The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival kicked off today with the Cherry Jam, a free concert held at the Burrard skytrain station in downtown Vancouver.
This year, several artists teamed up to offer a multidisciplinary experience: The Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra performed first, then stayed on stage to accompany two dancers and a Japanese singer.
Chinese musician Ji Rong Huang played the er-hu while Dayna Szyndrowski performed tap dancing. I was blown away that someone had thought of mixing these two different art forms together. And they worked perfectly!
Japanese artist Yayoi Hirano from Yayoi Theatre Movement performed haiku in mime while accompanied by the flute music of Holly Burke. (No pictures, but I took a video.)
Vancouver Okinawa Taiko group closed the show with powerful drumming and dancing.
All performances were wonderful and memorable!
Festival volunteers at the VCBF table were handing out the 2016 Cherry Blossom guide which you can also find in this week’s The Vancouver Courier Newspaper and WE | The Westender.
Spring came early, so all cherry blossom were gone at the Burrard skytrain station, but there was a birthday blossom tree at one of the kiosks, so I was able to take pictures of the blossoms.
Akebono cherry trees are losing their petals, but there are plenty of cherry blossoms elsewhere in the city: Shirotae, beni-shidare, and soon Kanzan will bloom. Are you ready to celebrate spring?
Don’t go cherry blossom viewing without these essential items: the VCBF guide, a cherry petal mat and a guide to Ornamental Cherries in Vancouver.
Happy Cherry Blossom Viewing!