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An Insider's View Of Sakura Matsuri
By Gil Asakawa
July 18, 2001

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It's not easy putting on the oldest continuous community event in Denver. It takes months of planning, dozens of volunteers and the tireless work of a handful of people involved at the core of all the activity. That's what I learned this year by being peripherally involved with Denver's 29th annual Sakura Matsuri, or Cherry Blossom Festival.

I was the entertainment stage emcee, so my work was limited to announcing the performers and festival highlights throughout the weekend. But I was there both days and also helped out the night before the festival, and I got to see that all around me were people who scurried about concentrating on the logistics of the festival. These quiet laborers worked before, during and after the festival - putting up signs, arranging tables and chairs, handling the sound system, coordinating the flow of food throughout the weekend so the thousands of beef teriyaki, chow mein plates, cold somen noodles and other treats would last, and managing all the volunteers throughout from setting up to cleaning up and breaking everything down.

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There is a vast, invisible conspiracy of hard work that goes on in the background during an event such as the Sakura Matsuri. The public - both Japanese and non-Japanese people - that comes to enjoy the summer celebration's dancing, music, martial arts, crafts, flower arranging, gift vendors, artwork, calligraphy, children's activities, bonsai demonstrations, various displays, and of course, food, drink and more food, never gets to see the bustling behind the scenes: the weeks of organizing and the days of cooking and the hours of preparation and renting the tents and stage and making sure every last detail is covered.

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There are individuals heading committees and individuals assigned tasks to handle on their own. There are groups within the sponsoring organization - the Denver Buddhist Temple - including the Young Buddhist Association and DBT Minyo Kai (the dance group that taught the more than 100 people the moves for the bon odori street dance on Saturday night) - whose members lend extra help throughout the event. (By the way, I had a great time at Saturday evening's bon odori dance, and didn't stumble too badly, even in my kimono!)

Some people dedicate themselves beyond the call of duty, and put in long hours leading up to the event and then spend long days during, showing up early in the morning and going home late at night, after all the other helpers and certainly all the public have gone home. The performers are the public face of the festival and so they get the accolade and the applause. But there are many who never get acknowledged for the work they do - the many cooks, servers, dishwashers, raffle ticket sellers, the cleanup crew (it's amazing how many cups and bottles and other litter otherwise sane and sensible people leave behind when they are at an outdoor event), all the vendors and non-profit organizations that suffer under the sun.

All of these people and groups deserve the sincere thanks of the community for making Sakura Matsuri possible. The problem is that a very small core of people end up organizing events such as this year after year, and not enough new (and especially younger) people step up to volunteer their time and effort.

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Gil Asakawa writes a weekly column of pop culture and politics from a Japanese American perspective. You can reach Gil's website at http://nikkeiview.com.