2023 - Annual Orange County Cherry Blossom Festival Event in Huntington Beach (3 Days of Music, Dancing, Cultural Exhibits, Crafts..) [VIDEO] UPDATED!NEW

2023 - Annual Orange County Cherry Blossom Festival Event in Huntington Beach
15 Food Vendors - 20 Crafts & Merchandise - 19 Performers

UPDATED Friday 4/14/2023

Cherry Blossom Festival Dates
March 14-15-16, 2023 (3 Days)

3 Day Event - Days & Times
March 14 (5-10pm) - Friday
March 15 (10am-10pm) - Saturday 
March 16 (10am-6pm) - Sunday

EVENT SCHEDULE
15 Food Vendors - 20 Crafts & Merchandise - 19 Performers

Friday, April 24, 2023
5:00 pm: Opening Ceremony
5:30 pm: Takumi Kato Taiko
6:30 pm: Yu-Ki Shamisen Jazz
7:00 pm: System Live
8:00 pm: Ryujin Taikoz
8:30 pm: Sakura Night Light Show

Saturday, April 25, 2023
10:30 am: Sunny Seiki's
11:00 am: Hanabi Taiko
12:30 pm: Kodama Taiko
01:15 pm: Faded Fortunes
02:00 pm: Taikomotion
02:45 pm: Kunori Mitani
03:45 pm: Ryujin Taiko_Little Tokyo Dance
04:30 pm: Kolohe Ukulele of Huntington Beach
05:30 pm: Maid Academy
06:15 pm: Viorythm
07:00 pm: Happy Man
07:30 pm: Stepahnie Yanez
8:30 pm: Sakura Night Light Show

Sunday, April 26, 2023
10:00 am: Takumi Kato Taiko
10:30 am: Planting Ceremony
11:00 am: The Waguku Collective
11:45 am: Pom Pom Girls
12:30 pm: Dance Space AI Vibration
01:15 pm: Katori Shinto Ryu
02:00 pm: MiruDaru
02:45 pm: Irvine Cheer
03:30 pm: Happy Man
04:00 pm: Wang Xiao Ling
04:30 pm: G-Moto
05:30 pm: Base


Click For Schedule - Parking - Vendors
 

***

PREVIOUS EVENT

*** CANCELED BECAUSE OF RAIN - MAY BE RESCHEDULED ***

Dear Fans of The OC Cherry Blossom Festival

March 10, 2020

After months of planning to make the 2020 OC Cherry Blossom Festival the most amazing event yet, it is with regret that we must cancel the event scheduled for this coming weekend. Our team has worked tirelessly to curate great entertainment, amazing food and the best of Japanese culture, but unfortunately, Mother Nature has not cooperated with us this time.

In order to set up an event of this scale our staff and crews need three full days to build the event. With the forecast predicting rain and thunderstorms for the foreseeable future this presented a challenge of setting up in muddy and wet conditions. If the sky clears by Friday in time for our event that still does not leave enough time for the ground to dry and thousands of people walking through the muddy grass would surely do damage to our amazing park. Protecting our park is one of our highest priorities.

We are actively working with City officials to find an alternative date to hold the event and hope to make that work. If that’s not possible, you can definitely look forward to an OC Cherry Blossom Festival in 2021. Let’s all hope for better weather!

For anyone who purchased an advanced ticket to our event through our website we will be issuing a full refund within the coming days. Please allow adequate time for the refund to post to your account.

On behalf of the entire OC Cherry Blossom team, THANK YOU to each and every one of you for your support of this amazing event. We can’t wait to enjoy a weekend with you soon!

Very Truly Yours,

KEVIN ELLIOTT

Event Director | OC Cherry Blossom Festival [email protected]

*** CANCELED BECAUSE OF RAIN - MAY BE RESCHEDULED ***

Orange County’s only Cherry Blossom Festival returns for a celebration of Japanese and Japanese-American culture in Southern California. This year’s festival is expanding to three days, with the newly added Sakura Night Market on Friday and Saturday night. Bring the whole family for a fun-filled weekend of music, dancing, cultural exhibits, martial arts, crafts, games and some of the best Japanese food and drink vendors in the region.

