2 Participants : Adult 33, Child 10
3 Cooperation Group
Aomori City Government Office, International Exchange Section
Association of Aomori International Volunteer
4 Outline
JAAGA Misawa branch carried out an invitation event to Aomori Nebuta Festival with the military peoples of United States Armed Forces of Misawa AB and their families as same as an average year. We adjusted the invitation plan 3 times with US side and cooperation groups before the festival.
The peoples who I hadn't proposed participation, gathered in a designated place. Fortunately there were absentees, we could accepted their proposal. We left Misawa AB just at 3:00 p.m. with 15 minutes delay.
After departure I explained that JAAGA provided pizza and juices to the participants, and commented JAAGA activities for publicity. JAAGA seemed not to be recognized to them enough by their reaction.
When we arrived at a hotel in Aomori city, Chairperson and members of Association of Aomori International Volunteer did welcome us there. Then we were guided to the room for clothes changing. There we took volunteer's support and changed to festival clothes (Haneto cloth). It was the first time to wear Kimono for American participants. They took pictures each others.
I explained the instructions of Nebuta festival at the hotel lobby, then all members were out from the hotel to join Nebuta. Because the foreigners who wore Haneto cloth was rare for Japanese, they were requested pose to take pictures here and there. It took 40 minutes to reach the festival starting area.
The Nebuta festival began by a signal of fireworks at 7:10p.m. They stepped on big drumbeat and piping, and received encouragement from a tourist on the sidewalk, and heaped up a festival with local peoples very much. The all participants enjoyed 2 hours Nebuta festival enough. Intense movement of the festival became aerobics, and it seemed to bring them diet effect.
All participants returned to the hotel by firework signal of closing festival at 9:10p.m. while excitement. After arriving at the hotel, they changed wet clothes with sweat dry clothes. We took the seeing off by the members of the cooperation groups, got in the bus and departed Aomori city and arrived Misawa at 11:45p.m.. Many peoples in bus said that they would like to participate Nebuta next year. It's successful Nebuta festival. (Reported by Yamamoto, Misawa branch)
