The 5th Annual Evening of Japanese Culture will be held at Marysville High School’s Alumni Hall Saturday, April 6, from 12-5 p.m.
The ticketed event ($5 per elementary , middle, and high school student entry, $10 per adult entry in advance $15 at door, age 5 and under free ) will provide attendees with an informative experience on the Japanese culture and will raise funds for Marysville’s exchange program for middle school students and the high school’s tour of Japan, which takes place every other year.
“The purpose is really to bring together the Marysville and surrounding areas,” said Japanese teacher Iya Nemastil, “specifically the children, and to teach them about Japan and Japanese language and culture and why it matters.”
Marysville Schools offers the largest Japanese program in the state, something that is important to Principal Tom Cochran.
“We definitely want to combine the importance of learning any language, but also making it a skill that’s useful moving forward,” he said. “With our proximity to so many Japanese based companies and the importance of that industry in Central Ohio and the state, we feel it’s important to get students to understand the Japanese culture and the language.”
Seeing younger children immerse themselves in the experience of another culture is rewarding, according to Nemastil. But so too is the opportunity to see the reaction of parents of middle and high school students who are in the Japanese program.
Thirteen different booths are scheduled to be in place and multiple events are slated to be held throughout the school.
The variety of booths included are Kimono, Origami, Ikebana (flower arrangement), Mochi Making, Omocha (toys and games), Omikuji (Japanese fortunes), Face painting, Okashi (snacks), Cookin’ with Kibby, OSU Manga Booth (comic books), the Marysville Japanese program, Aizome (Indigo dyeing), Hyakkin (bargain shop) and Daigaku (colleges).
Colleges expected to be represented include Miami University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Red Oak Community School, The Ohio State University, the University of Findlay and Wittenberg University.
The snack booth will provide samples but there will also be food available for purchase.
The event is a festival style, with various speakers, presenters, games and booth activities taking place at once. Workshops in Shodo (calligraphy), Taiko (Taiko drumming) and Koto (an instrument similar to the Western harp) will be taking place and as many as 13 separate events are scheduled throughout the day.
Sponsorships from as many as 20 local and regional companies and universities have helped make this great event possible.
“I don’t know of any other opportunity where you would get to witness this many professionals teaching you about a culture,” said Nemastil.