25th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival kicked-off spring in Monterey Park
MONTEREY PARK, Calif. (KABC) -- Monterey Park brought a piece of Japan to Southern California over the weekend. The City of Monterey Park hosted its 25th annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Barnes Park.
The Cherry Blossom Festival was a free event that gave attendees a chance to experience Japanese and Japanese American culture for two days straight.
There was cultural Japanese dance and martial arts performances. For J-Pop lovers, there was live performances by Kokoro, City Pop Jam, and local student musical groups.
Car enthusiasts had their interests sparked with the festival's Itasha exhibition, showcasing sports cars wrapped with anime characters.
The festival also had a variety of games and crafts for children of all ages. This included a read-aloud performance by award-winning author/illustrator, Sunny Seki , writer of The Tale of the Lucky Cat.
Japanese cuisine such as chicken teriyaki, spam musubi, and mochi desserts from Little Tokyo's Fugetsu-Do , were available.
Additional activities included a Japanese tea ceremony, kimono vendors, ikebana flower arrangement booth, kimekomi doll-making, calligraphy, origami, and much more.
Community booths provided resources on local health, social, and education services. Free shuttle transportation leaving from Langley Senior Center, Ynez and Repetto elementary schools was available.
If you would like more information on the Monterey Park Cherry Blossom Festival, click here.
