Buffalo's Cherry Blossom Festival

Shelby Pangelinan '28  ~  April 2025

As spring is officially here, there are many events taking place all around Buffalo! One of them is the Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival on April 26 and 27. The free festival is located at the Japanese Garden in Delaware Park, by The Buffalo History Museum. 

According to the official Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival website, at the festival you will learn from cultural displays and activities on bonsai, origami, and folk dolls inside The Buffalo History Museum. Vendors and free hands-on activities will be inside, such as origami and Japanese language lessons. While live music is playing, you can stroll around in the garden and admire the beauty of the trees. Local food trucks will be located outside the garden and pink boat rides around the lake are offered to view the trees from all perspectives. Visitors are encouraged to take photos of the trees and picnic nearby, but are not allowed to shake the trees or take flowers, in order to preserve the trees. 

From the official website, the festival started in 2014 and hopes to support and bring awareness to the Cherry Tree Grove in the Japanese Garden. Since then, the mission has expanded to include Cherry Tree Plantings following the winter blizzards, calling it the “Blizzard of Blossoms.” The Japanese Garden was completed in 1974, on the site of the Pan-American Exposition. Later in 1994, The Japanese Garden was redesigned to deal with erosion control and a thousand new plantings were introduced. 

The Cherry Blossom Festival is similar to other Cherry Blossom Festivals, such as the one in Washington, DC; however, Buffalo's festival has its own special touch because it has a variety of activities. The festival doesn’t just celebrate the trees, but celebrates art, music, and culture. Attending this festival is among the many special ways to celebrate spring in Buffalo.