If you are in southern California or planning to visit the Los Angeles area on April 21 and 22, check out the 15^th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Monterey Park. This city located a just short drive east of Los Angeles and is taking place at Barnes Park, located at 350 S. McPherrin Avenue. Best of all entry to the Festival is FREE.

Many of our customers live in and around the LA area and have told us about this exciting event. Here is what just a one of our customers have said about the Annual Cherry Blossom Festival:

“My grandchildren enjoy attending this event and I get to enjoy a bunch of great food” K.L. Los Angeles

The festival is packed full of Japanese American culture and you can experience Japanese dancing, traditional taiko drums and watch martial arts exhibits. This is just one of the many cherry festival events occurring this coming cherry season. Here is link to learn more about the 15^th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Monterey Park California

http://www.ci.monterey-park.ca.us/index.aspx?page=812

In addition, to offering a rich history, the cherry is packed full of the powerful antioxidants for healthy joints*, soothing sore muscles due to physical exercise and more. Best of all, it is available is a variety of way of getting this excellent health benefits including cherry juice, dried cherries and tart cherry capsules.

With the warm weather approaching many are looking for fun and exciting activities to enjoy with family and friends. Taking this into consideration, one idea is to attend a cherry festival. During these event you’ll be able to enjoy cherry juice, dried cherries, cherry capsules and a number of cherry-based products. While cherry festival exist across the globe, over the next several posts I’ll share some insight to the more popular events. These event could be anyway on the globe. The first event I would like to share with you is the annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Tokyo Japan.

Although no one can predict exactly when, every spring thousands of Tokyo inhabitants will flock to their public parks to enjoy “hanami”, the viewing of the cherry blossoms. The most popular of the city’s Cherry Blossom Festivals is at Ueno Park.

The Park’s main street is lined with over eight hundred cherry trees, the glowing blossoms of which are illuminated each evening by the light of fifteen hundred lanterns. Several hundred thousand daily visitors enjoy the blooms, which lend an aura of the palest pink to the park’s many other attractions.

History of the Cherry Blossom Festival

The Cherry Blossom Festival has its roots in the ninth century, when Japanese nobility had the first formal flower viewing at the Shinsen-en garden in Kyoto. Today Cherry Blossom Festivals unfold in stages as warm weather begins to spread over Japan from south to north and from the lowlands to the mountains. The Japanese listen intently to the reports from the Meteorological Agency as the cherry blossoms begin opening in Okinawa each January. When the blooming season arrives in Tokyo, usually in late March or early April, it is a signal for two weeks of celebration.

Families, friends, and even groups of workers in every part of Tokyo will head for the blossom-shrouded public spaces, spread out their picnic blankets, and enjoy the return of spring beneath the gently falling blossoms, which symbolize for them the fleetingness of life. By day’s end there is no way to tell where one group ends and another begins, and the sense of community is special indeed.

For those who would prefer to enjoy the ephemeral beauty of the blossoms in more contemplative surroundings, the Meguro River Cherry Blossom Festival, only six miles to the west of Tokyo Station, offers an evening stroll beneath the lantern-lit trees at the river’s edge.

In the next post, I’ll share with you insight to other cherry events. In the meantime, for a complete listing of events check out the website www.nationalcherrymonth.com

Mother Nature’s remedies are the fast becoming the first choice for many individuals looking for a proven way to enjoy a healthy lifestyle naturally. This means as more people look for natural solutions, they will be seeking out proven and credible sources. If you are one of those individuals looking for a provider with proven track record of delivering natural remedy solutions, check out Bottom Line publications.

Bottom Line publications is a leading provider of natural solutions for everyday ailments. They have a long history of delivering education both online and offline. They also have an outstanding series of healthy living publications including Bottom Line health and a number of books.

During the writing of these books each author conducts in-depth research on the natural remedies to be included in the book. This is to ensure the remedies included the book have more than just word-of-mouth benefits. If this comprehensive research is successful and the natural solution passes the test, it is included in the book.

