The free 32nd Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival is Saturday, with a full lineup of hands-on Japanese and multicultural activities and performances.
Headquartered from Church Row Park, the multivenue event is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and celebrates the park’s annual blooming of historic cherry trees.
The 2025 festival honors the late Ruth Dick of Waimea, who was a longtime festival participant as a member of Waimea Bon-yu Kai Bonsai Club.
A Waimea resident and active club member, the Kauai native annually exhibited her plants to the delight of festival-goers. Year after year, she expertly offered bonsai care demonstrations and served as a volunteer plant doctor during the festival.
Dick started practicing the art of bonsai in the 1980s under the tutelage of late Bon-yu Kai members Isami Ishihara and Yutaka Kimura.
“I think the art of bonsai enabled my mom to connect with and honor her Japanese heritage,” daughter Michiko Spencer of Waimea said in a press release. “My mom was always a plant person, and bonsai opened a new door for her creativity as well.”
Spencer, who has assumed the care of her mother’s impressive bonsai collection, has joined Waimea Bon-yu Kai to learn the skills “to importantly keep the plants alive,” but adds the process provides a form of closure after her mother’s death “as I know my caring for them would make her happy.”
In addition to bonsai activities, the festival offers hands-on mochi pounding, sake tasting, bon dancing, traditional tea ceremonies, food demonstrations by local chefs, “broke da’ mouth” food prepared by local organizations, and loads of craft vendors.
Performances can be enjoyed by festival goers at multiple venues.
Roberts Hawaii will provide a free transportation shuttle between Church Row Park and other venues, though walking is encouraged.
The Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival is annually produced by the Hawaii County Parks and Recreation’s Culture and Education Section. The event is a communitywide effort by a dedicated team of volunteers.
For info, call (808) 961-8706 and find updates on Facebook at WaimeaCherryBlossom HeritageFestival.