The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival takes place in April most years. It features a Japan Fair and other blossom-themed events.
In 2024 the festival ran from March 29th until April 25th.
Events that happened this time of year included the Big Picnic at David Lam Park on March 30th. Blossoms After Dark took place at the same location on the evenings of March 29th to 31st. Then, Sakura Days Japan Fair happened at VanDusen Garden on April 13th and 14th. There were a few other events that happened this year as well.
Other flower festivals you might be interested in this time of year include the Harrison Tulip Festival, Abbotsford Tulip Festival, and Sweet Spring Flower Festival at Greendale Acres. All three of these are exceptional and well worth the drive to the Fraser Valley to see!
Below you’ll find information about cherry blossom-themed events in 2024 as well as events that may or may not have returned this year.
Information in this article includes the following topics:
Big Picnic | Sakura Days Japan Fair | Bike the Blossoms | Blossoms After Dark | Cherry Jam Concert | Cherry Blossoms in Vancouver | Other Information
Click on any of the above links to jump to a specific topic, or continue reading to learn all about the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival.
Cherry Blossom Festival
In celebration of spring and the blossoming of cherry trees, there are events throughout Metro Vancouver most years. They include a Cherry Jam Concert downtown, Sakura Days Japan Fair at VanDusen Garden and more.
It’s a great festival, as acknowledged by the Canadian Garden Council which named it Canada’s Garden Festival of the Year Award winner a few years ago.
The Big Picnic at David Lam Park
The Big Picnic is a free cherry blossom-viewing event at David Lam Park. The venue is in Yaletown at 1300 Pacific Boulevard. In 2024 the Big Picnic took place on Saturday, March 30th.
“Hanami” is the Japanese traditional practice of gathering with friends and family in parks under cherry trees and admiring the blossoms while eating and drinking. “Hana” in Japanese means “flower” and “mi” means “to see.” The Big Picnic is a celebration of “hanami.”
When the event happens, arrive early if you can to find parking, especially if it’s a sunny day. Also, take your own picnic, lawn chair or a tarp or something to sit on. There’s normally free family-friendly entertainment and outdoor sessions of yoga, along with a small number of food trucks most years.
In total, at the event, we estimate that between around 500 and 1,000 people are on-site at any given time. So it’s not a huge event, but it is free and a fabulous time to check out the park’s cherry blossoms.
For more information about this Vancouver Cherry Blossom hanami event, click Big Picnic.
Sakura Days Japan Fair at VanDusen Garden
The Sakura Days Japan Fair happened on the weekend of April 13th and 14th in 2024.
Each year Japanese anime comic art is featured and celebrated at the event, and there is a Japanese tea ceremony to experience, Japanese food for sale and sake to sample. There are also usually workshops for the public on things like origami (Japanese paper folding art), calligraphy, and ikebana (Japanese flower arranging art).
The cost for the Sakura Days Japan Fair depends on whether you are a member of VanDusen Garden and if you purchase your tickets in advance. In 2024 tickets online for the public were $19.90 for adults and $15.41 for seniors and teenagers. Kids ages 5 to 12 cost $7.06, whereas children under the age of 5 entered for free.
Click Sakura Days Japan Fair for more information about the event.
Bike the Blossoms Cycle Ride in Vancouver
Bike the Blossoms is a free event that usually happens towards the end of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival season. In 2023 the event took place on April 22nd. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen in its usual format in 2024. Instead, everyone was encouraged to cycle the suggested route in their own time.
In years when the guided event does take place, the ride is usually about 10 to 12 kilometres in distance. Although free, participants in the Bike the Blossoms event need to fill out a waiver form, or at least that was the case in previous years. Waivers are normally available online and can be printed and brought with you to the event on the day. Alternatively, participants can arrive at least an hour early to fill out the form on-site.
The bike route varies slightly each year, but always starts on the south side of John Hendry Park near Trout Lake at East 19th Avenue. That’s just a short walk from the Trout Lake Community Centre which is located at 3300 Victoria Drive.
Blossoms After Dark at David Lam Park
Blossoms After Dark is a three-day event full of family-friendly fun. It took place on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of March 29th to 31st in 2024.
Between 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm each night, there are illuminated cherry blossoms to admire at David Lam Park. There are also live performances and activities to enjoy. Food trucks are on-site as well.
There have been a few nighttime events during the festival in previous years. Spring Lights Sakura Illumination Night used to take place at Queen Elizabeth Park. However, the event hasn’t happened since 2018. Nights of Light was also scheduled to debut at the same location in 2019, but it never ended up happening. These events may or may not return in the future.
Cherry Jam Concert at Burrard Station
The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival used to kick off with a Cherry Jam concert at the Burrard SkyTrain Station.
In 2020 the event was scheduled to take place from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm on April 2nd and 3rd. Due to concerns about the coronavirus, however, the event didn’t happen in 2020 or 2021. It didn’t return in 2022 or 2023 either. It didn’t appear the event took place in 2024, although exact details were to be confirmed.
In years when it does take place the Cherry Jam event usually includes Taiko Japanese drumming, singing, dance and other musical performances. There is also the reading of haiku poetry.
Cherry Jam isn’t huge, with typically only a couple hundred spectators. It’s a great little event, though, and recommended if you are downtown at the time.
See our article about the Cherry Jam Concert for more information.
Cherry Blossoms in Vancouver
The Lower Mainland has thousands of cherry trees all over the region, and never is this more obvious than in the spring when parts of the city turn beautiful shades of pink. Japan donated hundreds of cherry trees to the City of Vancouver in the 1930s, and to this day we benefit from that generous gift.
There are various different types of cherry trees, and they all bloom at slightly different times.
Depending on the date, best places to see the cherry trees include Stanley Park, VanDusen Garden and outside Burrard Station, but there are trees bursting into bloom throughout the region during much of March and April.
In most years, some of the earliest concentrations of cherry blossoms start to show up around Burrard Station in downtown Vancouver and in Kitsilano in various areas (including around West 4th and by the Vancouver Space Centre). The entrance to Stanley Park, by the southern end of Pipeline Road, is also one of the first places in Vancouver to see large numbers of pink trees each season.
Other Information
For more details about the event, see the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival website.
For information on other events taking place this time of year, check out our April Calendar.
Depending on the season, some of the Lower Mainland’s best places to see cherry blossoms in the spring include the following parks:
- Stanley Park (in Vancouver)
- Queen Elizabeth Park (in Vancouver)
- Ambleside near Millennium Park (in West Vancouver)
- Deep Cove (in North Vancouver)
- Deer Lake Park (in Burnaby)
- Minoru Park (in Richmond)
- Rocky Point Park (in Port Moody)
- Bear Creek Park (in Surrey)
For other ideas on places to explore outdoors, check out Vancouver’s Parks and Places in Nature.