[ WEEKEND ]
COURTESY OF HONOLULU FESTIVAL
The spectacular Omuta Daijayama Matsuri makes its return this year.
Japanese feast Now in its ninth year of showcasing traditional Japanese cultural performances and exhibitions, the Honolulu Festival continues to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to Oahu with its one-of-a-kind celebration of all things Japanese. More than 4,600 performers and artists are expected to participate this year in a variety of events scheduled today through Sunday at various locations in Honolulu.
for the senses
Schedule of eventsBy Jason Genegabus
jason@starbulletin.com
"I think it's a great chance for people to see all the different parts of another people's culture," said Traci Toguchi, former Miss Hawaii and communications director for the Honolulu Festival. "You don't have to be Japanese to appreciate this."
Where: Ala Moana Center, Hawai'i Convention Center, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center and Kalakaua Avenue 'Connecting People,
Ninth Annual Honolulu Festival
Bridging Cultures'When: 9 a.m. to noon today, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. tomorrow and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday
Info: www.honolulufestival.com
While you don't have to be Japanese to enjoy the Honolulu Festival, the event's popularity in the Land of the Rising Sun is definitely a big factor in its continued success. When the festival got started in 1994, approximately 87,500 residents and visitors turned out for events at Bishop Museum and in Waikiki. This year, 40 out of Japan's 49 prefectures have representatives in town, and more than 300,000 people are expected to participate in activities planned for this weekend.
FOR Honolulu Festival parade director Nelson Fujio, Sunday's grand parade along Kalakaua Avenue is easily the highlight of the weekend's schedule. Fujio, who celebrates his 54th birthday today, has been a fixture in the local parade scene for more than 25 years.
"I've been doing this for at least 27 years now," said Fujio, who in addition to planning parades also runs the family auto body repair shop with his sister. "For the people who do not come to see this event ... you're a fool, because it's a gift from Japan.
"If you were to go and see what's in our parade, you have to go to 40 cities (in Japan). ... Even the people in Japan come because they themselves don't get to see all this," he said.
This year's Honolulu Festival Grand Parade kicks off at 5 p.m. Sunday and will include, according to Fujio, a "real big mixture of different types of performances, so it's not boring. You won't just see halau, halau, halau. ... It's a mixture of all different kinds (of performances)."
The Omuta Daijayama Matsuri in its full glory.
New to this year's parade is the Aizu Bange Machi Otawara Biki, a giant rice barrel with rings on the ends that nearly 100 men will tie ropes to earlier on Sunday at the Hawai'i Convention Center during a traditional Japanese version of tug of war. The Otawara Biki ceremony dates back to the 17th century and traditionally predicted the harvest for the coming year.
And returning to the islands after a three-year absence is the Omuta Daijayama Matsuri, a fire-spitting dragon from Fukuoka prefecture. According to Fujio, the city of Omuta holds a yearly festival that draws more than 2 million people from around Japan. The dragon that will return to Hawaii is one that the Japanese city owns, and plans call for it to be involved in the Honolulu Festival for at least the next few years.
"I think the parade will say it all," said Fujio of its importance to the overall impact of this year's festival. "One-third is Hawaii, two-thirds are Japanese -- it's a mixture of halau, modern dancing and Japanese dancing.
COURTESY OF HONOLULU FESTIVAL
One of the many Japanese dance troupes in the parade.
"It's like looking at a race car at a shopping mall, then going to the tracks and seeing the car. It's a different thing; when you actually see what they do with these things, it's like, 'Wow!'" he said, visibly excited about sharing all the hard work put into this event with the general public.
OTHER highlights of this year's Honolulu Festival include an opportunity for local students to participate in educational tours at the convention center. "That's going to kind of kick off the festival," said Toguchi. "Over 500 students will be able to tour and get to interact with all the participants. ... They'll be right there getting involved and seeing everything close up."
Keiki will also have the chance to take part in a photo contest sponsored by Fujifilm on Saturday and Sunday. One thousand disposable cameras will be distributed to elementary school students to take photos of the dancers, artisans and performers taking part in the Honolulu Festival. After the Grand Parade on Sunday, the cameras will be collected and winners selected for a public display at Ala Moana Center next month.
