The First Annual Pittsburgh Sakura Festival will be held April 29 at Pittsburgh's North Park. A short press release published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Saturday reads:
The Sakura Project, which has been planting cherry trees in North Park for three years, will plant more trees and hold a Cherry Blossom Festival from 3 to 5 p.m. April 29 next to the boat house in North Park.The Pittsburgh Sakura Project has been planting cherry blossom trees in North Park for several years.
Activities will include folk dancing, musical performances, kite flying, a tea ceremony, a raffle and an appearance by Takumi Kato, a world champion taiko drummer from Japan.
The trees have been planted near the boat house, though I think they would look nicer planted closer to the water. The trees are still quite small, but have yielded some blossoms already.
A rainy day on March 24, 2012.
This festival won't coincide with a viewing party, as blossoms in Pittsburgh---like the ones at larger festivals in Washington D.C. and Philadelphia---have come and gone thanks to an atypically warm March. The Pittsburgh Sakura Project plants trees twice a year, spring and fall, so check their website for details and how to get involved.