Spring colors are starting to burst out around the city, and the cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden are no exception. A celebration of the flowering trees is coming up. NY1's Roger Clark filed the following report.
Don't be alarmed. It's not a real battle between ninjas and samurai.
For Yoshi Amao and his Samurai Sword Soul group, performing among the Cherry Blossoms is an annual tradition.
"You can laugh, you can cry, and you feel like you want to join our group, Samurai Sword Soul," he said.
Amao will emcee the 34th Sakura Matsuri, or Cherry Blossom, Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden this weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, more than 60 perfomers will fan out across the garden, celebrating the traditions of Japan of yesterday and today.
"Every direction that you turn this weekend, you'll see something related to Japanese culture that will be extraordinary," said Anita Jacobs, director of public programs at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
The sounds of Taiko, Japanese drumming, will echo throughout the garden, with participants from the Cosplay Fashion Show wandering around in costume, some paying tribute to their favorite Japanese anime.
For something a little quieter, visitors can unwind with tea and the traditonal ceremony that goes along with it. Soukyo Shimizu is a third-generation "tea teacher,"
"Sometimes, when I make tea here or at home or anywhere, I feel like I live in that moment," she said.
Akim Funk Buddha, a performance artist who melds revered Japanese customs with classic hip hop, will offer a different take on the ceremony.
"Those two worlds come together, some interesting things happen in my show," he said.
Naturally, the other stars of the festival are the cherry blossoms. The garden has more than 200 cherry trees of some 30 varieties, the most diverse collection outside of Japan, where dancer Chihiro Cute-Beat hails from.
"We go see cherry blossom in April, it's like starting a new year, starting something new," Cute-Beat said.
For more information on the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Sakura Matsuri Festival, just head to their website, bbg.org. And watch out for ninjas and samurai.