A sea of pink: 50th cherry blossom festival to dazzle Newark

🌸 Newark’s iconic cherry blossom festival celebrates its 50th anniversary with two weeks of events at Branch Brook Park, drawing over 100,000 visitors.
🌸 Highlights include a bike race, 10K run, family day, and kids’ events, all leading to the massive Bloomfest finale on April 19.
🌸 More than 5,000 cherry trees will transform the park into a stunning pink spectacle.

NEWARK — Spring is finally here, and it’s time to celebrate with flowers.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival at Branch Brook Park in Newark.

The two-week celebration kicks off on April 4 with tons of fun activities, all leading to the grand finale, “Bloomfest,” on April 19.

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50th anniversary cherry blossom festival draws massive crowds to Newark

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo said he’s so excited to be a part of this milestone celebration.

The six-mile-long Branch Brook Park, which stretches from Newark to Belleville, has the most extensive collection of cherry blossom trees in the U.S., even more than Washington D.C., which is famous for its cherry blossom festival, DiVincenzo said.

In 1927, Caroline Bamberger Fuld donated 2,000 cherry blossom trees to Branch Brook Park in memory of her late sister.

“When I took over in 2003 as County Executive, we only had 700 trees left. I made a commitment that we would get over 5,000. Right now, we have 5,300 trees, which is definitely more than Washington D.C.,” DiVincenzo said.

D.C. has about 3,800 cherry trees.

Peak bloom for the more than 5,000 cherry blossoms this year is predicted for April 9-16, during the 50th anniversary celebration, he added. That’s when Branch Brook Park will be bathed in pink.

Peak bloom dates and best time to visit Branch Brook Park

“We start right off the bat with our Cherry Blossom Bicycle Challenge, which we have hundreds of people who compete,” DiVincenzo said.

The all-ages bike race is from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 4, at the Northern Division Oval. DiVincenzo said it’s a fan favorite, and people from across New Jersey love to compete in this race.

Another highlight of the Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival is the Cherry Blossom 10K Run on Sunday, April 12, with a 10 a.m. start at the Cherry Blossom Welcome Center.

This year, more than 2,000 runners have already preregistered, up from last year, DiVincenzo said.

Cherry Blossom Festival events: 10K run, family day, and kids activities

The following weekend is the one-mile Children’s Fun Run and Walk, starting at 10 a.m. on April 18, at the Southern Division, Prudential Concert Grove. This fun, non-competitive event invites kids ages 6-14 to run through the beautiful cherry tree groves as they come into bloom.

Also, on April 18 is Essex County Family Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring live performances, paddle boating, hands-on-crafts and children’s activities.

All these amazing activities lead up to the grand finale, Bloomfest, on Sunday, April 19, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. This family fun day is filled with a vibrant lineup of activities, live music, crafters, food vendors, Japanese cultural demonstrations, and so much more, all set among the iconic cherry blossom trees.

Bloomfest grand finale caps off Newark’s cherry blossom celebration

“Between April 4th and April 19, we’ll have over 100,000 people who come through our park. Hopefully, the weather is right, and the blooms will be out there. We’ll have single blooms first, followed by double blooms. The park is going to be beautiful. It’s going to be all pink,” DiVincenzo said.

Also returning this year are Cherry Blossom Talks, held every Wednesday and Saturday in April at 11 a.m. at the Cherry Blossom Welcome Center.

New for the 50th anniversary are guided bus tours, which feature park historians sharing the history of Branch Brook Park.

DiVincenzo said this park holds a special place in his heart, and he’s thrilled to be a part of the 50th anniversary.

“This is a park where I grew up. This was my park growing up. It didn’t look like anything like this, the way it looks today. It’s spectacular. We’ve done a lot of renovation from one end of the park to the other,” he said.

While Essex County has 22 parks, Branch Brook Park is the showcase of parks, known all over the world for its 365 acres of parkland and gorgeous gardens, thanks to the thousands of volunteers and master gardeners who come out to make the park breathtaking, DiVincenzo proudly said.

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