2021 Japanese Ambiance Festival
Omaha Sister Cities Association volunteers participated in the 2021 Japanese Ambiance Festival at Lauritzen Gardens on Oct. 2 and 3. We provided several activities to visiting families, each giving visitors insight into the culture and everyday life of the inhabitants of our Sister City, Shizuoka, Japan.
The activities included calligraphy, origami, a chopstick game, and other traditional games. We also served samples of red bean ice cream provided generously by Ted & Wally’s Premium Ice Cream.
There were several performances throughout the weekend that drew crowds. A few of the musical highlights included Kokyo Taiko Drummers and traditional Koto music. Outdoors, Kenneth Yoho demonstrated kyudo (Japanese archery).
Garden visitors also had a couple of chances to sample traditional teas. Each day in the conservatory, The Tea Smith provided samples of the teas of Shizuoka. And each afternoon, there was a traditional tea ceremony demonstration. Attendees at the tea ceremony were able to sample green matcha tea afterwards.
We are excited to have 24 Japanese stone lanterns included in the Fall Chrysanthemum Display at the gardens. The collection of lanterns were formerly displayed in several gardens in Shizuoka and were gifted to Omaha by Mr. Yoichiro Suzuki and Mr. Tsutomu Asada. The lanterns were first associated with Buddhist temples and pagodas nearly 1,400 years ago. Today, they serve as beautiful works of art serving an ornamental role in Japanese architecture.
