2022 Japantown Children’s Day Festival

2022 Japantown Children’s Day Festival

Saturday, May 7, 2022
11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Japantown Peace Plaza, San Francisco
Free Admission, Open to All Ages

It’s back! We’re excited to bring back in person to Japantown Peace Plaza our annual Children’s Day Festival on Saturday, May 7, 2022 from 11:00am-4:00pm! Bring out the kids and friends to enjoy our annual festival offering many fun games and prizes, craft activities, face painting, bounce houses, and cultural and live stage performances for the community to enjoy. Admission is free and open to the public, and children are encouraged to wear kimono, yukata or other Japanese clothing.

Attendees to this year’s festival can look forward to performances including cultural performances by Japanese taiko group Genryu Arts, the Center’s Ito Yosakoi dance group,  acapella singing from MEaN Nikkei Acapella group, kendo (traditional Japanese sword fencing) demonstration by SF Kendo Dojo and more! The festival stage schedule will also include the 2022 Cherry Blossom Queen Court announcing the winner of the festival’s Sakura Art Contest as well as the live drawing of the Center’s annual Youth Raffle.

Volunteer at this year’s festival!

Join the many community volunteers to help make this festival a success! Do it for the kids!

Volunteers are needed for setup prior to the festival and cleanup following, as well as to assist with children’s games and craft activity booths during the festival. There are 2 primary volunteer shifts:

Shift A – 10:00am – 1:30pm
Shift B – 1:00pm – 5:30pm

Please provide us with your contact information and shift availability by filling out our online volunteer registration form. Volunteers will be provided with lunch. Due to city waste ordinances we are unable to provide individual bottles of water, but we encourage volunteers to bring a refillable water bottle to use at the water filling stations provided by the festival.

If you have any questions, please contact Haruka Roudebush, Senior Programs Manager at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California at hroudebush@jcccnc.org or (415) 567-5505.

  SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER

About the Japanese Children’s Day Holiday

Of all the Children’s Day holidays celebrated around the world, none is older, more celebrated, steeped in tradition and well known than Japan’s Kodomo No Hi. Kodomo No Hi, or “Children’s Day,” is celebrated every year on May 5^th. On this Japanese national holiday, children are respected and honored for their individual strengths and to celebrate their happiness. The origin of Children’s Day dates back to around 600 AD and is one of the five sekku, or seasonal festivals, of Japan.  While traditionally May 5^th was recognized as Boys’ Day in Japan, the holiday was renamed to Children’s Day and was officially designated as a national holiday to honor and celebrate the health, growth and happiness of both girls and boys shortly after the end of WWII in 1948.  Kodomo No Hi is particularly well known for the unique traditions and colorful decorations that are associated with the celebration of the holiday.

Thank you to this year’s festival sponsors and supporters:

This year’s festival is made possible with the generous support of:

• The Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation
• Japan Center Malls East and West (Event Sponsor)
• San Francisco Japantown Foundation

with additional support from:

• Japanese Community Youth Council (JCYC)
• SF Recreation and Parks Department
• Japan Video & Media, Inc.
• Sanrio
• GoGoSqueez
• Sakura Arts of America

Thank you very much!