Waimea’s famous cherry blossoms awash North Hawaii town in pink

Waimea’s famous cherry blossoms have emerged, awashing the North Hawaii town in pink ahead of the annual Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival.

The ornamental trees bloom annually during January and February following a good winter’s chill and plenty of rain. The trees draw thousands of people each year to enjoy the delicate blossom at Church Row Park and around town.

Celebrating the season’s first bloom dates to eighth century Japan when aristocrats would enjoy the blossoms while writing poetry. “Hanami,” literally “flower look,” is the Japanese word for “cherry blossom viewing party.”

The 24th installment of the Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 4 at various locations across Waimea town. This year’s festival is dedicated to long-time event partner Roberts Hawaii and Guinness World Record holder Betty Webster of Waimea.

The festival began in 1993 to promote the town when a bypass was proposed that would have routed people around Waimea. Since 1994, when the Waimea Lions Club inaugurated the event, the Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival has grown to stretch from one side of town to the other, with more than 150 vendors at various locations.

Waimea’s first cherry trees arrived in 1953 as a memorial to Fred Makino, who founded the Japanese language newspaper Hawaii Hochi in 1912. Three ornamental cherry trees were distributed, one of which was propagated, and 20 of its saplings were later donated to the Waimea Lions Club to be planted along Church Row Park in 1972.

In 1975, the organization planted 50 more trees in commemoration of the first Japanese immigrants to settle the Waimea area a century earlier. Over the years, additional trees have been planted in recognition of dignitaries and other community members and leaders.