‘It’s just bigger and better than ever’: Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off this weekend

Cherry blossoms are starting to bloom in Vancouver, and the annual festival celebrating them begins this weekend.

One hundred years ago, Japanese officials gifted Vancouver 500 cherry blossom trees to honour Japanese-Canadian veterans of the First World War.

Today, tens of thousands of the beloved trees can be found throughout the city.

“There’s over 40,000,” said Andrea Arnot, executive director of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival.

“When the blossoms come out, it’s that hope of springtime coming, that we can all come out from the gloomy, rainy days, and start to connect with community and be outside and enjoy the beautiful nature that Vancouver has to offer.”

The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival is in its 19th year and features several events, kicking off this Friday at David Lam Park and running until late April.

“Coming up, we have the big picnic and Blossoms After Dark, and we’ve expanded to light up the whole park for Blossoms After Dark,” said Arnot. “We’ve added a licensed lounge, more art activities, more food offerings. So it’s just bigger and better than ever.”

Metro Vancouver and southern Vancouver Island are two of the few locations in Canada with a climate that can support cherry blossoms.

“The more sun you can give a cherry, the better,” said Peter Kreuk, a retired landscape architect who serves on the board of the festival.

“A minimum of six hours a day of direct sunlight when the sun’s out is a good thing to have.”

With Vancouver seeing little sun in March, peak cherry bloom season isn’t expected for a few weeks.

Cherry blossom season in Vancouver typically runs from late March to early May.