Northeast Mississippi Cherry Blossom Festival 2025

The Northeast Mississippi Cherry Blossom Festival was held on Saturday, March 29 at the Cadence Bank Arena & Conference Center in Tupelo. This Cherry Blossom Festival has been held at Ballard Park in previous years, but this year the event was moved indoors due to weather conditions. Despite the sudden change of venue, the Northeast Cherry Blossom Festival was a great success, attracting a record number of participants. In his speech at the opening ceremony, Consul-General Watanabe  thanked the visitors for their support of Japanese culture in the Mississippi region. Mayor Todd Jordan of Tupelo also addressed the crowd, welcoming them and thanking the sponsors and organizers for their contributions to the Tupelo community. The event included a mochi pounding demonstration, Japanese martial arts performances including kendo and iaido, a yukata dressing trial, singing and dancing by students from the North Mississippi Japanese Supplementary School, Japanese food introductions, and much more. We would like to thank all the participants who came despite the weather and all those who helped make the Cherry Blossom Festival a success.