Canadian rail passengers should celebrate spring in Vancouver at this year's Cherry Blossom Festival. Visitors can watch Japanese taiko drum players and participate in the Umbrella Dance Flash Mob against the backdrop of gorgeous pink and white flowers.

Beginning on April 5, tourists and locals begin to welcome the warm weather and beautiful flowers with more than 40,000 ornamental cherry trees in the city. Activities at this year's festival include en plein air painting classes for both beginners and advanced artists, along with the annual Haiku Invitational where poets construct profound prose within 17 syllables.

Encouraging creativity even further, this spring marks the first time the festival will have a Flash Mob performance featuring contemporary choreography by Shiamak Davar. Participants can practice with the help of Youtube videos and pay a small fee for a pink umbrella. Rehearsals start in late February and continue until the start of the festival.

The more shy tourist on train trips across Canada can opt out of participation and still witness thousands of hot-pink umbrellas at 2pm on April 14 in downtown Vancouver.