Asian culture says the Year of the Rabbit should bring peace and prosperity. It will be on display at the 38th annual Asian Celebration and Obon and Taiko Festivals, Saturday, July 29 at Alton Baker Park in Eugene.
The festivals celebrate Asian and Asian American cultural diversity. To get the most out of the event, organizers encourage people to take the bus, and to beat the heat by drinking plenty of water and finding shade to rest in.
Event director David Tam also highly recommends bringing your appetite.
“What you must do is try the foods, because in all Asian cultures food is love, and love is community,” Tam told KLCC. “Experiencing the diverse food selection is going to be really important.”
Asian food trucks will be on hand, with cooks serving up Yakitori sticks, a Japanese style grilled chicken skewer, along with spring rolls, a light, crisp pastry filled with cabbage and other vegetables.
There will also be martial arts, dancing, music, a marketplace, exhibits and kids activities.
Among the “must sees,” Tam said, are the Obon dancers, and later in the evening, a Samoan fire dance.
The Japanese folk dances performed during the Obon festival honor one’s ancestors and celebrate community, according to the Japanese American Association of Lane County.
The Samoan fire knife dance, or Siva Afi, originated as a demonstration of a warrior’s battle prowess. Over time it has become a contemporary art form that combines dance and acrobatics with flaming knives.
One of the things Tam enjoys most about the festival is how it brings people together in ways that feel like a family reunion.
“It's all members of community coming together and saying ‘Hi,’ and dancing and sharing stories catching up. And the community gets to see what that looks like and be a part of that. And that's kind of the beauty of the event,” Tam said.
The Asian Celebration and Obon and Taiko Festivals take place from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Alton Baker Park in Eugene.
