Ben Koizim Photo
A tree at the peak of last year’s bloom.
The Cherry Blossom Festival has been a part of Wooster Square for 38 years. This celebration of spring commemorates the planting of 72 Yoshino Japanese cherry blossom trees in 1973 by the New Haven Historic Commission in cooperation with the New Haven Parks Department.
The festival has grown from a modest event with a local band entertaining a handful of neighbors under lighted trees to a major New Haven-wide event, drawing over 700 visitors last year.
Longtime Wooster Square resident Marianne Mazan remembers how landscape architect Jim Skeirtt, a member of the commission’s board, suggested that the parks department plant a row of Japanese cherry blossom trees along the Academy Street side of the park. Today, tourists and residents enjoy the full glory of the blossoms and celebrate spring under their stunning floral canopy.
The cherry blossom trees sport bright pink flowers sprouting from delicate branches. They bloom in springtime during the month of April, so the festival’s date is always around the third Sunday in April. This year it will be on April 10, due to a late Easter.
Timing is everything when it comes time to viewing these colorful flowers. Like autumn leaves bursting into color at their peak time, cherry blossoms have a short lifespan. The flowers last only about a week, and less if the weather is windy or rainy. Even before the Wooster 72 were planted, cherry blossom trees were planted on both sides of Hughes Place, creating a magnificent sweeping 20-foot-high arch of pink flowers. That has earned the street a reputation as one of the most beautiful in New Haven.
This year the Historic Wooster Square Association will be planting two new cherry trees in a ceremony the day of the festival. Special guests include U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Mayor John DeStefano, state Sen. Martin Looney and Alderman Michael Smart, among others.
Beverly Carbonella, president of the Historic Wooster Square Association, and volunteer Ben Koizim at last year’s event.
“This is thrilling for me,” said Beverly Carbonella, pictured, the longtime president of the Historic Wooster Square Association.
“The first gathering of neighbors 38 years ago was hardly a festival, rather just a handful of neighbors that came to the park to listen to some good music and admire the blossoms,” she said. “The fact that the celebration has grown to include not only neighbors but visitors from all over the city and the state is absolutely thrilling and rewarding for me.”
This year the festival will feature music by the Neighborhood Music School Premier Jazz Ensemble, Tuxedo Junction Swing Band and St. Luke’s Steel Drum Band. There will also be dance performances by the Yale Swing and Blues Group and Balila Peru Folkloric & Popular Dance Troupe.
Mayor John DeStefano and Ro Conforti-Piscitelli, chair of the festival.
Other activities include face painting, a wire-walker act, gymnasts, and a table full of “all things cherry.” The food vendors this year will include Abate Pizza, Best Buddy Biscuits for our canine friends, Buccitti Italian ice, and the Cheese Truck by Caseus. There will also be a neighborhood baked goods table including our famous cherry pies, Elm City Kettle Corn, and food and drink from Fuel Coffee shop, La Carretta Mexican restaurant, Swagat’s Indian food, St. Ann’s Society baked goods and espresso and the Wooster Square Grill, where fresh hamburgers and Hummel hot dogs are grilled to perfection by neighbors Chris Piscitelli, Bill Buick and Peter Thomson.
The festival runs from noon to 5 p.m. April 10 at Wooster Square Park. The rain date is April 17th.
The official kickoff to the festival is Friday, April 8, with a chamber music concert at St. Paul St. James Church at the corner of Chapel and Olive streets at 7:30 p.m. The concert will feature performances from Solisti St. Francis and Two Sense, with a number of musicians who live in the Wooster Square area, including Martin Bresnick, a composer.
The others are: Paul Jordan, piano; Eleanor Knopp, violin; Lisa Moore, piano; Leon Plantinga, piano; Libby Van Cleve, oboe; Jack Vees, electric bass; and Britt Wheeler, harpsichord. Guest artists include Ashley Bathgate, cello; Gary Bennett, bassoon; Karen Ryger, cello; and Raphael Ryger, violin.
There is no charge for admission to either the festival or the concert.
For more information, you may call Andy Ross at 203 – 641-4666, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit the Wooster Square association’s website at www.historicwoostersquare.org.