage Wars,” as grand marshals, at 10:30 a.m.

Since parking is limited, free shuttle buses will be available going to and from the Walmart parking lot on 2nd Street Marketplace, the sports park at Beaumont and Brookside Avenues and the fairgrounds every half hour.

Visitors using the service will be given a coupon for $1 off the admission price ($5 for adults and $3 for children; kids 5 and under admitted free).

Wristbands for unlimited admission to the carnival are $25 ($20 on Thursday, June 2).

Pre-sale wristbands can be purchase until Wednesday by visiting the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce; Beaumont Civic Center/City Hall; or Albert A. Chatigny Sr. Recreation Community Center.

For more information, visit the Beaumont Cherry Festival Web site.

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