• Lifestyle

Sakura Matsuri Festival

The annual Sakura Matsuri festival is happening at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens this weekend! Steve and I made our way down to check out the festivities and see how the world famous cherry blossom collection is looking.

Most of the cherry blossoms seemed to be a bit delayed to bloom this year. In general Spring has come a little late to New York. Regardless, it was still great to see a few at their peak and to see the magnolia trees in full bloom. 

The most interesting events for us were the traditional and botanical art exhibitions, especially the Urasenke Tea Ceremony and Bonsai Exhibit. There was also an adorable display of ningyo dolls. 

These traditional dolls were originally created by monks who used excess temple building materials for the dolls in order to avoid waste. Narrow grooves are carved into the solid sculptures and edges of fabric are inserted to create the appearance of actual seams.

The bonsai display is awesome! Apparently it is one of the largest outside of Japan. We were so intrigued after seeing all the different specimens and wanted to create a mini bonsai world of our own. 

When you look at one of these guys long enough, they really draw you in, as if you’re staring at a micro fairy-tale setting. Small yet completely in harmony. They are so cute and I left wondering if the bonsai’s thought they were 50-foot tall trees.

If you get a chance to check it out, Sakura Matsuri runs for one more day (ends tomorrow Sunday, April 27) and if you can’t make it to the festival, you can track the blooms with the Brooklyn Botanical Garden’s cherry blossom tracker here and go when all the trees are at their peak. It’s a gorgeous sight when the cherry esplanade is lined in blossoming plants. Cherry blossoms only last for about 7-10 days a year so catch it while you can!