Tuscaloosa to Celebrate Japanese Culture During Saturday Sakura Festival

Residents of Tuscaloosa will continue a tradition decades in the making this weekend as they celebrate Japanese Heritage and Culture during the 39th Annual Sakura Festival.

Although at the surface level, it may seem like Tuscaloosa has little in common with the Tokyo Bay city of Narashino, Japan, the two have been united since 1986 via the Sister Cities International program.

The broader sister cities concept arose after World War II to promote a people-to-people kind of diplomacy by creating personal, cultural links between cities in Allied counties and counterparts in former Axis nations.

The program came to Tuscaloosa in 1986, and Narashino, Japan was chosen as our first sister city. Schorndorf, Germany became our second in 1996, and Sunyani-Techiman, Ghana was added in 2011.

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The Tuscaloosa Sister Cities International nonprofit has hosted the Sakura Festival each year since 1986 to honor that first friendship with Narashino.

The 39th iteration of the event will be held this Saturday, March 22nd, at Snow Hinton Park from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. It will be both family-friendly and free of charge.

The Festival celebrates the arrival of spring and the beauty of Japan's famously beautiful cherry blossom season, and according to a press release shared with the Thread, the theme for Saturday's Festival will be  “Tomo ni hagukumu” (共に育む), which translates to “harmony.”

The three-hour Festival will feature events and activities to share and celebrate the heritage of the Japanese people, including

• A visit by a representative from the Consulate General of Japan
• A performance by the Suzuki Violinist Group
• Traditional Japanese Papermaking by the UA Book Arts program
• A cosplay contest with prizes from Japan
• Origami and Face Painting
• Traditional Japanese Festival Activities
• A tea ceremony demonstration
• Kite making and name writing in Japanese

Those interested can also enter the Annual Sakura Haiku Contest and write one of the 17-syllable short poems - a winner will be announced during the Festival on Saturday.

Learn more and visit the Sakura Festival website here.