The 55th Annual NorCal Cherry Blossom Festival is one of California’s most prominent celebrations of Asian traditions. Plus, it’s the largest Cherry Blossom Festival on the West Coast! This year they will celebrate Japanese and Japanese American culture both in-person and virtually.

Since 1968, the festival serves to cultivate the continued alliance between Japan and the United States using culture as its bridge. Each year, over 220,000 people attend this dazzling display showcasing the vibrant colors and grace of the Japanese culture and the rich heritage and diversity of the Japanese American community.

This year, the festival’s theme is 栄える (Sakaeru). This means to come back, flourish as a community, and festival. The tagline is Springing Forward. It takes its cue from the poster’s frog. In Japanese, Ka-e-ru is frog and they always spring forward. As for the meaning of this year’s Kanji, the top of the kanji is light and the bottom represents a tree. Therefore, for a tree to flourish and become strong, it needs strong light, like that of the sun.

Saturday & Sunday, April 9th & 10th, and Saturday & Sunday, April 16th & 17th
At the Japantown Peace Plaza in San Francisco

Visit this page to get the map and full schedule for the festival.

Learn more on the 55th Annual NorCal Cherry Blossom Festival website where are is a wealth of programs.