BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The cherry trees in Bethlehem still had plenty of blooms Sunday afternoon, as the city’s annual cherry blossom festival took place near Bethlehem Area Public Library a day later than planned.
- Bethlehem's annual Cherry Blossom Festival took place a day later than planned Sunday
- Organizers said despite the delay, this year's turnout exceeded last year's
- The festival was delayed due to forecasts of severe weather
Rescheduling appeared to have little effect on turnout; the park outside the library was nearly full as the festival got underway.
“We were off for two years for COVID, and last year we started up slowly again,” said Ellen Bearn, a member of the sister city committee responsible for the event. She said the one-day delay didn’t seem to affect turnout. “This year, it seems to me, there are a lot more people here.”
The celebration honors Bethlehem’s nearly six-decade sister city relationship with Tondabayashi, a Japanese city near Osaka. The cherry trees themselves were a gift from officials in Tondabayashi in 1997.
Attendees could experience some facets of traditional Japanese culture, like participating in a tea ceremony, making origami, trying Japanese calligraphy, taking photos in a kimono, or pounding rice into mochi.
Traditional taiko drummers from the Shumei Center in Lyons Station performed Sunday, and Japanese Deputy Consul General Kazuya Mori, who works at the Japanese consulate in New York, addressed the crowd.
“The cherry blossom festival is a cultural tradition bringing the community together,” Mori said. “It’s a great chance to celebrate the long history of friendship between Pennsylvanians and the Japanese people.”
“Cherry blossom trees were one of the first gifts that Japan gave to this country, so they symbolize the beauty of Japan-U.S. relations.”
“A cultural activity happening here – I think that’s exciting, because it’s just celebrating the diversity of cultures that we have in the Lehigh Valley.”Haiyan Jia, festivalgoer
“A cultural activity that's happening here – I think that’s exciting, because it’s just celebrating the diversity of cultures that we have in the Lehigh Valley,” said Haiyan Jia, who came to the festival with her kids. “This is just culture happening with what you can do in a hands-on way.”
Last week organizers decided to postpone the festival in response to severe thunderstorms and strong winds forecast for Saturday.
Originally concerning, the forecast eased as the event drew nearer, and the weather was ultimately mild during what would have been the festival hours Saturday. The national weather service recorded wind gusts exceeding 30 miles per hour at Lehigh Valley International Airport Saturday, with storms moving through the area around 6 p.m.
Although windy conditions had noticeably pulled blooms from some trees, there were still plenty left Sunday afternoon.
Many attendees were sad to see the festivities delayed, but would take the one-day delay.
“I was so disappointed. We were really looking forward to coming,” said Jen Roche, who attended with her daughter, Grace Roche. “The weather was okay in the middle of the day, so it’s kind of a shame, but I’m glad it worked out for today.”
“We just wanted to see the blossoms and interact with all the different stuff, and just learn a little bit more about the culture and, yeah, spend some time together and have fun,” Grace Roche said.
