THUNDER BAY — The Lakehead Japanese Cultural Association held its third annual Summer Matsuri Festival at the West Thunder Community Centre on Edward Street in Westfort on Saturday.
The five-hour cultural festival featured a kid zone, different martial arts displays, an interactive martial arts activity, Asian food and goods for purchase, a car show, karaoke hour and a new cosplay positivity parade and contest.
It also showcased cultural performances and displays in the centre’s main gym, known as the Gifu. Some of which included performances with the Kaminari Wan Taiko drummers and the Fuji Dancers performing the Odori.
“We caught a lot of the traffic coming out of the Westfort Street Festival,” said Danielle Winters, a volunteer with the association.
“But it is quite a popular event. A lot of people come back here every year. It is our third annual event and we would love to keep this event going, but we can only do it with the support from the community. So just bringing people together to come and uplift our association would be fantastic.”
Winters participated in the festival alongside her partner, who was one of the lead drummers with the association’s Kaminari Wan Taiko drumming troupe in the city.
“He leads the beginners’ group and I typically like to help out anywhere that I can. I’m always here to watch and support the drummers,” Winters said, adding that the drummers are definitely one of the star features of their events.
It’s what draws in the big crowds, she said, but there’s also Fuji dancing, with fans and different things.
“It’s really quite lovely, but I would definitely say the vendors and the food. All of it is really, really amazing,” Winters said.
While the event has ended, Winters encouraged people to come out and support the Taiko drummers when they perform in community events.
“We really need all the support that we can get to really keep the culture and keep these traditions alive, especially within our community,” Winters said.
“A lot of our community is seniors and they’re starting to age out of a lot of the programs and even getting new volunteers or new members to the association or to our Taiko or Fuji groups would be greatly appreciated.”
She also encouraged people to attend their events at the Buskers Festival. The Taiko drummers also had a performance with the Da Vinci Centre, she added, for Summer in the Parking Lot.
“We get most of our funding for our new drums, new outfits (and) different things like that from the community events that our drummers do,” Winters said.
“And every single penny that we collect goes towards refurbishing the drums and taking care of our facilities and making sure that we keep our tradition and culture alive.”
Anything that people can do to keep supporting counts, said Winters.
From coming back to their events at the centre, joining the association with a small donation, coming to shows, donating to the people performing and anything to bring people in together, she said, will just help bring them all together and “keep everything alive” in their community.
