The weather has finally caught up to the calendar. It feels like fall, and at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden (FWBG), it looks like fall, too.
Gardeners have switched over flower beds and begun planting fall blooms in preparation for the FWBG’s annual Fall Japanese Festival, one of its biggest events.
“What’s special to me is you can kinda get away from the real world; kinda distance yourself and find some peace in a bit of a chaotic world,” FWBG Japanese Garden Horticulture Manager Chris Ransom said, looking out over the peaceful garden.
Gardeners spent two months preparing the grounds for the FWBG Fall Japanese Festival.
“So, the entire thing I’m trying to represent with the lines is trying to make a scenery that represents water, that represents something fluid, something moving,” Gerardo Chavarria said as he raked lines into the bed of the dry garden. “In reality, nothing is moving here except for me.”
Over the two-day Fall Japanese Festival, an estimated 14,000 visitors will come to the FWBG.
“It’s an oasis of calm,” FWBG Director of Events and Exhibits George Cripps said. “We’re right here in the middle of Fort Worth, and if you can find a place like this where you can just come and let the world fade away for however long you’re here, nothing that’s outside these gates matters while you’re here.”
The FWBG partners with the Fort Worth Japanese Society to bring a cultural experience of food, shopping, demonstrations, and entertainment to the festival. That includes Japanese drumming from Dondoko Taiko Fort Worth.
“We always get a big crowd,” Dodoko Taiko Fort Worth drummer David Bakutis said. “It’s always a lot of fun when you’re playing for a whole lot of people that enjoy playing Taiko.”
This is the Year of the Wood Snake, which symbolizes transformation, wisdom, and thoughtful reflection; a fitting match for the Fall Japanese Festival setting at the FWBG.
The FWBG Fall Japanese Festival is Saturday, October 31st, and Sunday, November 1st. Parking is free. Tickets are available at the door and online, but online sales are discounted.
AloJapan.com