Little Tokyo is about to host one of the city’s most enduring traditions. On Sunday, August 16, from 4 to 6pm, the Nisei Week Grand Parade takes over the neighborhood for its 84th consecutive year, cementing its status as one of the longest-running cultural festivals in the entire country. What started nearly a century ago as a way to keep a community and its businesses thriving has grown into one of the largest annual celebrations of Japanese American culture in the United States — and this year’s edition is bringing out all the stops.
The route and what to expect
The procession kicks off at Central Avenue, heads west on 2nd Street, turns north on San Pedro Street, east on 1st Street, then loops back down to close on Central Avenue. Along the way, expect a full sensory experience: traditional Japanese dancers, thundering taiko drum performers, local community groups, high school marching bands, and the festival’s signature showstopper — the nebuta, a massive illuminated lantern float rooted in the tradition of Aomori, Japan.
According to Cultural News, this year’s parade is led by Grand Marshal U.S. Rep. Mark Takano, alongside Parade Marshal Robert Vargas, the mural artist behind a widely recognized Shohei Ohtani portrait in Little Tokyo. Also making an appearance: the newly crowned Nisei Week Queen and Court, selected the night before at the festival’s Coronation and Awards Celebration.
The bigger festival around it
The parade opens a nine-day festival running August 15 through 23, first launched in 1934 during the Great Depression as a way for second-generation Japanese Americans to support Little Tokyo’s businesses and preserve community culture. Little Tokyo is now 1 of 3 remaining historic Japantowns left in the nation, currently 140 years old, the 2nd oldest neighborhood in Los Angeles, and one of only 14 designated California Cultural Districts.
That spirit continues throughout thr week with through ondo dancing, cultural exhibits, a Plaza Festival featuring yakisoba, takoyaki, shave ice, and Spam musubi, and a closing ceremony that brings the whole neighborhood together for a communal dance. Between the taiko drumming, the dancers, the glowing nebuta float, and generations of history woven through it, the Nisei Week Grand Parade offers a rare chance to experience one of L.A.’s most historic cultural traditions still thriving 84 years later.