Over the last 37 years, the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival’s Senior Appreciation Brunch has honored more than 250 individuals. In Japanese culture, seniors hold a place of respect and reverence in one’s family and community. These seniors have made a significant impact on those around them, demonstrating the importance of leadership, education and the preservation…
San Francisco-based Mixed Media Artist Taiko Fujimura designed this year’s Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival poster. Taiko’s work is a beautiful fusion of watercolor, ink, acrylic, and oil, depicting a colorful and emotional journey through her experiences and connections with the world around her. You may recognize her artwork through the Hearts in San Francisco,…
This marks the 36th year of the Northern California Cherry Blossom Community Service Scholarship. The program is for graduating seniors of Japanese descent. Administered by the SF Nikkei Lions, the program awards two $2,500 scholarships to deserving high school seniors going to college. The winners will be awarded at the George Yamasaki, Jr. (Peace Plaza)…
2024 Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival Queen and Court Left to right: Princess Aimee Sumire Kanadjian Princess Julianne Aiko Ho Queen Claire Anne Inouye First Princess Kelly Midori Toma Princess Kami Chieko Kodama
The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival is honored to announce Hello Kitty® as our 2024 Grand Parade Marshal. She is a Global icon of friendship, kindness, and inclusivity. This year coincides with her 50th anniversary. There will be opportunities to see Hello Kitty® in the Grand Parade on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Hello Kitty® was…
2023 Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival Queen and Court by Mark Shigenaga Left to right: Princess – Samantha Michiko Teshima First Princess – Kylie Katsuko Tamura Queen – Hannah KC Mukai Princess – Emily “Emi” Wagner Princess – Maya Isaka
Sumofish artist and creator, Brandt Fuse, grew up in Hawaii with a love of fishing and anything ocean related. Studying abroad in Japan and working summers at Iconic t-shirt brand Cane Haul Road provided inspiration and life direction. Brandt relocated to the Bay Area in 1998, and after working at Osaki Design in Berkeley went…
Welcome everyone, and thank you for attending the 56th Annual Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival. It’s exciting to welcome everyone back again to our Festival for another year in person. Being able to bring together not only our community but all those who want to celebrate Japanese American and Japanese Culture with us is such…
Congratulations to all of our raffle prize winners! Thank you so much to everyone for supporting our festival by purchasing tickets and thank you also to our wonderful sponsors and donors
The NCCBF Executive Committee writes this tribute for Shogo Yamada, our dear friend and supporter for many years, who passed away last March. Many festivalgoers remember Yamada-san for leading his spirited Japanese folk music group, YamaSho Kai, or dancing along to Awa Odori with San Francisco Awakko-Ren at the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival and…
The 54th annual Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival’s theme is Kizuna – Strength through Bonds of Community and Friendship. The 2021 Festival gave us the opportunity to celebrate the kizuna spirit with our Festival partners, cultural performers and exhibitors, nonprofit organizations, and community and corporate supporters. In lieu of the Grand Parade, the Festival’s Executive…
I’m Daniel Rolandi, Director of Ito Yosakoi, which is based in San Francisco Japantown, and I’m happy to write this blog post to share Kazanami’s history with the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival and our excitement to participate in the 2021 Festival. Since 2017, Ito Yosakoi (糸よさこい) has performed yosakoi, an energetic dance style from…
We premiered Reflections of Tohoku as our 2021 Festival’s short documentary film. The 54th annual Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival will commemorate the 10 year anniversary of the Tohoku Earthquake with our 2021 Festival theme, Kizuna – Strength through Bonds of Community and Friendship. We embarked on a socially distanced documentary project over the past…
April 7th is National Beer Day, and we are pleased to share reflections and supportive messages from key members of our Sapporo Beer Garden Committee! Sapporo Beer Garden serves thousands of visitors every year, operating multiple tents in the Food Bazaar and near the Japantown Peace Plaza and Webster Street Stage. We are grateful for…
Over the past several months, designer Selena Joe and the Festival’s poster committee explored different designs to paint a beautiful art piece, and an important element was the kanji. Selena experimented with freedrawing the kanji and utilizing Japanese fonts, but we collectively wanted to capture the full essence of a professionally written kanji. Recalling our…
