Omatsuri History 2019
Congratulations everyone – it was another very successful Omatsuri. The crowd was fantastic, the weather stayed dry all day (somebody up there must have heard our prayers), the food, the entertainment, the cultural demonstrations, kid’s corner and the market were just amazing, probably the best cultural festival in the city!
We had amazingly dedicated volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this event the best in the city. Some of you were the committee members who’d been at it since the beginning of the year, some of you were lending hands in set-up and take down and many others were running the activities on the special day. It takes all of you, over 450 strong with various backgrounds and ethnicities to make the event such an authentically cultural event in our city. The Japanese community is very blessed to have volunteers like you to have made it happen again for another year. Truly, you have earned bragging rights!
We received much needed financial support from the city of Calgary and several businesses and individuals as well as various support in-kind, including WestJet and Air Canada that helped make ends meet. Much appreciated. I, like many of you, cherish the memory of being a part of this very special event. Someday down the road, when we take a break from daily chores, we may reminisce on the days when we were a significant part of Calgary’s Omatsuri and how people in Calgary enjoyed the Japanese culture – ate, watched, laughed, amazed, admired and appreciated.
In Japan, the Omatsuri is an entire community event. Families, friends, neighbours, and local businesses rise to this occasion and celebrate being alive, well and happy, and all the good things about being a part of the community. Next year- the year 2020 will be the 10th anniversary year of the Omatsuri and the committee will be working hard to bring in a very special anniversary event. I’m looking forward to working with you again. Mark August 8, 2020 on your day timer.
Omatsuri photos by Pat and Paul Jetté and Video by Ryan Logan are up on our website: www.calgaryjca.com There are many volunteer positions available for the Omatsuri-2020. Be a part of this exciting event and be a part of the community!
Thank you – Arigato!
Taken from the CJCA November 2019 Newsletter
– Written by Ted Wada, Event Chairperson
Video credit by Ryan Logan
Omatsuri History 2021
A Taste of Omatsuri
When we started, we weren’t exactly sure what an online, virtual “taste” or sampling of the in-person Calgary Japanese Festival Omatsuri and a celebration of Japanese heritage & culture would look like. A new committee came together and after meetings and brainstorming of ideas, inventive ways of engaging and keeping Omatsuri alive in people’s hearts and minds started to form. Things evolved and in the end, Daily Special Features leading up to a Taste, a Photo Contest, a Silent Auction, and the final Taste of Omatsuri video premiered on August 14th. CJCA (see below) and the organizing committee are quite pleased with the end results.
Thanks to wonderful volunteers, extraordinary performers, unique martial artists, and the Japanese community, A Taste of Omatsuri was a success! A new Calgary Ondo/Bon-odori along with the incredible feature performance by Yukichi Hattori, the H/W School of Ballet students, and Midnight Taiko Kai were just two of the highlights. We received financial support from several businesses and individuals which all helped make A Taste of Omatsuri financially feasible. Fundraising by having an online Silent Auction of donated items added to the excitement. We were very fortunate!
A Taste of Omatsuri would not have been possible without a dedicated, core group of people – the Omatsuri Organizing Committee. Deep appreciation to Gene Yamada, Yasuhiro Washiyama, Tomo Honda, Lucia Silman, Cheryl Takaoka, Noah Richardson, Roger Teshima, Maureen Coleman, and Carolyn Terakita. In addition, special recognition to Mai Mulhern, Cheryl McDonald, Katy Takaoka, Doug Hironaka, and the CJCA newsletter team who all contributed to the overall success of the event.
Thank you to everyone who has provided valuable feedback and suggestions since the airing of A Taste of Omatsuri. One very kind compliment received was: “Congratulations! You call it “a taste” of Omatsuri but it definitely felt like a full-course meal!” Another comment from an entertainment performer: “An opportunity to watch everyone’s performance and it was amazing. As a performer, sometimes I don’t have a chance to watch everyone else’s performance because I’m busy preparing for my own. So this was actually very nice to be able to see. Thank you so much.” A number of past Omatsuri volunteers have voiced a similar sentiment as they don’t always get to see what is going on during their shift at Omatsuri. It was great that this virtual showing was able to reach so many people as well as gave everyone a chance to enjoy the event from the comfort of their own home.
The online Taste of Omatsuri was definitely a great learning experience and we hope we’ve done the community proud. Mark your calendars for next year’s in-person Calgary Japanese Omatsuri for Saturday, August 13, 2022 – we hope to see you there or better yet, consider volunteering and truly being part of this sensational event!
Submitted by: Susan Huntley, A Taste of Omatsuri 2021 Chairperson
Omatsuri History 2022
Should we do it, or not?
