Fork Union is getting ready to bloom in a big, beautiful way. The recent Fork Union Community Day on May 14 was the beginning of the village creating not only an identity as a prime center of business for Fluvanna County, but also as a beautiful place to work, play and live. Residents and community leaders alike are getting together to bring a little color to the streets of the village. With the initiative being taken by the tenants of the Fork Union Village Shopping Center, the cherry blossom trees that line the parking lot will soon be seen all over Fork Union.

Over the upcoming years, these famous trees will soon color the streets with their bright and cheerful white and pink blossoms. The cherry blossom tree is a non-fruiting tree that gained fame in 1912 when the Mayor of Tokyo gave several of these trees to the United States; thus beginning a tradition of the two nations trading trees as gifts and creating a new festival celebrating the trees that line the Tidal Basin of Washington, D.C. The Sakura, as these trees are commonly called in Japan, are revered for blooming en masse, which the Japanese see as a symbol for clouds. In Washington, at the opening of the Cherry Blossom Festival held every year, the trees coming into bloom symbolize the beginning of spring. Just like Washington, the cherry blossom trees that prominently round the parking lots of the BB&T Bank and the Fork Union Community Market give the area their first bit of color after a long Fluvanna winter. These beautiful trees will be the rallying point for expanding this beauty into the rest of the village.

Brandon Chiesa, the manager of the Fork Union BB&T Bank on James Madison Highway, is leading the charge to make this project happen. He credits the cherry blossom trees that can be seen from Chiesa’s window as being the catalyst for this endeavor. It began with many meetings between business and residents. 

“There is a lot of heart in the community” to improve the village as a whole, but there has been very little initiative and energy to get if off the ground. That is until Tom Phillips, owner of the Fork Union Community Market, helped bring about the recent Fork Union Community Day. He took the lead to bring attention to local businesses, while Chiesa led the effort to bring about the other part of the overall master plan—to beautify Fork Union. It started with a concerted effort to clean up litter on the streets and have residents maintain their yards, but beyond just these aspects, the cherry blossom tree was brought in as a “center of gravity,” something Fork Union residents can take pride in. The tree was a good choice, because it is already well-known for giving the shopping center that first burst of spring color and over time, community leaders like Chiesa hope the trees will be Fork Union’s identifier, much like the creatively painted mermaids in Norfolk or the beehives in Gloucester.

However, this is a huge project which first involves getting permission of business owners and residents to allow the trees be planted on the main roads of Fork Union. Bremo Trees is providing the cherry blossom trees at the lowest prices possible as a service to the community. The most daunting task is to raise the funds, but Chiesa says he hopes by drawing out the fundraising over a long period of time, it will allow for the word to get out and more trees to be purchased by the accumulated donations over the extended period.

Already, 20 trees have been committed to at the Fork Union Community Day, and this will make a high impact and a very good start to the project. Seeing this commitment already, Chiesa is hopeful more trees will be purchased and planted as the ongoing effort will continue until the trees run out. Nevertheless, even a few trees will bring about the ultimate goal by giving Fork Union that welcoming, unifying identity.

Donations for money and time are welcome. People have not been signed on for the task of planting, but the trees should be planted in late February to early March of next year, so they will be ready to blossom during early spring. The Fork Union Community Day will take and field the donations as they come in. A maximum donation of $100 will purchase a tree and a dedication plaque commemorating what the purchaser would like to see engraved. All donations of any size will be accepted and be used to plant a cherry blossom tree. The trees get large as they mature and they only get prettier during their blossoming season as they grow.  According to Chiesa, the trees will set Fork Union apart, which is the long-term goal, while short term, it is all about neighborhood beautification.
Anyone interested in donating to the tree planting project needs to contact the Fork Union Pharmacy, Fork Union Community Market, the volunteer fire and rescue squad or any business in the Fork Union area.