Press release
Experience Japan Hanami Festival Day, Farmleigh House and Estate, Phoenix Park, Sunday 7 April 2019
Published on
Last updated on
Published on
Last updated on
Come along to the Experience Japan Hanami Festival in the beautiful grounds of Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park on Sunday, 7 April 2019 and celebrate Irish and Japanese culture with friends and family.
Minister of State for the Office of Public Works and Flood Relief, Kevin 'Boxer' Moran, who will attend this year's event, remarked:
"I am very much looking forward to this most popular event which goes from strength to strength each year. It's a great day out for families and is complimented by its setting in the beautiful surroundings of Farmleigh House and Estate."
Join members of Dublin's Japanese community and Dublin based groups interested in Japanese culture to celebrate a Hanami (Cherry Blossom) Festival. Hanami is an annual event in Japan where friends and family come together for outdoor parties to welcome spring and celebrate nature.
Activities at this, the tenth year of the hugely popular festival which is hosted by the Office of Public Works at Farmleigh, are as follows:
| 11.50 | Taiko Drums Performance |
| Experience Japan Taiko Team is joined by the new children’s Junior Team | |
| 12.00 | Festival Welcome and Introduction |
| Soranbushi Performance | |
| Traditional Japanese Dance | |
| Amateur Performance | |
| Saxophone by Mariko Hamada | |
| Taiseiyo Taiko Drums Performance | |
| Amateur Performance | |
| Traditional Irish Music with Kevin and Darragh McCarthy | |
| 12.40 | J-Pop Dance Performance |
| Special Japanese Guest Performer | |
| Traditional Tsugaru Shamisen by Hibiki Sawada | |
| 13.15 | Fusion of Japanese and Irish Music |
| Philip Horan and Junshi Murakami with Rie Maruyama | |
| Japanese Shinobue and Shamisen performance | |
| Amateur Performance | |
| 13.45 | Volunteer group from the Japanese School of Ireland |
| Zi-Pang: Special Taiko and Shinobue Performance with Hiro Hayashida (Taiko Master), Luke Takahashi and Miyu Kobayashi | |
| 14.20 | Amateur Performance |
| Japanese Dance by Odorikko Club | |
| 14.35 | Traditional Sake Barrel-Opening Ceremony and Guest Speeches |
| Opened with Soranbushi Performance: a Traditional Japanese Dance | |
| 15.00 | Celebration of Irish and Japanese Culture |
| Guest musicians Zi-Pang, Hibiki Sawada and Robbie Walsh with Experience Japan Taiko Team | |
| J-Pop Dance Performance | |
| 15.40 | Irish Bodhrán Music |
| Robbie Walsh and James Mahon | |
| 15.50 | Grand Finale |
| Zi-Pang with Experience Japan Taiko Team |
Dublin Bus will provide a return shuttle bus service from 11:00 - 17:30 to the festival, with buses running between Parkgate St. and the Chesterfield roundabout just outside Farmleigh.
ENDS
For further information, please contact OPW Client Services and Communications at opwcsc@opw.ie or visit www.facebook.com/ExperienceJapanIE or www.experiencejapan.ie.
Experience Japan is a volunteer community organisation (part funded by Dublin City Council Office for Integration) that has held a community and cultural festival in Farmleigh House and Estate each year since 2010. This Hanami (Cherry Blossom) Celebration promotes cultural diversity and understanding that has about 20,000 visitors attending each year for this main Festival Day.
The group that comes together for the Festival is a not-for-profit volunteer run organisation (www.experiencejapan.ie ). The festival has the support of DCC, the OPW in Farmleigh, the Embassy of Japan in Ireland and the Japanese Business Association. It is designed to promote the deeper understanding of Japanese Culture and provide a platform for young Irish-Japanese children and their friends across all communities to learn more about this culture. A very successful part of the festival is the contribution of university student volunteers and the Irish JET Alumni Association – young Irish graduates who receive Japanese government support to spend a year working in Japan – all these groups come with huge enthusiasm and have contributed significantly to the Festival's engagement with Irish teenagers and young adults.
This event is supported by the Office of Public Works, Mitsubishi Electric, the Embassy of Japan in Ireland and Dublin City Council.