The reason for sharing this with you is because Bottom Line publications has selected our tart cherry products including the tart cherry juice, dried tart cherries and tart cherry capsules to be include in two recently published books. Our cherry products are included in the chapters on maintaining healthy joint function.

The two titles include Treasury of Home Remedies and Natural Cures and Breakthroughs in Natural Healing 2012. To learn more, check out the page below:

http://www.traversebayfarms.com/mediaappearances.htm

The unseasonal warm winter of 2011 – 2012 is already bumping up harvest times and production cycles. According to strawberry growers in Santa Barbara County, California the warm weather  has allowed the fruit to come early.

According the some of the strawberry growers, they even had strawberries available for Valentine’s Day. A harvest this soon in the season is very uncommon since the regular harvest season is usually April to June.

This county of California produced $350,000,000 worth of strawberries in 2010, so much like the cherries of Northern Michigan fruit is an important crop for the area.

While some talk has started about the how the warm weather will affect the 2012 cherry crop, it’s still unknown on the final affect the warm weather will have on the tart cherry crop. By looking at the cycles of other crops, it does provide insight to the 2012 cherry harvest and production cycle.

However, no matter what the crops yield, people will still need to maintain healthy joint function and the Michigan grown fruit and cherry juice will still be the first choice for many.

Dessert To Go

Ice cream cones never tasted so good.

• 1 (10-ounce) jar maraschino
  cherries
• 3 cups whipped topping
• 1 (4-serving-size) package
  any flavor instant pudding (chocolate is good!)
• 1-3/4 cups cold milk
• 1/2 tablespoon cherry juice concentrate
• 6 flat-bottom ice cream cones
• Colored sprinkles and/or
  maraschino cherries, for garnish

1. Put a colander or strainer in
   a bowl. Pour cherries into the strainer, draining the juice into the bowl.
   Save the juice to add to orange juice or other drinks; you do not need the
   juice for this recipe.
2. Put the drained cherries on a
   cutting board. With a sharp knife, carefully cut each cherry in half. Have
   an adult show you how to use the knife. Set aside.
3. Prepare pudding according to
   package directions using 1-3/4 cups cold milk. Refrigerate pudding 10
   minutes.
4. Meanwhile, put cherry halves
   in a large mixing bow. With a rubber spatula, scoop whipped topping into
   the bowl. Stir gently until cherries are mixed with whipped topping.
5. Fill each cone with 1/4 cup
   pudding. Top each with 1/2 cup cherry mixture. Decorate with colored
   sprinkles or a maraschino cherry. Serve immediately. This dessert is best
   eaten with a spoon.

Makes 6 servings.

Here is a quick recipe to satisfy everyone in the family.

Makes 32 bars

Calories per bar: 145

Total fat per bar: 4.7 grams; 0 mg cholesterol

Percent calories from fat: 29%

• 3/4 cup margarine
• 2 cups firmly packed brown
  sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups old-fashioned or
  quick-cooking oats, uncooked
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 can (21 ounces) cherry
  filling and topping
• 2 tablespoons granulated
  sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ½ tablespoon of cherry juice
  concentrate
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Put butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric
mixer on medium speed 3 to 4 minutes, or until well mixed. Combine flour, oats
and baking soda. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat on low speed until crumbly.

Spread two-thirds of the oats mixture into the bottom of an un-greased
13x9x2-inch baking pan. Press down to make a firm layer.

Put cherry filling and cherry
juice concentrate in an electric blender or food processor container; purée
until smooth. Pour puréed cherry filling into a medium saucepan. Combine
granulated sugar and cornstarch; stir into cherry filling. Cook, stirring
constantly, over low heat until mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir in almond
extract. Pour cherry mixture over oats layer; spread evenly. Top with remaining
oats mixture.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden
brown. Let cool before cutting into bars.