By The North American Post Staff
Seattle has been celebrating its cultural diversity through Festal, a series of ethnic cultural festivals, for the last 20 years. The Seattle Center Foundation hosted its anniversary kickoff event on Sunday.
The Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival Committee has been a core part of the Festal series. The Japanese culture organization was the first group to present the festival at the Seattle Center in the late 1970s, which eventually became the home of 24 ethnic festivals to gather over 300,000 visitors.
In the Sunday celebration joined by Tazue and Yutaka Sasaki of the festival committee and Consul General Masahiro Omura, Shiki Japanese Restaurant in Queen Anne served as one of five food vendors.
Deputy Mayor Hyeok Kim read the Mayor’s Proclamation to declare Jan. 15 in 2016 as the official Festal Day.
The Festal series will begin this weekend through November featuring 24 cultural events including Seattle Cherry Blossom festival from April 21-23 and Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration on May 7.
Seattle Channel will broadcast the Festal story throughout the year, which can be watched at <www.seattlechannel.org/CommunityStories?videoid=x70093>.
