Cosplayers pose as their favorite Japanese animation characters at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

NEW YORK, NY May 01, 2009 —More than a thousand people are expected to gather this weekend under the cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. They won't be there to smell the flowers they'll be there to pose as their favorite Japanese cartoon characters. WNYC's Siddhartha Mitter asks why.

For more information on the event, check out Brooklyn Botanical Garden's Web site.