

There were food options at the festival as well. The design for the event logo is beautiful. If you’ve never watched screen printing being done, it’s worth a look. Not familiar with Doraemon? He’s a robot cat from the future, and he’s very popular in Japan.Ī local screen printing company was working on the official shirts for the festival. There were entertainment tents for the children, including facepainting, ring toss games, and a Doraemon’s Pocket game where children can toss a small bean bag into Doraemon’s pocket to win prizes. Now that we’ve got that background out of the way, let’s talk about the festival! As with any festival in Florida, there are tents for small wares- tea, jewelry, and the like. The newer festival was combined with another fall Lantern celebration, and thus is called “The Morikami Lantern Festival: In The Spirit of Obon.” Obon has traditionally been celebrated in July or August, but the Morikami changed their celebration a few years ago to be slightly later in the year in order to better avoid summer weather conditions. The Museum and Gardens have been celebrating the Bon festival for many years. Ground breaking for Morikami Park was in 1976, and the museum building on site began construction in 1993. Nearby Delray Beach is a sister city to Miyazu, in his honor.īefore George died, he donated his land to Palm Beach County, and that land became the Morikami Park and Japanese Gardens. George Morikami died at age 89 in 1976, and his ashes were returned to Miyazu. He purchased land in Delray Beach after World War II, and farmed it for almost thirty years. George migrated to the area from Miyazu in 1906, and he stayed in the area after the Yamato Colony disbanded. The lone member of the Yamato Colony to remain in the area was George Morikami. Shoppers leaving the Whole Foods off Glades Road in Boca Raton can still see giant Army turrets left over from the military base bordering the field of the local high school. That land is currently part of Florida Atlantic University and the local Boca Raton Airport. Most of the farmers returned to Japan, and those who remained lost much of their land when the United States government took it during World War II to build an Army Air Corps training base.

Over time, the Yamato Colony could no longer compete with cheaper pineapples from nearby Cuba. A major East-West roadway in Boca Raton is still called Yamato Road, and I drive that road every time I go to work. One of their main crops was pineapples, and the pineapple is a symbol of nearby Delray Beach to this day. The Yamato Colony was located in what is now Boca Raton, Florida. Jo Sakai recruited young men from his home town of Miyazu, Japan to help farm the land. 2017: the year the festival highlights “The Wild” with lanterns in the form of animals for around the world, include creatures from Africa, Antarctica, Asia, and more.Allow me to step away from my neverending flurry of Japan posts to talk about… Japanese culture in South Florida! This weekend was the 2015 Morikami Lantern Festival: In The Spirit Of Obon.įirst, a little bit of history: In 1903, a Japanese man named Jo Sakai who had recently graduated from New York University purchased 1000 acres of land from Henry Flagler’s Model Land Company, in order to build a farming community.7 colors-all that are visible on the spectrum-fill the festival space to create a colorful show of lanterns, fountains, and lights.9+ folk artists from China display their work, which ranges from clay portraits to folk embroidery and Chinese knotting.20+ animals take the shape of life-size the lanterns they include jumping koi fish, growling lions, and majestic cranes.5 areas of the world-America, Oceania, Asia, Antarctica, and Africa-are represented at the festival.Guests can also see nine folk artists and kids can take a dinosaur ride (for an additional fee).
Chinese lantern festival boca free#
Visitors can view a live kung-fu performance headed by national martial arts champions from China and participate in free kung-fu coaching sessions. This year’s theme is “The Wild” and has over 800 lanterns in the form of animals from throughout the world. Sunset Cove Amphitheater hosts the Hanart Culture Chinese Lantern Festival February 24–April 9. Six Tickets to Chinese Lantern Festivall on February 24-April 9, 2017.Four Tickets to Chinese Lantern Festivall on February 24-April 9, 2017.Two Tickets to Chinese Lantern Festival on February 24-April 9, 2017.
