The 48th annual Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival was held on the weekends of April 11-12 and 18-19 in San Francisco Japantown, featuring a variety of performances, food, and cultural displays and demonstrations. The 2015 Cherry Blossom Court was named. Pictured from right on the Peace Plaza Stage are Queen Kelli Sum, First Princess Nina Myers, Princess Karine Worley, and Princess Taylor Davis.
The Taru Mikoshi, a portable shrine made of sake barrels, was carried through the streets by enthusiastic volunteers during the Grand Parade.
San Francisco Taiko Dojo, founded and led by Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka (left).
Dancers in the parade included Awa Odori Tokushima Ren (left) and Soko Yosakoi (right).
Mike Inouye (left) and Robert Handa of NBC Bay Area rode on a float with their families.
Boy Scout Troop 29 from Buddhist Church of San Francisco with a giant Daruma.
Drummers from Okinawa Kenjin Kai.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and his wife Anita.
Hawaii Cherry Blossom Queen Kimberly Kimiko Takata, Nisei Week Queen Tori Nishinaka-Leon and their courts in front of San Francisco City Hall.
Left: Consul General Masato Watanabe and his wife Kazue. Right: Emily Murase of the San Francisco Board of Education.
Kids from Nihonmachi Little Friends, a bilingual/multicultural child care program.
Cosplayers dressed as anime/manga characters on the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Northern California float. (Photo by Kahn Yamada)
Kids from ABC Preshool at Pine United Methodist Church. (Photo by Kahn Yamada)
A group from Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, thanked the Bay Area community for its support after the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. (Photo by Kahn Yamada)