Sakura Matsuri -- Japan's Cherry Blossom Festival -- journeys West this weekend, taking over the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on May 2 and 3. The NYC Sakura Matsuri is something I've been attending for years as a fan, and it's simply breathtaking. The garden in full bloom. Cherry trees producing a shower of pink petals. Taiko drums, the koto, and shamisen. Sake and Sapporo flowing. And cosplayers. Lots and lots of cosplayers.
While NYC's Sakura Matsuri is a traditional Japanese festival, in recent years, it's become a destination for cosplayers for all the reasons mentioned above, and -- for the first time -- embracing their younger, anime-fluent audience, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is programming anime and manga guests and events. And, I'm proud to say the New York Anime Festival had a hand in it.
Sakura Matsuri's full details and directions can be found here…
http://www.bbg.org/exp/cherries/sakura.html
But here's an abridged list of goings on tailored to anime fans…
Saturday
10:00–1:00 - Cosplay Photographer Anna Fischer - Osborne Garden
10:00–5:00 - Manga Library - Members Room
10:00–6:00 - Manga & Anime Artist Alley - Osborne Garden
12:00-6:00 - Sushi Pillow Photo Op - Magnolia Plaza
1:00–2:00 - Uncle Yo Cosplay Comedy - Osborne Garden
1:00-2:00 - World Cosplay Summit Photo Shoot - Osborne Garden
2:00–4:00 - Samurai Beat Radio Live Broadcast - Osborne Garden
2:30–3:30 - Anime Voice Actor Roundtable - Auditorium
3:15-4:00 - Samurai Sword Soul - Cherry Esplanade Stage
4:00–4:45 - Misako Rocks! A Crazy Comic Life - Auditorium
4:15-5:00 - Minami Kizuki Concert - Cherry Esplanade Stage
5:00–5:45 - Manga for Dummies with Kensuke Okabayashi - Osborne Garden
5:15-6:00 - Ai Kawashima Concert - Cherry Esplanade Stage
Sunday
10:00–5:00 - Manga Library - Members Room
10:00–6:00 - Manga & Anime Artist Alley - Osborne Garden
12:00–5:00 - Sushi Pillow Photo Op - Magnolia Plaza
4:15–5:00 - Samurai Sword Soul - Cherry Esplanade Stage
Off-Site
4:30-7:00 - Ai Kawashima Meet and Greet - Kinokuniya - Friday
10:00-12:00 - Soundscape and NINGIN J-Pop Party - Club Elevate - Saturday
5:00-6:00 - Reni Maid Show - TopTunes - Sunday
Sakura Matsuri's Voice Actor Roundtable includes Tom Wayland, Rachael Lillis, Jamie McGonnigal, and Veronica Taylor.
Sakura Matsuri's Artist Alley includes manga artists Abby Denson, Misako Rocks!, and Kensuke Okabayashi, as well as D-List anime and manga celebrities Ali T. Kokmen and Peter Tatara at the Del Rey Manga and New York Anime Festival booths, respectively. (Unless, of course, Ali and Peter get silly and sit at each other's tables. And, of course, by "silly", we mean drunk.)
All this said, there's a lot more to Sakura Matsuri, too. So, check out http://www.bbg.org/exp/cherries/sakura.html, and I'll see you Saturday!