Should we run a live, in-person event, or online? These were the questions that plagued the Omatsuri committee (please excuse the pun.) Was it responsible? Would the next Covid variant be even more dangerous than the last one? Was it the right thing to do? Watching the hospital statistics didn’t look very promising – Covid was still going strong. Usually, planning for Omatsuri starts in September of the previous year, but with uncertainty looming, the decision to go for it wasn’t made until well into May. With all these questions in mind, the committee got things under way. In record time, and with huge investment from all the volunteers (and I mean a lot of volunteers who stepped up to make it happen), Omatsuri 2022 came to be.
Luckily, many members of the previous Omatsuri organizational committee came back on board, and the former Omatsuri Chair, Ted Wada, prepared a huge “bible” of planning material for the festival. This, in addition to all the volunteers, made it possible to pull off Omatsuri in such a truncated timeline. Supply chain issues and lack of staff made it incredibly difficult for many of our regular sponsors, participating suppliers, exhibitors, and performers to be part of this past year’s Japanese Festival, but despite the challenges, some of our regulars were able to take part in the 2022 event. We are so grateful for those that could participate this year and hope that others will be in a position to join the festivities again next year.
Our team of Omatsuri volunteers were amazing, whether they were directing parking, helping with the stage, setting up the venue, or cleaning up. There were too many important contributions from volunteers to be listed here, and every volunteer was critical in making the festival a huge success. The 2022 event also saw several new innovations due to Covid, such as tap payment, venue set up, improved volunteer registration and tracking, and a more in-depth utilization of social media and social influencers.
Children’s attendance was free this year, and our best estimates show about 5 to 6 thousand Calgarians came out to enjoy the 2022 Japanese Festival Omatsuri. Throughout the day, I talked with several people who had come out – everyone told me they’d had a great time and enjoyed the stage performances, indoor market, activities, displays, and food and beverage vendors. That’s a pretty sure sign of success, and a big win for everyone.
The outdoor food vendors were hopping busy all day, and Kinjo and Ke’s restaurant stands had to restock several times throughout the day (I think I saw Kinjo’s team restock 4 or 5 times!) Sake and beer sold out completely, as did many of the other food vendors. Nobody knew what to expect or how much food to prepare, but the amount of support the event received from Calgarians was a wonderful surprise.
Around the midpoint of the day, our contact with the City of Calgary Event Services came by to see how everything was going. I had a chance to sit down with her in the food court area outside to chat. She nodded her head while looking around and said how great the turnout was and how impressed she was with the diversity of our volunteers – diversity in age, gender and ethnicity. The Japanese Festival was truly blessed to have such a great group of people donate their time to make the event what it was.
CBC did an interview to promote the event, posters and road banners were placed, and many social media posts and streams helped get the word out. The day started with a long queue to get in, which remained steady all day. One thing that was great to see was how many people used public transit and the LRT station that was just a 3-minute walk from the venue. This really helped with parking, as did the volunteers who helped manage the traffic in and out of the parking lot.
The goal of the Omatsuri is to share Japanese culture with Calgarians. Seeing all the volunteers, partners, and participants (including Japanese Consul-General Uchida, who spent most of the day at the festival) was heart-warming.
Looking back at the 2022 Calgary Japanese Festival and remembering all the smiling faces in the crowd, I think we can mark the return of our in-person festival a success. Calgary is known around the country for its high volunteerism and it’s one of the things that makes our city such a great place to live. Our Omatsuri volunteers are no exception and without them there would be no festival. Thank you everyone who volunteered, thank you to all our sponsors and vendors, and thank you everyone who came out and visited the festival. We humbly look forward to working with and seeing everyone next August for the 2023 Calgary Japanese Festival Omatsuri.
Taken from the CJCA November 2022 Newsletter
– Written by Ken Richardson, Event Chairperson
If you were unable to join us for Omatsuri 2022 or would like to see the day through the eyes of our videographer and photographers – please check out the following link to the photo gallery and/or watch the video to see some of the highlights of this year’s event.
2022 Omatsuri Photo Gallery
** Photos courtesy of Pat and Paul Jette
Omatsuri History 2017
Together, we have completed another very successful Japanese Festival, Omatsuri-2017. The August weather was perfect, the crowd was enthusiastic, the entertainment was exciting, the food was delicious and well managed, the cultural demonstrations were interesting, the market was full of people, and the kids’ corner was popular all day. I’ve heard from more than several people that this was the best organized festival anywhere. What a wonderful compliment that was given to all of you!