Selena Joe designed the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival poster and banner with the 2021 theme, 絆 Kizuna – Strength through Bonds of Community and Friendship. She recently graduated from Ringling College with a B.F.A. in Motion Design, and we are grateful for Greg Viloria, 2021 Festival Co-Chair, for introducing this artist to our team.…
The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival presents the Give & Gift fundraiser, an opportunity to shop in Japantown while giving back to small businesses and supporting our Festival at the same time. Pick up gift certificates for select retailers at discounted prices, so you can stretch your dollar further while purchasing gifts for your family,…
On behalf of the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival (NCCBF) Executive Committee, we are excited to announce the dates for our 54th annual event. The Festival will be held virtually between the hours of 3:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M. PDT, on April 10th, 11th, 17th, and 18th, 2021. We will be streaming many of the…
For over 50 years, the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival Queen Program has been dedicated to developing young women of Japanese descent to become future community leaders. One of the highlights of our Festival is Queen Program Night, where candidates showcase their speech, interview, and creative expression, and it takes a tremendous amount of time…
If you participated in the NCCBF Scavenger Hunt in the last two to three years, it’s very likely that you were greeted by ClarizeYale’s smile at the second floor entrance of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC/the Center). ClarizeYale is a first-generation Filipina-American artist and illustrator, born and raised in San…
The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC/the Center), in San Francisco Japantown is a unique indoor Festival venue that provides visitors a “one-stop-shop” experience of cultural presentations and performances. This quiet, focused venue allows for various traditional and folk music, dance, and cultural art groups to share their culture and talents. Festival…
Our community is very fortunate to have numerous, seasoned photographers like Mark Shigenaga who beautifully capture memories from every corner of our festival grounds, including the following photos.” Enjoy Mark’s photos of our performers and read more about his experience and future hopes for this Festival! I photographed my first Cherry Blossom Festival in 2009. I arrived…
The holiday season has arrived and what better way to celebrate than to support your local retailers! San Francisco’s Japantown is the perfect place to find that perfect holiday gift for your friends and family (and of course, don’t forget to treat yourself too). Each of the shopping locations rigorously follows San Francisco City’s health…
With the virtual nature of the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival in 2020 and continued socially distanced plans for the festival in 2021, these recent festivals will certainly be events to remember. Incidentally, our volunteers are no strangers to quickly shifting plans and accommodating needs on the fly. PR/Marketing Committee Co-Chair, Jane Yu, reflects on…
While our Festival has the most prominence in the month of April, a core group of committee members continues to volunteer year-round in preparation for the next. This year was no exception and included the challenge of converting the format into a virtual festival within weeks of the event (before Zoom had become a daily…
What a year 2020 turned out to be. While we could not come together physically in April, the connections we continue to make online have been a tremendous blessing and source of support. As November arrived, we want to take this opportunity to thank all of our contributors who help us maintain a sense of…
Tune in to our Halloween Cosplay Showcase video, we’re positively thrilled to share it with you! Special thanks to all of our participants for submitting your cosplay photos – we asked you to deliver crafty, comical, rib tickling, and spooky, and oh boy, did you deliver! Thank you everyone for your participation in the 2020…
Thank you for participating in our 2020 Halloween Cosplay Contest! Our team reviewed the cosplay photo entries, and we admire and appreciate the cosplayers’ great attention to detail and creativity in their costumes and props. Narrowing down the entries to the finalists was no easy task, as all of our cosplayers submitted great costume photos.…
We missed our cosplay parade this year, so we want to showcase our cosplayer community! Let’s celebrate Halloween virtually this year by showing off your crafty, comical, rib-tickling, or spooky spirit in our Halloween Cosplay Contest! This contest is open to all ages. We can’t wait to see your Halloween costume photo submission. The deadline…
Updated on February 16, 2021 As the days get longer and warmer, what better time to enjoy some socially-distanced outdoor dining? Japantown boasts some of the best multicultural dining experiences in San Francisco, offering something that will please everyone. Each dining location rigorously follows San Francisco City’s health and safety protocols, so you know your…
