When I thinks about blizzards in Buffalo, what comes to mind is “snow days”, walks up to the various cafés that miraculously remain open, romps in the parks with my dog, and stoking the fireplace for some added coziness. Of course blizzards can be tough on roofs and stranded motorists, but in general Buffalonians are fairly resilient when it comes to getting snowed in, and they take winter storms with a few grains of road salt.
If you ask The Friends of the Japanese Garden (FJG) about Buffalo blizzards, they will tell you a different story. You see, if you ask a supporter of the Cherry Blossom Festival about what comes to mind when the word “blizzard” is mentioned, they will tell you that the storms are more vibrant in nature, with colorful hues of pinks and whites that blanket the city in springtime. That’s because the goal of festival supporters is to blanket the city of Buffalo in cherry blossoms each and every spring.
In order to see its mission through, it is the goal of FJG to help plant hundreds of cherry blossom trees throughout our neighborhoods, with a heavy concentration at the Japanese Garden at Mirror Lake (Delaware Park).
The Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival might be relatively new to this city, but the spirit that surrounds it is ages old. If you think about the celebration of spring in Buffalo, what comes to mind? For me, it has always been Boomdays, and that will forever be a fun-filled reminder that warmer days are ahead. But recently this new festival has been commanding a respect in another form. Organizers of the Cherry Blossom Festival pay their respects to culture and nature, in a way that is inspirational on so many levels, as you will see in the following video:
Cherry Blossom Festival.mov from trudystern on Vimeo.
In order for the festival to be strong and healthy from year to year, funds must be raised to support the planting of the trees and their upkeep. We must also take care of the artists that rally around the trees. There are so many festival details that help to grow the event from year to year, and it is with your help that everything is made possible.
Please consider being a sponsor of the festival. Click here to visit the Indigogo campaign that has been recently launched. Be sure to check out all of the rewards in the righthand column. Also see Facebook for further details, and other ways that you can be involved. The festival is always on the hunt for artists, musicians, etc. to make the celebration bigger and better.
Can you imagine a Buffalo that is known for its Cherry Blossom Blizzards? I can.