It's efforts like these to involve younger generations in the Honolulu Festival that make Toguchi feel like her organization is making a strong cultural impact in the community. "To reach people in my generation, I think it's a bit of a challenge," she said. "For a lot of people from Japan, they stress the importance of peace and good will; a lot of these performers are paying their own way to come and share with us, and it would be such a shame if people don't take advantage of what they're doing.
"I think anyone of any age and any culture would be able to appreciate something like this."
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COURTESY OF HONOLULU FESTIVAL
The Uozu Tatemon Matsuri, or "gigantic spinning landtern float," is back for the festival.
Japan on parade
Below is a partial list of activities scheduled for the Ninth Annual Honolulu Festival. All events are subject to change; visit www.honolulufestival.com for a current schedule.
Friday
>> 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: The Honolulu Festival gets under way with a morning of educational school tours at the Hawai'i Convention Center. Keikis will have a chance to interact with most of the participants in the Grand Parade scheduled for Sunday.
Saturday
>> 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Hano Hano Hula Oita, Funabashi Shibaroku Daiko, Halau O La Hula Naomi and the Leilani Hula Studio are among the groups that will perform at Ala Moana Center's CenterStage. The Japan Nankin Tamasudare and Hokkaido Hawaii Exchange Associations along with Koto Shakuhachi Sakata-shi Yachiyokai will also be on hand.>> 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: At the Hawai'i Convention Center, ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro headlines the day's festivities with a performance at 11 a.m. The Uozu Tatemon Matsuri, or "gigantic spinning lantern float," will make an appearance at 1:30 and 2:45 p.m. And the Aizu Bange Machi Otawara Biki, or "tug-of-war ceremony," is will start at 4:40 p.m. More than 100 people will be recruited to participate in the ceremony, dating back approximately 400 years, which traditionally predicted the harvest for the coming year.
>> 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Harmony starts things off at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center at 10:30 a.m., followed by the Hokkaido Hawaii Exchange Association and traditional Japanese street performances. Oshu Sukagawa Taimatsudaiko Hanagumi and Suga Yosakoi Narukoren will also be at the shopping center.
>> 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Admission fees will be waived at the Honolulu Academy of Arts in honor of the Honolulu Festival. Enjoy paper art performances during the morning; traditional Edo-style top performances and a street performance by Dai Kaguramai are scheduled during the afternoon.
Sunday
>> 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.: K. Hama and the Puanani Hula Mates, Edogei Kappore Kirakukai, the NHK Mito Culture Center and Kei Komaki ABC Academy are just a few of the acts that will perform at Ala Moana Center's CenterStage.>> 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: You've got two more chances to participate in the Aizu Bange Machi Otawara Biki at the Hawai'i Convention Center. The traditional tug-of-war ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. and again at 1:25 p.m. Jake Shimabukuro will perform at 11 a.m.; and Gekidan Champon, Ishikawaken Taikorenmei and the Iolani School Dance Team will take part in the day's festivities.
>> 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: The Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center plays host to performances by Kobe Nankoren, Hui Hula Naleikalakupua, the Japan Nankin Tamasudare Association and Kinseiryu Kikuyaekai before the Honolulu Festival Grand Parade down Kalakaua Avenue.
>> 5 to 8 p.m.: Starting at Beach Walk and continuing along Kalakaua Avenue, the Honolulu Festival Grand Parade marks the end of this year's festival. Enjoy three distinctive sections of various cultural displays and floats; the HPD Motor Brigade, Royal Hawaiian Band, Celtic Pipes and Drums of Hawaii, the 50th Cherry Blossom Queen and her court, the 15th Annual Miss America Teen, Miss Korea Princesses and Waipahu High School Marching Band will represent the 50th state during the parade. In the second group, Hano Hano Hula Oita, Suga Yosakoi Narukoren, Aomori Nebuta Bayashi Shunseikai, the NHK Mito Culture Center, Nihon 3B Taiso Kyokai, Studio Hoaloha and others will represent 40 out of Japan's 49 prefectures in the parade. And the third and slowest group in the parade -- the Mikoshi floats -- bring up the rear with the Nakasu Kunihiro Onnamikoshi, Pineapple Mikoshi, Hawaii Izumotaisha Ohayashi Sokonuke Yatai, Aizu Bange Otawara Biki, Hilton Hawaiian Village Sumo Mikoshi and Gyoji Float, Akita-shi Kanto-kai Omuta Daijayama and Uozu Tatemon. The parade will also be broadcast live for the second year in a row on KHON Fox 2, starting at 6 p.m.
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