JAAGA Misawa branch supported USAF leaders of Misawa Air Base to take part in Nebuta Festival 2009 which was held in Aomori city.　This supporting is 6th this year and is well known by USAF airmen in Misawa.
　　We worried whether Colonel Stilwell, commander of 35th Combat Wing and Misawa Air Base, could join or not because of his busy duties until just before we left Misawa.　Col.Stilwell strongly wanted to participate Nebuta Festival participating event supported by JAAGA, so he ordered to prepare commander's vehicle for emergency situation.　Commander and all participants got on large-sized bus and departed from Misawa AB.　Commander's car followed us.　Captain Leister, commanding officer of Navy Information Operations Command Misawa, could not do due to his busy business, but his wife Ms.Leister took part in.
　　Festival Staffs received us at the hotel entrance and we moved to cloth changing room.　There some woman staffs helped one American man to change Nebuta costume. It is strange for American, especially junior and high school male students.　Some refused this staffs' helping. 　It took one hour that all members changed clothes.　Then they had briefing on Nebuta Festival by the staffs, specially how to contact festival staffs when they lose their position in crowded.　With starting signal by big fireworks, Nebuta participants started to dance to beating drum and playing whistle, and livened up Haneto dance together with local peoples.　They very enjoyed 2 hours dancing which looked effective for diet to members like as aerobics.　With festival closing signal (firework) at 21:00, they returned to hotel in excited state.　At hotel, we checked number of participants, specially children, and urged them to change cloths.　Before we left hotel, festival staffs gave us Uchiwa (Japanese fan) and Hanagasa (hut, decollated with colorful artificial flowers) as memory of festival.　Then we took seeing off by staffs and left there.　On the way back to Misawa, we had no traffic jam, so we could arrive at Misawa at 23:00, earlier than scheduled time.　We are very satisfied that we could smoothly support Nebuta Festival event for USAF airmen in Misawa.　(reported by Yamamoto, secretary of JAAGA Misawa branch)