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Cherry Blossom Festival 桜祭り

Our annual Cherry Blossom Festival (sakura matsuri) is held in spring each year at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

We have a variety of performances, food, and Japanese cultural activities to add to your Hanami (flower viewing) experience!

Cherry Blossoms, or sakura, only bloom for a few weeks each year. In Japanese culture, sakura represent mortality and remind viewers of the beauty and transience of life. Thousands of people flock to parks in Japan to see the blossoms. We are lucky to have cherry trees all over Alabama that bloom each Spring. We encourage everyone to venture outside this month to appreciate the cherry blossoms!



The 2024 Annual Cherry Blossom Festival

Saturday, March 30th, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Birmingham Botanical Gardens: 

2612 Lane Park Rd, Birmingham, AL 35223




The Japan American Society of Alabama is proud to partner with the Birmingham Botanical Gardens to host the 17th annual Cherry Blossom Festival on March 30! Join us for a day filled with cultural performances, activities and food from our vendors as well as the chance to tour the gardens. This is a free, family-friendly event.

!!Please note that parking spaces at the venue are limited. We kindly request your cooperation in carpooling as much as possible!!

Guests and Activities:

*Subject to change

Aikido Alabama・Alabama Bonsai Society・Asha Kiran・Birmingham Kendo Club・Birmingham Museum of Art・Birmingham Quilter's Guild・Birmingham Sister Cities・Briarwood Japanese Children's Club・Bubble Nuggets・Calligraphy・Chiharu Roach・Choko Aiken・Consul General of Japan in Atlanta・Crows Like Candy・Daikin Taiko Force・Glitter Critter Studios・Holbein Pottery・Hometown Supermarket・Ikebana・Nori Thai and Sushi・North Shelby Library・Origami・On The Run Concessions・PaperWorkers Local・Shinkendo of Birmingham・UAB Japanese Culture Club・Urasenke Birmingham Association


Are you interested in being a part of this grand celebration? We welcome volunteers and sponsors to join us in making this event a success. For more information or inquiries, please reach out to us at officemanager@jasaweb.org.

For the latest updates, please visit our Facebook event page!

今年も桜まつりの季節がやってきました!今年も、様々なパフォーマンス、折り紙・書道体験、茶道実演、盆栽展示、お弁当販売などを企画しています。

入場は無料です。ぜひ、ご家族やお友達をお誘い合わせの上、ご来場ください。なお、会場の駐車台数には限りがございますので、出来るだけお車に乗り合わせの上お越しいただきますよう、ご協力お願い申し上げます。


Thank you to our Sakura Sponsors!


                     

             


Thank you for joining the 16th Annual  Cherry Blossom Festival: April 1, 2023!

The 16th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival was held on April 1 at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. The festival attracted more than 3,000 people from all over Alabama. People enjoyed a beautiful sunny day with Japanese cultural activities, food, music, and performances at the Japanese Gardens.

JASA welcomed Consul General Maeda, Birmingham City Council President Wardine Alexander, Daikin Taiko Force, Hiroya Tsukamoto and more!

It was the first in-person Cherry Blossom Festival since 2019 and was a meaningful cultural celebration for people in Alabama, especially the Birmingham and Central Alabama Japanese communities.

We sincerely appreciate everyone involved: sponsors, Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens, volunteers, performers, and vendors for making this happen.

 We look forward to seeing you again next year!




SCHEDULE (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

10:00 – 10:30 Opening Ceremony

- Remarks from Japan-America Society of Alabama, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, City of Birmingham, Consul General of Japan in Atlanta

10:45 – 11:15 Briarwood Japanese Children’s Club Performance

11:30 – 12:00 Shinkendo of Birmingham

12:15 – 12:45 LeRon Harrison Gagaku Music Performance

1:15 – 2:00 Daikin Taiko Force

2:30 – 3:15 Hiroya Tsukamoto

3:30 – 4:00 Closing Remarks



Guests and activities

Alabama Bonsai Society, Asha Kiran,

Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham Quilter's Guild,

Briarwood Japanese Children's Club, Calligraphy, Chiharu Roach,

Civil Stoneware, Consul General of Japan in Atlanta, Daikin Taiko Force,

Glitter Critter Studios, Hiroya Tsukamoto, Holbein Pottery,

Hometown Supermarket, LeRon Harrison, Nori Thai and Sushi, Origami,

PaperWorkers Local, Shinkendo of Birmingham, 

UAB Japanese Culture Club, Urasenke Birmingham Association


Thank you to our Sakura Sponsors!

Mr. Kozo Matsuda   

     

  

Join us for YouTube Live performances, special interviews, and messages from your favorite Cherry Blossom Festival Guests and performers! Visit this page on March 27th for a full day of Japanese culture through video.

See below for a list of participants and stay tuned for a full schedule for the day! We'll be updating our event with content throughout the month of March so you can appreciate Japanese culture throughout Cherry Blossom Season.


Featuring...

A.C.T. Defense Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu

Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Birmingham Public Library's Miss Iwate

Birmingham Shinkendo Federation

Calligraphy Demonstration Shuji

Japanese Flower Arranging Ikebana

Mark Jackson, Honorary Consul General of Japan

Paperworkers Local Moku Hanga 

...and more!

Live performances: 

10:00am -12:00 pm Zoom Demonstration of Moku Hanga

Register for the Zoom Webinar here!

1:00pm Facebook Live Demonstration: Birmingham International Shinkendo Federation

Watch live on our Facebook page here!

3:30pm Zoom Interview Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu

Register for the Zoom Webinar here!


For information and photos from previous years' Cherry Blossom Festivals, see below.


14th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival: March 16, 2019

2019 Past Performances Schedule

BRIARWOOD JAPANESE CHILDREN’S CLUB PERFORMANCE

DAIKIN AMERICA TAIKO PERFORMANCE

BIRMINGHAM SHINKENDO DEMONSTRATION

DAIKIN AMERICA TAIKO PERFORMANCE

SHAKUHACHI PERFORMANCE

A.C.T. DEFENSE BUJINKAN BUDO TAIJUTSU DEMONSTRATION




Guests and Activities

A.C.T. DEFENSE

ALABAMA BONSAI SOCIETY

ALABAMA MULTICULTURAL ORGANIZATION (AMOR)

BIRMINGHAM QUILTERS GUILD

BIRMINGHAM SHINKENDO JAPANESE SWORDMANSHIP GROUP

BIRMINGHAM URASENKE ASSOCIATION

BRIARWOOD JAPANESE CHURCH

BOWMAN ACCESSORIES

CALLIGRAPHY

CHILDREN’S CHOIR

CONSUL GENERAL OF JAPAN

DAIKIN AMERICA TAIKO TEAM

IKEBANA

JAPAN CAFE

KENDAMA USA

ORIGAMI

ROBIN RAY CRAFTS

SHAKUHACHI

TARA ATKINS CRAFTS

PAPERWORKERS LOCAL

Contact Us

Tel: +1 (205) 703-0960

2081 Columbiana Rd #10

Vestavia Hills, AL 35216

officemanager@jasaweb.org

Copyright (c) 2019 Japan-America Society of Alabama

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