"The Candyman." This dude was street performer who made sugar sculpture and did other Japanese culture "tricks." Nathan and Kevin were chosen to participate in parts of his act. Both were thrilled, of course.
Taiko Performance. The Taiko are large Japanese drums and other percussion instruments used to create high-energy rhythms. I really enjoyed this musical performance!
Kamakura-Nashville Partner City Band. Picture this: Elderly Japanese people dressed in cowboy hats and stirrups, singing country music. It was unique to say the least, and quite entertaining! They were great! Sadly, I did not get a picture of this.
Arts, Culture, and Marketplace. Vendors were set up all over the square giving information about Japanese culture. There were many tents where you could buy Japanese arts and crafts. It was neat! There were bonsai trees, origami, Japaneese jewelry and clothing, etc. The only thing I looked for and couldn't find was a tent where someone writes your name in Japanese. They also had a whole section called "Taste of Japan" with tons of Japanese food vendors.
Nashville DoJo Isshinryu Karate. I honestly think this may have been an advertisement to get people to sign up for karate, but they put on little exhibition shows, which I thought were awesome!
Throughout the day, there were other events that were happening. We decided to go have lunch, so we didn't get to experience some of these neat events. Some include: other music and dance performances, Japanese culture lectures, and Sumo Wrestling (people dressed in sumo costumes, not actual Sumo wrestlers). We barely missed the Cherry Blossom Walk, which happened at 9:00 through downtown Nashville.
It was a really fun experience, and we all had a really fun time experiencing Japanese culture and celebrating Melanie's birthday! Happy Birthday, Melanie!
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