Brooklyn's Progress
January 2005

Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) announces the 2005 dates for Sakura Matsuri, the Garden’s 24th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival. New York City’s Rite of Spring will ring in the new spring season with a spectacular weekend celebration Sat., April 30 and Sun., May 1, while BBG’s signature collection of over 220 flowering cherry trees—a collection unmatched outside of Japan—reaches a breathtaking peak with an explosion of lush, pink blooms. With the delicate "snowfall" of cherry blossom petals, candy-colored spectrum of tulips bursting forth, and the intoxicating fragrance of lilacs floating through the warm air, Brooklyn Botanic Garden is the place to celebrate the season of renewal.
 
The 2005 Cherry Blossom Festival Weekend is packed with featured musical and dance performances, demonstrations, workshops, exhibits, and guided tours that will delight the senses, as well as honor the cultural traditions of Japan. In Japanese culture, the fleeting cherry blossom is a poignant symbol of life in bloom, the promise of spring, and the passing brilliance of nature. In this spirit, become immersed in the rich culture of Japan, where the legacy of Japanese flowering cherries dates back 12 centuries.
 
A detailed schedule of the festival is available by visiting Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Web site at http://www.bbg.org/ or by calling the public events hotline at (718) 623-7333. All activities are free with Garden admission and take place rain or shine with indoor locations provided for all activities in the event of rain.