Culture & Community | Arts & Culture | Wooster Square | Youth Arts Journalism Initiative
Top: Gathering to take in the blossoms. Lucy Gellman Photo. Bottom: Eileen Scully and Melissa (she did not give her last name). Kristine Figueroa Photo.
In the center of Wooster Square, Eileen Scully and her friend Melissa set down their bags and food, ready for a decades-long tradition. In front of them, Airborne Jazz dipped into a standard. Musician Donte Hall, who had been waiting all day to play the bongos, eased into percussion. Their dogs, Quinn and Lucy, happily laid next to their owners. Behind them, pink petals rained down from the tree.
That was the scene at the 50th annual Wooster Square Cherry Blossom Festival, held Sunday afternoon at Wooster Square Park in New Haven. Among thick pink blossoms (and some green buds that hadn't gotten the memo), thousands of people gathered to eat, dance, spend time with friends, and bask in the nature of the square. On Academy Street, long lines formed behind food trucks and tents for kettle corn.
Charlotte Eliscu. Lucy Gellman Photo.
"We've done 50 years celebrating nature, community, and getting together,” said Charlotte Eliscu, who for years has worked with the Historic Wooster Square Association to pull the festival together. “We look forward to another 50 years.”
“With all our partners we get to support our local business, it's wonderful seeing them recognized and celebrated,” she later added.
From the beginning of the festival, a sense of palpable excitement was in the air, as bright and breezy as the blossoms themselves. At one end of the park, father and son Ijeoma and Terrance Okwuosa stood under the wide sky, checking out which blossoms had already given way to tiny green leaves and which were still intact. While the two had heard about the event many times, they said, they’d never actually had the chance to go.
Top: Lucy Gellman Photo. Bottom: Father and son Ijeoma and Terrance Okwuosa. Kristine Figueroa Photo.
Sunday, they decided to spend the day together before Terrance headed back to school. When they arrived, Ijeoma said, they were amazed to see a sea of people in all areas of the park, all there to celebrate the same spring weekend. As they walked around the square, Terrance sampled food from the trucks and Ijeoma laughed at his son's antics.
“Even though it's a cloudy day and cold out, an event is amazing when you spend time with the people you care for,” he said.
Nearby, sisters Rossmery and Roxana Casaverde sat with their two daughters, basking in the energy of the event. Having decided to attend to get their mind off things, the sisters said, they found the pull of nature and music was exactly what they needed. As they chatted, their daughters ran along the grass, chasing and popping bubbles. Nearby, another attendee kept making bubbles with a bubble wand.
Top: Jasmine and Annetta Gatison. Bottom: Sisters Rossmery and Roxana Casaverde with their two daughters. Kristine Figueroa Photos.
Around the park, a number of high school volunteers circulated around with event brochures and big pink pins emblazoned with cherry blossoms and a sign cheerfully announcing they were there to help. Jasmine and Annetta Gatison, students at Hill Regional Career High School, came to the festival not knowing what to expect. Both had arrived to collect their volunteer hours—and said they were wowed by the beauty and magic of the park.
As they spoke to this reporter, the two planted themselves at a corner of the park. They smiled as they approached fellow students handing out brochures for the festival.
To their surprise, they also found many of their peers arriving at the event with family and friends. Annetta excitedly ran up to a friend who was coming into the festival, explaining what she was doing as she said a quick hello.
Top: Aerin Washington, Jasmine Simmons, and Ana Rodriguez. Kristine Figueroa Photo. Bottom: Photographer Chris Randall and MoPho Founder Teresa Joseph. Lucy Gellman Photo.
Friends Aerin Washington, Jasmine Simmons, and Ana Rodriguez were trying to find a spot to sit after buying food from the food trucks on Academy Street. After securing an empty spot of grass they laid out a blanket and sat to enjoy their meal.
The group, all Yale students, said they had yet to see all New Haven has to offer, but were excited to be there.
“The festival allows for the community to gather with great music, food, and flowers,” said Rodriguez “It's a vibe.”
As the event came to its final hour, the band Carlos Santiago y Su Momento Musical went up on stage to perform a mix of Spanish songs. These songs ranged from Cumbia, Salsa, Merengue, and even Bachata for people to enjoy. A beat filled people's souls and everyone rose from their chairs to be closer to the stage and dance away.
Top: The final band. Kristine Figueroa Photo. Bottom: Dancing during the St. Luke's Steel Band performance. Lucy Gellman Photo.
A couple spun and twirled in the center. The woman stood erect, lifted her heels one after the other, and tapped them on the grass floor. She swung her hips from side to side following the tempo set by the drum. Moving her foot to the left when the weight of the body rested on the left leg and to the right when the weight shifts to the right leg.
Her partner moved close in harmony following the same movements with his hand on her shoulder. In an instant, she twirled her and she spun a full circle coming back center and repeating the same moves.
In a whoosh of movement, dirt turned into dust and dirtied shoes and the hem of her pants. People were sweating from the amount of movement but refused to stop dancing until the song was over. Laughter and smiles spread over the couples face, they continued to dance like they were the only ones there.
As the music wrapped, he pulled the women in for a sweet and tender kiss.
To watch more performances from the Cherry Blossom Festival, including St. Luke's Steel Band, watch the video above. This article comes from the 2023 Cohort of the Youth Arts Journalism Initiative. Kristine Figueroa is a junior at Metropolitan Business Academy.