BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Hundreds gathered in the Garden of Serenity Saturday for Bethlehem’s 12th annual Cherry Blossom Festival, a free celebration of Japanese culture hosted by the Bethlehem-Tondabayashi Sister City Commission, with temperatures reaching only 44 degrees.
The festival ran from noon to 4 p.m. beside the Bethlehem Area Public Library at 11 W. Church St. Attendees arrived in traditional Japanese garments, anime-inspired outfits and everything in between.
“I was surprised about the many people here,” said Michiyo Salen, who co-chairs the commission alongside John Rivera, the commission’s tea master. “So it’s a very good turnout.”
The 60 cherry trees planted around Payrow Plaza and the Garden of Serenity — originally gifted by Tondabayashi in 1997 — had largely not yet opened, with only scattered early blooms visible.
The trees typically bloom in early to mid-April. Last year’s festival ran April 5; this year’s was scheduled for March 28, before the bloom window opened.
The planting includes Snow Fountain weeping cherries, white-blossomed Yoshinos and pink Higan trees, which are unusual in that they bloom twice a year, in spring and again in late fall.
Long lines formed at the food tent, where attendees could buy onigiri (hand-shaped rice balls), Pocky, Japanese cookies and crackers, all priced at $1. Across the garden, visitors tried origami, calligraphy and fan crafting.
Trays of handmade onigiri await festival-goers at the snack tent during the Bethlehem Cherry Blossom Festival on Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Bethlehem, Pa. The rice balls, a traditional Japanese snack, were among the $1 food items sold at the annual event hosted by the Bethlehem-Tondabayashi Sister City Commission. (Jai Smith / Lehigh Daily)
A station near the library concourse offered free loans of traditional yukata (lightweight summer kimono) for attendees to wear around the grounds, to be returned before leaving.
The tea ceremony, held inside the tea house (itself a gift from Tondabayashi), sold out early. Tickets were $1. Rivera, who serves as the commission’s tea master, oversaw the ceremony.
Groups of about six visitors at a time removed their shoes to enter, where hosts guided them through an abbreviated version of the traditional ritual: whisked matcha green tea, powdered, served alongside sweets.
A tea ceremony host prepares matcha inside the tea house during the Bethlehem Cherry Blossom Festival on Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Bethlehem, Pa. The tea ceremony, hosted by the Bethlehem-Tondabayashi Sister City Commission, sold out early, with tickets priced at $1. (Jai Smith / Lehigh Daily)
“Really traditional Japanese tea ceremony—make it really short version,” Salen said. “You can enjoy the green tea. Very, very popular.”
Taiko drumming sessions from the Iroha Taiko Group and Shumei America filled the garden with percussion throughout the afternoon. Leading Iroha Taiko was Manami Furuoka, 15, the group’s artistic leader.
Born in Hiroshima, Furuoka moved to Pennsylvania as an infant and grew up attending taiko performances before joining the group and eventually taking over its leadership. Between performances, she and the group offered informal lessons that drew in kids and parents alike.
Manami Furuoka, right, artistic leader of the Iroha Taiko Group, leads a drumming lesson alongside Matthew Weinsteiger, center, and her sister Narumi Furuoka, left, during the Bethlehem Cherry Blossom Festival on Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Bethlehem, Pa. (Jai Smith / Lehigh Daily)
“We perform to connect hearts through music, culture and spirit,” Furuoka said.
Iroha Taiko, affiliated with the Shumei spiritual center at Lyon Station, holds beginner workshops roughly twice a year. Those interested can find the group through the Shumei America Facebook page.
Festival History and Sister City Relationship
The festival reflects a relationship that stretches back more than six decades.
The connection began informally in 1959, when the Rev. Kenneth Heim (a Lehigh University alumnus posted to Tokyo) struck up a friendship with a man from Tondabayashi. The commission credits that friendship as the origin of the relationship.
Bethlehem and Tondabayashi (a city in the Osaka region of Japan) formalized their connection in 1964, and Bethlehem City Council established the sister city commission in 1972. It is the longest-running of Bethlehem’s six international sister city partnerships.
Salen said the Tondabayashi relationship has now reached 62 years.
Tondabayashi’s gifts to Bethlehem over those decades include the cherry trees, the tea house and the Garden of Serenity itself, which was constructed in 1970.
“We wanted to have people know about Japan, people know about Japanese culture, and make connection to each other as a people-to-people level,” Salen said.
Michiyo Salen, co-chair of the Bethlehem-Tondabayashi Sister City Commission, stands in the Garden of Serenity during the Bethlehem Cherry Blossom Festival on Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Bethlehem, Pa. Salen has co-chaired the commission alongside John Rivera since last year. (Jai Smith / Lehigh Daily)
Salen moved from Tokyo to the Lehigh Valley more than 30 years ago, eventually attending Lehigh University and later working as a guidance counselor at Bethlehem’s Northeast Middle School before retiring. She and Rivera have served as co-chairs since last year.
For Miki Sankary, who moved to Bethlehem a decade ago from California via Chicago, the festival holds particular meaning.
“It just means so much for someone of Japanese heritage to be a transplant and not know anybody,” Sankary said, “and then to have other people be curious and want to learn more of your culture.”
Sankary said she has watched the event grow since she arrived. “We had maybe 30 people show up in the first [years],” she said. “And hundreds of people show up now and it’s people—the tickets are sold out.”
Miki Sankary, organizer of the Lehigh Valley Ja Ja Ja community group, attends the Bethlehem Cherry Blossom Festival on Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Bethlehem, Pa. Sankary, who moved to Bethlehem a decade ago, said she has watched the festival grow from roughly 30 attendees in its early years to hundreds. (Jai Smith / Lehigh Daily)
Sankary organizes Lehigh Valley Ja Ja Ja, a community group for Japanese Americans, Japanese nationals and anyone with a love of Japanese culture. The group holds an annual potluck and meets throughout the year.
The commission also offers free Japanese lessons year-round at the Bethlehem Area Public Library.
Student Exchange Program
A booth staffed by volunteer Justin Witty and others was canvassing festival-goers for the commission’s student exchange program, which has connected high schoolers from Bethlehem and Tondabayashi since around 1964.
Students travel for three weeks with no personal cost; the city of Bethlehem contributes to funding the program.
The program alternates annually: one summer, Bethlehem students travel to Tondabayashi; the next, Japanese students come here. Witty said the program relies on volunteers and host families on both sides, and that finding enough of both remains a challenge.
Families and students interested in applying can find information by visiting the commission’s website.
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