The Nashville Cherry Blossom Walk and Festival will take place 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on March 23, at Nashville’s Public Square. Both of these family-friendly events are free.
The Cherry Blossom Walk will begin at 9 a.m. and will be led by Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and the Consul General of Japan. The 2.5-mile course will begin at Nashville’s Public Square and follow the Cumberland River Greenway, looping at Sister Cities’ Magdeburg Connector to Morgan Park in Germantown. Commemorative T-shirts, food and beverages will be available for purchase.
The Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates Japanese culture through traditional Japanese performances, crafts, origami, martial arts demonstrations, authentic Japanese food and beverages and more.
Proceeds benefit the mission of the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival Committee to plant 1,000 cherry trees – 100 each spring over 10 years – to help beautify Nashville’s landscape. Trees have been planted in locations like Nashville’s Public Square, Riverfront Park, James Robertson Parkway, Morgan Park, Centennial Park, Inglewood, Richland Park and the Forest Hills community.
Cherry blossoms, or sakura, have been a symbol of U.S.-Japan friendship since the Mayor of Tokyo donated 3,000 cherry trees to Washington, D.C. in 1912. Today Cherry Blossom Festivals, or sakura matsuri, are celebrated every spring all over the U.S.
For more information, visit www.nashvillecherryblossomfestival.org.
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