Cherry Blossom

Cherry Blossom Festival The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an annual two weekends event. It locates at San Francisco Japantown Post Street between Laguna and Fillmore Street. I went to the cherry blossom festival on April 17th with my family there was so fun. It feature live bands, food booths, parade, traditional Japanese music , martial arts, dance, karate and other cultural performances. The sponsors are Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco and Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival Executive Committee and Japanese-American community organizations including Japanese Benevolent Society, Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Northern California, Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, Japan Society of Northern California. Other sponsors include Toyota, UnionBank and Safeway. The purpose of the Cherry Blossom Festival continues to be the perpetuation of Japanese culture, and offers a wonderful opportunity to showcase Japanese culture and cultural exchange of united state. Also had one especial purpose on this year that was Japan Earthquake Relief Fund donations to help the devastation occurring in Japan. The Cherry Blossom Festival of United State have made efforts to maintain their cultural traditions of their homelands. The music, arts and crafts works, food, rituals, folk dance, and narratives of traditional festivals continue to provide important sources of meaning and cultural enrichment. These events heighten and unify community life throughout the year. The Cherry Blossom Festival held special significance for the community members who attended and participated. There are a lot of young Asian Americans in this event and they are acting actively in different roles. For example, I saw young Asian Americans volunteers help introducing different foods to visitors and also participate in different Japanese culture related shows like Karate. Though these roles and participation, they not only help others to get to know