11th Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival returns this weekend
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Friday marks Arbor Day, Frederick Law Olmsted’s 202nd Birthday and the eve of the eleventh Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival.
“I think the cherry blossoms here really bring the community together, people of all walks of life come here during the Cherry Blossom season to admire and just be among the blossoms themselves,” said Zhi Ting Phua, director of engagement and inclusion at the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy. “I think it means community.”
Activities for the eleventh year of the festival are expected to be in full bloom this weekend, bringing the community together through Music is Art, including origami, bonsai, and music from Taiko drums, celebrating the culture of Buffalo’s sister city, Kanazawa, Japan.
“We’ve been sister cities since the sixties, and ten years after we became sister cities, this Japanese garden finally came to fruition, so to say. The Japanese garden has been here in Buffalo for 50 years,” said Paula Hinz, co-founder of the Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival.
Organizers tell us the roots of the garden date back to the 1960s, when Rotarians and McKinley High School students planted the first trees.
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“Kanazawa has been an incredible partner. They have sent gardeners from Kanazawa here to show our gardeners with the Buffalo Olmsted Conservancy how to maintain the Japanese Garden in authentic and traditional ways. They’ve taught us skills and exchanged knowledge,” Phua said. “We maintain them. We take lots of pride in making sure the garden is well maintained. We have an amazing group of volunteers that come back every single year to help us.”
Now, a mixture of nearly 100 trees are found throughout the garden and can bloom at different times throughout the spring. Many may be wondering if there are still blossoms found on the historic trees…
“You’ll notice when you come to the garden that some of the trees are finishing up their blossom. So, we’ll see leaves, plus the ends of blossoms, and right below the trees, carpets of petals,” said Hinz. “We’ll notice other trees that are just popping out. They’re almost like butterflies; they’re just waiting for a nice warm day to pop out.”
If you visit the festival or gardens this spring, you’ll notice that they put up some fencing and signs around the trees to help protect the roots and make sure they’re available for future generations to enjoy.
“Year after year, we’re starting to understand how to better care for the trees,” said Hinz. “Cherry trees have shallow roots, and when we step on them, it shortens the life, and now that we’ve fallen in love with these trees, we all want to make sure they last as long as possible.”
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They also ask visitors not to climb, or shake the trees, or break the flowers off of them and remind us all of the symbolic meaning these trees share.
“We don’t know how long we have on this planet. The cherry tree blossoms don’t know how long they’ll be on the tree, as well. Rain, wind, it takes it away, so it’s a reminder to seize the moment, enjoy the day,” said Hinz.
The festival will take place at the Japanese Gardens, near the Buffalo History Museum, Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. For more information, visit the festival’s website here.
For more information on the Buffalo Olmstead Parks Conservancy and how to help support the parks, visit their website here.
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Hope Winter is a reporter and multimedia journalist who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here.
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