Kitsilano Blossoms

The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival takes place in April most years. It features a Japan Fair and other blossom-themed events.

In 2023 the festival ran from April 1st until the 23rd. 2024’s dates are to be confirmed.

Events happening this past year included the Big Picnic at David Lam Park on April 1st and Sakura Days Japan Fair at VanDusen Garden on April 15th and 16th. There was also Bike the Blossoms on April 22nd. There were a few smaller events in 2023 as well. Below you’ll find information about cherry blossom-themed events in 2023 as well as events that usually happen during the festival, but did not this past year.

Information in this article includes the following topics:

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.

SWEET SPRING IN CHILLIWACK

If you like flowers, spring and family-friendly events, then something else you might want to check out is Sweet Spring at Greendale Acres in the Fraser Valley. Sweet Spring is a flowers and farm animals-themed event that in 2023 happened on a farm between mid-April and mid-May.

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.

BOYish7 at VanDusen Garden — Cherry Blossom Fun at VanDusen Garden

The Big Picnic at David LamPark

The Big Picnic is a free cherry blossom-viewing event. It has taken place at Queen Elizabeth Park in past years. It was scheduled for Saturday, April 11th, in 2020. Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the event didn’t take place in 2020 or 2021. It was back in 2022, however, but at a new venue, and then back again at the same place in 2023.

In 2023 the Big Picnic took place on Saturday, April 1st. It happened at David Lam Park. The venue is in Yaletown at 1300 Pacific Boulevard.

“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. Food is also available for purchase and there is free family-friendly entertainment.

At the Big Picnic event there is live entertainment. There are also free outdoor sessions of yoga and 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 did happen in 2022 and it happened again in 2023. Its dates this past year were April 15th and 16th.

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 typically depends on whether you are a member of VanDusen Garden and if you purchase your tickets in advance. In 2023 tickets cost $18.60 for adults and $14.40 for seniors and teenagers. Kids ages 5 to 12 cost $6.60, whereas children under the age of 5 entered for free. 2024’s ticket prices are still to be confirmed though they may likely be similar.

Click Sakura Days Japan Fair for more information about the event.

VanDusen Girls in Japanese Clothing — Girls in Japanese Clothing at VanDusen Garden

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. We don’t believe this event happened in 2022. It did in 2023 and was on April 22nd.

The ride is 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. This may or may not be the case again in 2024.

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.

Some years the Bike the Blossoms event does a loop and finishes back at John Hendry Park. Other years, like in 2015 and 2016, it ends at Queen Elizabeth Park. In 2017 the bike ride finished back at Trout Lake.

Cherry Blossoms and Skyscrapers — Spring in Vancouver by Burrard Station

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 in 2023. We hope to see its comeback in 2024.

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.

Spring Lights Illumination in Daylight — Cherry Blossoms at Queen Elizabeth Park

Cherry Blossom Nights of Light

The Nights of Light was going to be a new Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival event. It was to make its debut in 2019. Unfortunately, however, it was cancelled. The event didn’t happen in 2020, 2021 or 2022. Nor did it happen in 2023. Maybe they’ll try to run it again in the future.

Similar to the Spring Lights Illumination Night from previous years (which was also cancelled in 2019), Nights of Light was going to be a free multi-sensory event at Queen Elizabeth Park featuring music and light displays.

For more information click Nights of Light.

Sakura Night Gala in Stanley Park

In years when it does take place the Sakura Night Gala is a standing-only dinner reception at the Stanley Park Pavilion at 610 Pipeline Road in Stanley Park. It hasn’t happened for the past few years because of the pandemic, and it didn’t happen in 2023 either.

In 2020 the event was scheduled to take place on April 23rd, but it was cancelled due to the coronavirus. The event was set to run from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm. When it does happen it’s usually a popular event with a “pink tie” dress code.

Tickets to the Sakura Night Gala are not inexpensive. In 2019 the event cost $175. It’s a fundraising event though and the ticket price includes a tax-deductible charitable donation to the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival.

Although the dinner took place on May 5th in 2019, ticket sales ended earlier in the week. If you wanted to go, you had to make sure to buy your tickets before the deadline (which was April 30th that year).

At the Sakura Night Gala some of Vancouver’s top Japanese chefs prepare a selection of fancy dishes. Hopefully it can happen again in the future.

Spring Lights Illumination Night

In 2019 the Spring Lights Illumination Night was going to take place by the Japanese Monument in the middle of Stanley Park (between the Miniature Train venue and the Vancouver Aquarium) in mid-April. This particular event was cancelled in 2019, however, and it hasn’t taken place since (and didn’t appear to happen in 2023 either).

The Stanley Park location was going to be a new venue for the event and it was set to be one day longer than in previous years. The last few years the event has taken place over the course of just two nights and, not at Stanley Park, but at Queen Elizabeth Park instead.

In years when it does take place, a few thousand people attend. The lights and blossoms are amazing.

Note: The date each year has been subject to change at the last minute depending on the weather and state of the cherry blossom blooming. Whatever the final date, however, the event has typically involved a beautiful light display, performing artists and people enjoying picnics.

For more information, check out Spring Lights Sakura Illumination Night.

TIP #1: If and when the event next takes place, dress warmly. It can get cool at night. Also, arrive early to find parking and enjoy a stroll and the evening views before the show.

TIP #2: Double-check the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival website before going to an event as plans sometimes change at the last minute due to the weather.

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.