2009 Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival

San Francisco’s little niche known as Japan Town celebrated its 42nd annual Cherry Blossom Festival that ended with its highly anticipated grand parade on April 19, 2009.

This event usually spans for two weeks in mid-April when the cherry blossom trees are in full bloom. Hordes of people come together to partake in an abundance of ethnic foods, activities, and contests. This year’s celebration welcomed Star Trek veteran and community activist George Takei (aka Mr. Sulu) as its Grand Marshall.

Since 1999, Japan Town’s local and flourishing video rental place, aptly named Japan Video, has been sponsoring the Cherry Blossom Festival cosplay contest. This year mustered up a whopping 200 attendees who vied for the position of grand prize winner.

Participants congregated in front of San Francisco’s City Hall at 10 a.m. on Sunday (April 19, 2009) where judges would deem those worthy of receiving coveted prizes. Participants are promised gifts and goodies but neither they nor I know exactly what’s at stake until the very last minute (and remain a mystery to me even now). All participants were invited to march in the grand parade while the winners of the competition were featured on a motorized float.