The patio of the Hôtel de Paris is being magically transformed into a Japanese zen garden for the Cherry Blossom ‘Make a Wish’ charity event, featuring everything from sushi to origami for guests.
It will be east-meets-west in Monaco from Thursday 25th March to Saturday 10th April when the Hôtel de Paris opens its patio to The High Life Monaco, the organisers of the Japanese Cherry Blossom ‘Make a Wish’ themed charity event.
Cherry Blossom features several facets including food, workshops and traditional Make a Wish ceremonies including ema, a wooden plaque on which a wish is written to the Kami (deities). Customarily, it is hung on a portico at the entry of a temple.
There is also mikuji, a small strip of paper that predicts the future. Drawn at random, the paper decides the luck, good or bad, of the person who chose it for the year.
There will also be an open-air lunch daily from 11:30am to 3pm offering Japanese specialities including sashimi, nigiri, maki, moshis and more. Space will be limited due to social distancing, so reservations are required.
Additionally, the Monte-Carlo Catering boutique will be open daily throughout the event, with Chef Johannes and his team creating a range of Japanese sweet treats for all to enjoy. They have also made a selection of chocolate Easter delicacies available for take-away.
For younger guests, a greenhouse dedicated to the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation will be organised on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays for children to learn about ocean conservation.
Adults can also get in on the fun with creative and gourmet workshops including traditional flower arrangement classes, making personalised Japanese fans, origami paper folding art, making kokedama “moss spheres” to grow plants, paper tea box-making and calligraphy.
All proceeds of the event go to the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s Beyond Plastic Med (BeMed) initiative for clearing Mediterranean waters of plastic pollution.
For more information and to make reservations, visit https://www.montecarlosbm.com/en/agenda/cherry-blossom-patio-hotel-de-paris-monte-carlo or call +377 98 06 71 71.
Photo by Yuki Nakamara on Unsplash
East meets west in Monaco