The success of the festival is dependent on volunteer commitment, the organizing committee spent months planning and re-planning from the top to the bottom, examining the finest details to make sure all guests go home with a positive experience. Again, as I mention every year, it is you – all volunteers, planning committee members, set-up crews on Thursday and Friday, team leaders and workers on festival day, those who stayed after the festival for take-down, clean-up crew on Sunday and Monday, fascinating and talented entertainers and cultural demonstrators; that the Omatsuri’s success truly belongs to.
This year’s special guests from out of town included: the Ainu art project, all the way from Hokkaido just for our Omatsuri, a courtesy of the Consulate-General of Japan, Minyo dancers and Hibikiya drummers from Lethbridge, last minute guest drummers from Edmonton.
Festival entertainment was well rounded out with many local talents. All were greatly appreciated. The artistic cultural demonstrations such as flower arrangements, traditional calligraphy and kimono demonstrations, etc. were true highlights of the indoor entertainment.
Sake-Gami organized and donated the Kagami-Biraki opening ceremony, as they have done every year, another highlight on the outdoor stage. We had wonderful support from the City of Calgary, The Max Bell management and staff, the Consulate-General of Japan and the numerous cash and in-kind sponsors.
Some of our donors upped their donations this year in spite of the current economic conditions in our city, we truly appreciate their generosity. By now, all of us volunteers have become quite familiar with some of the committee members, but two names stand out among them, Ruth Nagata, who contacted every one of you; and Doug Ohama, who mapped out every inch of the Max Bell Centre many times over and arranged for necessary equipment. Thank you very much, both of you. And of course thank you, each and every one of you, for all that you have done for this great community of ours.
Taken from the CJCA December 2017 Newsletter
– Written by Ted Wada, Event Chairperson
Credit: Paul & Pat Jette during our 7th Annual Event in August of 2017
Video Created by: Ryan Logan
About OMATSURI
omatsuri_2024, omatsuri_2024-ja
The OMATSURI – Calgary Japanese Festival was established in August 2011 by members from the Calgary Japanese Community Association with assistance from members of the Calgary Buddhist Temple, Calgary Japanese Gospel Church, New Japanese Community Association and the many groups within the CJCA such as the Kotobuki Seniors club & Japanese Youth Association. Our volunteer Committee is supported by over 400 volunteers and performers from all over Alberta who work tirelessly throughout the year to host this one day celebration of Japanese heritage, culture and traditions.
2025 Committee Members
Ken Richardson – Chair
- Kim Aban
- Maureen Coleman
- Maureen McElhinney
- Cindy Nagata-McMillan
- Joanne Terakita Planidin
- Kiyomi Planidin
- Ken Seno
- Chris Shukuda
- Yasuhiro Washiyama
- Yayoi Woods
- Julia Yamaguichi
- Tetsuro Yokoyama
Thank you to everyone who supports this festival from year to year, we could not put on this event without the hard work & dedication of our volunteers and the generosity of our sponsors. If you would like to get involved in our event, please contact us at Omatsuri.Volunteer@calgaryjca.com.
Omatsuri History
Omatsuri – meaning a “festival” in Japanese – is a traditional community celebration giving thanks for a rich harvest, good health, community harmony and respect for their ancestors. It is an important cultural festival that originates back several hundred years and continues to this day in Japan.
Our first event was held in August 2011, although it was a modest festival held at the Bridgeland – Riverside Community Centre, it attracted over 1200 guests and was a huge success. Interest in the Omatsuri Festival continued to grow in each of the following years and in 2014 we moved to the Bowness Community Association to accommodate our growth. Due to renovations in 2016, we were forced to find a new venue for our festival and moved to Max Bell Centre in 2017 and will be our home for the next few years. Due to Covid-19, our festival was cancelled in 2020 and went virtual in 2021, we are excited to announce the return to our live event for 2022.
Our event continues to grow in size each year and has grown to entertain nearly 7500 guests, being supported by over 400 volunteers and performers from all over Alberta. Omatsuri offers something for all ages; traditional Japanese food, a wide variety of entertainment & cultural demonstrations, a children’s area & martial arts demonstrations. We have a market where over 25 vendors showcase their traditional and unique crafts, products and gifts as well as a beer & sake garden to sample some of the most popular brands.
The “Omikoshi” is a shrine that is carried by a team of people and paraded around a “Red Torii” (mini shrine gate) to the beat of the taiko drummers, this fun and inspiring parade is a traditional and unique feature of Omatsuri that you do not want to miss.
We are extremely pleased to bring this Festival to the City of Calgary on an annual basis and invite you to join us for this one day celebration of our Japanese heritage, culture and traditions.
Please check out our past events by clicking on any of the links below:
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