Canadian Tulip Festival - Japan Pavilion
From May 13 to 23, the Embassy of Japan and the Ottawa Japanese Community Centre (OJCC) jointly ran the Japan Pavilion at the Ottawa Tulip Festival International Pavilion. Although there was cooler-than-normal weather, the overall festival attendance during the period was reported as approximately 550,000 people.
Visitors were introduced to UNESCO World Heritage sites in Japan by one dedicated poster mapping those locations and also had the opportunity to participate in Japanese calligraphy and origami workshops.
Furthermore, one section was dedicated to photos depicting the aftermath of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Sendai-city, Miyagi Prefecture. Donation boxes were placed so that visitors could make donations to Japan Relief. Participants of calligraphy workshop wrote messages of prayer and hope for the Japanese people and the rebuilding efforts in the affected areas. These messages were hung on a bamboo tree. All of the donations will be sent to Japan via the Canadian Red Cross Society.
Visitors also enjoyed participating in kimono and furoshiki (Japanese wrapping cloth) demonstrations. Japanese performances such as martial arts and Bon Odori, a type of Japanese dance performed at summer festivals, were also presented on the International Friendship Stage.
|
