How the Columbus Cherry Blossom Festival Went Digital

We interviewed IVO Board Member Akisa Fukuzawa to talk cherry blossoms, the Columbus community, and how a digital passport is changing the way people experience the festival.

For someone who’s never heard of it, what is the Greater Columbus Cherry Blossom Festival, and what makes it worth showing up for?

The Greater Columbus Cherry Blossom Festival is a month-long, citywide annual celebration of cherry blossoms, peace, culture, and community across Central Ohio. Centered around the more than 100 cherry trees, mainly the Somei Yoshino cherry that originated in Japan and located at Franklin Park, the festival brings together live performances, cultural activities, hands-on experiences, exhibits, food and drink specials, and community events across multiple neighborhoods and partner venues. This year’s motto, “Peace Begins with Me,” reflects the spirit of the festival: celebrating beauty, friendship, and the idea that peace starts with each of us.

How did the festival get started, and what’s the origin story behind it?

The festival grows out of both national and local history. The broader cherry blossom tradition in the United States dates back to 1912, when Tokyo gifted 3,000 cherry trees to Washington, D.C., during the Taft administration—creating a symbolic link that also connects back to Ohio through President William Howard Taft. That connection became even more meaningful locally when Governor Bob Taft, his grandson, helped strengthen Ohio’s ties to Japan generations later. In Columbus, that story was renewed during the city’s 2012 Bicentennial, when 20 cherry trees were gifted from Japan through Ohio State’s East Asian Studies program. As more cherry trees were planted in and around the International Peace Garden at Franklin Park, IVO and Columbus Recreation and Parks built on that momentum and launched the Greater Columbus Cherry Blossom Festival in 2022. It has since grown into a local celebration of spring, friendship, and peace.

What’s your personal favorite moment or event during the festival each year, the thing you’d tell a friend not to miss?

If I had to tell a friend not to miss one thing, it would be the main event on April 4 from 11:00 a.m. at Franklin Park. It brings together the beauty of the cherry blossoms, live performances, cultural activities, and the energy of the community in one place. This year, the Japanese Consul General will join us to unveil the commemorative plaque for the Peace Garden, which makes the event especially meaningful. And honestly, the food trucks at Franklin Park cannot be missed either.

How long does the festival run, and what does a typical day look like for an attendee?

The 2026 festival runs from March 25 through April 25, with the Cherry Blossom Food and Drink Trail continuing on the digital passport through May 25. A typical day might include checking the festival calendar, visiting a featured event or community partner location, taking photos at Franklin Park or another hanami spot, enjoying a performance or hands-on cultural activity, and then stopping by one of the participating food and drink businesses for a seasonal item. Attendees are also encouraged to collect digital stamps through the passport at both festival events and Trail & Drink Trail locations, since those stamps can qualify them for the prize drawings. Be sure to check the rules on the digital stamp site so you understand how to qualify.

What made you decide to bring LoyalBrew into the mix this year, and what problem were you hoping it would solve?

We brought in LoyalBrew because the festival has grown into a multi-week, multi-venue experience, and we needed a better way to connect all of those moving pieces. Last year, we used paper passports, but that approach ended up being just as expensive and created more waste and trash than we wanted. The digital passport helps attendees discover events and participating businesses, collect stamps in real time, and stay engaged across the full run of the festival instead of only showing up for a single day. In practical terms, LoyalBrew helps solve a visibility, engagement, and sustainability problem by making the festival easier to navigate, more interactive, and less wasteful.

If LoyalBrew works the way you’re hoping, what does success look like at the end of the festival?

Success would mean that a significant number of people actively participate in the digital passport by attending events, visiting partner businesses, and collecting stamps throughout the festival. We also hope it helps us see participation trends and gather useful feedback about what the community enjoys most and prefers, so we can make better decisions and improve next year’s festival. If LoyalBrew works the way we hope, it will not only increase engagement this year but also give us valuable insight to build an even stronger festival in the future.