Categories
Cherry Jam Haiku Photos Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

Cherry Jam Downtown Concert

Haiku Tracking at the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival kick off  concert Cherry Jam on April 4 2013

At the Burrard skytrain station, lots of people came to the Cherry Jam concert today. Some of the performers included:  World Umbrella Dancers, taiko drummers, Japanese dancers, and a ukulele ensemble playing Sakura Sakura.

The Haiku Tracking balloons (an innovative project by Bing Thom Architects) added a nice touch of color and interactivity.

Haiku Tracking at the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival kick off  concert Cherry Jam on April 4 2013

People of all ages were having a good time carrying the balloons around.  When a young girl’s balloon got caught in a lower branch, she was showered with petals and everybody laughed.

Burrard skytrain station cherry blossom April 4 2013

The cherry petals were falling quickly due to the persistent rain.  How quicky? Take a look at this video:

Sakurab Bento box at the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Cherry Jam Concert April 4 2013

This yummy Sakurab bento box received some complimentary petals!

Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival 2012 Haiku Invitational bus sign

A closer look at the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational 2012 Winners. The poster should be in the Translink Skytrains and buses soon.

Haiku Tracking at the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival kick off  concert Cherry Jam on April 4 2013

If you took a balloon home, you will find a little haiku inside the paper. You can write your own haiku and publish it on the haikutracking.com website.

Haiku Tracking at the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival kick off  concert Cherry Jam on April 4 2013

Take a look at the haikutracking.com website to see where the balloons went and read some haiku.

Burrard skytrain station cherry blossom April 4 2013

Cherry blossom viewing tip: you should never shy away from the rain.  This picture was taken today at the Burrard station. You could never take that on a sunny day, that’s for sure!  Buy the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival umbrella to keep you dry and get out there!  Visit the Burrard station location within 2-3 days to be showered with petals.  Hurry up!  (Umbrellas are for sale at Urban Tea Merchant, just one block away from Burrard station).

Categories
Cherry Jam Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

A Ukulele Celebration – beginners workshop

Ukulele Celebration of cherry blossoms

The event “A Ukulele Celebration of Cherry Blossoms” is a partnership between the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival and Ruby’s Ukes.

On Saturday March 9, I rescued my ukulele from the back of my closet and headed out for a beginners workshop at Ruby’s Ukes. My objective: learn to play Sakura Sakura on the ukulele in just two hours!

At the Seymour Building, I was greeted by Ruby with a big smile.  She asked if I ever played the ukulele and I was too shy to admit I had bought it as a decoration piece many years ago.  Ruby tuned my ukulele and I was surprised (and relieved) to hear it sounded just like a real music instrument.

The beginners’ workshop was two hours. In the first hour, we learned how to play the ukulele. Our teacher Guido Heistek cracked a lot of jokes and made learning ukulele really fun and easy. We learned how to tune the ukulele by ear (a simple melody that goes “My dog has fleas”), how to hold the instrument, how to read the music sheet, play some chords and finally play some songs. In just an hour, we went from complete beginners to budding musicians!

Ukulele Celebration of cherry blossoms

After a snack (tea, cookies, fruits and almonds), we tackled the second part of the workshop: learningSakura Sakura (a traditional japanese song celebrating cherry blossoms). That went really smoothly now that we all knew how to play.

The melody Sakura Sakura sounds really good played on the ukulele. The sound is very similar to the koto, the string instrument traditionally used to play Sakura Sakura.

Cherry Ukuleles by Rubys Uke

Now, all we have to do is practice and rehearse for the Ukulele Celebration of Cherry Blossoms concerts which will take place at Cherry Jam (April 4th) and Sakura Days Japan Fair (April 6-7).  Don’t miss it, it’s going to be amazing!  The beginners will play the melody while intermediate and advanced students will play the chords. We’ll also have a singer!

If you know how to play the ukulele, sign up for the rehearsal on Saturday March 23. For only 5$, you will learn the song Sakura Sakura, get a copy of the music sheet, have lots of fun and get a chance to play on stage during Cherry Jam and Sakura Days Japan Fair.