The cherry trees are in bloom at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in New York City, and to celebrate, the BBG is once again hosting their annual Sakura Matsuri on Saturday and Sunday, May 2 -3, 2009, from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. In addition to the various traditional Japanese cultural events and festivities, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is teaming up with AnimeNEXT, Del Rey Manga, Samurai Beat Radio and New York Anime Festival to give this floral festival an infusion of J-Pop culture fun.
For the price of admission to the Gardens, nature lovers, cosplayers, manga /anime fans and families alike can enjoy the numerous delights of this annual festival. Music fans will be especially drawn to concerts featuring J-Pop sensations Minami Kizuki and Ai Kawashima on Saturday afternoon. Manga readers will appreciate seeing drawing demonstrations by Misako Rocks! and Kensuke Okabayashi, the author of Manga for Dummies on both Saturday and Sunday. Cosplayers will also have a reason to come dressed in their finest outfits, as photographer Anna Fischer will be on hand from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, snapping portraits of anime-inspired costumes.
You can see a complete schedule of events at the BBG Sakura Matsuri webpage. You can also purchase tickets in advance for this event through TicketWeb. The events will happen rain or shine, and are sure to be full of fun either way. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is easily accessible via the 2, 3, Q & 4 trains. See detailed instructions on how to get to the Gardens for your taste of hanami (flower viewing) fun.
Image credit: Photo by Joseph O. Holmes, courtesy Brooklyn Botanic Garden
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