Enjoying the Cherry Blossom Festival in Branch Brook Park, Newark NJ - April 26, 2018

It was a beautiful day, and it was a day that I had free. And despite having had a rough and stressful time these last few times, and especially the past few weeks - and trust me, these weeks have been incredibly annoying and painful - I surprised myself with the energy to go ahead and give myself a bit of a break.

Almost to my own surprise, I headed for the Cherry Blossom Festival at Branch Brook Park in Newark, New Jersey. This has been pretty much a staple for most of my springs for the past decade and change or so, ever since I first heard about it. 

Now, I know that Newark does not have the most stellar reputation. However, I used to work there, and have to say that it never seemed quite as much of a nightmare town as many people proclaim it to be. In fact, it has some real treasures! There is a wonderful public transportation system interlacing the city, and connecting it with many other parts of the greater New York City metropolitan area. There is an actual Tibetan Buddhist temple in the Newark Museum, blessed by the Dalai Lama and everything. I used to be a member of the Newark Library, and benefited from the rich number and variety of books and media available in that beautiful building. NJPAC and the Prudential Center offer many great events, and I have been to quite a few of them in Newark. Right across the river, technically in Harrison but within an easy walk of Newark, is the beautiful, futuristic stadium of the Red Bulls (soccer team). The Ironbound section of town offers some pretty cool restaurants from many different nations, and often at quite affordable prices. And trust me, Branch Brook Park is a very nice park, especially during this time of the year, when the cherry blossoms are out in full force!

Over the years, I have been to Branch Brook Park a number of times. I went there with my ex-wife and an ex-girlfriend, as well as with my present girlfriend. I took my son there a few times, and have gone there on my own now at least once, and possibly twice. It makes for a pleasant day, or at least part of a day. At a time when I personally needed a bit of a break, you cannot do much better than a beautiful park like this one.

There are more cherry blossoms here than in Washington, D.C., which is saying something! And even though the cherry blossoms in Washington are set with the magnificent backdrop of the national monuments, here in Newark, there are some spectacular, if not quite as famous, landmarks as well. My personal favorite are the cherry blossoms huddled next to Branch Brook Lake, with the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart majestically overlooking the scene perched atop the bluff, makes for a spectacular setting. If you look closely at some of the pictures that I took yesterday, and which are posted down below, you will see at least one artist painting this scene, and it is fitting. Indeed, it lends this magnificent, and historically rich, park, a certain Old World kind of charm. It makes you wonder if this can really be the same Newark that you hear so many horror stories about!

This is a park with a lot of history! It is on the list of the National Register of Historic Places, and was the first county park in the entire United States! Frederick Law Olmsted designed the park. He is known for some other great works, including Central Park, Brooklyn's Prospect Park, and the grounds for Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition in 1892-1893, accommodating that city's famously beautiful White City (which unfortunately burned to the ground). which now survives as Jackson Park.

Indeed, Essex County's Branch Brook Park is a treasure to be discovered and enjoyed! And despite the bad reputation that Newark often has, and some of the online comments that reinforce this, I personally have never had a problem while traveling in Newark, and never felt either myself or those I was with threatened while visiting this park. So, I strongly recommend visiting this park if you get the chance, especially during the Cherry Blossom Festival held each spring (usually in April). For those of us who live in the Tri-State area, and cannot easily get away for a weekend in Washington to enjoy the cherry blossoms there, please consider this as a nice alternative!

The Cherry Blossom Center:

This was where the most trees were, including some of the nicest scenes, with cherry blossoms and other colorful springtime plants clutching to the walls that surround the shallow brook that sparkled in the beautiful sunshine on this spring day!

Prudential Concert Grove 

This was the section of the park by Branch Brook Lake and very near to the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, where the water and the imposing edifice of the church add some dramatic backdrop to the colorful sprign cherry blossom trees and grounds:

The Robert F. Ballantine Gateway

About midway between the Concert Grove part of Branch Brook Park, and what appears to be the main area for the cherry blossoms, by the Cherry Blossom Welcome Center. These gates add still another distinguished touch of Old World charm, and are set in the historic Forest Hills section, which also happens to be the wealthiest part of Newark. 

Thought I would add a few pics of the gate in Sepia, because they looked nice. This was the result: