Schedule Announced For 47th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival At Branch Brook Park
The schedule for the 47th annual Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival has officially been announced.
The festival, which will be held from Saturday, April 1st to Sunday, April 16th, will take place in Newark’s Branch Brook Park. It highlights the blooming season of more than 5,000 cherry blossoms throughout the area.
The Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival is hosted by the Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs.
According to a press release, most of the original Cherry Trees were donated to the Essex County Park System (the first county park system established in the U.S.) back in 1927. In recent years, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. has enforced an aggressive planting program to strengthen and expand the number of trees.
“The natural beauty of the cherry blossoms has been attracting visitors to the park since they were first planted there in the late 1920s. The festival has helped unify the community, highlighted the benefits of Branch Brook Park and the local neighborhood, and enabled the public to enjoy the blooming trees in a variety of ways,” DiVincenzo, Jr. said in a press release. “We invite the public to come out and enjoy our display of 5,200 trees, which is larger than the national display in Washington, DC, and the most diverse collection in the world,” he added.
Throughout the month of April, the Essex County Park System is offering an exciting lineup of activities for people of all ages.
The 47th Annual Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival includes the following events:
- Cherry Blossom Challenge Annual Bike Race
- Saturday, April 1st – 7 am-1 pm
- Click here for more information.
- Cherry Blossom 10K Run
- Sunday, April 2nd – 10am
- Click here for more information.
- 1-Mile Fun Run and Walk
- Saturday, April 15th – 10am
- Click here for more information.
- Essex County Family Day
- Saturday, April 15th – 11 am-3 pm
- Click here for more information.
- Bloomfest
- Sunday, April 16th – 11 am-5 pm
- Click here for more information.
- Cherry Blossom Talks
- Wednesdays, April 5, 12, 19, & 26
- Click here for more information.
