What gets Nashville neighbors in the mood for spring? For two short weeks in April, white and pink cherry blossoms enrobe Nashville trees with delicate flowers. Cherry trees bloom throughout the city, with the four-mile loop around the Sylvan Park neighborhood offering stellar views of Nashville’s cherry trees. The annual Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival and Japan Week celebrate the beauty of the brief cherry tree blooming season. While the Nashville cherry blossom party coincides with the one in D.C. and other cities, Nashville puts its own signature stamp on the spring festival. Usher out winter with a visit to this annual springtime Nashville festival.

Map Out the Flowers

Photo courtesy of José Luis Ávila Herr

To more easily locate the cherry blossom flowers, The Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival organizers have created this map of the Sylvan Park loop that offers a walking view of the area’s cherry blossom blooms. Visitors can also try this interactive map of the cherry trees. If you want to take a walk through the floral beauty in the Sylvan Park area, parking is available on the streets by the McCabe Park Community Center. 

A Tale of Two Kinds of Cherry Trees

Photo courtesy of Nashville Life

As you walk through Sylvan Park and Downtown Nashville, you’ll see and smell two distinctly different types of cherry trees. To distinguish between the two, look for delicate white-pink blooms and a faint almond scent to identify the Yoshino Cherry Tree, the signature tree of the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival. Even after the spring cherry blossom blooms are gone, the Yoshino cherry tree maintains a year-round botanical charm with dark green leaves, unique branch patterns, and shiny bark. You’ll be able to spot the vibrant Kwanzan cherry trees by their more brightly colored pink blossoms and later blooms. From Richland Avenue to Central Avenue, you’ll see a mix of both types of cherry blossom trees. Sylvan Park features these long-standing, mature cherry trees to compliment your walk through the neighborhood. 

Celebrate With the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival  

Photo courtesy of The Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival

During the two weeks leading up to April 14, Nashville celebrates the cherry blossom in Public Square Park on the front lawn of the Metro Nashville Courthouse with a flower festival and international events like Japan Week. Billed by the Nashville Scene as the “best family-friendly festival” in 2017, this free festival is enjoyed by attendees of all ages.

Japanese culture plays a big part in the festivities, which include authentic food, crafts, entertainers, music, and crafts for kids organized by the Japan-America Society of Tennessee. Sushi Academy holds classes on making sushi and sake as well as seminars on celebrating the cherry blossoms themselves. Keeping with Japanese traditions, a Japanese “Candyman” and various anime and cosplay characters roam through the festival. 

The festival even has easy-to-access parking with $1 shuttle rides from nearby Nissan Stadium to and from Public Square Park. The festival itself is free, but you can register and donate here for a $5 wristband offering special discounts and benefits during the festival. While the Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates spring and the flowering trees, proceeds also benefit the 10-year plan of adding 100 Japanese cherry trees to Nashville each year.

Continue the Floral Festivities

Photo courtesy of Cherry Street Eatery & Sweetery

If you are still hungry after exploring the long list of food trucks and vendors at the Cherry Blossom Festival, check out spring fare at nearby restaurants like the Cherry Street Eatery & Sweetery, Frothy Monkey, and Koto Sushi Bar. And if the cherry blossoms inspire you, head over to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in the Highlands Of Belle Meade neighborhood to enjoy a stroll through their flowers, trees, and Shōmu-en Japanese garden. The historic Cheekwood home and grounds offer year-round opportunities to explore nature in Nashville.