A beautiful day of sunshine and summer-like temperatures pierced the erratic spring weather in Washington DC for the 58th 
annual Sakura Matsuri street festival last Saturday. Over 20 volunteers from the National Go Center came out to staff a tent on Pennsylvania 
Avenue and teach all comers the game. From the time the gates opened after the National Cherry Blossom Festival parade until the early evening, a lively stream of festival goers enjoyed meeting the volunteers and learning about go.
annual Sakura Matsuri street festival last Saturday. Over 20 volunteers from the National Go Center came out to staff a tent on Pennsylvania 
Avenue and teach all comers the game. From the time the gates opened after the National Cherry Blossom Festival parade until the early evening, a lively stream of festival goers enjoyed meeting the volunteers and learning about go.Local go organizer John Goon, who passed away last year, ha
d organized volunteers from the local go clubs to participate in this event for over a decade, and the NGC was excited to keep the tradition going. “It was wonderful to see such strong volunteer support,” said NGC Executive Director Gurujeet Khalsa. “The NGC is also the sponsoring chapter for the US Go Congress to be held in Williamsburg VA in July, and it is enthusiastic volunteers each year that make the Congress a huge success.”
d organized volunteers from the local go clubs to participate in this event for over a decade, and the NGC was excited to keep the tradition going. “It was wonderful to see such strong volunteer support,” said NGC Executive Director Gurujeet Khalsa. “The NGC is also the sponsoring chapter for the US Go Congress to be held in Williamsburg VA in July, and it is enthusiastic volunteers each year that make the Congress a huge success.”More pictures of the Sakura Matsuri can be found on the NGC Facebook page. Registration for the US Go Congress is open, and the first-ever Go Congress mobile app for the Go Congress.
photos by Chiemi Mori and Allan Abramson
