Explore Seattle’s deep connections with Japan and celebrate the beauty of spring at the Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival. From the booms of taiko drums to the silence of ikebana flowers, the event is a feast for the senses. Delicious Japanese food, tea ceremony demonstrations and artwork present both a modern and ancient view of this complex culture. The event commemorates Japan’s gift of 1,000 blossoming cherry trees to Seattle in 1976. The trees were planted along Lake Washington Boulevard, in Seward Park and other places around the city. Presented by the Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival Committee.

Did you know?

Dr. Tadataka Yamada, born in Japan and educated in the United States, develops and delivers low-cost, life-saving health tools for the developing world as President of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program. Dr. Yamada oversees a grant portfolio totaling $6 billion in programs that apply technologies to major health challenges including TB, HIV, malaria and other infectious diseases, malnutrition, child health, and global health advocacy. A scientist and scholar in gastroenterology, Dr. Yamada has authored more than 150 original manuscripts on the subject and is the editor of "The Textbook of Gastroenterology." He has served as Chairman of Research and Development at GlaxoSmithKline, Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, and President of the American Gastroenterological Association and the Association of American Physicians.