Blossoms blooming in a bound budget
Cherry Blossom Festival coordinator Linda Poole stands under a cherry tree, showing off the early blooms in local neighbourhoods.
by Elodie Adams
With fuschia-pink boots, a rosy complexion and an engaging smile, Linda Poole makes a perfect ambassador for Vancouver’s Cherry Blossom Festival. But the festival’s director is still waiting for the city to recognize the event by giving it the kind of financial support she feels it deserves.
Five years ago when Poole began research and development for the festival, there was city grant money for such initiatives. That year, most of the grant money went to the Tall Ships event, and she ended up with only $3,000.
“What the city didn’t realize was that it cost me $3,000 just to put the festival banners up,” said Poole.
For four years, Poole and her team have worked on a shoestring budget to produce a festival ‘in the black.’ She acknowledges the contributions from local businesses, the festival’s partnership with the David and Dorothy Lam Foundation, and the relentless enthusiasm of volunteers who give their time for the love of the cherry tree.
Poole says the full Cherry Blossom Festival is not taking place this year because they want to make 2011 special. Even so, there are several events that the public can still participate in. One of these, Birthday Blossoms, is something Poole is excited about.
“Right now, we are selling Akebono seedlings for $30 apiece. People can reserve their tree this year, and all of the trees will be kept for them in five-gallon pots until April 2011 when they will be ready to plant in people’s gardens,” Poole said. She added that for students, it would make a wonderful graduation gift.
“This year, B.C. Hydro is sponsoring our Birthday Blossoms initiative, but we really need to find a title sponsor for the city’s 125th anniversary,” said the festival’s director.
The proceeds go to support the preservation of the 36,000 trees already planted in the city.
Another popular event is the Haiku Invitational, a competition that encourages budding and seasoned poets to write a haiku on the theme of cherry blossoms. According to the festival’s website, the top five poems will be featured on Vancouver’s city buses and Skytrains when the winners are announced in the fall.
The festival’s website offers an online ‘Cherry Viewing’ map, something that has been put together by Joseph Lin, one of the festival’s volunteers. He, along with some Team Sakura members, travelled the city’s streets, identifying, logging and photographing the various species.
This year, the blossoms arrived early. Olympic visitors had the added advantage of seeing Vancouver in full bloom, and it’s hard to imagine that come April there will still be blossoms on the trees for the festival’s final event, Bike the Blossoms, scheduled for April 17.