The cherry blossom has been a source of worldwide inspiration for poets, visual and performing artists for centuries. Over the past decade, The Festival has established this artistic tradition in Vancouver by featuring many diverse artists at the first festival of it’s kind in Canada, the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. Currently, Vancouver’s 43,000 cherry trees vividly inspire local talent to explore the cherry blossom aesthetic through arts and cultural expressions in music, dance, theatre, film, visual and digital arts, poetry and photography.
The Festival contributes to the general public’s aesthetic enjoyment and artistic appreciation through accessible public performances and exhibitions. The arts are a springboard to a better understanding of each other, allowing us to make new connections through the shared experience of appreciating the cherry blossoms. The Festival showcases local professional and emerging artists. The Festival acts as a facilitator for exciting new collaborations, bridges diverse cultures, art forms and disciplines. The festival engages and fosters local artists with commissions and co-productions. We provide opportunities for professional development, as well as the artistic challenges of presenting innovative art forms in unique outdoor venues. Moreover, the Festival presents the professional arts in accessible settings for all to enjoy, while also offering a platform for budding artists to develop their careers.
As the Artistic Director of The Cherry Blossom Festival, while using my training in Music and Theatre, I have always been passionate about making opportunities to explore the creative process with other artists and sharing the resulting new work with an audience. I believe the arts should be accessible to everyone; therefore, the Festival offers a variety of low/no cost engaging opportunities for people of all ages. The Festival connects the audience through dynamic and vibrant arts and culture productions, inspiring the artist in us all.
My belief in the power of the ephemeral beauty of the cherry blossom, as the inspiration for an annual spring cultural festival. drives me as Artistic Director, year after year. I work to continue expanding the necessary core funding that makes the artistic programs possible, with the assistance of the Board, in order to produce a truly city-wide multi-disciplinary arts festival that will bloom for many generations to come.
Linda Poole
Founder
Creative Director