Kat's 9 Lives

We debated on going to the Cherry Blossom Festival on Saturday, but we decided that Sunday would be best. After all, it was the last day of the festival and how can you miss the Grand Parade! I put together the best floats and groups from the parade into collages. To start off I wanted to show the big finale! Yes, it was a man in what I'd like to call Japanese diapers being carried off into the sunset by a big group of people cheering. I almost missed this final event until Ms. Lin pointed it out. She must be good at spotting bare bottoms. ^_- I tried finding the correct term to describe this traditional finale. Even though I can't, I hope you enjoy the funny picture! Sorry that I didn't notice it sooner, I could have gotten shots from all sides. As you can see from the picture that there were tons of people at this festival.
There were many stalls set up for shopping, food, and more everywhere. We passed by this special stall that had very unique chimes and decorative items. The cutest thing were the pigs! Especially the flying pigs! If they were a little bit cheaper I would have picked up a bunch for all my piggy friends out there. ^_- I bet Ms. Bumblebee, Burumun, and CMM Lvr would have loved one. They were so adorable, especially since their pigs can fly! ^_- Ms. Lin and I only bought some tiny winged pigs for ourselves.
Throughout the Grand Parade there were a lot of Taiko groups that performed. I love Taiko drumming because it's so powerful and rhythmic. It made me nostalgic to the wonderful Taiko group that I saw at UCLA. The parade consisted of many traditional Japanese culture and demonstrated how the Asian community gives back to the city. Ms. Lin noted that there was one good looking guy on the Asian Fire Fighters float. ^_- For those of you who didn't not attend, you missed out.
They had a special performance from the Kabuki theater troupe in Japan town. It was very lively and interesting to see. I was too far away, but they had Japanese swordsmen there and I am not sure if they did a demonstration on the street. One funny yet interesting thing they showcased in the parade was all the cosplayers marching. It really made me feel like I was at the annual AnimeExpo in OC. There were some really inventive and detailed costumes. I tried to take a picture of the guy in the Totoro costume and the one with the Nekobus on his head. Hopefully you can see the cute costumes! ^_^ I wish I took a picture of this Asian guy who made a poster board that looks like the Brain Age game with the center cut out and his face in it. It was an extremely simple costume, I guess you can call it that, but it really looked like the guy! I pointed this out to Ms. Lin and she agreed. We both had a great laugh. So much to see! I wish you all could have been there to share this wonderful even with us!