SAKURA MATSURI INC
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Mission Statement
Sakura Matsuri, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization that sponsors the annual NCCBF also known as the San Francisco Cherry Blossom Festival (sfcherryblossom.org), to educate and promote the rich cultural heritage of Japan that is preserved by Northern California Japanese American communities by demonstrating and exhibiting Japanese customs and traditions. The Festival also serves to cultivate the alliance between Japan and the United States.
About This Cause
The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival’s (NCCBF) mission is to “educate and promote the rich cultural heritage of Japan that is preserved by Northern California Japanese American communities by demonstrating and exhibiting Japanese customs and traditions.” Throughout the two-weekend event, over 200,000 festivalgoers have the opportunity to experience performances and exhibits from over 50 cultural groups which take place on four stages, within four different buildings and throughout the beautiful Japantown outdoor spaces. Our intended audience includes families, young adults, seniors, and individuals from all ethnic groups, communities, and regions who are interested in Japanese and Japanese American culture. We are able to serve our audience through the various programs of the festival. The NCCBF planning and executive committees are all volunteer run and organized. We are proud to have participants and volunteers represented from all over Northern California. The NCCBF is the only festival in San Francisco that holds an exclusively non-profit run food bazaar in which all of our 20+ food booths are hosted by community non-profits in San Francisco. Other non-profits have presence by hosting information booths along the festival grounds. The festival hosts an Arts & Crafts artists fair that highlights over 45+ vendors who create and sell Japanese or Japanese American inspired goods along the historic Buchanan Mall on Osaka Way. Children and families participate through the Children’s Area which includes games, crafts and a scavenger hunt. The Annual Cherry Blossom Scavenger Hunt will be in it’s fourth year and serves as a vehicle for festival attendees to immerse themselves in the festival experience by highlighting performers, exhibits, vendors, landmarks, programs and historical facts. The Queen Program is hosted on the first Saturday and is the annual coronation event to select the Queen and Court who will serve as ambassadors of the festival and Japantown community. The Senior Appreciation Brunch will be held on the second Sunday to honor seniors who have been nominated by various Northern California Japanese/Japanese American senior centers and organizations. These seniors exemplify volunteerism, community leadership, and philanthropy. The Friendship Reception is held on the Friday evening before the second weekend. This event welcomes the out of town guests (from Japan, visiting courts, and visiting performers) and provides an exclusive preview of each of their performances. This event also provides an opportunity for the committee members and festival volunteers who would otherwise be busy during the festival to properly greet and develop a relationship with our guests. The highlight event of our festival is the Grand Parade that takes place on the second Sunday. The parade begins at City Hall with the route leading to Japantown between 1pm and 3pm. The parade features our Grand Marshal, Community Marshal, public officials, community representatives, performance groups, local schools, churches, queen and court (local and visiting) and finishes with the one-ton Mikoshi shrine.