Ohio University students can celebrate the blooming of the cherry blossoms on campus with the Japanese Student Association at the Sakura Festival on Sunday from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Baker Ballroom.
The cherry trees being celebrated were a gift to the university from Chubu University in Japan. Additionally, the festival will feature skits, a J-pop dance, a Japanese choir and a professional Taiko group, which is a Japanese drumming style. Admission costs will also cover a traditional Japanese bento box lunch (regular or vegetarian).
“This has been a long-standing tradition. We’ve done this for over 10 years,” Evan Lewis, vice president of the Japanese Student Association, said. “We have very close ties with Chubu University. We have a bunch of Japanese students from that university studying abroad here, and it’s kind of like a celebration of the relationship between our two schools as well as kind of mimicking a festival that is common in Japan.”
Lewis said he is leading the traditional Japanese fisherman’s dance, known as Sōran Bushi, during the festival. He also said that the Taiko group is coming in from Columbus with about 30 members.
“The Taiko is always really cool,” Lewis said. “Seeing a professional Taiko group at work is just incredible.”
Scarlett Woosley, a sophomore studying media, said she is learning more about the Japanese culture by being a part of the Japanese Student Association and helping out with the festival.
“This is my first year on this campus and I was recommended to take a Japanese class, and this is the Japanese Student Association so that’s why I got involved with that,” Woosley said. “It’s really interesting to learn more about Japanese culture since I’m taking the language.
The festival is going to work to celebrate diversity on campus as well as celebrating the blooming of the cherry trees. Woosley said she is looking forward to seeing how many people attend the event and the diversity of those people.
Ally Lanasa, a freshman studying journalism, stressed the importance of recognizing diversity on campus and embracing a culture other her own.
“I think it’s important to attend the event regardless of your prior knowledge because it is a learning experience and it encourages the acceptance of diversity on campus,” Lanasa said. “It is an opportunity to learn the history of other cultures.”
