Must Do: Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Cherry Blossom Festival

It’s one of the tell-tale signs of Spring – the beautifully-flowering cherry blossom trees at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG).

The Garden is home to an impressive array of blossoming cherry trees which are displayed at the Cherry Esplanade and the Cherry Walk. The Esplanade boasts 76 trees while the walk contains more than 40 additional trees, making the BBG one of the foremost places to view cherry blossoms outside of Japan. Cherry blossoms have a notoriously short bloom season – only about one month long, so guests are encouraged to visit during the month of April for optimal cherry blossom viewing.

Sakura Matsuri

Each year, one of BBG’s can’t-miss events is Sakura Matsuri, the festival which celebrates the cherry blossoms. This year’s event takes place on April 26 and 27 and is a wonderful way to spend some outdoor time as a family. The best part – kids under 12 get in for free!

The festival not only celebrates the cherry blossom trees, but it is also a celebration of Japanese culture, featuring a varied schedule of events, workshops and demonstrations each day. A selection of activities and exhibitions include:

Manga Drawing for Kids with Misako Rocks – a hands-on workshop for kids ages 6-13 with one of the top manga artists today.

Children’s Suzuki Recital – watch kids from the Brooklyn College Preparatory Center perform an array of classical music.

Samurai Origami Workshop – learn to create your own origami masterpiece.

NY Taiko Aiko Kai Kids’ Team – this amazing type of drumming performance will have your own kids begging to take lessons.

You can see a full list of events and activities here.

Guests will also be able to enjoy a menu of Japanese and American foods for sale under the tent at the Cherry Esplanade and at the Terrace Café. Grab some food, sit back and relax on the grass before moving on to another workshop or event.

Be sure to get there early as Sakura Matsuri is an incredibly popular event at the BBG. What better way to introduce your children to another culture while getting out and enjoying nature at the same time.

This post originally appeared on MommyNearest

Brooklyn Bound at Barclays

Well, we’ve made it to another Monday morning – hope you’re having a good one. I’m linking up with Join the Gossip for today’s Monday Morning Gossip.

This weekend was busy but a lot of fun. On Saturday night, The Husband and I finally made it out to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. I bought him Nets tickets for his birthday and the game was Saturday night. The Center is very nice and very easy to get to by public transportation.

We got there early so we could walk around. One of his favorite parts was the original flagpole from Ebbets Field. I thought the Calvin Klein VIP entrance was funny myself.

Inside there are so many food choices from Brooklyn Burger, Fatty Cue, Calexico and so much more. I settled on L&B Spumoni Gardens grandma pizza which was pretty tasty. The game was good – the Nets won, even though it was touch and go for a while.

We had a great time and I’m looking forward to heading back to Barclays soon.