Children try ikebana flower arrangements at Mead Park during the first-ever Cherry Blossom Festival there, presented by the Japan Society of Fairfield County with support from the Consulate General of Japan in New York, on April 30, 2017. Credit: Michael Dinan
Children try sumi-e brush painting at Mead Park during the first-ever Cherry Blossom Festival there, presented by the Japan Society of Fairfield County with support from the Consulate General of Japan in New York, on April 30, 2017. Credit: Michael Dinan
Deanna and Bella Romulus check out the bonsai table at Mead Park during the first-ever Cherry Blossom Festival there, presented by the Japan Society of Fairfield County with support from the Consulate General of Japan in New York, on April 30, 2017. Credit: Michael Dinan
Crowds at Mead Park during the first-ever Cherry Blossom Festival there, presented by the Japan Society of Fairfield County with support from the Consulate General of Japan in New York, on April 30, 2017. Credit: Michael Dinan
Children try origami at Mead Park during the first-ever Cherry Blossom Festival there, presented by the Japan Society of Fairfield County with support from the Consulate General of Japan in New York, on April 30, 2017. Credit: Michael Dinan
A new cherry blossom tree planted at Mead Park during the first-ever Cherry Blossom Festival there, presented by the Japan Society of Fairfield County with support from the Consulate General of Japan in New York, on April 30, 2017. Credit: Michael Dinan
Nazuka Dojo martial artists warm up for a demonstration at Mead Park during the first-ever Cherry Blossom Festival there, presented by the Japan Society of Fairfield County with support from the Consulate General of Japan in New York, on April 30, 2017. Credit: Michael Dinan
Kimono dressing at Mead Park during the first-ever Cherry Blossom Festival there, presented by the Japan Society of Fairfield County with support from the Consulate General of Japan in New York, on April 30, 2017. Credit: Michael Dinan
UConn Kodama Taiko at Mead Park during the first-ever Cherry Blossom Festival there, presented by the Japan Society of Fairfield County with support from the Consulate General of Japan in New York, on April 30, 2017. Credit: Michael Dinan
Ashley Fippinger held both arms out straight where she stood under a canopy tent in the bustling colonnade area of Mead Park on Sunday afternoon, as a volunteer from the Japan Society of Fairfield County folded her into a deep red kimono robe and tied on an orange sash.
The Bridgeport resident hadn’t planned on donning the formal Japanese garment here, but heard about the society’s first-ever “Sakura Matsuri,” or Cherry Blossom Festival, online, and “just had to see it for myself.”
“And it’s incredible,” Fippinger said as a traditional Japanese drumming group from UConn played to a nearby crowd, gathered on the grass on a cool, overcast day.
Asked how she felt to be in a kimono, she said: “I feel like a princess.”
A steady stream of residents and park visitors attended the two-hour festival, approved last month by the Parks & Recreation Commission and marking the society’s 30th anniversary. Joined by town representatives including Parks & Rec Chair Sally Campbell and commissioner Francesca Segalas, Japan Society of Fairfield County President Mito Mardin welcomed festival-goers as well as a special guest, consul Ryusuke Shimada of the Consulate General of Japan in New York. Children and families moved from hands-on station to station, trying origami, bonsai, painting and ikebana flower arrangements as live entertainment including a martial arts performance, dancing and singing took place toward the rear of the colonnade.
“It’s going great,” town resident and society board member Jackie Alexander said as the festival got underway. “We love to share Japanese culture and share it with the community … People are interested in Japanese, whether it’s anime or flowers or Japanese language, just finding out something new.”
That certainly was true of the Romulus family of Bridgeport—parents Beatrice and Dixon arrived with their young daughters Deanna and Bella, one day after attending a far larger cherry blossom festival in Brooklyn.
“I love the intimacy of it,” Dixon Romulus said of the Mead Park gathering. “I love that there’s a community here where everybody kind of knows everybody.”
Pointing toward the Mead Park Lodge, he added: “We had lunch over there that house over there, it’s very nice.”
It was the family’s first time visiting Mead Park.
“We will come back,” Beatrice Romulus said. “It’s very pretty.”
A cherry blossom tree was dedicated in a small grassy area on the edge of Mead Pond.
Shimada, the consul from New York City, in his comments noted that the cherry blossom trees are “cherished by Japanese people because of their fleeting beauty, or transience, and as a welcome sign of renewal, or rebirth, announcing the arrival of spring after the coldness of winter.”
He reviewed the history of cherry blossom trees in the United States and their introduction “as the symbol of friendship between the United States and Japan” to the banks of the Potomac in the nation’s capital.
“And today, another cherry blossom tree will be dedicated to this community, in celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of the Japan Society of Fairfield County,” he said. “This tree together with the rest of the cherry blossom trees here at Mead Park will celebrate the beautiful Japanese tradition of welcoming the spring and symbolize the strong friendship between the two countries for years to come.”
He added: “I would like to offer my deep appreciation to the community of New Canaan to make this event possible, and to the Japan Society of Fairfield County for their hard work to uphold the mission of building bridges and promoting mutual understanding between the two countries and I hope to see the society continue to be active in maintaining the good relationship between these two countries.”
