Here's some more good news for New York-area comics and manga fans: The Brooklyn Botanic Garden will host a huge manga-related festival during its annual Cherry Blossom Festival on May 2 and 3. That means a huge cosplay event will get the cultured blessing of the botanical garden. In fact, there's a full lineup of manga fun.

What else does that include? First, the New York Anime Festival will be part of the "Rite of Spring" event (known as Sakura Matsuri), which will yield a new Manga & Anime Artist Alley. Music, dance, and artists will all be part, as well as what they promise to be "NYC's Largest Cos-Play Photo Shoot."

Here's the full description of the weekend, straight from the press release:

With the N.Y. Anime Festival, Sakura Matsuri presents the most exciting manga and anime activities around! During NYC’s Largest Cos-Play Photo Shoot, thousands of festival-goers in costume will gather together under BBG’s peerless flowering cherry trees for some unforgettable image-making. The Funny Voices: Anime Voice Actor Roundtable features the city’s hottest talents in anime cartoon voice talent talking about, and as, their legendary characters. At the AnimeNEXT Manga Library, children and adults can partake of the global phenomenon of these exquisitely illustrated Japanese comics and read nature-inspired manga. Plus, renowned manga illustrator Kensuke Okabayashi presents a fantastic character-sketching talk and demo and signs copies of his book Manga for Dummies. Manga mania will continue with Misako Rocks! A Crazy Comic Life, during which illustrator Misako Rocks!, known for her works Rock and Roll Love, Biker Girl, and Detective Jermain, will guide visitors through her colorful childhood in Japan and other sources of inspiration for her manga.

If you're in the area, go and enjoy! Tickets can be purchased here, and more information can be found here.