Branch Brook Park is the best place to view cherry blossoms in New Jersey
NEWARK, N.J. -- It's a special time of year for those who love cherry blossoms.
The trees are bursting into bloom at Branch Brook Park in Newark, and the Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival is in full swing.
Branch Brook Park runs through Belleville and Newark, and it is glowing with the bright pink and white flowers of the cherry blossom bloom.
The park has more than 5,000 cherry blossom trees -- even more than the national display in Washington, D.C.
The cherry blossom season in New Jersey attracts visitors from around the world, armed with iPhones, ready to capture the moment.
Wednesday, there were visitors who had traveled from as far as Korea and as close as Sea Bright.
Zameena Latif was celebrating Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan. She was thrilled it lined up with the bloom.
"And it's miraculous. We appreciate all the beauty of nature, and all the beauty that God created," she said.
Sure, the trees look sweet now, but all good things come to an end. In a few days, the flowers will be gone.
Artists, like Haworth-based Joel Mitnick, have a short window to leave their impression.
"I mean, it's not difficult to create something beautiful when you have nature that's so beautiful right in front of you like this," he said. "It's definitely a challenge to capture the moment."
This year's Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival will last through Sunday, April 14.
