Spring in Vancouver is officially here, and this year, the city’s most iconic pink canopy is hosting a major milestone. From March 26 to April 17, the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates its 20th Annual Festival with its most expansive program to date. Since launching in 2005, the festival has welcomed over one million attendees, proving founder Linda Poole’s guiding philosophy that “there is no stranger under the cherry tree”.
To mark two decades of community and culture, we sat down with founder Linda Poole and Executive Director Andrea Arnot to discuss this year’s massive expansions. From The Big Picnic growing into a two-day event at David Lam Park to a car-free Blossom Block Party on Dunsmuir Street, the duo shares how they are turning the city into a vibrant celebration of art, music, and nature. We also dive into new traditions like the commemorative haiku book and the first-ever (and already sold-out!) Blossom Run. —Noa Nichol
Linda Poole, Founder & Artistic Director
The Seed of an Idea: You started this event 21 years ago; looking back at that first “seed” of an idea, what has been the most unexpected way you’ve seen the community grow and blossom around these trees?
I’m so happy that Vancouver has so much love for the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival and the cherry blossom we celebrate and our excitement is reverberating around the world!
No Stranger Under the Tree: Your guiding philosophy is that “there is no stranger under the cherry tree”. How has that mantra evolved as the festival has grown from a local gathering to a citywide tradition that has welcomed over one million people?
Season after season Isa’s haiku proves itself with everyone it seems so it really is the mantra of the Festival. In fact we’re known by many fans for this poem. I observe people feeling very happy under cherry blossoms smiling and feeling uplifted so they start sharing their experience with others under the tree canopy. I think people feel the common humanity under the cherry tree and are open to others.
A Literary Legacy: This year marks the release of Blossoms in the Breeze, featuring 20 years of haiku. How does the “fragile ephemeral beauty” of a cherry blossom specifically inspire the creative and literary spirit of Vancouverites?
Cherry blossoms are personal and universally such transcendent beauty takes us out of the mundane everyday experience into the spiritual and more exciting matters. For those who live life in beauty as an artist such beauty would inspire them in new and creative ways. They would appreciate their fleeting beauty and recognize the ephemeral moment of being human. And for others they may be struck by such beauty for the first time and realize that beauty is always available to us to experience and may be moved to write their first haiku.
Planting for the Future: With the Vancouver Park Board replanting nine new trees this year , how do you feel these new saplings represent the “next generation” of the festival’s legacy?
I’m grateful Vancouver Board of Parks & Recreation is on board to help us realize the second part of our mission “to sustain and renew Vancouver’s cherry tree heritage”. As these new cherry trees grow the Festival’s relationship with the community will grow and flourish as we bring more and more people in to our cherry blossom culture.
The “Fluevog” Petal: The festival is collaborating with Fluevog Shoes on a specially designed heel this year. In your view, how has the cherry blossom transitioned from a natural wonder to a true fashion and cultural icon in our city?
Beauty in nature has always inspired designers. I’m always happy to see new fashion and accessories appear on the runway and for everyday wear in the city. I’m seeing all shades of pinks and feel there’s room for more cherry blossom fashion here.I’m hoping an international super star like John Fluevog and his new Sakura Shoe design will inspire others to add more cherry blossoms to our fashion from the romantic to Japanese influenced designs.
Andrea Arnot, Executive Director
A Milestone Season: As you celebrate the 20th Annual Festival , what was the strategic “bloom” behind expanding signature events like The Big Picnic into a two-day celebration at David Lam Park?
The Big Picnic is always a highly anticipated and well attended event each year at David Lam Park. Every year, the attendance numbers keep growing so we decided to make it a two day event this year. This gives us the opportunity to showcase artists, performers, vendors and food trucks for the community to enjoy under the cherry blossoms for the whole weekend. This further supports our mandate to create community connections through arts and culture.
Blossoming Footprints: The Blossom Block Party is expanding with a car-free Dunsmuir St. this year. How does opening up these urban spaces help residents “reconnect” with nature in the heart of a concrete downtown?
Last year, at the Blossom Block Party, we had line-ups to get into the event for the whole afternoon and early evening. We definitely needed to expand the event footprint to create more space to gather and celebrate springtime together. By closing Dunsmuir St, the event is more fully connected to Art Phillips Park next to the Burrard Skytrain station where is a stunning canopy of flowering cherry trees that residents and visitors flock to each year. It is important remind all of us urban dwellers that there are, indeed, pockets of beautiful opportunities to connect with nature throughout downtown. We hope our festival is a reminder to slow down and ground ourselves in nature.
The First-Ever Blossom Run: The inaugural Blossom Run at David Lam Park sold out almost immediately. Why do you think the community is so eager to “actively” participate under the blossoms rather than just observing them?
Two of our board members are active runners and decided that they would like to test out a small, social run this year. We were shocked at how quickly the event sold out. The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival is one of the first outdoor festivals of the season and after a long, rainy, winter, people are eager to get outside again and to connect with others. Throughout the years, VCBF has curated different events and activities to ensure that everyone can find a meaningful way to participate in the festival, whether that is running under the blossoms, co-creating cherry blossom themed art, attending an educational workshop or dancing at our main stage.
Predicting the Bloom: Given that the festival dates are set from March 26 to April 17 , how do you navigate the logistical “messiness” of nature if the trees decide to blossom significantly earlier or later than the scheduled events?
We do have to choose our event dates one year in advance. We do this based on years of data about bloom dates, weather patterns and macro weather forecasts. The beautiful thing about the cherry blossoms is that most cultivars bloom for about two weeks so we have a window of time to work within. Also, there are 54 different cultivars that all bloom at different times throughout the city. Vancouverites are lucky that we can experience cherry blossoms from mid-March through most of April depending on where we look for them!
Sporting the Sakura: Whitecaps FC is hosting a special Cherry Blossom Match on March 15. How do partnerships with major sports teams help spread the festival’s message of “awe and wonder” to an even broader audience?
Our mission is to remind folks to stop, slow down and enjoy the ephemeral beauty of the cherry blossoms and to connect with others. We do this through creating moments of “awe and wonder” large and small. Partnering with the Whitecaps FC on a Cherry Blossom Match not only serves as a reminder that the blossoms are coming, but everyone in the stadium is connected through the shared experience of cheering for our home team, together.
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March 17th, 2026 at 8:23 pm
Even the brief silence after a crash carries meaning, marking the moment before the rider reappears for another attempt.