Sakura Matsuri - Cherry Blossom Festival

Sakura Matsuri is the highlight of the year at the Cowra Japanese Garden & Cultural Centre. Their annual cherry blossom festival celebrates the coming of spring, the beauty of the seasonal cherry blossoms, and Japanese culture itself.

Visitors have the chance to experience traditional Japanese culture and performance on this day of joyful celebration.

The festival shows off the best of Japanese culture with displays and demonstrations including music, dance, martial arts and sumo, arts and crafts, tea ceremonies and more. The Taiko Drummers are always particularly popular, with heart-thumping rhythms reverberating through the garden. Stallholders offer a range of Japanese food, drinks and products.

This is all against a backdrop of the largest Japanese garden in the Southern Hemisphere showing the best of its spring blooms.

Sakura Matsuri is celebrated annually in September when the cherry blossoms are at their peak. The blossoms are usually in flower from late mid-September until mid-October, depending on the weather each year. The Garden also includes apricot, apple and plum blossoms along with magnolia. Whatever time you visit, there is always beauty on show.