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Photos Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

Sakura Illumination

Sakura Illumination took place in Stanley Park, at the Japanese Memorial, on the evening of April 1 2016. This activity  presented by HFour Design – one of the highlights of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival – was attended by over 3,000 people.

I arrived at the Japanese Memorial around 7.30pm and there was already close to 1,000 people on the site.

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People were sitting on blankets, waiting for the sun to come down and the lanterns to turn on.

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Around 8.00 p.m., the generators kicked in and the lanterns were lit.  The excitement was palpable in the audience.

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Waiting for the night to fall, I visited the Japanese memorial where the Ojichin was beautifully lit.

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Around 9pm, it was night time. Two dozens lanterns were hanging in the Shirotae cherry trees. Some were on low branches so you could have your picture taken with them. There were also Japanese umbrellas with flashing led lights.

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The fully bloomed Shirotae cherry trees were lit up with different colour lights with spotlights. And there was a live projection of moving images on the tree canopy accompanied by music.  It was a beautiful evening.

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Walking back on the seawall, I enjoyed this amazing view of Vancouver skyline.

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A few minutes after I had taken this photo,  hundreds of cyclists – dressed in costumes, their bikes adorned with lights – passed on seawall chanting: “Vancouver Bike Train!” The line of cyclists went on for at least 20 minutes and was quite entertaining to watch.

This fun cycling event reminded me of our upcoming Bike the Blossoms event with Velopalooza on April 9. Join the fun!

Photos: Jessica Tremblay

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Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

Sakura Illumination Tour video

Sakura Illumination Tour 2013

Check out this video of the Sakura Illumination Tour uploaded by Stuart Ward from hfour design.

The Sakura Illumination Tour is a mobile night time installation which will illuminate various cherry blossom sites in public parks and beaches while in full bloom. Using LED and patterned video lights, Stuart Ward of Hfour Design illuminated cherry blossom trees with his sensory projection artwork. The single night quality reflects the tempo of the blossoms, and their varying bloom times. The unique experience will create an intangible memory of a time and place never to be duplicated.

The light show will be a reminder that if you don’t stop, if you don’t pull over to see what is happening, you’ll miss it because it won’t be there tomorow. Life is brief and beauty does not last and life can pass you by if you don’t seize the moment.

The Sakura Illumination Tour will follow the peak bloom of our cherry trees and is dependent on the weather. Consult the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival page to learn where Sakura Illumination will pop up next and the VCBF Facebook page for latest updates!

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Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

Sakura Illumination Tour

Master Kawazu and Kaeru from Old Pond Comics admire cherry blossoms at night (yozakura)

I’m so glad the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival is presenting a new program called Sakura Illumination tour that will feature cherry blossom viewing at night (called yozakura in Japanese).

The Sakura Illumination Tour is a mobile night time installation which will illuminate various cherry blossom sites in public parks and beaches while in full bloom. Stuart Ward of Hfour Design will use projectors and lanterns to illuminate a few trees at a time with his sensory projection artwork. The single night quality reflects the tempo of the blossoms, and their varying bloom times.

The Sakura Illumination Tour will follow the peak bloom of our cherry trees April 4-30, between 8:30pm-10:30pm  and is dependent on the weather. Check out the VCBF website for location and showtime or click the picture below.

Sakura Illumination tour