© (Nelvin K. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune) Daryl Abdianella and Laura Abdianella (seated front) enjoy the blossoms at the Japanese Friendship Park Cherry Blossom Festival Saturday. (Nelvin S. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune)An hour into the annual sakura festival at the Japanese Friendship Garden, the rain stopped, leaving drops that glistened like jewels on the pink flowers.
This once-a-year spectacle draws thousands of people to Balboa Park for a brief glimpse of the cherry blossoms. The festival welcomes spring and allows San Diego residents to celebrate the annual Japanese tradition of hanami, or flower viewing.
Nearly 200 cherry trees grow in the park, and park officials said nearly 70% of the blossoms were in full bloom Saturday.
During the event, the attendees shared other aspects of Japanese culture. The Japanese Hula Club of San Diego, Ondo Buddhist Temple of San Diego, and Japanese Taiko drum groups performed.
Food vendors offered delicious Japanese street food and sweeter treats like mochi donuts. The Inamori Pavilion also featured a beer and sake garden where guests could learn about Japan's unique history of brewing.
For some San Diego residents, like Aisha Mijares, the special event gave her a chance to visit the park for the first time. She decided to come to the festival with her fiancé after learning that there would be a cosplay competition on Saturday.
"I've lived in San Diego for about 11 years and I've never been to the Japanese Friendship Garden and it's really beautiful," said Mijares, dressed as D.Va from the video game Overwatch.
The contestants were dressed in bright dresses and pastel wigs, and the audience was full.
Next to the performance area, lines of people meandered along the garden paths waiting to sample food from ten festival vendors.
Standing next to their four-year-old daughter, Kevin and Tricia Doo munched on onigiri rice balls and sweet waffles. Tricia Du said it was their first time attending the event and while the cherry blossoms were beautiful, it was difficult to navigate the crowded lanes with toddlers and strollers.
"I wish it was more than a weekend, so I think it would be less crowded because it's a little difficult with the kids," the San Marcos resident said. But yes, we would love to go back.
Shikha and Scott Brenner of Rancho Penasquitos, owners of Kimono Suishin, were among two levels of vendors at the festival, selling everything from traditional clothing to colorful animated trinkets.
Shiha Brenner of Mishima, Japan, said she has been teaching people how to wear traditional kimono and has been selling kimonos at the festival for the second year. Her husband, Scott Brenner, said 20 of them decided to wear their new kimono on Saturday afternoon rather than carry it in a bag so they could enjoy the park in traditional Japanese clothing.
Sofia Gonzalez of City Heights wore a black kimono with a red obi with large sleeves tied at the waist that she bought at the Cherry Blossom Festival last year. He came to the park with his parents, who said that although they were born and raised in San Diego, last year's festival was their first visit to the Japanese Friendship Garden.
They enjoyed the cultural event and the quietness of the park so much that this time they decided to bring friends who had never been there.
"If you've been to San Diego all your life, like we've all been here, and you've never been, come on," Sergio Gonzalez said. “Start exploring your city because there are so many places in San Diego that you've heard of and never visited. And then when you finally do, you'll ask why did I wait so long to come here?
This story originally appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
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