Photos: Denver Cherry Blossom Festival comes back with a bang

Crowds of adults, children and dogs filtered into a partially closed Lawrence Street for the 52nd Denver Cherry Blossom Festival at Denver’s Sakura Square on Saturday, June 27.

Temperatures climbed to 94 degrees, but thousands of attendees stayed cool (or tried to) with kakigōri (shaved ice), cold ramune and rare bits of shade.

A celebration of Japanese culture put on every year by the Tri-State Denver Buddhist Temple and the Sakura Foundation, the festival brings in an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 people over a weekend each June at Sakura Square, a commercial development and a cultural hub for Denver’s Japanese-American community, which began moving into this part of downtown after World War II.

The event is the temple’s main annual fundraiser, and officially began in 1974 as a simple food bazaar to raise money for the temple before blossoming into today’s large-scale event organized by the temple and the Sakura Foundation. It was originally held in May, right after the trees bloomed along Cherry Creek, but was moved to June when it was combined for a period of time with Obon, a festival celebrating ancestors that typically takes place in July or August. The joint event no longer exists, but the June date stuck.

It’s a weekend of food — teriyaki burgers, mochi manju, SPAM musubi and more were prepared by temple volunteers — and entertainment, including Enka singing, taiko drumming, dance and more.

The Cherry Blossom Festival — or Sakura Matsuri — is back for another day on Sunday, June 28. In the meantime, check out these photos from the event on Saturday, June 27.

Entertainment

Shopping

Food

The Denver Cherry Blossom Festival continues 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 28, at Sakura Square, 1950 Larimer St. Admission is free; learn more at cherryblossomdenver.org.