The annual Cherry Blossom Festival, held April 3 at the Hot Springs Convention Center, was the most successful one yet, organizers said, and one of the most well-received moments was the costume contest.
The judges named Angel Ojeras, who dressed as Human Cleric from "Goblin Slayer," the winner, Claire Dobbs, who dressed as Kokichi from "Danganronpa," as the runner-up, and third place went to Gracie Harris, who dressed as Kotomi from "Clannad."
Michelle Roberts, the committee chair of the event, which has been renamed the Arkansas Cherry Blossom Festival, said she was "most impressed" with Paige Jackson and her sons, Daniel and Jacobi, who dressed as characters from "Demon Slayer," and won an honorable mention from judges Erin Baber, marketing manager at the Garland County Library, and Butch Smith, the library's design and facilities manager.
"I wasn't sure how many would come or how many people would actually make their costume," Roberts said. "But we had a really nice turnout for our first annual costume contest."
Popular attractions included the taiko drum performance. "That drew quite a few people. Like all of the seats were full for those," she said. "Also the kendo demonstration, which kendo is kind of like Japanese fencing, and not many people in this area have actually seen kendo performed or demonstrated, and I think that was quite a treat for many people."
Roberts said they surpassed their previous attendance record.
"It was beyond expectation. We knew it would be bigger than last year, and last year we had over 700 people, but I think the addition of larger performances and demonstrations really attracted a lot more people," Roberts said.
"We are still waiting to hear from all of our people sitting at doors, tallying the numbers, but I can tell you that all of the workshops and seminars were well attended, and they were attended by people from all over -- from Sheridan, from Fayetteville, from Texas -- so we had a really nice cross-section attending this," she said.
Among the several guests in attendance was Yoichi Matsumoto, who is the consul-general of Japan over this region of America, and is based in Nashville, Tenn.
Roberts said they were honored to have Matsumoto at the event.
"It was quite a treat for us. It's a special thing to have the recognition of the consul-general," Roberts said.
"I'm very much grateful for this opportunity to be here and to talk to you all. I would like to begin by expressing thanks to the Hot Springs Sister City Foundation, and also I would like to thank all of the sponsors and organizers and volunteers for this event," Matsumoto said.
Matsumoto became the consul-general in January and told the crowd, "Since I arrived (in) January, I've been looking for coming here and participating in this event because I have a few objectives.
"First, I would like to talk to you people of Arkansas and Hot Springs specifically, and actually I have great respect for the Sister City relationship between Hot Springs and Hanamaki. For such a long time, almost 30 years, it is one of the best practices, I believe, in relationship between Japan and the United States," he said.
"So I wanted to know how people are contributing to the relationship, building and maintaining, and personally, in my previous post I was engaged in international trade negotiations, and sometimes I heard that Arkansas is a big producer for very important food for Japanese people, rice, so I wanted to taste rice and rice products in Arkansas for a long time, so I thought this would be a good occasion for me," Matsumoto said.
Hot Springs Mayor Pat McCabe gave Matsumoto the key to the city and state Rep. Les Warren, R-District 25, presented him with a citation from the House.
At the closing of the festival, Matsumoto said it was "fantastic."
"I didn't imagine such a good relationship between Hot Springs and Hanamaki. I'm very pleased to be here, I learned a lot," he said, noting he learned a lot about sake and rice while at the festival.
Matsumoto said it was his first time visiting Hot Springs and noted, "It's very green and the weather is nice, and the climate is similar to the Japanese resort towns, it's very nice."
In addition to being a fun event for the community, the festival was also a fundraiser.
"We wanted this to be a free event for the community, but also raise money for the scholarships for student exchange when we're able to travel again, and also to fund the other cultural events that we'll produce throughout the year, so with the generous sponsors, I know we raised money, (but) we don't have the final numbers yet," Roberts said.
While they plan to give the organizers a break for a bit, preparations will begin "very soon" for the 2023 festival, she said.
Costume contest winners, from left, second place Claire Dobbs, first place Angel Ojeras, honorable mentions Jacobi, Paige and Daniel Jackson, and third place Gracie Harris. - Photo by Tanner Newton of The Sentinel-Record
Angel Ojeras, dressed as Human Cleric from “Goblin Slayer.” - Photo by Tanner Newton of The Sentinel-Record
Claire Dobbs, dressed as Kokichi from “Danganronpa.” - Photo by Tanner Newton of The Sentinel-Record