Sun 7/19 @ noon-3PM

The Cleveland Obon Festival, a Japanese festival honoring the ancestors, is celebrating its 81st annual event this year. It debuted immediately after World War II, a dark era (which is sadly being echoed today) for Japanese-Americans, when many were sent to isolated concentration camps. Two-thirds were citizens.

Following their release from the camps and having lost their homes and businesses on the West Coast where most had lived, many Japanese came east to cities such as Chicago and Cleveland to establish new communities. And surely a festival paying homage to the generations that preceded it felt like an essential element of survival.

This festival, taking place at the Unitarian Universalist Society in Shaker Heights, is free and open to all to savor the cultural riches Japanese brought with them to Northeast Ohio, including Japanese folk dance by the ShoJoJi Dancers, one of the event sponsors; Taiko drumming by Yume Daiko; and a demonstration of the Japanese martial art of aikido by North Coast Aikido. Shiba Teriyaki will be onsite with food and refreshment. The event page says “Maneko Neko” will also be there but it’s unclear what they will do. Probably sleep. (“Maneko-neko is the Japanese waving cat.)

The event takes place on the church’s spacious lawn; bring a chair or blanket. (It will move indoors if weather is bad.)

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