Cherries at a cherry festivalNew York Cherry Festivals in 2024

Update for 2024:

It looks like most festivals are returning, aside from those that were killed off by the lockdowns of the past 2 years. That took a heavy toll on their finances. I am checking with them day by day, if you have an update for an, please tell me via the Feedback form.

Looking for a Cherry blossom festival or cherry fruit festival in New York in March 2024? There is no other listing as complete and current as this list, just updated! Cherry  All the Cherry festivals we can find in New York are listed on this page! If you love Cherries, look for a festival near you below! And I'm looking for more Cherry festivals! Please write me, if you know of any to add!  I update the dates as soon as the festivals publish their information, but you can always click on the links (usually the name of the festival) to see the current information on the festival's own website. 

Especially this year, due to Coronavirus, be sure to click on the links (the blue, underlined name of the each festival) to confirm this year's dates on the website for each festival. If they don't have a website, call the phone number provided, but ALWAYS CONFIRM THIS YEAR'S DATES AND TIMES BY EITHER VIEWING THEIR WEBSITE OR CALLING.

Click here for the form to add a festival and have detailed information; or click here if you have general information and are not connected with the event!

Cherry Festivals in New York in 2024: Where, When and More to Find a Cherry Festival Near You!

New York

June and July are the big months for harvesting cherries. Cherries typically ripen from late May (in the South) through June and July in the upper Midwest and New England. There are two main types of cherries; sweet cherries and sour cherries (also called pie cherries). Sweet cherries obviously taste sweet and are good for eating fresh. Sour cherries are much more tart and are usually used in making cherry pies. Sweet cherries also require more cold weather to set fruit, so they are rarely groiwn successfully in warm climates like the Deep South.

There are two general types of cherry festivals 1) community festivals, usually organized by a church, school, local Chamber of commerce or a town and 2). Cherry festival held at and by a orchard. They are different in what they offer, and c community festivals tend to be less expensive so they are grouped separately. (of course not all states and areas have both.)
Following the festival listings are links to our easy to follow directions about making cherry jam, freezing cherries, cherry pies and much more.

