Spring Is Coming...And So Are The Cherry Blossoms
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There may still be snow on the ground, but spring really is coming and so are the cherry blossoms, which are expected to bloom soon.
Kim Andrews, Executive director of the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia, says a bloom date has been announced for the area's short-lived cherry blossoms.
"We expect the cherries to really start blooming March 24th or so, which is the first day that Shofuso Japanese House and Garden is open," Andrews said. "Peak right now, we expect to be around April 1st or so, but with the cold weather right now it might hold off until the festival."
The 2018 Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia takes place in Fairmount Park on the field across from Shofuso Japanese House and Garden starting on April 7th.
"Cherry Blossom festivals are traditional in Japan. It's a way to celebrate the temporal nature of life that the cherry blossoms are here for just a short time," Andrews said. "In Philadelphia we have many different varieties of cherry trees so our blooming period is much longer than say in Washington D.C. in the national basin."
But they don't always bloom exactly on the same date each year.
"That's one of the beauties of cherry blossoms is that they're here when they're here," Andrews said, "you can't really plan for it!"
