Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Arizona Matsuri festival has gone virtual for 2021. You can purchase Matsuri tshirts (https://www.azmatsuri.org/matsuri-t-shirts), but the rest of the two day festival on Feb. 27 and 28 will be virtual. Performances will be virtual at the usual three stages. Odaiko Sonora taiko drummers, Suzuyuki-Kai dancers, Arizona Kyudo Kai archers from Tucson will hopefully be performing again.
Don’t forget to enter the yearly haiku contest, now in its 7th year. I won an Outstanding Haiku award last year in the Adult category, for the first time, what an honor. Here’s the link to enter and you can submit three haiku. Deadline is Feb. 10 to submit your haiku.
https://www.azmatsuri.org/haiku?fbclid=IwAR3Ohoo56fUzftoJ3o-rD2-bG1Jmt9hgWmNl3X4W9VtP8u6DTwLZn4_n1fs
The theme for the 2021 Matsuri is senbazuru, 1000 cranes:
” One thousand origami cranes (千羽鶴, senbazuru; literally “1000 cranes”) is a group of one thousand origamipaper cranes (折鶴, orizuru) held together by strings. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by the gods. Some stories believe you are granted happiness and eternal good luck, instead of just one wish, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. This makes them popular gifts for special friends and family. The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the dragon and the tortoise) and is said to live for a thousand years: That is why 1000 cranes are made, one for each year. In some stories it is believed that the 1000 cranes must be completed within one year and they must all be made by the person who is to make the wish at the end.”
All info at www.azmatsuri.org.
” The 37th Annual Arizona Matsuri will be VIRTUAL this year, streaming online on www.facebook.com/azmatsuri and the Arizona Matsuri Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCphtXDEjxsXzY7TEadHST8w
Saturday, 10 am – 7 pm
Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm
Join us for two full days of videos showcasing martial arts, Taiko drums, dance, culture, food spotlights and cooking tutorials, Japanese tourism, performing arts, merchandise highlights, traditional folk tales, a tea ceremony, behind the scenes peeks, and more!
Visit www.azmatsuri.org for raffle tickets, food, merchandise and streaming links. Schedule coming soon!”