** Update on 10/31/2020: The Picnic at the Plaza has been extended to November 29. ** by Michelle Heckert Through rain, a heatwave and uncertain air quality, The Center’s Picnic at the Plaza has brought new life to San Francisco’s Japantown and its businesses! Since July, the event has allowed thousands of foodies to experience…
For the past 33 years, the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival has thanked seniors in the local Japanese American community for their volunteer services. Each year, honorees are nominated by local community organizations. Although this year we were unable to celebrate these remarkable individuals at the Senior Appreciation Brunch, we would like to recognize them…
A Beginner’s Guide by Yuki Nishimura In the early summer days of 2018, my friends and I were making plans for our Japan trip scheduled for later that summer. One of my more adventurous friends proposed summiting Mount Fuji, but another in my group felt apprehensive about climbing a mountain because it was something she…
This past December, the NCCBF Organizing Committee and community were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our dear friend and dedicated member, Toyomi Tanaka. As part of the NCCBF Japan Groups Committee, Toyomi san helped coordinate artists from Japan to perform in the final weekend of the NCCBF. The group’s efforts enrich the Festival’s…
The NCCBF Community Marshal is a designation bestowed on individuals who have made a significant impact on the festival, the Japanese and/or the Japanese American community. Community Marshals have included legacy participants and community leaders. The NCCBF committee is honored to introduce Madame Michiya Hanayagi of the Hanayagi Japanese Classical Dance Group as our 2020 Community…
The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival would like to express our deepest appreciation to our generous sponsors for their friendship and support for our 2020 festival. We wish you all health and safety during this time and look forward to working together in 2021!
The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival’s 33rd annual Community Service Scholarship Program awarded two $2,500 scholarships to deserving high school graduates headed to college. Applicants were required to attend an accredited high school with a grade point average minimum of 2.5 on a scale of 4.0 and be actively involved in her or his local…
While text messages, phone calls, and video chats make for easy communication, nothing beats the heartfelt gesture of a handwritten letter to those we cherish as we #blossominplace. There is something extremely special about the time and thought that one puts into letter writing. And let’s face it. Can this be yet another shelter-in-place activity?…
Our 2020 Virtual Arts & Crafts Fair is packed with talented artisans. If you’re looking for original works of art, this is the perfect place to begin. We often find meaningful pieces in the most unexpected ways. It also happens that you would be supporting our community of artists in a time when we need…
As we shelter in place this spring, have you found yourself making progress with various projects around the house? Are you in the middle of spring cleaning or redecorating your living spaces?! Rearranging a piece or two can certainly freshen up familiar spaces. For inspiration and fun additions to your lovely home, take a look…
On behalf of the 2019 Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival Court, I would like to welcome each and every one of you to the virtual 2020 Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival. I have come to love this annual homage to the Japanese American heritage with demonstrations of odori to taiko to ikebana; it showcases the…
April 11-19, 2020 The NCCBF Arts and Crafts Fair showcases the talent of handcrafted products and designs of artisans from across the country that embodies the spirit of the festival. The Arts & Crafts Fair typically packs the Buchanan Mall with booths of one-of-a-kind accessories, apparel, artisanal foods, fine arts & prints, handbags, housewares, plushies…
The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival is honored to announce Rick and Bobby Okamura as our 2024 Community Parade Marshals. There will be opportunities to see the Benkyodo brothers in the Grand Parade on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Rick and Bobby Okamura of Benkyodo Company treated generations of our community and customers to ‘Confections that…
Welcome everyone to the 57th Annual Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival! Thank you all for joining us as we celebrate another incredible year with you. We are honored to serve as Co-Chairs, bringing together our unique perspective and backgrounds to celebrate Japanese and Japanese American culture and heritage with all of you. We – Matt…
Congratulations to all of our raffle prize winners! Thank you so much to everyone for supporting our festival by purchasing tickets and thank you also to our wonderful sponsors and donors
2023 Marks the 35th year of the Northern California Cherry Blossom Community Service Scholarship. The program is for graduating seniors of Japanese descent. Administered by the SF Nikkei Lions, the program awards two $2,500 scholarships to deserving high school seniors going to college. This year’s recipients – Elyse Fujii and Monet Gagnon – have shown…
