2nd Annual Los Angeles Tanabata Festival - Little Tokyo (Fri-Sun, Aug 13-15)NEW

What is the Tanabata Festival? The festival celebrates the once-a-year meeting of star lovers, the Ox Herder and the Weaver Princess, who are separate by the Milky Way during the other 364 days of the year. Although held in several cities throughout Japan, the largest Tanabata Festival has been held in Sendai City in Miyagi Prefecture since 1946, although it was celebrated in much smaller scale since the 1600s.

In Japan, the festival is celebrated mainly along streets and inside shopping malls, which are decorated with large, colorful streamers (kazari) suspended by cables and rope. People celebrate by writing wishes on small strips of paper (tanzaku) and hanging them from decorated bamboo poles that are always nearby.

Three Japanese-American non-profit organizations the Nisei Week Foundation, the Little Tokyo Public Safety Association, and the Nanka Kenjinkai Kyogikai - are proud to present this festival in Los Angeles.

Our organizations are coming together to start an annual event that will benefit the entire community. We want to promote cultural awareness and show pride in our heritage. Our goal for this inaugural year is to have community groups and churches, schools and sports teams, businesses and families participate by making and designing their own kazari colorful streamers, which will be displayed in Little Tokyo. The Tanabata Festival will include booths, stage, and entertainment. Please join us during this inaugural year and be a part of it.

We hope you will join us in making the Annual Los Angeles Tanabata Festival a success!

The idea this festival originated with Mr. Yoshihito Yonezawa, President of the Miyagi Kenjinkai, or Prefectural Association. We are also pleased to acknowledge the cooperation shown to us by the City of Sendai, host of the Tanabata Festival in Japan.

Location
Little Tokyo

Schedule
Booths Stage, and entertainment

Time
During Nisei Week

2009 - 1st Annual Los Angeles Tanabata Festival (Fri-Sun)
2010 - 2nd Annual Los Angeles Tanabata Festival (Fri-Sun)

Event Title
2nd Annual Los Angeles Tanabata Festival (Fri-Sun, Aug 13-15)

Location
Closed to JANM