Vancouver Cherry Blossom Trees
What to do now the Olympics have left town? Vancouverites did a tremendous job of welcoming the world. It was the biggest party Vancouver had ever seen. People were friendly, strangers helped strangers and many opened their homes to friends, relatives and relative strangers!
Vancouver may seem empty and bereft of fun, but there is still plenty to do and see. The weather is beautiful and the blossoms are beckoning everyone outside. To view the blossoms in all their glory, there are tours of neighborhoods that have cherry trees. Vancouver’s beautiful blossoms were a gift to Vancouverites from the Japanese. Following World War I, the Japanese Mayors of Kobe and Yokohama presented Vancouver with 500 cherry blossom trees to commemorate the Japanese soldiers who had lost their life in the war. The trees were meant for the cenotaph in Stanley Park but soon found their way to lining city streets. By the 1950’s the trees had grown so big that they were being removed and replaced by smaller ones. In 1958, Japan donated another 300 trees as a sign of eternal friendship between Canada and Japan. In 1967 more trees were given to Vancouver and the Parks Board hired a full time arborist to catalogue, prune and maintain them.
Today 36% of the 89,000 trees that line Vancouver streets are cherry blossom trees. In 2005 The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Society was founded by Linda Poole. She had been living abroad for 3 years and missed the colourful Vancouver springs. The Cherry Blossom Festival in Vancouver mimics the Sakura Festival in Japan. Citizens gather and have tea ceremonies under the trees, eat and celebrate spring. In Vancouver there are many ways to see the blossoms: on foot, by bike or by car. For more information go to: http://www.vcbf.ca/
If trees aren’t your thing, why not check out the Vancouver Art Gallery? Landscape Visions is a two hour guide to the art that has shaped Vancouver for the last one hundred years. The vast collection of both permanent and borrowed pieces is a testament to the rich history of Vancouver. There are 37 artists represented: Bill Reid, Jeff Wall, Roy Arden, Brian Jungen and Liz Magor are just some of the artists whose works are featured. Landscape Visions runs at the Vancouver Art Gallery until April 18, 2010.
For more information go to: http://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/
Last but not least: if you’re looking to cure your post Olympic blues, is the old standby, the Vancouver Aquarium. Located in beautiful Stanley Park, the Aquarium is hours of fun and will make even the most jaded Vancouverite smile. The aquarium is home to over 70,000 species ranging from the Amazon to the Arctic and is a fun and educational way to spend the day. There is in addition to the aquarium, a 3D movie theatre, café and gift shop. Also, there are daily shows in the outdoor pool featuring the dolphin, beluga whales and the sea otters. The Vancouver Aquarium is Vancouver’s largest and most popular aquarium – over 35,000,000 people have visited since it opened in 1956. For more information go to: http://www.visitvanaqua.org/
Are you are still in need of suggestions and ideas? Try these sites:
http://www.vancouverattractions.com/index.php?page_id=8
http://www.tourismvancouver.com/visitors/
http://vancouver.ca/visitors.htm