Three-day festival marking the 70th anniversary of the San Diego-Yokohama sister-city agreement with taiko, bon-odori, hula, koto, a sumo demonstration and a Mottainai market.
The Yokohama Festival takes over Balboa Park from Friday, November 13 to Sunday, November 15, marking 70 years since San Diego and Yokohama signed their sister-city agreement back in 1956. The San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society is putting it on, and the whole weekend is built around that connection.
Friday kicks things off at Analog & Grit with Rocco: A Celebration of Life, Art & Friendship, a tribute to Satoshi 'Rocco' Akiyama. He was a Japanese street artist whose work and friendships linked Yokohama, San Diego, and Tijuana, so it's a fitting place to start. Saturday is the main event at Balboa Park, running 9 AM to 9 PM. The Main Stage will have taiko drumming, bon-odori, hula, and koto, and the Honu Sumo demonstration pits local athletes from San Diego against those from Orange County—a sport rooted in balance, strategy, discipline, and respect. There's also the Mottainai Market, which features upcycled art and crafts inspired by the Japanese concept of mottainai—the idea of not wasting what you have—and The Gateway, where you'll find Japanese food, merchants, and cultural experiences. Sunday wraps things up with the SYLA Leadership Retreat at Alliant University.
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Beyond the performances, there's a ticketed 70th Anniversary Reception—a walking dinner with live entertainment celebrating seven decades of ties between the two cities. The daytime festival is free; CleanPic is $10 per person, and the reception is a $30 ticket. If you're planning to hit the main day, Saturday is when the bulk of the action happens, from 9 AM to 9 PM at Balboa Park.
