A telltale sign that spring is here — the return of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival!

Why it matters: The festival celebrates the arrival of spring and when 43,000 cherry trees burst into bloom across the city.

If you go: There are more than 20 cherry blossom-themed community events across Metro Vancouver from Mar. 29 to Apr. 25 — all accessible by transit. Here’s four ways you can experience it this spring.

• ? Yaletown Pop-up at Bill Curtis Square (Yaletown–Roundhouse Station) on Mar. 28, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• ? The Big Picnic at David Lam Park on Mar. 30, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The TransLink team will be at this event with a historical bus!
• ? Burrard Station Pop-up at Art Phillips Park (Burrard Station) on Apr. 2, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• ? Find cherry blossoms near you using the Cherry Compass map.

For a full list of events, please visit vcbf.ca/events.

How to get there: Plan your trip using our Trip Planner at translink.ca/tripplanner.

Zoom out: The history of cherry blossoms in Vancouver dates back to the 1930s when the mayors of Japanese cities Kobe and Yokohama gifted the city with 500 Japanese cherry trees for planting at the Japanese cenotaph in Stanley Park honouring Japanese Canadians who served in World War I. Since then, the cherry blossoms have become an unmistakeable part of the city.