Skip to content

Esquimalt’s Japanese Cultural Fair takes tastes, experiences and cultures online

21st annual free event streams Saturday, Oct. 24 starting at noon
23104528_web1_191022-VNE-Japanese-Cultural-Society
The 21st annual Japanese Cultural Fair streams online Oct. 24 from noon to 3 p.m. (Facebook/Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society)

The 21st Annual Japanese Cultural Fair takes its sake, song, tea ceremony and more online Saturday.

This year’s free fair is a three-hour live online show combining pre-taped vignettes and live performances, all highlighting Victoria’s Japanese community.

“Instead of bringing everyone to the Esquimalt Rec Centre, this year we’re bringing a blend of live performances, cultural talks, and pre-recorded stories into people’s homes with our Virtual Fair,” said Tsugio Kurushima, president of the The Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society (VNCS) that presents the event. “We’re offering up an exciting blend of culture, traditional arts, and local history and the power of video means we can offer closer looks than ever before.”

The show includes Uminari Taiko Japanese drumming performance; a Japanese Tea Ceremony; an Ikebana flower arrangement demonstration; presentation on the kimono and its seasonal differences; Kamishibai “paper play” storytelling; and enjoy Minyo traditional music performance.

READ ALSO: Gallery explores ‘broken promises’ during Japanese Canadian internment in 1940s

Interviews include one on the dispossession of Japanese Canadians in the 1940s and one where viewers learn about the new VNCS Heritage Community.

Foodies can learn how to prepare and enjoy daikon (Japanese radish); all about maki (rolled) sushi and a sake question and answer session a sommelier

There is also a virtual auction offering an enjoyable way to donate and help support the show.

“There’s plenty of time to vote in the provincial election before or after the show, so I encourage everyone interested to tune in at vncs.ca,” Kurushima said. “All of us at the Society are looking forward to sharing traditional Japanese hospitality with the community even though we are online.”

The free festival streams online at vncs.ca on Saturday, Oct. 24 from noon to 3 p.m.


 

Do you have a story tip? Email: c.vanreeuwyk@blackpress.ca.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.