LIFE

11th Annual Experience Asia Festival returns to downtown

Special to the Democrat

The 11th Annual Experience Asia Festival will return to Tallahassee’s Lewis and Bloxham Parks on Saturday. The festival, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., will showcase Asian and Asian Pacific cultures and heritage through demonstrations, performances, hands-on activities, workshops, music, dance and more. Admission is free.

A child gets her face painted in traditional Japanese performance makeup

Hosted by the Asian Coalition of Tallahassee (ACT), the festival includes over 60 vendors of food, arts, crafts, jewelry, clothing and other items. Guests will enjoy performances from China, Japan, the Philippines, India, the Middle East, Indonesia, the Polynesian Islands and Hawaii. Featured performances include Epcot’s Matsuriza Japanese Taiko Drummers, Filipino Bamboo Chimes of Tampa, Manya School of Dance and 30 other local teams.

Matsuriza will perform during the festival’s opening ceremony and finale. The Japanese community’s booth will show guests how to write their name in Hiragana and Katakana, create Tanabata decorations, make origami, try on a Yukata (kimono), learn about Ikebana (the art of flower arrangement), purchase Japanese crafts and take photos with no-face panels of a Sumo wrestler and Ukiyo-e. Additionally, a portable Shinto shrine will be paraded during the festival accompanied by Japanese dances in the garden.

The Asian Coalition of Tallahassee is a non-profit organization with over a dozen member associations and student groups including FSU Center for Global Engagement, Asian American Students Union, Chinese Student Scholar Association, Japanese Student Association, Vietnamese Student Association, Filipino Student Association, Gujarati Samaj and others.

The Festival attracts over 14,000 people every year from North Florida and South Georgia. The Festival aims to increase the awareness and understanding of Asian culture and heritage among the local public. For more information, please contact Miwako Patton (culture@mi.mofa.go.jp) or Ida Caproon (webmaster@mi.mofa.go.jp) of the Consulate-General of Japan in Miami.