A DIGITAL BLOOMING AND VIRTUAL LINE-UP
Buffalo, N.Y. – Due to State, County and City COVID-19 restrictions on public events and the need for social distancing, the 2020 Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival has been cancelled.
View a PDF of this press release.
In reimagining this burst of springtime, the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, The Buffalo History Museum and Friends of the Japanese Garden will host a special digital program, on Saturday, May 2nd, that will allow the entire community to enjoy peak blooms from the comfort and safety of their own homes.
“That which blooms in adversity, can be the most beautiful gift of all,” said Stephanie Crockatt, Conservancy Executive Director. “We are fortunate to have creative, community-thoughtful partners who share a vision to responsibly and innovatively showcase this annual spring display for Buffalo. As good neighbors please watch online for a tranquil, beautiful, educational experience like never before.”
The ‘reimagined’ digital program will feature behind-the-scenes videos of blooms in the garden, a Lockhouse cocktail demonstration, Japanese music, a silent auction to support the garden and more. Stay tuned to the Cherry Blossoms Reimagined Facebook event for the schedule’s full line-up.
“The “Hanami” or “flower-viewing” season has assuredly arrived,” said Melissa Brown, Executive Director of The Buffalo History Museum. “And community safety requires imaginative, alternate ways to soak in these long-awaited pops of pink. From participating in a fully virtual silent auction, to viewing videos of the beautiful blossoms, and posting blossom-inspired crafts from the comfort of home- I encourage you to get creative and engage in this flower-viewing season with us.”
Special thanks to our generous and steadfast supporters for sharing in this digital blooming (in alphabetical order): AXA Advisors, Lockhouse Distillery, Music is Art, The Buffalo History Museum, and Seneca Resorts & Casinos.
A special reimagined opportunity to support care for the Japanese Garden will be announced on Thursday, April 30th.
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About the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy
The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy is the first nonprofit organization in the nation, through a unique public-private partnership, to manage and operate an entire urban park system consisting of more than 850 acres of beautifully designed historic parks, parkways and circles. The Conservancy is an independent not-for-profit, community organization whose mission is to promote, preserve, restore, enhance, and maintain the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed parks and parkways in the Greater Buffalo area for current and future generations. Since 2004 the Conservancy has held responsibility for the management and care of these nationally registered historic green spaces, and in 2019 the Conservancy and City signed a new 12-year partnership agreement with an approved update to its five-year plan for the Olmsted parks in continuing to assist the City in bringing recognition to its collective renaissance. Designed by America’s first landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted more than 150 years ago, these 25 iconic connective spaces represent the nation’s first urban park system. More than 2.5 million visits occur in Buffalo’s Olmsted Park system annually for recreation, relaxation and rejuvenation. Most recently, the American Planning Association recognized Delaware Park as one of the 2014 Great Places in America, The Guardian publication named Buffalo’s Olmsted park system as one of the best park systems in the world, and in 2018 the Conservancy set a Guinness World Record in historic Bidwell Parkway. www.bfloparks.org
The Buffalo Olmsted Park System includes:
Six parks: Cazenovia, Delaware, Front, Martin Luther King, Jr., Riverside, and South parks
Seven parkways: Bidwell, Chapin, Lincoln, McKinley, Porter, Red Jacket, and Richmond
Eight landscaped traffic circles: Agassiz, Colonial, Ferry, Gates, McClellan, McKinley, Soldiers, and Symphony
About The Buffalo History Museum
The Buffalo History Museum has been Western New York’s premier historical organization since 1862. We are the keepers of the authentic stories that make our community unique. Their collections, exhibits and programs tell the stories of the people, events, and movements that demonstrate Western New York’s essential place in shaping American history.
The Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society (doing business as The Buffalo History Museum) is a private not-for-profit organization tax exempt under Sec. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. We receive operating support from the County of Erie, the City of Buffalo, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and from donors, members and friends. The Buffalo History Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. Learn more: www.buffalohistory.org
About Friends of the Japanese Garden
The Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival is organized in collaboration with the Friends of the Japanese Garden, a volunteer organization that supports Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy’s goal of caring for the Japanese Garden in Delaware Park. All net proceeds raised from the Festival are used to preserve and enhance the special nature of this garden.
