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