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Sister Cities Cherry Blossom Festival

By Suzy Paluzzi

The 25th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival took place April 26 and 27 in  Memorial Park and Quinlan Community Center in Cupertino on two very  beautiful days to be outdoors.

From a bonsai tree display to performances on a traditional Japanese  instrument and hands on activities for children, the park was full of  fun.  Bob Bugay, of the Midori Bonsai Club, posed next to his 50 year  old bonsai tree. The oldest living bonsais are possibly in Tokyo,  Japan and are said to be between 400 and 800 years old. Bugay has  been taking care of his bonsai for 8 years. He is one of the  instructors in the art of tending to these fragile-looking tiny trees  and has an upcoming class on Thursday May 1 at 15040 Union Ave. in  San Jose at St. Edward’s Episcopal Church at 7:30 pm.


Shirley Muramoto and her students played the koto, a Japanese string  instrument, for a packed audience.  The females were dressed in  colorful kimonos. The koto is the national instrument of Japan.

One of the things to do for children was pet the American, Canadian,  and International Champion Akita, Sarge.  The akita is a breed of  large dog from Japan.

Lucille Honig, Coordinator of the Cupertino Cherry Blossom Festival,  explained, “ We are celebrating the 30 year anniversary of the Sister  Cities Program in Cupertino.  The reason the festival is named the  Cherry Blossom Festival is Cupertino’s sister city, Toyokawa, Japan,  gave 200 cherry blossom trees to be planted throughout Memorial Park.”


The Sister Cities program consists of middle school student exchange  as well as adult delegations between Cupertino and Toyokawa, Japan.   May 22 there will be a City Hall meeting for adult Cupertino  residents wanting to represent Cupertino in Toyokawa in November.   According to Honig, who is also President of the Sister Cities  Program, this opportunity for adults to go there from Cupertino  occurs only every 5 years.  “ It is a wonderful experience to stay in  a private home rather than a hotel.  We are hoping the mayor,  superintendent of schools, the city manager, and city council members  are going,” she adds.

In July, dignitaries like the Mayor of Toyokawa will be visiting  here, and one of the requirements for the adults who hope to go in  November is to host someone from the Japanese delegation here in  July.  Around that time, middle school students chosen from the  Cupertino Union School District will go to Toyokawa for 10 days.  Cupertino Mayor Dolly Sandoval and Congressman Mike Honda were among  the local dignitaries announcing the twelve students chosen for that  honor.

Tags: cherry blossom, sister city

Posted by donna on Apr 17th, 2008 and filed under Events, Local News, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.