Community Cherry Festivals

  • Sakura Masuri (Cherry Blossom Festival)Brooklyn Botanic Garden Sakura Masuri (Cherry Blossom Festival) - Saturday, late April - see their website for this years dates.
    Brooklyn, NY. Events calendar Held in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, where there are over 200 trees in bloom, the flowering cherries take center stage during this phenomenal weekend celebrating Japanese culture. Enjoy over 60 events and performances, including traditional music and dance, taiko drumming, ikebana flower arranging, cooking demonstrations, tea ceremonies, craft demonstrations, and workshops for both adults and children. New events include 60s-inspired Japanese pop grooves by famed musical sensations Gaijin a Go-Go, workshops in tofu making and calligraphy art, displays of geta shoes and other arts from Inuyama, and a kimono fashion show. New events especially for kids include book readings, puppet shows, CosPlay, and workshops in Japanese classical dance.
  • Randall's Island Park Cherry Blossom Festival Randall's Island Park Cherry Blossom Festival - Always in late April and/or early May; in 2017, May 6 from 12 pm to 4 pm
    11 Wards Meadow Loop, New York, NY 10035. Phone: (212) 860-1899. Fax: (212) 860-2486. Email: info@randallsisland.org. Directions: click here for a map and directions. Each spring RIPA's annual Cherry Blossom Festival ushers in the warmer months, and gives visitors the opportunity to appreciate the Park's spring beauty. Set along the backdrop of the Hell Gate Bridge and the Urban Farm, the Festival welcomes the Park's cherry blossoms with live music, performances, games, exhibitions, face painting and more, inspired by Japanese culture.
  • Roosevelt Island - Late April - see their website for this years dates. (it was Saturday, April 21, 2018 11 Am 5 Pm)
    Join Four Freedoms Park in celebrating the Roosevelt Island Community Cherry Blossom Festival featuring Traditional and Modern Japanese Performances and Cultural Fair. Free; no registration required. Also  you can find more at:
    Cornell Tech Campus, Roosevelt Island, NY. For many years people from all over the world have come to Roosevelt Island to enjoy viewing our beautiful Cherry Trees. The festival attracts as many as 5,000 visitors from the New York metropolitan area, both Japanese-Americans and other area residents, who come for the blossoms, performances and to purchase food from vendors and picnic near the trees. The recent events in Japan and the Islands compassion for our Japanese community and the Japanese people have polarized us to respond. the Cherry Blossom Festival will feature traditional and modern Japanese musical performances, demonstrations of traditional Japanese martial arts, including Samurai Sword techniques, traditional Japanese dance and tea ceremony. All performances are free. This event is organized by the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA), but as of March, there is no announcement of the date of this year's festival, so follow the link to their website to look!
  • Ryu Shu Kan's Cherry Blossom Festival - Sunday, May 6, 2018 from 12 noon to 5 pm (rain or shine)
    Charles B. Wang Center, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY 11794. Phone: 516-457-8481. E-mail: director@ryushukan.com. Welcome Spring to Long Island the Japanese way with the exciting sounds of the Taiko Drums, the elegance of Japanese dance and music and a wondrous array of Japanese cultural exhibits and events for the entire family. This is the premier Japan culture event on Long Island. Beginning at 12 noon, the day is filled with exciting activities for children and adults. See below for details! Masayo Ishigure and her Koto ensemble, Junko Fisher -Okinawan Dance & Songs, Ichfujikai traditional Japanese Dance company and more will light up the stage and dazzle you with a variety of Japanese art, dance, and music. Daniel Nyohaku Soergel will perform on the Shakuhachi in the Bamboo Atrium and finish on stage in the theater with Ryu Shu Taiko -Drums of Japan. For a full list of performers, click here. And for a list of all demonstrators and exhibitors, click here.
  • White Plains Cherry Blossom Festival - Sunday, April 29, 2018 from 11:30 am to 5 pm
    Turnure Park, 10 Lake St, White Plains, NY 10603. Email: wpcherryfes@gmail.com.. ホワイトプレーンズ桜まつり Come enjoy a fun day at the park under the 100 beautiful cherry blossom trees! You can experience Japanese food, Japanese traditional and pop culture with games and events throughout the park joined with non-stop entertainment on the stage! Here is a partial list (see their Facebook page for the complete list):  Japanese Garden Exhibition by Takanashi Landscape Inc., Taiko Cafe by Sakura Taiko , Origami & Calligraphy Workshop by Japanese School & Japan Education Center , Kimono Demonstration by Japan Education Center , Amusement Rides by Niji no Kai , Cotton Candy Stand by Niji no Kai , Gift Shop by Taeko Okamoto and Friends , Goldfish Scooping by YMCA Tokyo Frost Valley , Yo-yo Fishing by Amnet N.Y. , Lion Dance Workshop by Steve Long , Sakura Gift Shop & Snacks by Tenshi No Ai , Face Paint by Hanayokoji , Puppet Shop by Katiepuppets , Mochi Tsuki Demonstration / 3PM~ by DAIDO White Plains. FOOD: Japanese Snacks, Refreshments, & etc, DAIDO White Plains , Sushi & Curry Rice・Take Sushi, Sunny Side , Okonomiyaki・Otafuku Foods , Pastries & Sweets・Parisienne Bakery. (

Farm Cherry Festivals

In addition to community and church festivals, some private farms have their own cherry festivals.  See each farm for this year's dates (they often do not announce them until the end of May).  Also, scroll down to see the links to recipes, freezing, canning and jam making directions at the bottom of the page.

  • We will be adding these as we find them;  Please write me, if you know of any to add!

Related Cherry Information: Freezing, Making Jam, Jelly, Canning, Cherry Pies, Recipes and More

Also, see our pages on easy illustrated cherry directions:

For other fruit and vegetable festivals, see this page!

Also, see our pages on easy illustrated directions about

United States

Colorado

This page was updated on

 


Picking Tips

[General picking tips and a guide to each fruit and vegetable] [How much do I need to pick? (Yields - how much raw makes how much cooked or frozen)] [Selecting the right varieties to pick] [All about apple varieties - which to pick and why!]  [Picking tips for Vegetables] [ Strawberry picking tips] [ Blueberries picking tips]

Canning Books, Supplies and Accessories

These are my favorite essential canning tools, books and supplies. I've been using many of these for over 50 years of canning! The ones below on this page are just the sampling of. my preferred tools. but you can find much more detailed and extensive selections on the pages that are linked below.

The All New Ball Book Of Canning And Preserving: Over 350 of the Best Canned, Jammed, Pickled, and Preserved Recipes Paperback

This is THE book on canning! My grandmother used this book when I was a child.; It tells you in simple instructions how to can almost anything; complete with recipes for jam, jellies, pickles, sauces, canning vegetables, meats, etc.

