Celebrate spring with 9th annual Cherry Blossom Festival

The Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival returns in-person for its ninth year, April 28 to May 1. The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, The Buffalo History Museum, Friends of the Japanese Garden, and Music is Art will once again partner to host a celebration of the spring season and cherry blossoms in the Japanese Garden in Delaware Park.

Organizers said, “The festival features exhibits and events that celebrate the longstanding ties between Buffalo and its sister city, Kanazawa, Japan, which has helped maintain the city’s Japanese Garden through the decades. Dozens of cherry blossom trees bloom directly behind The Buffalo History Museum in the Japanese Garden, creating one of the most iconic scenic vistas in Western New York and the perfect backdrop for a spring festival.”

Buffalo History Museum Executive Director Melissa Brown added, “Nothing says spring in Western New York like the return of the Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival and the beautiful blooms behind our museum. This celebration of history, Japanese culture and our region’s natural beauty is a can’t-miss staple of our festival season.”

Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy Executive Director Stephanie Crockatt said, “Being back in person for the ninth annual Cherry Blossom Festival only adds to the extra exciting year we have ahead in celebrating Olmsted's 200th birthday. In fact, the Japanese Garden in Delaware Park is also celebrating its 60th year of sister city affiliation with Kanazawa Japan. The festival supports this special landscape, and the Buffalo History Museum and Friends of the Japanese Garden have been vital partners all along in growing this blooming experience with expanded education and culture.”

Paula Hinz of the Friends of the Japanese Garden said, “Year after year, Buffalo’s Cherry Blossom Festival brings visitors to the Japanese Garden to stroll along the blossoming trees and enjoy the gift of spring after a long cold winter. These dainty blossoms only last for a short while and are our reminder of life’s ephemeral nature.”

This year’s events are as follows:

•Festival Fundraiser 

Thursday, April 28 | 6-8 p.m. 

The Buffalo History Museum | One Museum Court

Ticket price: $40 per pair | $25 per individual (day of the event $50 per pair | $30 per individual)

This year’s fundraiser for the Japanese Garden is at The Buffalo History Museum and includes a blossoming basket raffle, local bites, wine pull, and live music by cellist and multi-genre musician Leah Rankin and indie rock duo tuesday nite. This event is hosted by the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, Friends of the Japanese Garden, Music is Art, and The Buffalo History Museum. For tickets or more information, visit https://one.bidpal.net/blossoms22/welcome.

•Festival Weekend 

Saturday, April 30, and Sunday, May 1 | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Japanese Garden in Delaware Park and The Buffalo History Museum

Celebrate inside The Buffalo History Museum and outside in the Japanese Garden with cultural displays and activities. Learn about bonsai, origami, folk dolls, and Kanazawa (Buffalo’s sister city in Japan) at activity tables inside the Buffalo History Museum. Enjoy Music is Art’s three stages of live music in the Japanese Garden. Stroll in the garden, admire the blossoms and take a ride on the pink boats on Mirror Lake. Grab something to eat from food trucks Cheesy Chick, Fat Bob’s and Tiny Thai, and enjoy a pop-up tea ceremony on the museum’s upper portico.

For a full schedule, visit: https://www.buffalocherryblossomfestival.org/. 

The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy is the first nonprofit organization in the nation to manage and operate an entire urban park system consisting of more than 850 acres of uniquely designed historic parks, parkways and circles. The conservancy is an independent not-for-profit, community organization whose mission is to promote, preserve, restore, enhance and maintain the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed parks and parkways in the Greater Buffalo area for current and future generations. Visit www.bfloparks.org.

The Buffalo History Museum has been one of Western New York's premier historical organizations since 1862.

The Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society (doing business as The Buffalo History Museum) is a private, not-for-profit organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. Learn more at www.buffalohistory.org.

The Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival is organized in collaboration with the Friends of the Japanese Garden, a volunteer organization that supports Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy's goal of caring for the Japanese Garden in Delaware Park. All net proceeds raised from the festival are used to preserve and enhance the special nature of this garden.