Screen Gems donates trees for Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival
2nd Annual Cherry Blossom Festival to be held on the Public Square this Saturday
NASHVILLE - A movie filmed in Nashville will be leaving an indelible imprint on the city with the donation of 37 cherry trees to be planted during the 2nd Annual Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival, which takes place this Saturday at the Public Square in downtown Nashville.
California-based Screen Gems, a division of Sony’s Columbia Tristar Motion Picture Group, generously donated the trees to the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival Planting Project after wrapping up filming in Nashville for “Love Don’t Let Me Down,” starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw. Environmental responsibility is an important commitment for Sony Screen Gems. As part of their green initiatives, the production company donated one cherry tree to be planted for each of the 37 days of filming in Nashville.
The Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival Planting Project began last year as a vision of Consul-General of Japan Hiroshi Sato to plant one hundred cherry trees every year over a ten year period as a symbol of the ever-growing friendship between the people of Nashville and Japan. The cherry trees will also serve as a backdrop to the annual Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival. Cherry blossoms, or sakura, have been the symbol of U.S.-Japan friendship since the Mayor of Tokyo donated 3,000 cherry trees to Washington, D.C. in 1912. Last year, one hundred cherry trees were planted throughout Nashville. The donation from Sony Screen Gems will be part of the 100 trees planted this year.
The 2nd Annual Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival will be held on Saturday, March 27 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Public Square. The day will kick-off with the 1st Annual Cherry Blossom Walk at 9 a.m. at Riverfront Park, followed by a day of Japanese cultural demonstrations, hands-on activities, musical performances by Rattlesnake Annie and Alison Brown and much more. The dynamic drumming group Kaminari Taiko will return to Nashville for a captivating concert on the main stage. Admission to the festival is free and open to the public.
The Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival is organized by the Consulate-General of Japan, the Japan-America Society of Tennessee, and the Nashville Mayor’s Office. The Cherry Blossom Festival Project is funded by both individual donors and corporate sponsors. For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation to the festival visit: www.NashvilleCherryBlossomFestival.org.
For more information about the Cherry Blossom Walk hosted by Sister Cities of Nashville and Japan-America Society of Tennessee visit: www.scnashville.org.
Source: Nashville Mayor's Office