What is Obon? Exploring One of Japan’s Most Important Holidays

During the summer observance of Obon, families in Japan reunite to give homage and thanks to their ancestors, who have returned for a brief visit to the living. Many families set up special altars in their homes decorated with food offerings for these visiting spirits, which may include vegetables, dango (rice dumplings), noodles, and fruits. Candles, special paper lanterns called bon chochin, and incense may also be placed on the Bon Altar. Vegetable animals – a horse made from a cucumber or an ox made out of eggplant – serve as symbolic transport for ancestors to return to the otherworld. At Morikami, we set up a Bon Altar inside the museum to honor our ancestors, including George Morikami. We hope you’ll observe this tradition with us when you visit Saturday, August 16 or Sunday, August 17.

Throughout three days of festivities, communities gather for Bon Odori, folk dancing, to entertain the visiting spirits. Men, women and children dance around a platform stage called a yagura on which drummers and flutists perform.  As the evening progresses, the singing and dancing become more animated.  Lively street fairs complete with games, food, and shop stalls pop up in larger communities. On the final evening, the visiting spirits depart on a journey illuminated by farewell fires—floating paper lanterns.  This ceremony is called tōrō nagashi.

While Obon is a traditional and religious Japanese holiday celebrated exclusively during the months of July or August, we offer a glimpse into Obon as it is celebrated in Japan, with Lantern Festival – a unique fall festival coming up Saturday, October 18. Tickets for members are on sale through August 31 and ticket sales open to the public on September 1. Tickets are expected to sell out and are only available online in advance at www.morikami.org/lanternfest. We hope you’ll join us at our most iconic annual event!

 

Our Bon Altar for George Morikami

Fruit and flowers at our Bon Altar

Food at the Bon Altar for George Morikami

The Yagura at Morikami’s Obon Festival in 2012

Lantern Festival In the Spirit of Obon 2014

What is Lantern Festival?

Last year, Morikami’s much-loved summer event, Bon Festival,  evolved into Lantern Festival: In the Spirit of Obon. In an effort to protect the safety of Morikami visitors and staff, we moved the event out of the often inclement and even dangerous Florida summer months. While Obon is a traditional and religious Japanese holiday celebrated exclusively during the months of July and August, we have preserved the essence of Morikami’s much-loved event and the sanctity of Obon as it is celebrated in Japan, with Lantern Festival – a unique Fall celebration.

The 2013 Lantern Festival, our first ever, was a resounding and sold-out success. As we look toward 2014, we wanted to update you on some important changes to the event and explain why we’re making them.

NEW – Priority Access for Members!

Based on your feedback following Lantern Festival last year, and in an effort to improve your Lantern Festival experience, we intend to limit attendance even further at this year’s event. In order to do so, we can no longer offer free admission to Lantern Festival for Morikami members. However, members will have access to a limited amount of deeply discounted tickets before they go on sale to the public, and priority access to the festival one hour before the gates open to the public.* Priority access is a perk just for members and details about what’s included in this extra hour of festival access are available under the member tab on the festival web page and listed below:

• Access to the festival one hour early: Take in the gardens and grounds, and participate in festival activities with your Morikami family during this members-only hour.
• Early bird lantern sales (limited quantities available): beat the rush and get your lantern an hour before the general public!
• Members-only taiko show: Grab a seat at this exclusive performance by the ever-popular Fushu Daiko!
• Special members-only sake selection: Taste our members-only sake selection and learn about the brewing process from our sake experts.

A limited number of members-only tickets will go on sale August 1, a month before ticket sales open to the general public. Thank you – as always! – for your support as we strive to make our events more enjoyable year after year. We can’t wait to celebrate Lantern Festival 2014 with you!

*Please note: only current members (with valid member ID’s effective on October 18, 2014) may take advantage of members-only festival access, between 2pm and 3pm. Any guests attending with you must be covered by your membership to enter the festival during this time.

Share the Good News!

We’re thrilled to announce that Delray Subaru has officially signed on as the Presenting Sponsor for Lantern Festival 2013! We’re asking our fans to spread the word by sharing our Saturday announcement on Facebook and in return, one lucky someone will snag some serious Morikami and Delray Subaru prizes. Here’s what’s up for grabs from yours truly:

• A pair of tickets to Lantern Festival, our sure-to-sell-out fall celebration coming up Saturday, October 19
• Two signature Morikami fans, water bottles, mugs, and tote bags
• $10 worth of festival food and beverage tickets and $10 to spend at the Cornell Café

And Delray Subaru didn’t skimp on their end either; they’ve offered up a FREE car spa package that includes the following, whether or not you drive a Subaru:

• Detail service
• Oil and filter change
• Wash and wax

Gotten this far? It’ll take you a lot less time to enter to win! Visit our Facebook page this weekend to share our Delray Subaru sponsorship announcement and cross your fingers and toes till Monday. And if it’s not your lucky day, don’t despair: Lantern Fest giveaways will pop up till the big day right here on our blog, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (as if you needed another reason to stay in touch!)

Got your tickets yet? Lantern Fest tickets WILL sell out and prices go up in just a few short weeks. Snag yours here to play it safe, and give the ones you win to your two favorite people. However you get there, we can’t wait to celebrate with you in October!

We Want You!

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to go behind the scenes at a Morikami festival, or if you’re searching for a fun way to give back, search no further – volunteering at Lantern Festival gets you Morikami insider status and most of all, supports yours truly!

Volunteer responsibilities range from lantern building to helping out in the galleries and everything in between. We’re looking for individuals, small groups and large groups to help us make Lantern Festival a success. Volunteers are the backbone of our programs and events, so we thank you in advance for being such an integral part in this celebration.

Want to see what you’re in for? Check out the gallery below for snapshots of our volunteers in action and head over to our festival volunteer page to fill out an application. We’ll see you in October!

 

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