Once again, the festival attempts to guess the unpredictable - we schedule walks six months ahead of time, hoping to catch the peak blooming times around the city. Fortunately, these locations all have historical or cultural features of interest in addition to the blossoms, and our leaders will be sure to make the trip worth your while. As was mentioned here previously, Cherry Blossom Viewing is a cool sport - please dress for it!

•  April 5, 2012, Thursday, 2:00pm to 3:30 pm

• Meet at the lobby of Hyatt Regency Vancouver at 655 Burrard Street 

• Led by Joseph Lin, director of the Green Club of BC.

Joseph Lin knows more about Vancouver street trees that maybe anyone, and his enthusiasm is infectious.

Tree Talks and Walks - VanDusen Botanical Garden

• April 7, 2012, Saturday, 1:00pm to 2:30pm

• Include a tour of the garden as part of your Sakura Days experience. Note that paid garden admission is required for this walk

• Presented by garden director Harry Jongerden

Tree Talks and Walks Queen Elizabeth Park

• April 8, 2012, Sunday, 1:00pm to 2:30pm

• Queen Elizabeth Park, meet at the parking lot (33rd Ave and Cambie) under the west end cherry trees

• Sakura Days at VanDusen is close by - go there first, then come on over for a walk in the park

• Presented by Alex Downie, Supervisor of Queen Elizabeth Park and Bloedel Conservatory.

A guided tree walk highlighting the many exotic and native trees at Queen Elizabeth Park's arboretum, founded in 1949, contains tree species from around the world. This walk will focus on the ornamental qualities and garden-worthiness of the wide palette of trees we can grow in Vancouver.

Tree Talks and Walks UBC

• April 14, 2012, Saturday, 10:00am to 11:30am

• Meet outside Fraser Parkade by the Asian Centre, just east of the Nitobe Memorial Garden at 6440 Memorial Rd.

• Presented by Douglas Justice, Associate Director and Curator of Collections, UBC Botanical Garden & Centre for Plant Research

The walk includes cherry viewing along Lower Mall and the surrounding area to see UBC's 'Somei-yoshino' and other flowering cherries.

• April 14, 2012, Saturday, 2:00pm to 4:00 pm

• Meet under the 'Akebono' cherry trees at Burrard Skytrain Station

• Presented by Wendy Cutler, VCBF "Cherry Scout" Co-ordinator. Wendy has been scouting and documenting the tree locations in these neighbourhoods since the festival began, and she has led several sakura tours of the area

This will be the longest of these walks in time and distance to travel. The downtown and West End have the greatest variety of cherry cultivars of any walkable area of the city. After the downtown primarily 'Akebono' hotspots between Burrard and Denman Streets, this walk will head into the West End for more cultivars in bloom. If you'd like to shorten your walk, buses are accessible from most points along the route.

• April 15, 2012, Sunday, 2:00pm to 3:30pm  

• Meet at the Rose Arbour at the Lower Rose Garden, Pipeline Rd. , Stanley Park

• Presented by Park Board arborist, Bill Stephen.

This spot will be a focal point to discover many of the beautiful and unusual ornamental trees and plants in Stanley Park 's Shakespeare Garden. It will also discuss some of the history of the park and how the Park Board balances demands of the public with the need for open green space.