🌸 A Spring Gathering to Honour Loved Ones and Ancestors
Spencer Smith Park, Burlington
đź—“ Saturday, May 2, 2026
⏰ 10:30 – 11:15 AM
đź“Ť Click here to RSVP (Spencer Smith Park, by the cherry trees along the lake)
Each spring, the cherry blossoms bloom along the lake at Spencer Smith Park. For a brief interval, the trees stand in fullness — luminous, delicate, unmistakably alive.
People come at peak bloom to witness this beauty, to photograph it, to share it. That moment is indeed extraordinary. Yet what draws us back each year is not only the height of the blossoms, but their passing.
In Japanese aesthetics, the phrase mono no aware describes a gentle awareness of impermanence — the quiet recognition that what moves us most is often fleeting. The falling petal does not diminish the blossom. It completes it.
The Sakura Project is rooted in this awareness.
It is a simple, reflective gathering shaped by the beauty and brevity of the cherry blossoms and by the understanding that life itself unfolds in seasons.
We gather to honour those in our lives who have passed — parents, partners, friends, mentors, and ancestors whose influence continues within us. We gather not in sorrow alone, but in acknowledgment. Not only in memory, but in continuity.
There is no formal program.
No speeches.
No prescribed ritual.
There is space.
There is stillness.
There is presence.
You are welcome to arrive quietly.
To remain briefly or stay the full time.
To bring a photograph or small object.
To carry remembrance silently within.
Some may come with a specific name in mind.
Others may reflect upon lineage and ancestry.
Some may simply recognize that they, too, are part of a larger unfolding story.
All are welcome.
If enough participants feel called to move together, we may share a gentle danceFLOW qigong / tai chi–inspired group experience — slow, grounded, accessible across generations.
Participation is entirely optional.
There is no performance.
No expectation of expression.
Only breath, measured movement, and the quiet expanse of the lake beside us.
The philosophy of danceFLOW qigong/taichi echoes the same truth expressed in mono no aware. Movement rises and softens. Each gesture gives way to the next. Nothing is held permanently, yet nothing is lost. Rhythm continues through transition.
This is not a ceremony.
It is not a religious observance.
It is a shared pause within the larger movement of life.
A collective acknowledgment that bloom and release are inseparable.
A recognition that what has passed remains present in subtle, enduring ways.
As petals fall, we are reminded that beauty does not vanish when it changes form. It becomes memory. Influence. Legacy.
In this way, the gathering honours not only those who came before us, but the quiet responsibility of carrying their imprint forward.
When the blossoms have faded and the branches return to stillness, we part — not with finality, but with continuity — until the next spring returns us again to the lakeside.
Hosted by Robert & Beverley, danceScape
If this gathering resonates with you, you are warmly welcome to join us.🌸
Click here to let us know you plan to come!
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