Huntington Beach Central Park is one of the largest city parks in Southern California and home to many of the city's major attractions and a pair of inviting restaurants. Boasting an expansive 354 acres punctuated with mature trees, rolling lawns, and placid lakes, Central Park is the region's largest and most diverse greenbelts. The park is vegetated with native plants and wildlife. Thick forests encircling the park are supplemented with Australian trees, particularly eucalyptus.

The Festival will celebrate traditional Japanese arts, traditions, music, food and crafts, while embracing contemporary music, art and the Japanese youth culture. The Festival will also celebrate the rich history of Huntington Beach’s Sister City relationship with Anjo, Japan, set in Beautiful Central Park, while the Cherry Blossom trees are in full bloom.

Cherry Blossom Festival Dates
March 11 - 13, 2022 (3 Days)

Days & Times
March 11 (5-9pm) - Friday
March 12 (10am-9pm) - Saturday 
March 13 (10am-4pm) - Sunday

3 - DAY SCHEDULE

Cherry Blossom Entertainment
The Orange County Cherry Blossom Festival expands on this tradition and celebrates the food, drink, crafts, music, and dance of Japanese Americans and the rootedness and hybridity of this culture in SoCal. The Festival provides the broader community with an opportunity to see and hear traditional elements of Japanese culture as well the many contemporary and hybrid forms that have emerged in the United States. Whether it is taiko drumming, folk music, classical dance, jazz, cosplay dance troupes, symphonic rock, DJs, crafts, Asahi, sake, Nintendo Switch tournaments or the 20+ food vendors, the festival is sure to offer something for everyone to enjoy.

**Sakura Night Market (Fri & Sat: Between 5pm-9pm the Entire Park Will be Lit Up!)
Inspired by the success of other foodie-centered night markets in the region, the 2019 festival will feature a Japanese-themed Sakura Night Market on Friday and Saturday evening. The Night Market will come alive with live performances, 50+ vendors and some of the best Japanese and Japanese American style cuisines in the region, including GAJA Japanese Food (okonomiyaki), JAPADOG, Okamoto Kitchen, Tenkatori Japanese Fried Chicken, Luckyball Korean BBQ, Takoyaki Tanota, Hungry Belly Thai, The Deli Doctor, babyminidonuts and much more.  

The Sakura Night Market will feature the same food booths and vendors offered during the day. The main difference is that the park will be lit up at night with light installations for the Sakura Night Market, so that attendees can enjoy this evening experience of live entertainment, performances, food, drink and more!

Friday, March 11, 2022
Schedule Coming

Saturday, Match 12, 2022
Schedule Coming

Sunday, March 13, 2022
Schedule Coming

Location
Huntington Beach Central Park, 7111 Talbert Avenue, Huntington Beach, CA 92648

Video

Parking
Huntington Beach Central Park is behind Library. This park is large and could be confusing. There is a lot of parking, but looking for the festival seems hidden. 

Editor Tips
There will be food trucks but expect to wait in a line. The stage is huge with one pof the best sound systems, so you will hear music through the festival. But the stage show is worth going to - great entertainment. Bring a hat for protection from the sun.

Sister City Anjo, Japan
A Sister City relationship was initiated with Anjo, Japan in 1982 and the program officially incorporated in 1992. The Sister City Association of Huntington Beach is a nonprofit citizen-run organization, which successfully operates annual programs of international goodwill between Huntington Beach and Anjo, Japan. The sister city movement is an outgrowth of then President Dwight Eisenhower's People to People concept created in 1956.

The idea is that it is the interaction of people--not governments--of different countries and diverse cultures that can put the world on the path to enduring peace. The local Sister City Association has been involved in a variety of capacities, including the selection of Assistant English Teachers to teach in Japan, and exchanges of art and music. Recent program from Anjo include koto players, a dance group and taiko drum performers. Many Anjo adult delegations have visited Huntington Beach and a number of Huntington Beach individuals and several organized groups of local citizens have visited Anjo.

Title: Cherry Blossom Festival 
Annual Orange County Cherry Blossom Festival in Huntington Beach (Music, Food, Dance, Crafts, Games..) - Cherry Blossom Trees [VIDEO] (3 Days)