Japantown Fall Festival S.F Osaka Celebration September 8, 2007

The Japantown Merchants Association and the San Francisco Osaka Sister City Association have announced a special event to be held on Saturday, September. 8, from 12 noon to 8:30 p.m. in San Francisco Japantown.

The merchants will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the San Francisco - Osaka sister-city relationship, starting the afternoon with live performances by local singers, cultural performances and martial arts.

Children's activites include the popular kingyo-sukui and other games where they will have a chance to win cool prizes from 12 noon to 5 p.m.

At 5:30 p.m. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who visited Osaka this year, and Mayor Junichi Seki of Osaka will participate in teh ceremonial renaming of Buchanan Mall to Osaka Way between Sutter and Buchanan Streets.

Immediately following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, both mayors will walk to the nearby Peace Plaza and raise 1,000 gold paper cranes onto the Peace Pagoda to symbolize peace and friendship between the two sister cities.

This is the final part of "Wishes on the Wind," a community effort to write one's wishes on pieces of origami paper to be foled into paper cranes. Everyone is invited to write their wishes at Cafe Hana in the Kintetsu Mall.

The finale of the Aki Matsuri celebration will feature Japanese folk dancing (odori) led by Madame Michiya Hanayagi from 7:15 to 8:15 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The dance practice schedule is as follows:
Monday, Aug. 27
Wednesday, Aug. 29
Wednesday, Sept. 5

All practices are from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. at May's Coffee shop in the Kintetsu Mall.

Official Website: http://www.jtowntaskforce.org/events.htm