Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival 2007

San Francisco, California. In front of the City Hall of the City & County of San Francisco, we come today for a special event in Northern California known as the "Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival." Today's report will be about the Grand Parade that took place on April 22nd. The parade consisted of floats, music, people and cosplayers! The festival celebrates the Japanese culture's heritage here in San Francisco that range from clothing, music, paintings, people, and even anime. Cosplayers are treated to a special form of cosplaying today, it's not an anime convention however but the honor of walking through San Francisco while representing the Japanese culture in the form of its television shows gives cosplayers the feeling of being apart of the heritage. Not because Japan started the term "cosplay." But to represent Japan's heritage in the anime industry. During the early preperation, cosplayers are checking in for the parade and entered in the contest for a chance to ride the floats sponsered by Safeway to show off the best costumes in the parade. Cosplayers try their best to create that costume before the festival, think you have what it takes next year?

When the go ahead signal was given, the cosplayers have started their march to Japantown. Waving their arms and screaming to the top of their lungs to the audience from around the world who are at the parade watching in person or at home watching on the television screens seeing Northern California's cosplayers at their best. The walk from City Hall to Japantown is a adventure for these cosplayers and many of them love it. The crowd grew larger and larger as they made their arrival into Japantown with the television cameras aiming at the cosplayers, to tourist getting their cameras and taking pictures, to the locals cheering for their heroes. Cosplayers were given the greatest cheers of their lives from their fans from all over the world letting their costumes be noticed. This is the only festival you will ever find yourself being loved by not just anime fans but from people who've grown up from these shows the cosplayers have cosplayed. When the goal has been reached, the cosplayers ended their great walk with high hopes being recieved from the parade. The cosplayers have been given a treat that comes only once a year but the memory from this parade will never be forgotten. Every year this parade grows bigger for cosplayers and this year, the cosplayers have grown up to 150 people! Will more cosplayers come next year? We hope so, because this is what cosplay is all about. Fun & excitment!

If you would like to see pictures from this show please "Click Here" til then,

See you at the next Convention!