Preview Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Cherry Blossom Festival 2017

BKLYNER took a quick field trip last week to preview the cherry blossom/sakura trees at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s beloved Cherry Esplanade, Cherry Walk, and Japanese Pond Garden.

While the blossoms were still in the early bloom stages last week, the above photos will give an idea of what to expect at this weekend’s Cherry Blossom Festival, or Sakura Matsuri. The popular annual event features the beautiful cherry blossoms at peak bloom along with more than 60 events and performances celebrating Japanese culture over two days (Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 6pm).

Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Cherry Esplanade boasts 76 Prunus ‘Kanzan’ trees that overflow with white and pink blossoms in the spring—making it one of the best places to enjoy cherry blossoms outside of Japan.

While the vividly hued and photogenic cherry blossoms are enough of a draw on their own, the event will also feature taiko drumming, dance, samurai sword/martial arts presentations, a Cosplay fashion show, a J-pop dance party, tea ceremonies, manga workshops, games of Shogi Chess and Go, a Japanese market, a bonsai exhibit, a giant origami demonstration, and much more.

And the cherry blossoms will look even more spectacular this weekend than they do in the pictures!

Learn more about Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s cherry blossoms here and purchase tickets/see the full Sakura Matsuri 2017 schedule of events here.

[Photos by Pamela Wong/BKLYNER]