New Haven Independent

It was 35 years ago that 72 Yoshima cherry trees were planted in the park - the same trees that bloom in the spring in the nation’s capital. Sunday marked the 35th annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Wooster Square, and both the weather and the cherry blossoms cooperated.

Music was provided by the Neighborhood Music School Premier Jazz Ensemble and the James Lawson Orchestra. Festival Chairwoman Rosemarie Conforti said she hoped the new music would bring new people out. But many “old-timers” were there too, like Joan Whitney (pictured). Told that a reporter was looking for her, she quipped, “I’m a celebrity. I live on the corner of the most colorful streets in New Haven. You have Hughes Place, which is bright pink, and then you have Greene Street [bordering the park], which is a little less bright pink, and it’s so beautiful.”

Lots of organizations had tables set out in the park, like City Seed farmers’ markets, Elm City Parks Conservancy, and the Japan Club of Yale’s School of Management. Many Japanese families from the area brought picnic lunches to enjoy the music and the cherry blossoms under a blue sky and perfect spring temperatures. Sangwon Lee lives in East Rock is a post-doctoral student in pharmacology at Yale. This was his first cherry blossom festival in New Haven and he was enjoying it with his son, Jaden (pictured).

Conforti (pictured) said planning takes a year, so the committee picks a date and hopes by the time the festival rolls around, the trees would be in bloom, and this year they were. She said she expected lots of people to come from near and far. “We get a lot of people who come back to the neighborhood, who have since moved out but grew up in Wooster Square, and they love coming back for the festival, so they’ll be filling in the chairs once church is over and everyone gets their kids and everyone comes on down.”

The festival is sponsored by the Historic Wooster Square Association.