Warmer, longer days bring springtime visitors to Vancouver to teach at the university, learn a new language, or visit family. Our notorious winter showers give way to clear afternoon skies and colourful blooms. A guest-favoured tradition is the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival—a monthlong celebration throughout the city. This year the festival runs April 3-29, 2018.
Steps away from your luxury furnished home rental are quiet treelined streets with wide sidewalks that are great for walks among the flowering trees. Since the 1930s, March and April have been enhanced by bright pink hues. The ancestors of today’s cherry trees were gifts from the mayors of Kobe and Yokohama, thanking Vancouver for honoring Japanese Canadians who served in WWI.
The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, which opens with The Big Picnic and Spring Lights Illumination and concludes with delicious Asian-fusion fares at the Sakura Night Gala, The festival is filled with educational events and walking tours and Japanese cultural fairs.
Where can you spot cherry blossoms? Find cherry trees in bloom along West 5th Avenue, West 6th Avenue, Cypress Street, and Yew Street. These early spring flowers can also be spotted at Kits Beach, Kits Point, and Vanier Park. You can view cherry blossom locations throughout Vancouver and even consult this bloom forecast map.
Grab your phone or camera before you take that evening stroll because this year Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival has a photo-sharing contest. Post photos with hashtags #TELUSPureFibre and #vancherryblossomfest for your chance to win a 32 GB iPad or an Instax Share SP-3 Printer. Submit as many entries as you wish, but each entry must have both hashtags—otherwise it won’t count.
As always, we invite you to share your best travel photos with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, using hashtags #avalonguest and #kitslife.