Monday, April 27, 2015

Sakura Matsuri

There is a saying that April showers bring May flowers. This April has been really cold though, so I was excited to go to the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Unfortunately, not all of the trees were in bloom. Not sure if that has to do with the cold weather or not. 

Sakura Matsuri was a two day, weekend event that celebrated the cherry blossoms and Japanese culture on a broader level. While I'm glad I went, I don't think I would go again. There were simply too many people there. I was planning to buy my ticket at the door, but luckily I went with lawyers who like to plan ahead, and we ended up buying our tickets in advance. Fortunately so, because the line ended up being crazy. With tickets however, we were able to skip the line and enter through the side entrance.

When the wind blew, the flowers looked especially nice, and the park was filled with pink and white confetti.

There was a stage with Taiko drumming, and some other stuff, but I couldn't really see because there were so many people. A lot of people arrived in costume. I didn't read the instructions that said that costumes were encouraged, otherwise I would have worn one. "I could have been Sailor Mars," I said wistfully to my friend, who raised an eyebrow and shook her head, and simply said: "No." I suppose it was for the better, since it was pretty cold that day. Or I could have worn a traditional Chinese outfit, since a lot of people were wearing traditional Japanese outfits. I always like opportunities to wear things that you don't get to wear every day. 

It ended up being very difficult to walk around, since there were so many people. Everywhere I turned, it seemed that I was at risk of being run over by a stroller, or ruining someone's selfie. There were a lot of selfie sticks. I would have liked to go another weekend, when it wasn't so crowded. 

After the wedding, I had one of the best ice creams that I have had in a while, at Brooklyn Bell, the Local. All of their ice cream is made in small batches, and very creamy. The parlor doubles as an art gallery, with artwork hanging on the walls for sale. 

On another note, two friends of mine got married, also in a beautiful little park that was full of flowers. These two friends are really cute. Both are corporate lawyers, and rather unconventional (at 10 am in the morning), so it's not a surprise that their wedding did not fit the norm. Instead of having her father walk her down the aisle, the bride and groom met at the end, and walked down the aisle together. The vows were extremely well done. In particular, it reflected the uniqueness of their personalities. The two of them really love hamsters, so that was a part of the ceremony--the person presiding over the ceremony said, "it takes a lot of patience to learn a hamster's personality. Similarly, it take's a lot of patience to learn [Emily]'s personality." Both bride and groom cried, but in a very dignified way. You wouldn't even be able to tell, because their facial expressions remained normal, but there were tears running down their cheeks. Maybe that's how adults are supposed to cry.


The reception and brunch were held at the Musket Room, which has very good drinks.
Bird house at the wedding
Daffodil field at the Botanical Garden
White magnolias
Two types of cherry blossoms
A photo shoot at the Magnolia Plaza


Brooklyn Bell Ice Cream

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