This year’s annual Cherry Blossom Kite Festival will be Saturday, April 5, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park, 2400 S. Scenic Ave., Springfield, Missouri, hosted by the Springfield Sister Cities Association.
Kids and adults are invited to fly kites in the park as well as take part in kite decorating, origami and other Japanese crafts and games at the Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center.
The festival celebrates the seasonal re-opening of the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden, also located in Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park. Admission is free the day of the festival. Friends of the Garden will give free guided garden tours during the festival, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Admission to the Cherry Blossom Kite Festival is also free. Children’s kite construction kits will be available for $5. Japanese snacks and other concession are available for sale.
The festival is a partnership between the Springfield Sister Cities Association, the Missouri State University Elementary Education Program, Friends of the Garden- Japanese Garden Committee, Kickapoo High School Japanese Language Club and the Springfield-Greene County Park Board.
The Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden is open seasonally, opening Saturday, March 29 and remaining open Thursdays through Mondays, 9 a.m. to dusk (or 7:30 p.m.) until October. Regular admission is $3; children age 12 and under are admitted free.
For more information, call the Springfield Sister Cities Association at 417-864-1341 or visit PeaceThroughPeople.org. For media inquiries, call Jenny Fillmer Edwards, Public Information Administrator for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, at 417-874-2176 or 417-224-5510.
