San Francisco Cherry Blossom Festival 2024

I had the opportunity to exhibit an arrangement and help the Ikebana Teachers Federation organization at the San Francisco Cherry Blossom Festival. I rehearsed this arrangement twice, but the main structure fell apart 30 minutes before the show on Saturday. With the help of Katsuko Sensei and Mina, we managed to put it back together just in time. Whew!

This is a double-structure arrangement with cascading Jasmine from a bird nest on the top and Ranunculus in a suiban vase at the bottom.  The nest is made of dried birch branches, which took me two hours to make. 

Materials:  Ranunculus, Pink Jasmine, birch branches, dried Magnolia branches

A birdie with quail eggs

Yoshiko “Hogetsu” Williams Sensei’s demonstration (above) drew a huge crowd on Sunday, including the five beautiful Cherry Blossom Festival queen candidates Below).
Katsuko “Biko” Thielke Sensei’s arrangement from all angles