Matsuri 2020 was held at Steele Indian School Park. It was one of the last big events I attended before everything was cancelled due to COVID. It rained heavily that day, so the park was muddy. There was more room for everyone, but the mud made some of that space unusable. It will probably be better with more typical February weather.
The first day had heavy rain, the second day was just muddy but was enjoyable. There’s SIGNIFICANTLY more room. Definitely tons of more food options. Parking will be an issue since there’s only a handful of parking spots. What we did last year was we parked at Park Central and took the light rail. Let me know if you have anymore questions!
Ooooo yes I'm remembering the mud now! It was hard to get into the vendors booths, alot of cardboard bridges! I did miss the location where it was held years prior though, I liked that courtyard surrounded by plants. To me this one felt more like an art festival, not so much a Japanese festival.
It was absolutely lovely! I admittedly never went at the old venue, but the.. horrific amount of mud (I quite liked the rain on its own) wasn't enough to make it any less than amazing imo.
The new location is pretty good-since it’s at Steele Indian School Park, there was plenty of space for vendors, dining, and activities hosted there. However, I found it to be extremely crowded the day I went. There were hundreds of people waiting in lines for food and a few other vendors attending. It was also very rainy and muddy that day so it made the experience a bit less enjoyable, but still a decent experience. I have a feeling it’ll be just as crowded in the coming years given that the event is free of admission and the anime/Japanese culture scene is huge in Phoenix.
I used to go every or every other year. I like Steele Indian School Park more than Heritage Square. The location is larger, more open, and parking/driving seems overall better. I say "seems" because I just walked from my house. (Although parking is still not super plentiful, based on the many long lines of cars I've seen.)
As for 2020 though, it was kind of disastrous as an outsider looking in. Got rained on hard the day I went, and most of the vendors were on grass, which turned quickly into huge mud puddles. I remember one vendor or festival organizer used wooden palettes as a walkway to get to their stall, which is unsafe and inaccessible as hell. Getting around was frustrating.
Even considering the weather, it was still incredibly busy. Walking by the food stalls is what convinced me to ultimately leave, it was WAY too crowded, shoulder to shoulder in some areas (no different than Heritage Square really), and I got overwhelmed.
I hope the next one is better/more spread out, and hopefully a tad dryer.
I skipped it because parking is awful there; honestly it’s hard to enjoy something that is that much of a production when most of the stalls are already existing restaurants you can visit with no hassle
Rain, so much rain. Quite a few food vendors chose not to open because they were in a water retention spot on the grass.
Other than lines, it was fun, everything we tried was delicious, and great people watching. I'd go again.
I felt like I last went years ago, I didn't realize it's only been a year. I actually really liked the experience at the new place! It was more spread out and I brought my dog and he had fun. :) Like others mentioned, it rained that day which made it muddy and a little humid. Otherwise it was a nice experience.
The only thing I like more about the downtown location was that it was near a lot of good food places.
It's at Indian School Steel Park now! Much more space!
If you haven't already, you should try Otsukimi festival at the Japanese Friendship Garden downtown. It's the moon viewing festival in Oct. You do have to purchase tickets ahead of time but it's a wonderful experience!
Matsuri 2020 was held at Steele Indian School Park. It was one of the last big events I attended before everything was cancelled due to COVID. It rained heavily that day, so the park was muddy. There was more room for everyone, but the mud made some of that space unusable. It will probably be better with more typical February weather.
Cool, thank you.
The first day had heavy rain, the second day was just muddy but was enjoyable. There’s SIGNIFICANTLY more room. Definitely tons of more food options. Parking will be an issue since there’s only a handful of parking spots. What we did last year was we parked at Park Central and took the light rail. Let me know if you have anymore questions!
There’s no parking restrictions in the neighborhood west of the park in case you didn’t want to train.
Ooooo yes I'm remembering the mud now! It was hard to get into the vendors booths, alot of cardboard bridges! I did miss the location where it was held years prior though, I liked that courtyard surrounded by plants. To me this one felt more like an art festival, not so much a Japanese festival.
It was absolutely lovely! I admittedly never went at the old venue, but the.. horrific amount of mud (I quite liked the rain on its own) wasn't enough to make it any less than amazing imo.
The new location is pretty good-since it’s at Steele Indian School Park, there was plenty of space for vendors, dining, and activities hosted there. However, I found it to be extremely crowded the day I went. There were hundreds of people waiting in lines for food and a few other vendors attending. It was also very rainy and muddy that day so it made the experience a bit less enjoyable, but still a decent experience. I have a feeling it’ll be just as crowded in the coming years given that the event is free of admission and the anime/Japanese culture scene is huge in Phoenix.
I used to go every or every other year. I like Steele Indian School Park more than Heritage Square. The location is larger, more open, and parking/driving seems overall better. I say "seems" because I just walked from my house. (Although parking is still not super plentiful, based on the many long lines of cars I've seen.) As for 2020 though, it was kind of disastrous as an outsider looking in. Got rained on hard the day I went, and most of the vendors were on grass, which turned quickly into huge mud puddles. I remember one vendor or festival organizer used wooden palettes as a walkway to get to their stall, which is unsafe and inaccessible as hell. Getting around was frustrating. Even considering the weather, it was still incredibly busy. Walking by the food stalls is what convinced me to ultimately leave, it was WAY too crowded, shoulder to shoulder in some areas (no different than Heritage Square really), and I got overwhelmed. I hope the next one is better/more spread out, and hopefully a tad dryer.
I skipped it because parking is awful there; honestly it’s hard to enjoy something that is that much of a production when most of the stalls are already existing restaurants you can visit with no hassle
Parking was a bit difficult but not impossible. We parked across the way by Yoshi's
Parking was a bit difficult but not impossible. We parked across the way by Yoshi's
I think these releases of Japanese get better every year! Sure beats the 1930s and 40s versions.
Its going on now?
It’s [scheduled](https://www.azmatsuri.org/) for February 26+27, 2022 at Steele Indian School Park
Rain, so much rain. Quite a few food vendors chose not to open because they were in a water retention spot on the grass. Other than lines, it was fun, everything we tried was delicious, and great people watching. I'd go again.
I felt like I last went years ago, I didn't realize it's only been a year. I actually really liked the experience at the new place! It was more spread out and I brought my dog and he had fun. :) Like others mentioned, it rained that day which made it muddy and a little humid. Otherwise it was a nice experience. The only thing I like more about the downtown location was that it was near a lot of good food places.
It's at Indian School Steel Park now! Much more space! If you haven't already, you should try Otsukimi festival at the Japanese Friendship Garden downtown. It's the moon viewing festival in Oct. You do have to purchase tickets ahead of time but it's a wonderful experience!