Anniversaries spark Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco
Twin anniversaries will be marked at this year’s Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival, April 14-15 and April 21-22, 2007.This is the 40th annual festival and also the 50th anniversary of San Francisco’s Sister City relationship with Osaka, Japan. San Francisco’s historic Japantown also celebrated its 100th anniversary last year.
The 40th annual Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival, always one of California’s most splendid celebrations, draws more than 150,000 people to a dazzling display of Japanese culture and tradition. Most of the 90-plus events and activities are free and headquartered at the Japan Center, Post and Buchanan streets.
For two consecutive weekends, visitors can view artwork, Japanese textile displays, classical dance performances, Yosakoi performance with more than 125 dancers, martial art combat, elaborate ikebana/bonsai/suiseki exhibits, origami exhibits and demonstrations, tea ceremonies and calligraphy. Local bands will be on stage both weekends at the Comcast Webster Street Stage, and the Kids Zone along Webster and Fillmore streets on the first weekend of the parade is always popular with chibi-chan (little children).
The real temptations, however, are to be found in the food bazaar on Webster Street where “almost like home” delights include sushi, takoyaki (tiny bits of octopus in a wheat flour dumpling), imagawayaki (cakes with sweet bean filling), teriburgers and, with a nod to the islands, Hawaiian rice plates and SPAM musubi.
The Cherry Blossom Festival celebration reaches full bloom on Sunday, April 22 with the grand parade, which starts at 1 pm from City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place. Proceeding north on Polk street to Post street, west on Post to the Japan Center, the parade features magnificently costumed dancers and musicians (traditional and contemporary); festival Queens from other cities; floats; taiko drummers; scores of men and women carrying mikoshi (portable shrines). The grand finale consists of an undulating conga line bearing the taru mikoshi (sake barrel shrine).
One of only three Japantowns remaining in the United States (the others are located in San Jose and Los Angeles), San Francisco’s Nihonmachi (nihon means Japan and machi means town) is the oldest of the three and a cultural headquarters for some 12,000 residents of Japanese descent.
For more information on the festival, contact the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival at 415-563-2313 or visit www.nccbf.org
Report by Chitra Mogul
Chitra Mogul
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