The 2007 Cherry
Blossom Festival in the Greater Reading/Berks County area included
Cherry Tree and bulb plantings, music, art, a sushi & sake ceremony
and a canoe/kayak "parade" on a section of the Schuylkill River
known as "RiverPlace." For more information about RiverPlace
in Reading, PA, click here.
The Reading Eagle
newspaper and Internet team created a slideshow with an audio
description of how the "dragon boat" came to be. Click
here to see and listen to the short feature.

Above: A group of volunteers met on top of
Reading's scenic Mount Penn and planted over 1,000 hyacinths at the
historic Pagoda as a part of the 2007 Greater Reading Cherry Blossom
Festival.

Above: Doug Fisher, the Cherry Blossom Festival
organizer, speaks to the audience at the sushi & sake ceremony at
the Reading Public Museum and Art Gallery. Yes, those two
barrels were filled with sake and yes...both were emptied by the end
of the evening's festivities!

Above: The beauty of traditional garb was will
represented at the Greater Reading Cherry Blossom Festival during
the sushi & sake ceremony on Friday night.

Above and below: Mountain Folk's East Side Dave
performs the theme song "Cherry Blossom Time" which he wrote for the
festival and crowd who came to enjoy the Sushi & Sake ceremony at
the Reading Public Museum.


Above: Floral artist Gene Burkhart got attendees
involved with creating beautiful Cherry Blossom Festival memories.

Above: A ceremonial reading about the tradition
of sake was read before the barrels were broken open with wooden
mallets and the sake and sushi was served.

Above: Float "parade" organizer Don Moll explains
safety procedures before getting underway.

Above: Mountain Folk's Dave pilots a "dragon
boat" down the river.

Above: The Cherry Blossom Festival's Schuylkill
River "parade" floatilla participants gathered at Confluence Point.

Above: The dragon floats down the river.

Above: Mr.& Mrs. David Thun, (whose family name
is honored on a regional section of trail known as the "Thun"
Trail), participated in the river parade!

Above and below: Our dragon boat looked beautiful
on the Schuylkill River.


Above: Traditional prayer trees were a part of
the festival's river parade and sushi & sake ceremony the night
before.
Email: mtnfolk@aol.com
"Mountain Folk" is a Mountain Laurel production.
All rights reserved. Unauthorized use or reproduction expressly prohibited.
Mountain Folk is a member of the International Bluegrass Music Association. This
site contains links to other Internet sites. These links are not endorsements of
any products or services in such sites, and no information in such site has been
endorsed or approved by this site. |