Vancouver Cherry Blossom FestivalPresented by
There was so much to experience at Sakura Days Japan Fair: performances on the cherry stage, activities in the Experience Japan and haiku tents, vendors kiosks, food stands and, of course, cherry blossoms!
Join us for more cherry blossom fun — such as Bike the Blossoms, haiku workshop, cherry walk, Big Sing, and more. Details on our community events page.
There were lots of haiku activities at the Leith Wheeler Haiku House during Sakura Days Japan Fair: haiku workshop, haiku rocks, haiku weathergrams, bookmaking, haikuseum. We had lots of fun getting people inspired to write haiku for the upcoming Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational.
Meanwhile, visitors in the garden were able to read haiku on bamboo sticks and haiku written in chalk (thanks to Michael Dylan Welch for this great project installation!)
If you missed the haiku workshop and the bookmaking workshop at Sakura Days Japan Fair, you’ll have a second chance. There will be a haiku workshop followed by a bookmaking workshop at the Kerrisdale Community Centre Picnic on Sunday April 26/15.
On this first day of the Sakura Days Japan Fair, many haiku activities took place at the glasshouse.
A lot of people came to the Leith Wheeler Haiku House to learn more about haiku.
During her workshop Haiku “Rocks!”, Angela Naccarato instructed participants on how to write a haiku.
Then, participants wrote their haiku on a painted rock.
Angela Naccarato and musician James Mullin were part of the lineup of poets reading from 12.00-1.00
Michael Dylan Welch gave a workshop about haiku from 1.00-2.00
Terry Ann Carter showed us how to make a beautiful haiku book from 2.00-3.00
With our haiku notebook in our pocket, it was time to take a walk to the Haiku Rock from 3.00-4.00.
The Haiku Rock (located in the cherry grove) features the top winning poems from the first three years of the VCBF Haiku Invitational contest).
Back at the Glasshouse, participants could test their Haiku IQ at this table and also read a tiny haiku… using a magnifying glass!
Visitors were able to get free advice on how to write a winning haiku from our team of volunteers who are past judges and past winners of the Haiku Invitational: Terry Ann Carter (2013 judge), Michael Dylan Welch, Carole MacRury, Johnny Baranski, Vicki McCullough, Angela Naccarato, Jacquie Pierce, and Jessica Tremblay.
All haiku activities will take place again on Sunday April 6, 2014.
Come to the glasshouse to learn more about haiku!
Schedule of Haiku Activities
in the Glass House
Sunday April 6, 2014
10:00a – 5:00p How to Write a Winning Haiku (ongoing)
10:00a –12:00p Crafts: Notebooks with Vicki and Jacquie
12:00p – 1:00p Readings: Terry Ann Carter, Carole MacRury, Young Shakespeareans, Johnny Baranski, and Angela Naccarato with flute accompaniment by James Mullin
1:00p – 2:00p Learn About Haiku (workshop) with Michael Dylan Welch
2:00p – 3:00p Bookmaking (workshop) with Terry Ann Carter
3:00p – 4:00p Haiku Walk with Michael Dylan Welch(meet at the Glass House)
3:00p – 5:00p Crafts: Haiku ‘Rocks!’ with Angela Naccarato
At Sakura Days Japan Fair (April5-6, 2014), Terry Ann Carter will lead a small-book making workshop for anyone—children, teens, adults—who would like to learn the basic folds for an accordion book and to make a haiku notebook.
Terry Ann reproduced some Japanese stamps that can be used on the covers.
The closures will be elastic bands, thread or yarn.
Terry Ann found a custom stamp designer in Victoria who made a “my haiku book” stamp.
Take your haiku notebook with you on the haiku walk or decorate it on the spot with haiku and collage to make a “one of a kind” art book.
Papers are provided. The workshop is free, but you must buy a Sakura Days Japan Fair ticket to enter the site.
Saturday April 5 2014
2:00p – 3:00p Bookmaking (demo) with Terry Ann Carter
3:00p – 5:00p Make a Haiku Notebook (workshop) with Terry Ann Carter
Sunday April 6 2014
2:00p – 3:00p Bookmaking (demo only) with Terry Ann Carter
Celebrate spring with the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (April 3-28 2014):
Many haiku activities took place in the glasshouse during Sakura Days Japan Fair.
At 12:00, Terry Ann Carter showed us how to make different kinds of books using collage, photo, text, and beautiful Japanese paper.
Her handmade books (accordion, flutter, origami fold) are absolutely gorgeous!
At 13:00, Michael Dylan Welch gave a haiku workshop.
Our haiku minstrels Vicki McCullough and James Mulling were reading haiku and playing flute to entertain visitors in the garden.
Visitors were able to test their haiku IQ here!
Stop by the glasshouse to learn about haiku this Sunday at the Van Dusen Botanical Garden.
Workshops and activities on Sunday April 7, 2013 include:
12.00 Haiku and small book demonstration
13.00 Learn haiku workshop
14.30 Haiku reading on the cherry stage
15.00 Haiku walk
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!
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.
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.
