Nearly 1,000 Cherry Blossom Festival hopefuls purchased tickets ahead of time.

But on Saturday night, tornado threats canceled the street party.

Jason Cranford says, when Saturday's storm came whipping through Central Georgia, he and his wife were already downtown.

"I didn't know which way to go, didn't know whether to run or what," says Cranford.

But the street party tickets in his hand were purchased two days before.

"I was a little disappointed, but I understood because it was weather related," he says.

Cranford is one of about 30 people so far, who stepped into the Mercer ticket office to get a ticket refund.

"I just had to show the tickets and got the money back," says Cranford.

Vincent Holmes says he's shocked that around lunchtime on Monday there was no line for the refund.

"You know, we're in a recession, so every penny counts," says Holmes.

Macon-Bibb Fire investigators are ruling a weekend Macon house fire as possible arson.

Sgt. Ben Gleaton with Macon-Bibb Fire says it happened at 855 and 879 College Street. He says they got the call around 8 p.m. last night. Gleaton says they're ruling out all electrical and natural causes because the home is vacant and has no electricity or gas.

He says neighbors reported seeing suspicious people in and out of the house. Gleaton says one man lived in the home next to the property but his home suffered only moderate damage.

No injuries were reported.

Gleaton says they are offering a reward for up to 10,000 dollars for information on the fire. Anyone with tips can call Georgia Arson Control at 1-800-282-5804 or Macon Regional Crime stoppers at 1-877-68-CRIME.