Japanese Summer FestivalA CELEBRATION OF TRADITIONAL CULTURAL ARTS

Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25

Presenting Sponsor

LECTURE SERIES

Guest speaker, Dr. Kendall Brown, author of Quiet Beauty: Japanese Gardens in North America featuring Anderson Japanese Gardens.

Saturday, August 24 at 1:30pm | Sunday, August 25 at 11am

Anderson Japanese Gardens Gallery located in the lower level of the Visitor Center (#1)*

About Dr. Kendall Brown

• Professor of Asian Art History in the Art Department at California State University Long Beach

• Served as Curator of Collections, Exhibitions and Programs at Pacific Asia Museum

• Received BA and MA degrees in History and Art History from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Art History from Yale University

• Studies Japanese gardens in North America• After his first book, Japanese-style Gardens of the

Pacific West Coast (Rizzoli, 1999), he published Quiet Beauty: Japanese Gardens in North America (Tuttle 2013)

• Planned the International Conference on Japanese Gardens Outside Japan in 2009

• Serves on the executive committee of the newly formed North American Japanese Garden Association and is the editor of its Journal

Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25

The Japanese Summer Festival is a two-day cultural event that features exhibits, traditional demonstrations and unique performances that are appealing to all age groups.

Free to Anderson Garden members, regular Garden admission for non-members.

* Denotes location on tour guide map.

Japanese Summer FestivalA CELEBRATION OF TRADITIONAL CULTURAL ARTS

INDOOR ACTIVITIES

All indoor activities take place inside the Visitor Center (#1)* and will be held both days unless otherwise noted.

Origami Instruction 10am – 3pm (guest participation encouraged)

Ceramic Tea Bowl Demonstration & Display10am – 3pm

Ikebana Display10am – 3pm

Rock River Bonsai Society Exhibit10am – 3pm

Brush Painting Instruction (Saturday only)10am – 3pm (guest participation encouraged)

ACTIVITIES IN THE GARDENS

Activities take place all day throughout the Gardens

Traditional Tea Ceremonies

The tea ceremonies are hosted by Kimiko Gunji, Professor Emeritus of Japanese Arts & Culture in the School of Art & Design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sensei Gunji is also the retired director of Japan House at the University.

Tea Ceremony DemonstrationsTea House (#31)* at 11am, 1:15pm, 2pm & 2:45pm

Demonstrations held at the Tea House (Chisokuan) by students of Professor Kimiko Gunji. Cost to participate is $10. Space is limited to 10 guests per tea ceremony. Register in advance, or if space is available, on-site at the admissions counter.

Formal Tea Ceremony & Light Meal (Tenshin)Guest House (#23)* at 11:30am

Cost to participate is $45. Space is limited to 15 guests per tea ceremony. Reservations are required and can be made by contacting Katie at 815.316.3306 or kweston@andersongarden.org. Participants need to check in at the admissions counter 20 minutes prior to tea ceremony times.

Event Pavilion (#3)* Taiko Drummers Performances at 10am, 12pm & 2pm

Guests should gather on the lawn facing the Pavilion. Performances at 10am and 2pm will be accompanied by Seiran Chiba, a Calligrapher from Japan.

Koto Performances by the Chicago Koto GroupPerformances at 11am & 1pm

Event Pavilion Lawn (#3)* with Candyman10:30am, 11:30am, 1:30pm & 2:45pm

Candyman is a traditional cultural performer and one-man-show from Japan. He has performed for the last 14 years at the Epcot Center in Walt Disney World and at over 3,000 schools through the United States. A talented street performer, Candyman keeps the audience entertained as he deftly creates intricate candy sculptures with extreme speed as he engages the audience with a variety of magic tricks and stories.

Amezaiku is Japanese candy craft artistry. The artist takes multi-colored taffy and creates sculptures using his hands and other instruments such as tweezers and scissors. Amezaiku artists also paint their sculpted candy with edible dyes to give the finished work more character. Animals and insects are common objects created by Amezaiku because they appeal to children.

Garden of Reflection Lawn Bujinkan Dojo Demonstrations

The Bunjinkan Dojo was founded more than 35 years ago by Dr. Massaaki Hatsumi to honor and study the knowledge of his teacher, a man credited as the world’s last active ninja. The martial legacies entrusted in Hatsumi are authentic warrior traditions spanning more than a millennium.

These ancient techniques and tactics are as effective today as they were over 500 years ago. Larger, stronger and even multiple opponents are defeated without reliance on brute force, speed or strength. Instead, natural instincts of personal space, equilibrium and initiative are uniquely sharpened as tools capable of subduing adversaries at a time of their greatest disadvantage.

Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25

The Japanese Summer Festival is a two-day cultural event that features exhibits, traditional demonstrations and unique performances that are appealing to all age groups.

Free to Anderson Garden members, regular Garden admission for non-members.

* Denotes location on tour guide map.

Japanese Summer FestivalA CELEBRATION OF TRADITIONAL CULTURAL ARTS

Sustaining Sponsors

318 Spring Creek Road, Rockford, IL / 815.229.9390 P

andersongardens.org /