If it can be canned, this book likely tells you how! Click on the link below for more information and / or to buy (no obligation to buy)The New Ball Blue Book of Canning and Preserving

Canning and Preserving for Dummies by Karen Ward

This is another popular canning book. Click here for more information, reviews, prices for Canning and Preserving For Dummies

Of course, you do not need to buy ANY canning book as I have about 500 canning, freezing, dehydrating and more recipes all online for free, just see Easy Home Canning Directions.

Home Canning Kits


I have several canners, and my favorite is the stainless steel one at right. It is easy to clean and seems like it will last forever. Mine is 10 years old and looks like new.

The black ones are the same type of standard canner that my grandmother used to make everything from applesauce to jams and jellies to tomato and spaghetti sauce.

This complete kit includes everything you need and lasts for years: the canner, jar rack, Jar grabber tongs, lid lifting wand, a plastic funnel, labels, bubble freer,  It's much cheaper than buying the items separately. It's only missing the bible of canning, the Ball Blue Book.

You will never need anything else except jars & lids (and the jars are reusable)!

The complete list of canners is on these pages:

 

Pressure Canners

If you plan on canning non-acidic foods and low acid foods that are not pickled - this means: meats, seafood, soups, green beans corn, most vegetables, etc., then you ABSOLUTELY must use a Pressure Canner.

Of course, you can use a pressure canner as a water bath canner as well - just don't seal it up, so it does not pressurize. This means a Pressure Canner is a 2-in-1 device. With it, you can can almost ANYTHING.

There are also other supplies, accessories, tools and more canners, of different styles, makes and prices, click here!

Basic Canning Accessories

From left to right:

  1. Jar lifting tongs to pick up hot jars
  2. Lid lifter - to remove lids from the pot of boiling water (sterilizing )
  3. Lids- disposable - you may only use them once
  4. Ring - holds the lids on the jar until after the jars cool - then you remove them, save them and reuse them
  5. Canning Jar funnel - to fill the jars

Strainers

These are very useful for making sauces like applesauce, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, jellies, etc. Below are my favorites. The complete list is on these pages:

Inexpensive Old School Strainers: hand cranked Foley Food Mills

  • The hand-cranked Foley food mill (see this page or clock the ad box) has been used for well over 100 years in homes all over America (and variants around the world). It is effective and inexpensive, and ideal for small batches.  However, if you need to make many quarts, you will sure end up with tunnel carpel syndrome or some other repetitive strain injury.

Norpro 1951 Manual Food Strainer and other brand stariners, with optional motors; (almost identical to Victorio V250, Villaware and Roma models, all discontinued)

This is The next step up from the Foley food mill. First, it's far more ergonomic, and its handle is easier to use. Next, it works in continuous mode rather than batch mode. So you can do much larger volumes easily. Finally, It has an optional motor, so you can. remove the manual labor.  It also offers many different size strainers to use for different types of berries, vegetables and fruit.

See the seller's website for more information, features, pricing and user reviews!

KitchenAid - Best Large Volume Strainers

If you're going to do large volumes of fruit or vegetables , or do it year after year, then. you really should think about getting a higher end kitchen. utility device. Kitchen aids are the cream of the crop. Once you buy one of these, you keep at the rest of your life and it gets handed down to the next generation. . My sister is using one she inherited from my mother 25 years ago, who got it in the 1940s as a wedding gift. So, although the initial cost is high, they literally last for many lifetime. So the cost on an annual basis is pretty trivial, especially when you consider the cost of therapy and treatment for. the repetitive strain injuries you will get from manual cranking day after day. Add to that of course the cost of therapy for the emotional injuries you'll get from going insane, standing there hand cranking something for hours.

KitchenAid's with a sieve/grinder (with the attachments, costs about $400, but it lasts a lifetime and is fast and easy to use - I can make 100 quart jars of applesauce per day with one of these).

 

FREE Illustrated Canning, Freezing, Jam Instructions and Recipes

Don't spend money on books. that you don't need to. Almost everything you can find in some book sold online or in a store is on my website here for free. Start with theEasy Home Canning Directions below. That is a master list of canning directions which are all based upon the Ball Bblue book, the National Center for Home Food Preservation and other reputable lab tested recipes. Almost every recipe I present in addition to being lab tested com. is in a step by step format with photos for each step and complete. explanations. that tell you how to do it, where to get the supplies and pretty much everything you need to know. In addition, there almost always in a PDF format so you can print them out and use them while you cook.

[ Easy Home Canning Directions]

[FAQs - Answers to common questions and problems]

[Recommended books about home canning, jam making, drying and preserving!]

[Free canning publications to download and print]

<