By Hailey Muscarella, Matt Murphy, and Hannah Steiner
Buffalo just finished having its 9th annual Cherry Blossom festival and it was held at the History Museum and the Japanese Gardens. The Cherry Blossom Festival is a must go to if you are from Buffalo or just visiting! It is a family friendly event and has so many things to do ranging from food trucks, origami, henna, learning the history of Japanese Culture and enjoying the breathtaking views of the Cherry Blossoms in bloom!
There were many activities to do outside and the Cherry Blossoms were by far my favorite part of the festival. It was so beautiful to stand under these large blossoming trees that were glowing in pink hues. People were all gathered around with friends, family and their dogs enjoying the beautiful trees. The light wind would push the cherry blossoms off the trees to create a shower of those gorgeous flowers. The whole festival was so lively with the live music they had around the Japanese gardens. Painters were painting and capturing the scenery in front of them. It was a very peaceful experience being under those trees. We then headed over to the tents where they were offering henna and selling authentic green tea. If you were hungry, food trucks such as the Cereal Spot were available to grab a bite to eat. There were also boat rides taking place if you wanted to enjoy the scenery from the water.
Overall, this was such a fun festival and a great way to bring in the new month of May! Visit the Cherry Blossoms next time they are in bloom if you can because you don’t want to miss the gorgeous trees and the beauty nature has to offer. –Hailey Muscarella [May 2, 2022]
This year marked Buffalo’s 9th annual Cherry Blossom festival with different activities and vendors at the Buffalo History Museum and Japanese Gardens. They had something for everyone from calligraphy writing inside to boat rides on Mirror Lake in the gardens! This event has something for everyone, and everyone should visit if they can as it is amazing cultural experience and see the beautiful Cherry Blossoms while they last!
The Inside of the Buffalo History Museum had all sorts of both historical, and cultural aspects of Japanese culture. From Japanese music which was particularly good and enjoyable to the different Japanese historical pieces from Japanese document boxes to a surgical kit. The objects had various markings that were exceptionally beautiful and there were other tables inside as well with origami, and Japanese calligraphy and a bonsai table. The different areas of Japanese culture were remarkably interesting and there were lots of people inside engaged in different activities making the origami, listening to the music, or looking at the different historical pieces of Japanese culture. People were enjoying their time at the festival learning about bonsai plants, and different areas of Japanese culture and they were restoring a bonsai tree for people to watch and learn the process of how to maintain them as well.
The Cherry Blossom festival was an amazing experience seeing the beautiful flowers, and seeing people engaged with different activities and vendors make the experience that much better. Learning about diverse cultures and partaking in their cultures is something we can all do with an open mind and enjoy things around us! You do not want to miss this festival for all it offers through the Cherry Blossoms and the different vendors and people enjoying their time at the museum and festival! – Matt Murphy [May 2, 2022]
The 9th annual Cherry Blossoms Festival at the Buffalo History Museum was a success, thanks to the beauty of the Japanese Gardens and the lovely Buffalo weather that accompanied it.
The original purpose of the Buffalo Cherry Blossoms Festival was to raise awareness and support the upkeep of the Cherry Tree Grove in the Japanese Gardens. However, this mission has expanded and now includes food trucks, tables for local businesses, live music, and many other activities.
A fan favorite of this event was walking down the pathway through the gardens. The cherry blossom trees were perfect for painting, taking pictures, photoshoot backdrops, or to simply acknowledge the beauty of nature. There was live music from local musicians playing throughout the day that made the experience that much more sensual. People could enjoy canoe rides in the lake, as well as food from local vendors at their respective food trucks.
I've never been inside the Buffalo History Museum, so that in itself was exciting for me. It was interesting to see the exhibits which showed Buffalo's history, including my personal favorite: the Icons Exhibit. This exhibit shows the history of Buffalo's professional sports teams and was a kid-favorite at this event.
For my first time ever attending the Buffalo Cherry Blossoms Festival, I was impressed with the simple beauty of the Japanese Gardens and the cherry blossom trees. It was exciting to see how many people showed up for this event and Buffalo unite as a community once again. – Hannah Steiner [May 2, 2022]
For more information on the Buffalo Cherry Blossoms Festival, please visit https://www.buffalocherryblossomfestival.org/about-the-garden.html