About the Cherry
Blossom Festival
About the Festival
Message from Bob Billington
Dear Friends:
For the past six years, through
the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council’s Sustainable
Tourism Planning and Development Laboratory, we have
been learning and teaching about Sustainable Tourism
in Southern New England.
This past year we have the
expanded our work further and put into practice what
we’ve learned.
The Rhode Island Cherry Blossom
Festival is an example of how sustainability can
improve the quality of life in a place for its
residents, while creating a place that visitors will
enjoy coming to. We have done this by using the
principles of sustainability to increase community
interest in the Blackstone Valley, based on our
culture, history, and the environment in the
birthplace of America’s industrial beginnings.
We are pleased to dedicate three
very different sustainable projects as part of the
Rhode Island Cherry Blossom Festival that showcase
how working toward a goal using sound sustainable
principles can help create a vibrant, resilient,
sustainable Blackstone River Valley.
The new Cherry Tree Grove
planting in Pawtucket, the Chocolate Mill Overlook
in Central Falls and the Hachiko Monument
installation in Woonsocket celebrate the best of our
Valley while providing an improved quality-of-life,
enhancing experiences for our visitors based on the
authenticity of the community. Each location
includes a planting of Cherry Trees donated in this
100th Anniversary of the first donation of Cherry
Trees to the United States from the nation of Japan.
We appreciate the involvement of
our friends from the nation of Japan, The National
Cherry Blossom Festival, the Mars Corporation and
the Beacon High School for the Performing Arts, the
Cities of Central Falls, Pawtucket and Woonsocket.
With Warm Appreciation,
Dr. Robert Billington, Chairman
About the Festival