Bonfest Chicago
The Japanese Art Foundation and Japanese Culture Center in partnership with the Chicago Park District, Shubukai, and Tsukasa Taiko are excited to announce BON Fest Chicago / 盆フェスト・シカゴ.
The Japanese Art Foundation and Culture Center in partnership with NEWCITY, Shubukai and Tsukasa Taiko from Asian Improv aRts Midwest invites you to the 4th annual BON Fest Chicago. Join us Saturday, August 17th at 8:00pm for taiko drumming, bon odori dancing, and festivities at a new location this year, NEWCITY! Come experience a traditional Japanese summer festival here in Chicago!
An Obon Matsuri / Bon Festival is traditionally held in the peak heat of summer when space between the natural and the supernatural world is thinnest. This is a time when individuals come together to remember ancestors and those lost as a community. As we continue to process the tremendous loss from the COVID-19 pandemic, we welcome our community to come together through the arts. Traditionally, Bon Odori dancing is performed by those in attendance to welcome spirits, though each community and region has their own style of dance and music.
Curious what a Bon Fest and Bon Odori dancing is all about? You can peek at 2021 year’s virtual BON Fest HERE!
Shubukai is honored to collaborate with Kimiei Fujima Sensei from Shizuoka, Japan and Ageha Bijo Sensei from the Nihon Bon Odori Association to provide seven Bon Odori for the 202４ Bon Fest Chicago will be on Saturday August 17, open from 7PM, Dancing from 8:30pm at the NEW location: NEW CITY Shopping Mall (1457 N. Halsted St., Chicago, IL 60642). The dances planned for this year are: Shizuoka Meguri, Shizuoka Ondo, Tanko Bushi, Tokyo Ondo, Sado Okesa, Zundoko Bushi, Hanagasa Ondo, and Maruchan no Shizuoka Ondo.
Festival History
A Bon Festival ( or Obon Matsuri) occurs during the hottest part of the summer when it is said the distance between the natural and supernatural world is the smallest. People then come together to remember those that have passed on or were lost as a community. Traditionally, a specific regional style of dancing and music is performed by those in attendance to welcome spirits.
Our initial hope was to use the festival as an opportunity for our community to heal and process the tremendous loss and damage the COVID-19 pandemic has caused through the arts.
The Bon Odori Association of Japan, Asian Improv aRts Midwest, and Shubukai’s Fujima Yoshinojo all helped support this important event and make the inaugural Bon Fest in 2021 a success. Fujima Sensei (also a resident artist of the Japanese Arts Foundation and instructor at the Japanese Culture Center) taught Bon Odori dance lessons virtually leading up to the Bon Fest, so everyone could participate from the convenience of their own home.
Shubukai
Shubukai (formerly Fujima Ryu of Chicago) is the only Japanese-certified classical dance program active in the Midwest. The aesthetics are upheld through the link with Japan and is maintained through communication and collaboration with Grandmasters in Tokyo and Shizuoka Japan. The annual student recitals have been presented for over 45 years. Shubukai performs educational and cultural outreach presentations including traditional and contemporary applications of Japanese Classical dance throughout the year in the Chicagoland area.
Asian Improv aRts Midwest
Asian Improv aRts Midwest was created in 1984, by Chicago-based artist and community leader Tatsu Aoki. Since then AIRM has been leading the way in creating bridges by connecting communities through Asian American cultural arts from coast to coast for over 20 years.
Tsukasa Taiko
Tsukasa Taiko is dedicated to building community and being a leader in the taiko drumming culture of the Midwest. The group offers instruction, education, and performances to achieve the mission of preserving and nurturing traditional concepts of Japanese art as a cultural legacy, while also expanding and evolving the art.
Tsukasa Taiko maintains a national profile with powerful performances across the country throughout the world, including such prestigious venues as the Contemporary Museum of Art, the Steppenwolf Theater, the Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park, the Chicago Jazz Festival, Chicago Symphony Center, the Smithsonian, and the Malta International Theater Festival in Poland.
Bon Odori Dance Class Schedule
In collaboration with the Japanese Culture Center, Shubukai, Kimiei Fujima Sensei from Shizuoka, Japan and Ageha Bijou Sensei from the Nihon Bon Odori Association, we are able to to provide a series of Bon Odori classes at the various locations listed below.
The dances planned for this year are: Shizuoka Meguri, Shizuoka Ondo, Tanko Bushi, Tokyo Ondo, Sado Okesa, Zundoko Bushi, Hanagasa Ondo, and Maruchan’s Shizuoka Ondo.
Bon Odori is made for people to come together to honor their ancestors, express their joy, respect, and feeling of community; to feel a connection with their ancestors and with everyone. One does not have to be a professional dancer, the dances are simple and fun.
Join the in person class and learn with Yoshinojo Fujima of Shubukai!
Each lesson will focus on two or three dances.
Please make sure to wear comfortable clothing; Yukata is not required.
Classes will be held at the following locations:
Wed July 31 from 7-8pm
Wed Aug 14. from 7-8pm
Saturday Aug. 10 1-2:30pm
Thurs Aug 15 from 7-8pm
Festival Program Schedule
TBA
