Each spring, the streets of Greenport Village burst into color as dozens of cherry trees blossom around the beginning of May.
To celebrate this annual event, the Greenport Village Tree Committee will hold its first annual Greenport Village Cherry Blossom Festival during the first two weeks in May.
Tree Committee chairman John Quinlan said that it was brought to his attention that the village does little to celebrate its abundant flowering trees.
“I decided to create the festival mostly to let people know about the trees and encourage them to come and see them at their peak,” said Quinlan.
Some trees have already begun to bloom in the village, says Quinlan, but the “queen of all cherry trees,” the Kwanzan variety (named after a mountain in Japan), is not at its peak yet.
Greenport Village has been voted a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation 13 times. The Tree Committee devotes itself to the preservation of the village’s trees and oversees removal of dead trees and replacement with new ones. Part of their funding comes from Greenport Village; the rest is from donations and fundraisers.
A map of village trees for self-guided tours will be made available to visitors, but there will be no cherry pie eating contests or Little Miss Cherry Blossom competitions, says Quinlan.
“But you never know,” he says. “It could turn into something bigger. The Maritime Festival started very small you know.”
The festival runs from May 1 through May 15 and maps will be available at Greenport Village Hall.
