NEW

SDAY

COM

PUTE

R-A

LTER

EDIM

AGE

/N

EDLE

VIN

E;SO

URCE

IMAG

E,FR

AN

KFU

MEL

LI

WEEKEND EVENTS Find things to do with the kids newsday.com/events

FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2018

B2

S1

index

JANELLE GRIFFITHBYjanelle.griffith@newsday.com

Spring is in session at Stony Brook Univer-sity. That’s where the daylong CherryBlossom Festival: Sakura Matsuri cele-brates Japanese culture with dance, drums

and drawing to usher in the season at theCharles B. Wang Center.

WHAT YOU’LL SEEKaoru Watanabe, a Brooklyn-based composer

and musician who appeared on the soundtrackof director Wes Anderson’s new movie, “Isle ofDogs,” is the headline performer with his Taikodrumming group, Neo.

Visitors can learn Ikebana, the ancient Japa-nese art of flower arranging, and see martial artsperformances.

In Japan, cherry blossoms were consideredone of the symbols of the samurai, says orga-nizer Gerard Senese, who owns the Ryu ShyKan Japanese martial arts center in Farm-ingville. A row of cherry blossom trees lines theentranceway to the Wang Center, where theuniversity’s Japan Center coproduces the annualevent, now in its 18th year.

“And just like the samurai were required to

follow their lord and possibly die in full bloomof their life, they understood the transience oflife through the symbols of the cherry blossoms,which only bloom for a week or so and thenthey were done,” Senese says.

The samurai cultivated the appreciation of thecherry blossoms, Senese says, which trickleddown to all aspects of the Japanese culture.

COSTUMES TO BEHOLDCosplay — a combination of “costume” and

“play” — also features prominently in thefestival. The term is used to describe the activ-ity of adults dressing up as animé or videogame characters by wearing distinctive cos-tumes. Jason Linetsky, the editor-in-chief and

exploreLI PHOTO GALLERYMore things to do this weekend

newsday.com/events

Thinking aboutadopting a pet?These Long Islandshelter dogs arelooking for homes.Here are pups of allages available foradoption from localshelters all over theIsland.

Find lush gardens,woodland paths andplenty of fresh air atLong Island’s beautifulbotanical gardensand arboretums.

rescueme

Take a walk in the park: newsday.com/parks

Japanese cultureblooms in Stony Brook

now online

There is a variety ofsmall inns and B&Bsfrom Southampton toMontauk: romanticguesthouses,family-friendly suites,elegant mansions andglamorous estatecottages to plan yournext vacation.

LI dogs you can adopt right now: newsday.com/pets

weekendgetawaysCHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL:SAKURA MATSURIWHEN | WHERE Noon-5 p.m. Sunday at StonyBrook University’s Charles B. Wang Center,100 Nicolls Rd., Stony BrookINFO 631-632-1944, ryushukan.comADMISSION $20 ($5 ages 6-12) includesadmission to three theater performances and atea ceremony.

Samurai symbols and cosplay brighten Cherry Blossom Festival

JERE

MY

BALE

SRA

ND

EEDA

DD

ON

AH

APP

YTA

ILS

DO

GRE

SCUE

naturewalks

East meets best: newsday.com/LongIslandGetaways

B19 Ask AmyB19 BridgeB24 Cast CallsB16 ComicsB18 Crossword

B14 Dining OutB18 HoroscopesB20 KidsdayB22 LI ArtsB10 Movies

B8 Movie TimesB6 MusicB26 NYC PicksB18 SudokuB28 TV

The Taiko Tides perform at StonyBrook University’s Sakura Matsuri.

B2

NEW

SDAY

,FR

IDAY

,M

AY4,

2018

new

sday

.com

Expl

ore

LIS1

co-founder of CosplayNYC maga-zine, will oversee a fashion showfrom 3 to 5 p.m. in the SkylightGallery. Guests are invited to at-tend the festival in costume andcan sign up to be a part of theshow until 2 p.m.

Linetsky works as a crew mem-ber at many conventions includingNew York Comic Con, the largestpop culture event on the EastCoast, and ConnectiCon, a multi-genre celebration held in Hartford,Connecticut. Cosplay has become a

fixture in Japanese culture, he says,and he predicts it will only con-tinue to grow.

At the cosplay fashion show,Linetsky will explain the activity’ssignificance and popularity — inJapan and America. Cosplayers,such as college students KristenSabatino and Abigail Vilela, will beintroduced to the audience and willbe available for pictures.

“I started cosplaying while I wasteaching the manga drawing work-shop to kind of make people feelmore welcome,” says Sabatino, 24,of Farmingville. Sabatino dresses upas all sorts of characters fromanimé and video games, includingTeam Skull Grunt from Pokémon.

Vilela learned about cosplayseveral years ago when a friendinvited her to New York Comic Conin 2011. That was the first year shetried cosplaying.

“It was actually a lot of fun. Andsince then, I just took it up as ahobby,” says Vilela, 22, of North BayShore. “Every time I dress up, Ienjoy it. I love it.”

Participating in shows providesher the opportunity to meet others inthe cosplay community, Vilela says.

That’s a large part of the draw forSabatino, a Japanese manga artist.

“When you’re cosplaying, you allkind of share the same desire to, A.connect with people, and B. to kindof step out of the norm and dosomething different,” Sabatino says.“And you stand out that way.”

turn the page for more weekend events

A cosplayer branches out under acherry tree at the Wang Center.

FRA

NK

FUM

ELLI

FRA

NK

FUM

ELLI

plus

2137989801

Bet theKentucky

DerbyTODAY!

BET Tomorrow’s DerbyTODAY!

Find locations and/or wager atQwikbetz.com or call 1-800-telbets (1-800-835-2387)

To open an account, visit Qwikbetz.com or call (631) 853-1000

Friday, May 4th, 2018

KENTUCKY DERBYCHU RC H I L L DOWNS

WAGERONLINEAND GETTRACKODDS

B3

ExploreLI

S1new

sday.comN

EWSDAY,

FRIDAY,M

AY4,

2018