This stretch of spring is full of grand expectations. And in Essex County’s Branch Brook Park (www.branchbrookpark.org) the countdown has begun: the tiniest of cherry blossoms are budding. 

We watched as an Asian family poured from a minivan with New York plates and posed for pictures by the first splashes of colorful flowers. “Not here yet,” said an elderly woman knowingly. “One more week.” In Japanese culture, cherry blossom season is a significant time of year.

Newark’s Branch Brook Park has the nation’s most varied collection of these flowering cherry trees, even larger than in Washington D.C., home of another famed annual display. When they explode in color, in a week or so, the effect is remarkable. 

To celebrate the blossoms Branch Brook hosts a series of events that bring thousands of visitors. The 32nd Annual Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival formally kicks off on Sunday, April 13, with a 10K Cherry Blossom Run. The event also includes a children’s run, and a run for the disabled. The celebration culminates in the Essex County Blossomfest on April 20, with a Family Day full of Japanese cultural activities including demonstrations on origami and bonsai.

The park is also in the midst of a multi-million dollar restoration and renovation, spearheaded by the Branch Brook Park Alliance and the county’s Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs. The public is asked to donate as well.

Branch Brook, the oldest county park in the nation, is nearly 360 acres. It was re-designed in its earliest stages to reflect the vision of famed landscape architect Frederic Law Olmsted, the creator of Central Park. It is long and narrow, winding nearly four miles alongside scenic waterways.

The blossoms are just one reason to come to Branch Brook Park. There’s a roller rink, tennis courts, scenic bridges. Stand by the imposing sculptured lions and look across, through a spraying fountain, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart . It’s a stunning view of the state’s largest city… getting ready to flower, and host this annual party.

NJ My Way is proud to be the media sponsor of Branch Brook’s 2008 Cherry Blossom Festival.