Annual event celebrates friendship between cultures

Clark College’s 2024 Sakura Festival on Thursday, April 25 will honor the historic ties of friendship between the sister cities of Vancouver, Washington, and Joyo, Japan. The free community event underneath a canopy of cherry blossoms is presented by Clark College, the city of Vancouver, and Vancouver Rotary.

Opening remarks begin at 1:00 p.m. in the Royce Pollard Japanese Friendship Garden, located next to Beacock Music Hall on Clark’s main campus. In case of inclement weather, the event will be inside the Gaiser Student Center.

Schedule

• 12:50 p.m. Koto performance by Mitsuki Dazai
• 1:10 p.m. Greetings from Dr. Karin Edwards
• 1:15 p.m. Greetings from City of Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle
• 1:22 p.m. Greetings from Mr. Yuzo Yoshioka Consul General
• 1:25 p.m. Greetings from Clark College student, Daniel Wall
• 1:28 p.m. Clark College Treble Ensemble performance
• 1:40 p.m. Guests walk through the Japanese garden and up to Gaiser Student Center
• 2:30 p.m. The celebration continues in Gaiser Student Center with a performance by Oregon Koto-Kai, Haiku reading by Clark College Japanese Club, a martial art demonstration, and an art share by children enrolled in the Child and Family Studies program. There will be a variety of cultural displays and demonstration tables around the room. Hand-painted cherry blossom cookies will be provided by the college’s Professional Baking & Pastry Arts students.
• 3:30 p.m. Event ends

History of Sakura Festival at Clark College: More than 25 years ago, the City of Vancouver received a gift of friendship: 100 Shirofugen cherry trees. They were planted at Clark College, creating an enduring reminder of the bonds between our region and Japan. Over the years, those trees have grown and blossomed—as has that friendship, creating traditions like the establishment in 1995 of a sister-city relationship between Vancouver and Joyo, Japan, and our annual Sakura Festival, begun in 2006.

Learn more about the history of the Sakura Festival.