Japan Fest 2010

The annual Japan Fest, presented by the Japan Club of New Orleans in conjunction with the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Consulate General of Japan in Nashville, Tenn., will be held Oct. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the New Orleans Museum of Art. The festival will begin after opening remarks by the consul general of Japan Hiroshi Sato from Nashville, and Mike Dunn, president of the Japan Club. There will be both outdoor and indoor activities at the fest. Again this year, Kaminari Taiko of Houston will be the featured performers on the steps of NOMA. And the Kozakura Japanese Dance Group and Japan Club Minyo Dance Group will also perform. Other events include a Japanese tea ceremony, Zen meditation lessons, an antique sword display, Ikebana flower arrangements, several booths with information on the Japanese Weekend School of New Orleans, Senin Production, the Japanese Garden Society booth, demonstrations by the Greater New Orleans Suzuki Forum, kimono dressing by JET Alumni Association, information from the Greater New Orleans Bonsai Society and syllabic poems by the New Orleans Haiku Society. The stage performers in the museum's auditorium will include martial arts by Louisiana Karate Association, Akido of New Orleans and the New Orleans Kendo Club; dances by Kozakura Japanese Dance Group; and a solo Taiko performance by Mayumi Shara. There will be food as well as a raffle for one round-trip ticket to Japan from New Orleans.