Saturday, April 6 | 12:30 - 4:30 pm | Red Wing Park
Rain Date: Sunday, April 7Celebrate Virginia Beach’s
international sisterhood with Miyazaki City, Japan, at the 9th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival. This event offers the rich culture and beauty of Japanese music, martial arts, creative activities and various demonstrations.
Admission and parking is free. Food and beverage are available for purchase. You are welcome to bring a blanket or lawn chair for the performances.
#VBCherryBlossomSchedule of Activities
Emcee: Councilman James L. Wood
1:00 | Welcome RemarksMichael Kalvort, Parks & Recreation Director
1:05 | Koto Performance (Japanese Instrument)Virginia Beach Koto Society
1:20 | Martial Arts: Karatedo DemonstrationODU & Virginia Beach Recreation Centers
1:30 | Drum PerformanceSoka Taiko Group
View Video1:45 | Martial Arts: IaidoODU & Virginia Beach Recreation Centers
1:55 | Vocal PerformanceODU Japanese Chorus
2:10 | Martial Arts: Kobudo DemonstrationODU & Virginia Beach Recreation Centers
2:20 | Sanshin Performance (Japanese Instrument & Vocal) Virginia Beach Okinawa Sanshin-Kai
2:35 | Shodo Performance (Calligraphy) Kempsville High School
2:45 | Martial Arts: Kendo DemonstrationODU & Virginia Beach Recreation Centers
2:55 | Koto Performance (Japanese Instrument)Virginia Beach Koto Society
3:10 | Martial Arts: Aikido DemonstrationODU & Virginia Beach Recreation Centers
3:20 | Sanshin & Dance PerformanceVirginia Beach Okinawa Sanshin-Kai
3:35 | Martial Arts: Judo DemonstrationODU & Virginia Beach Recreation Centers
3:45 | Drum PerformanceSoka Taiko Group
4:00 | Vocal Performance
Virginia Beach City Public Schools & Volunteers
Interactive Activities
Arts & Crafts by A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts and ODU Japanese Language Program Volunteers
Calligraphy by Local Japanese Volunteers
Bookmark Making by Local Volunteers
Origami Display & Fold-Along by Rich Gray
VBCPS Participants
Bayside Middle School
Brandon Middle School
Kemps Landing Magnet School
Landstown Middle School
Larkspur Middle School
Plaza Middle School
Princess Anne Middle School
First Colonial High School
Kempsville High School
Landstown High School
Ocean Lakes High School
Tallwood High School
Photos from 2012 Cherry Blossom Festival
The festival is sponsored by Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation, the
Sister Cities Association of Virginia Beach, the Japan Education Culture Center Inc., and supported by the Virginia Beach Koto Society, Old Dominion University Martial Arts program and Virginia Beach City Public Schools Japanese programs and clubs.
Modeled after the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., the Virginia Beach Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates the goodwill friendship between Japan and the United States, marked by the 100 Yoshino Cherry Blossom trees which were all donated as part of the Miyazaki Garden expansion plan and planted by the Japan Educational Cultural Center and the Miyazaki Sister City Committee in 2005.
The City of Virginia Beach and Miyazaki City, Japan, have benefitted from many fruitful grass-roots exchanges since the early 1980s. For the last 19 years, Miyazaki and Virginia Beach enjoyed exchanges in the promotion and development of community volunteerism. In 2007, Miyazaki’s eco-park Hagino Dai and Mount Trashmore Park officially becoming “Sister Parks.” In addition, through our Sister Cities relationship, Tallwood Elementary and Miyazaki Minami Elementary School became “Sister Schools.”