BUFFALO, N.Y. — After a scaled-down celebration during the height of the pandemic, the Cherry Blossom Festival will be back in bloom this weekend.

It's all happening at the Japanese Garden of Buffalo with food, fun and of course flowers.

Things get underway Thursday with a fundraiser inside the Buffalo History Museum during the 200th birthday week of Fredrick Olmsted.

On Saturday, make your way down the stone steps to mirror lake where you'll find seven varieties of cherry trees, two separate stages with bands from Music is Art, food trucks, tai chi demonstrations and instructions on how to make origami and prune bonsai.

Sunday wraps up the weekend with a traditional Japanese pop-up tea ceremony and a pink parade to celebrate the colors of the festive flowers.

Organizers say over the years, the celebration has helped people appreciate the park and learn that these trees are fragile and should be handled with care.

“So it's great to see that with over 1,000 people coming to the garden every year that people are using the trees as a backdrop, not as a prop and that means that for the next 10 or 20 or 30 years it'll be beautiful for our use,” said Paula Hinz of Friends of the Japanese Gardens.

Thursday's fundraiser begins at 6 p.m.

The festival runs Saturday - Sunday from 11 a.m. - p.m.

Full details can be found here.