A Celebration
The Bon Odori Festival for 2013 was sponsored by the Olympia-Japanese American Citizens’ League and the Olympia-Kato Sister City Association.
CLICK Slide Show: Snapshots of Olympia 2013 Bon Ordori Festival, Dancers
The summer Bon Odori festival has been celebrated in Japan for at least 13 centuries. Originally a Buddhist celebration, Obon is also celebrated in more or less secular form in many American communities, chiefly on the west coast and in Hawaii. Our Bon Odori celebration is a chance for us to share a living piece of Japanese culture. Originally, BON refers to the Buddhist observance of O-BON, a time when the souls of our ancestors visit their living descendants. They are greeted with song and dance – ODORI is the dance celebration, traditional folk dances joined in by the living and their departed ancesters in joy and celebration. The dance steps depict human activities, like mining, or fishing, and the beauty of beloved landscapes. The dances are composed of simple, repetitive motions, easily learned – all are invited to participate in this celebration.
Lotus Blossoms
6:00 pm Community Presentations; River Ridge High School Taiko; Aikido of Olympia
7:00 pm Reiko Callner & Aaron O\Vada, Emcees
Stephen Buxbaum – Mayor, City of Olympia
Bob Nakamura – President, Olympia Chapter JACL
Junryo Miyashita – Vice President OKSCA
7:10 pm Dances – All Join In
Mikokoro – Traditional Buddhist Dance
Tanko Bushi – Coal Miner’s Dance
Soran Bushi – Fisherman’s Dance
Ganbare Ondo – Inspirational Dance
Yashiro Ondo – Sister City Dance
7:45 pm Northwest Taiko Performance
8:15 pm Shiawase Samba – “Samba” Dance
Hanano Bon Odori – Flower dance w/fans
Hiroshima Ondo – Boat/river dance
Gosho Ondo – Dance from Gosho
Tanko Bushi – Coal Miner’s Dance
9:00 pm Light Procession for Peace and Rememberance of Loved Ones
