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Join the Japanese Arts Foundation in partnership with the Japanese Culture Center, ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ, and Asian Improv Arts Midwest’s Tsukasa Taiko for an afternoon full of arts, drums, and of course, cherry blossoms!

We invite you to the annual Hanami, or cherry blossom viewing festival! This much anticipated Spring festival, held in Jackson Park’s historic Garden of the Phoenix and surrounding the Columbian Basin, is home to more than 180 cherry blossom trees that typically bloom each year when nature allows! Please join as we celebrate the temporal beauty of the cherry blossoms and appreciation of the fleeting nature of life. The trees are located just south of the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry and in the Garden of the Phoenix (the communal area of SKYLANDING and the Osaka Japanese Garden), on Wooded Island - a short walk south of the Columbian Basin.

The afternoon includes performances from Tsukasa Taiko, along with children’s taiko drumming workshops, springtime themed origami folding, and instruction on the seasonal art of e-tegami ! E-tegami means "picture letter" in Japanese and is a kind of mail art. Come draw a seasonal object (like cherry blossoms, vegetables, or spring moments) onto a watercolor postcard and make a one-of-a-kind letter to send!

Come celebrate the fleeting beauty of sakura, or cherry blossoms, with us!

For more information or to register for this free event, please visit the Japanese Art Foundation .

**Please note this event is held weather permitting, and we cannot predict the exact date of the blossoms in bloom - though we try!