Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation invites you to celebrate Virginia Beach’s international sisterhood with Miyazaki City, Japan, at the 9th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival on Saturday, April 6, 2013, at Red Wing Park (1398 General Booth Blvd) in Virginia Beach from 12:30 pm - 4:30 pm. Rain date is scheduled for Sunday, April 7.
This event will offer the rich culture and beauty of Japanese music, martial arts, creative activities by A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts (at Birchwood Shopping Center), an origami display and fold-along with Rich Gray, and various demonstrations. 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. Featured performances include a drum routine by SOKA Taiko Group.
ADMISSION IS FREE. Food and beverage are available for purchase. Patrons are welcome to bring a blanket or lawn chair for the performances.
Modeled after the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., the Virginia Beach Cherry Blossom Festival held at Red Wing Park celebrates the goodwill friendship between Japan and the United States, marked by the 150+ 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 18 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.”
For more information about the 9th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival, call Debbie Vick at 385-2992 (TTY: 757-711 Virginia Relay), e-mail fun@VBgov.com or visit www.VBgov.com/specialevents.
Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation’s vision is a balanced, sustainable and value-focused system of parks, recreation and public spaces that creates a sense of community. We are accredited by CAPRA, the certifying agency of the National Recreation and Park Association. For more information, call (757) 385-1100 (TTY: 757-711 Virginia Relay), or visit http://www.vbgov.com/parks . Get Parks & Rec in your inbox! Sign up for our email newsletters at http://www.vbgov.com/eNews. Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/VBParksRec