This weekend, Monterey Park, a community healing after a mass shooting tragedy in January, is celebrating the return of its annual Cherry Blossom Festival, open for the first time since the pandemic began.
The free event on April 15 and 16 at Barnes Park showcases Japanese and Japanese American culture with dancing, taiko drums, a tea ceremony, traditional crafts, foods and family-friendly activities.
Festival organizers from the city’s Cherry Blossom Committee said it’s the first time the event, going 23 years strong, has been back since the coronavirus pandemic. The weekend-long festival has been held in Monterey Park since the 1970s.
Japanese folk dancers and taiko drumming groups are set to perform, along with Polynesian dancers, Japanese singers, karate groups and tribute bands from the community. There will be cultural exhibits and demonstrations — from origami to brush painting — for everyone to try.
“We’re exposing the next generation to the food, music; our community,” said committee chair Karen Ogawa. “Japanese Americans are a very tight-knit culture.”
Ogawa said that bringing back the Cherry Blossom festival after the Jan. 21 shooting is “healing and significant… especially after what happened here at Lunar New Year.“
“It has been an extremely healing process for us to see each other; for the community to be with each other in times of need.”
An opening ceremony on Saturday will begin with a moment of silence recognizing the 11 victims killed in the mass shooting.
Monterey Park’s Community Healing Fund will have a booth for donations and resources, and representatives from Asian Americans Advancing Justice and other community partners will be present.
The festival’s return to Barnes Park shows that, even after tragedy, healing continues to bloom.
The Saturday event is from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Barnes Park is at 350 S. McPherrin Ave.
Information and program: https://www.montereypark.ca.gov/673/Cherry-Blossom-Festival