02 October 2009

Palmerston North Sakura Festival 19th September 2009

Annual Cultural Event Celebrating the Sakura/Cherry Blossoms

By Shirley Ghozalli. Edited by Moira Blake.

IPC Kodama Drum Team giving a powerful performance

A year passed very quickly and on Saturday, 19th September, the Palmerston North Sakura Festival 2009 was held again on IPC Campus. It featured cultural performances and cuisine from countries around the world. Almost 8,000 people came to the festival to enjoy the performances, a variety of foods, cultural displays, and the blossoming Sakura trees.

This year's festival, the 11th to be held, began with drizzle. However, by the time the festival kicked off, the sky was clear. This year, the sakura trees blossomed 2 weeks earlier than was expected, but fortunately, despite the wind that had threatened them earlier in the week, the flowers still remained to welcome the visitors on the day of the festival.

From 11.00 am till 4.00 pm, the crowds were treated to many different cultural performances. On the main stage the visitors could see traditional dances from Cambodia, French Polynesia (Tahiti), China, Peru, Bengal, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia. The Kodama taiko drum performed on the main drive, which was also the venue for Yosakoi dance involving a large group of dancers. In other venues around the campus were a martial arts demonstration, a musical concert, the photo competition, an ikebana exhibition, and cultural displays. Young and old alike enjoyed the tea ceremony, shodo (=calligraphy), and the chance to have their photos taken wearing yukata.

In front of the library building were the stalls of individuals from the local community and local organizations, such as Trade Aid and the Cancer Society. Also here was the Parents' Cancer Society Charity Bazaar where people could buy second-hand goods from Japan and contribute to the Cancer Society at the same time.

Especially for the younger visitors, Foundation students provided activities like paper sumo, a Pokemon-themed quiz and games, face painting, and a very popular new attraction - The Horror House. Foundation students created this in two large interlinked classrooms. They used paint and recyclable materials, such as old sheets, many cardboard boxes, newspaper, black plastic bags etc. Visitors keen to experience this new attraction formed a long and patient queue on the grass outside the entrance.

Long queues were also spotted at the food stalls, where IPC students were selling indigenous foods from their home countries: Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Tahiti, and Taiwan. On offer were lunch packages, drinks and dessert, and students could be heard calling out to visitors, promoting their food stalls. As usual, the food was sold out by 2 pm.

Along with springtime, the Palmerston North Sakura Festival is definitely an event long awaited by the local community. It was also a very good opportunity for IPC students to polish up their organisation skills, to collaborate with one another, and to communicate with people from the local community and from further afield.

Indonesian students preparing the food to be sold at the Sakura Festival	Sushi at the Japanese food stall	An inspiring performance of a Chinese traditional dance
Mass Makarena dance along the campus boulevard	A colourful performance by the Vietnamese students	Japanese calligraphy by Foundation students
Photo Competition and Ikebana exhibition in IPC Library	A traditional dance by the Indonesian students	Impressive Yosakoi formation by International students

For more photos, please visit: IPC Sakura Festival 2009 Photo Albums

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