Brooklyn Botanic Garden's peerless collection of cherry trees—the largest and most diverse outside Japan—creates a canopy of blossoms in the spring that is most worthy of a major celebration. Over the course of its 28-year history, Sakura Matsuri (May 2 and 3, 2009) has evolved into one of the city's most anticipated weekend events, as tens of thousands of visitors come to experience not only the breathtaking beauty of the cherry tree's fleeting blossoms but also to learn about Japanese culture–both traditional and contemporary–with two days of music, dance, martial arts, food, film, workshops, demonstrations, and guided tours of the Garden's plant collections.