Tuscaloosa’s 40th Annual Sakura Festival & Haiku Contest
- April 9th, 2026
- in International Main
The Capstone International Center (CIC) hosted a successful 40th Annual Sakura Festival and Haiku Contest on March 28th at Snow Hinton Park. The weather was cool and windy but grew warmer into the afternoon as events ramped up at the festival.
The CIC is grateful to have had the Consul General of Japan in Atlanta, Kenichi Matsuda, attend and give an opening speech along with Honorary Consul General Mark Jackson. Later, the two were joined by Johnnie Aycock, Tuscaloosa’s former Chamber of Commerce president, to perform a Kagami Biraki ceremony. The ceremony represents breaking down barriers to build a sense of community and is often performed when celebrating the start of a new chapter. The Japan-America Society of Alabama was kind enough to lend us the mini sake barrel for our 40th anniversary celebration.
The festival would not have been possible without our wonderful volunteers, sponsors and community partners. Tuscaloosa Sister Cities International provided the unique uchiwa (fans) free for attendees and brought high school student volunteers made up of their Narashino-City delegates. The City of Tuscaloosa provided us with the versatile Pavilion at Snow Hinton Park which once again proved to be an ideal venue. Kami-Con and the Bama SoS Brigade supported the event with sound setup and a cosplay contest to close out the festival.
Cultural programming was led by The University of Alabama (UA) Japanese language faculty and students along with the Japanese Language and Culture Society who organized engaging activities and demonstrations that brought cultural excitement to the festival. A Tuscaloosa native of ANCI, Inc. – An ENEOS Group company in Georgia hosted a table with fun festival games bringing his connection to the event full circle from his childhood attendance. Meanwhile, Chiba University students collaborated with UA’s CIP 200 students to present an interactive station on the history of the Japanese school uniform complete with several pieces for attendees to try on.
Festivalgoers also enjoyed tasty treats from Dipped: By Lisha and Panda Pan Bakery and Sweet Shop who completely sold out of the stock they brought to the festival.
40th Annual Sakura Festival Slideshow
Photo credit: Capstone International Center and Tuscaloosa Sister Cities International