Although the cherry blossoms have been off their trees since April, their beauty was celebrated this weekend at Denver’s Sakura Matsuri, the city’s Cherry Blossom Festival.
The annual festival was Saturday and Sunday at Sakura Square on Lawrence Street, between 19th and 20th streets, and was the biggest in the 36 years the event has been held, according to Michelle Asakawa, a member of the event planning committee.
She estimates that about 20,000 people attended and said positive word of mouth was one of the reasons turnout had increased this year.
“The festival is a great way to experience Japan while staying in Denver,” Asakawa said.
The festival is a celebration of Japanese-American culture and included food, dancing and martial arts demonstrations, shodo (calligraphy) and ikebana (flower arrangement).
The Japanese odori is an art form that combines music with movement to tell stories. Performances were staged all weekend at the festival.
Cindy Horiuchi is a dance instructor and was coordinator of the dancing at the festival. She taught many of the girls, ranging in age from 8 to 19, who performed. She said the festival is about celebrating ancestors and keeping strong ties in the community.
“It’s important that people learn about their culture and heritage,” Horiuchi said.
One of the most popular attractions at the festival was the food court. A wide array of traditional foods such as sushi, teriyaki meat and vegetables, cold noodles, sake, and desserts could be found.
There were also taiko drum performances, lectures on Buddhism and a variety of vendors selling Asian arts and crafts.
The Denver Bonsai Club, a mainstay of the festival for many years, was also there.
Bonsai, which literally means “a plant in a tray,” is the art form of growing miniature trees by carefully stunting their growth. The group had a display of bonsai in the Denver Buddhist Temple, a few of which had been maintained for more than 50 years.
Bill Huffer, vice president of the club, was on hand to answer questions about the ancient art form as well as selling some bonsai. He became interested in the art form while he was in Japan in the 1950s with the Navy.
Brian Malnes: 303-954-1638 or bmalnes@denverpost.com
