The Long Beach Japanese Cultural Center will hold its annual Summer Carnival and Japanese Cultural Festival Saturday, June 23, and Sunday, June 24, at the Center, located at 1766 Seabright Avenue, in Long Beach, two blocks west of Santa Fe Avenue and just south of Pacific Coast Highway. Festival hours are 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
The Center provides a separate space from daily life for people to get together and learn about Japanese and Japanese-American culture.
Japanese culture is well known for their matsuri, festivals, where people gather and produce a lively mood. The annual Summer Carnival and Japanese Cultural Festival goes one step further and generates o-matsuri sawagi, the state of making a fete, through an exciting combination of activities. Guests can actively join in the fun as a spectator or participant to become part of the event themselves. Get in the mood through outdoor entertainment including a live taiko performance by Kokoro Taiko Kai of Long Beach, ondo dancing lessons presented by Long Beach Japanese Ondo Group, and judo and kendo martial arts demonstrations. Exhibits of ikebana, flower arrangement, by the Ikenobo Ikebana Club of Long Beach, and straw art by the American Museum of Straw Art will be featured in two indoor spaces where visitors can ask experts about what they see.
There will be many classic carnival games, including a win a goldfish booth as well as bingo and a raffle. The festival will culminate with raffle drawings each hour, beginning late Sunday afternoon.
Be sure to bring your appetite, as there will be delicious Japanese food available for purchase, including beef teriyaki skewers, chicken teriyaki, udon (noodles), chirashi sushi (flavored rice) and corn on the cob. Handmade crafts, green plants and other donated items will also be sold as a fundraiser for the Center.
Admission is free and the public is welcome. Off-street parking available in a lot south of the Center.
