If you don’t have the means to check out the Cherry Blossom Festival in Auburn’s Botanic Gardens, you can still celebrate the blooming buds in World Square from August 12-September 1. The main difference here is that you can play with the cherry blossom via an immersive augmented reality experience.
This year, there’ll also be real life blossoms to interact with as well as the floating tech ones, plus other activities including traditional Japanese drumming, origami and bonsai workshops, calligraphy performance and Yosakoi Soran dancing. If you’re a top student in the origami workshops, you can contribute to the installation of 1,000 paper cranes that visitors will be folding for the festival.
Then, give yourself an edible reward with one of the many blossom-themed specials being offered at nearby retailers. Oh! Matcha will be pouring sakura-flavoured milkshakes and soft-serve ice cream, the cocktails at Laughing Buddha Bar will lean heavily on cherry, and Fratelli Famous Pizzeria will be spinning Japanese inspired pizzas throughout the festival. Teriyaki, anyone?