It’s mid-April, and the Quad’s signature pale pink flowers have begun to bloom just in time for the Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival.

The annual event showcases Japanese culture, including the achievements of Japanese-Americans, with music, art, cuisine and dance. While the focus is on another country, the celebration is of a gift given to America.

In 1976, in recognition of the United States Bicentennial, Takeo Miki, the late Prime Minister of Japan, gave Seattle 1,000 cherry trees. The Seattle Center, the Arboretum and the UW campus are some locations where the trees can be seen. Because the commemorative aspect is such an integral part of the three-day festival, cherry tree experts come from Japan each year to advise Washington residents on the plants’ health and preservation.

The other events of the weekend make up, as Deborah Daoust, interim public information officer for the Seattle Center, said, “a feast for the senses,” are intended to give Seattle natives a taste for something foreign, both artistic and educational.

This year Federal Way’s sister city, Hachinohe, will send Enburi dancers and musicians to be featured for two days. Federal Way will send Hachinohe representatives from the Native American Duwamish tribe.

The Seattle Center Web site (www.seattlecenter.com) is inviting the public to “explore Seattle’s deep connections with Japan and celebrate the beauty of spring.”

Those who attend the festivities will have the opportunity to participate in a number of activities typical of Japanese culture. Origami will be practiced in a paper airplane contest. Visitors can also see and be a part of sake tasting, tea ceremonies and lectures on aviation. Mayor Greg Nickels will also speak.

The Japanese Cultural Festival is only one of a series of festivals sponsored by Safeco Insurance, collectively known as the Festál at Seattle Center. Throughout the year a number of other festivals are held, including Bastille Day in June, which recognizes the French Revolution, folk dance CroatiaFest in October and February’s African-American Sundiata, with storytelling, visual arts and food.

The Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival is free and open to the public. It will be held all day from April 18-22 at the Center House and Fisher Pavilion of the Seattle Center.

[Reach reporter Maddie Hall at arts@thedaily.washington.edu.]