PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s cherry blossoms are in full bloom.
The Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia is inviting people to come and view their beauty through a reimagined event that more deeply connects the city’s Asian American and Black communities, and reflects the history of how many of our cherry blossom trees came to the city.
This year’s Sakura Cherry Blossom Festival has been renamed the Sakura Concert Series at Shofuso’s Cherry Blossom Festival.
The Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia is partnering with people from the Parkside neighborhood where Shofuso is located, in a way that showcases both communities' cultural and historical overlap.
“The way that that manifests through the programming, we have an incredible selection of West Philly based musicians and artists that are going to be presented side-by-side with Japanese and Japanese-American talent,” said Rob Buscher of the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia.
“We've always featured music as part of the main stage events, but this year we really doubled down on concerts and music as the main source of entertainment.”
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He says this weekend’s festival, free through Sunday and open to the public, is timed perfectly with peak blooms of the cherry blossoms:
“The moment of the Sakura Blossom is fleeting, at best a week or two,” he admitted.
Related podcast: How Parks on Tap is getting into the Philadelphia cherry blossom experience.
“The idea of watching the cherry blossom is harkening to this Buddhist concept about beauty lying and its impermanence. So life is short, and that's why we have to take advantage and really cherish the moments that we have with our friends and our family.”
For this weekend only, there will be music, with food and drink available for sale in the park. Entrance to the festival is free and people are encouraged to picnic under the trees, many of which were donated as an intercultural gift in peace, similar to this weekend’s event.
“The bulk of the trees that are here in the centennial arboretum was donated by the government of Japan in 1926,” Buscher said. “This was meant during the Sesquicentennial to be a gift from one nation to another of friendship, and the peace between nations.”
KYW Staff contributed to this report.
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