Spring in Vancouver means one thing—cherry blossoms, and lots of them! This year, the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (VCBF) is back and bigger than ever, filling the city with stunning pink canopies and an expanded lineup of events from March 26 to April 28.
From the return of favourites like The Big Picnic, Blossoms After Dark, and Sakura Days Japan Fair to exciting new additions like the Blossom Block Party, this year’s festival promises more ways than ever to experience the magic of cherry blossom season.
In this Q&A, we chat with Andrea Arnot, Executive Director of VCBF, about what’s in store for 2025, how the festival continues to grow, and the best ways to immerse yourself in Vancouver’s most breathtaking seasonal celebration. —Noa Nichol
What makes this year’s Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (VCBF) special? Are there any exciting new additions that attendees should look forward to?
Due to the overwhelming popularity of our events, we are expanding two of our signature events, The Big Picnic and Blossoms After Dark at David Lam Park to include a licensed lounge with entertainment, more food trucks and carts, an expanded vendor village and more free activities for attendees. Blossoms After Dark will illuminate the entire perimeter of the park this year!
The festival draws thousands of visitors each year. How has VCBF evolved since its inception, and what do you think keeps people coming back?
The cherry blossoms signal the beginning of Spring here in Vancouver. After the long, grey, rainy winters we experience on the west coast, the blossoms and our festival are a sign of hope, light and beauty. Our festival draws over 75,000 attendees who want to appreciate the beauty of the blossoms, celebrate arts and culture and connect with their community. Over the years, the festival has always been a beacon of
Can you tell us more about the new Blossom Block Party? What inspired this event, and what can attendees expect from the experience?
Attendance at all of our events has grown exponentially over the past few years so we decided to add another event to our festival roster. The Blossom Block Party is being produced in partnership with Public Disco. Their team has a long history of creating warm, welcoming, all ages dance parties in public plazas and spaces. We look forward to seeing how our audiences enjoy this type of event.
Blossoms After Dark sounds like a magical addition. How did the idea come about, and how will the illuminated displays and roaming performers enhance the festival atmosphere?
Pre-pandemic, VCBF produced a one night event Sakura Illumination at various locations (Queen Elizabeth Park, Stanley Park) that drew large crowds to view projections and the lighting up of cherry trees. Last year, we decided to revise the past event into a 3 night event called Blossoms After Dark. We were expecting about 5000 people per night last year and ended up with almost 20,000 people on Friday and Saturday nights and about 8000,000 on the Sunday. This year, we have expanded the event footprint and will be lighting up the entire park and we have added more food options, more entertainment, light up art installations and a licensed lounge. On Sunday night, we will be hosting live piano accompanied Karaoke in the licensed lounge. Last year, guests were absolutely wowed by the lighting displays and many described it as “magical”. The roaming performers provide a dynamic experience of light, dance and movement.
With Vancouver’s strong ties to Japanese culture, Sakura Days Japan Fair is always a festival highlight. What can visitors expect from this year’s celebration?
Sakura Days Japan Fair has also grown in popularity over the year. Last year’s attendance was a record. For this year, attendees can expect a plethora of food options, as well as a plethora of performances, workshops and demonstrations that showcase Japanese arts, culture and heritage.
Cherry blossoms symbolize renewal and hope. Beyond their beauty, what do these blossoms represent for Vancouver and its communities?
Vancouver has been long dubbed as a “lonely city” and a place that is sometimes difficult in which to make new friends. Beyond our festival events, the cherry blossoms are ephemeral and stunning, that crowds of people come outside to view the various blossom cultivars in neighbourhoods all over the city. The blossoms bring people together. Last year, Lonely Planet named Vancouver the 4th best place to view cherry blossoms in the world. This has sparked many media articles about cherry blossom tourism and we do know that we have visitors from other parts of Canada, North America and internationally who plan trips to Vancouver to see our glorious cherry trees!
The festival is not just about the blossoms—it’s about bringing people together. How does VCBF foster a sense of community and cultural appreciation?
VCBF has a long history of hiring a diverse array of both emerging and established performers. We believe it is important for our attendees to see and hear their cultures represented in our programming. We also work with community groups and artists to provide free arts and culture activities at our events like a Indigenous drumming circles, paper fan decorating, origami and block printing. Our festival founder, Linda Poole, has strived to ensure everyone feels included and subscribes to imbed this haiku into all of our planning, “there is no stranger under the cherry tree…” (Haiku by Issa)
Many of the festival’s events are free to the public. Why is accessibility such an important part of VCBF, and how do you ensure the festival remains inclusive for all?
It is a priority for us to have as many free events as we can so that people of all ages can celebrate the cherry blossoms and connect with their community. In these uncertain times, it is even more important for us to come together and we know that right now BC residents are feeling a hit to their pocketbooks. We also provide ASL interpretation at The Big Picnic stage and have designed our events at David Lam Park to be as accessible to those who use mobility aids as we can. Every year, we keep improving access to our events.
You’ve been part of VCBF for many years. What has been one of your most memorable festival moments?
This year, will be my second year through the festival as the Executive Director. One of my absolute favorite moments last year might not seem so “wow”, but to me, it is at the heart of why our team spends all year planning our events. We had two giant pink conversation benches at our events last year. We provide a basket of conversation starter cards that included prompts like, “Where do you feel most at home? Tell me about one of your cultural holiday traditions. Who is one of your heroes?” I approached two people sitting on the bench during The Big Picnic last year. I introduced myself and asked if I could take a photo of them sitting on the bench for VCBF to utilize. They agreed and then shared that they were actually two strangers who both sat down on the bench to rest their tired feet. They started looking at the conversation prompts and were still sitting there an hour later chatting. They told me that they were now friends and had exchanged phone numbers so they could meet up again. That is what we aim to create – beautiful moments for people to connect.
For someone experiencing VCBF for the first time, what’s your must-see event or top tip for making the most of the festival?
I highly recommend attending Blossoms After Dark. It is a truly unique spectacle that you can’t see any other time of the year! Our festival is spread out over 3 weekends so you can attend all of our events if you are a cherry blossom enthusiast. I also recommend checking out our cherry blossom map on vcbf.ca to see where and when there are cherry blossoms close to you. Go outside. Look up. Soak up the beauty.
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