2024 BON Fest Chicago Festival Event / 盆フェスト・シカゴ - Japanese Art Foundation and Japanese Culture CenterNEW

The Japanese Art Foundation and Japanese Culture Center in partnership with NEWCITY, Shubukai and Tsukasa Taiko from Asian Improv aRts Midwest invites you to the 4th annual BON Fest Chicago. Join us Saturday, August 17th at 8:00pm for taiko drumming, bon odori dancing, and festivities at a new location this year, NEWCITY! Come experience a traditional Japanese summer festival here in Chicago!

An Obon Matsuri / Bon Festival is traditionally held in the peak heat of summer when space between the natural and the supernatural world is thinnest. This is a time when individuals come together to remember ancestors and those lost as a community. As we continue to process the tremendous loss from the COVID-19 pandemic, we welcome our community to come together through the arts. Traditionally, Bon Odori dancing is performed by those in attendance to welcome spirits, though each community and region has their own style of dance and music.

Shubukai is honored to collaborate with Kimiei Fujima Sensei from Shizuoka, Japan and Ageha Bijo Sensei from the Nihon Bon Odori Association to provide seven Bon Odori for the 2024 Bon Fest Chicago will be on Saturday August 17, open from 7PM, Dancing from 8:30pm at the NEW location: NEW CITY Shopping Mall (1457 N. Halsted St., Chicago, IL 60642). The dances planned for this year are: Shizuoka Meguri, Shizuoka Ondo, Tanko Bushi, Tokyo Ondo, Sado Okesa, Zundoko Bushi, Hanagasa Ondo, and Maruchan no Shizuoka Ondo.

Bon Odori is a summer festival for people to come together to honor their ancestors, express their joy, respect, and feeling of community; to create a connection with community.  One does not have to be a dancer, the dances are simple and fun!

Join the in person workshops and learn with Yoshinojo Fujima of Shubukai! (Details below)

Make sure to wear comfortable clothing, wear clean white socks;  Yukata is not required. Make sure to bring some water.

Festival Event Date
August 17, 2024, Saturday

Time
8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Bon Schedule

7:00 pm: Gates Open
• Arrival and mingling
• Explore festival booths and activities

8:00 pm: Opening Ceremony
• Welcome speech by event organizers
• Introduction to BON Fest and its significance

8:15 pm: Taiko Drumming Performance
• Performance by Tsukasa Taiko from Asian Improv aRts Midwest

8:30 pm: Bon Odori Dancing Begins
• Introduction and demonstration of dances by Yoshinojo Fujima of Shubukai
• Performances and participation dances:
    • Shizuoka Meguri
    • Shizuoka Ondo
    • Tanko Bushi
    • Tokyo Ondo
    • Sado Okesa
    • Zundoko Bushi
    • Hanagasa Ondo
    • Maruchan no Shizuoka Ondo

10:00 pm: Closing Remarks
• Thank you message and acknowledgments
• Information on upcoming events and workshops

New Location
NewCity

Festival History
A Bon Festival ( or Obon Matsuri) occurs during the hottest part of the summer when it said that distance the natural and supernatural world is the smallest. People then come together to remember those that have passed on or where lost as a community. Traditionally, a specific regional style of dancing and music is performed by those in attendance to welcome spirits.

Our initial hope was to use the festival as an opportunity for our community to heal and process the tremendous loss and damage the COVID-19 pandemic has caused through the arts.

The Bon Odori Association of Japan, Asian Improv aRts Midwest, and Shubukai’s Fujima Yoshinojo all helped support this important event and make the inaugural Bon Fest in 2021 a success. Fujima Sensei (also a resident artist of the Japanese Arts Foundation and instructor at the Japanese Culture Center) taught Bon Odori dance lessons virtually leading up to the Bon Fest, so everyone could participate from the convenience of their own home.

Festival Program Schedule
TBA

Bon Odori Dance Class Schedule
In collaboration with the Japanese Culture Center, Shubukai, Kimiei Fujima Sensei from Shizuoka, Japan and Ageha Bijou Sensei from the Nihon Bon Odori Association, we are able to to provide a series of Bon Odori classes at the various locations listed below.

The dances planned for this year are: Shizuoka Meguri, Shizuoka Ondo, Tanko Bushi, Tokyo Ondo, Sado Okesa, Zundoko Bushi, Hanagasa Ondo, and Maruchan’s Shizuoka Ondo.

Bon Odori is made for people to come together to honor their ancestors, express their joy, respect, and feeling of community; to feel a connection with their ancestors and with everyone. One does not have to be a professional dancer, the dances are simple and fun.

Join the in person class and learn with Yoshinojo Fujima of Shubukai!
Each lesson will focus on two or three dances.
Please make sure to wear comfortable clothing; Yukata is not required.
Classes will be held at the following locations:
AIRMW
Wed July 17 from 7-8pm
Wed July 24 from 7-8pm
Wed July 31 from 7-8pm
Wed Aug 14. from 7-8pm

Hyde Park Arts Center
Sat July 20 10:30 - 12:30pm
Sun July 21 10:30 - 12:30pm
(Third date pending)

Logan Arts Center
Saturday Aug. 10 1-2:30pm

Japanese Culture Center
Sat July 20 from 7-8:30pm
Mon Aug 5 from 7-8:30pm (pending)

New City (pending)
Thurs July 25 from 7-8pm
Thurs Aug 1 from 7-8 pm
Thurs Aug 8 from 7-8 pm
Thurs Aug 15 from 7-8pm

Asian Improv aRts Midwest
Asian Improv aRts Midwest was created in 1984, by Chicago based artist and community leader Tatsu Aoki. Since, then AIRM has been leading the way in creating bridges by connecting communities through Asian American cultural arts from coast to coast for over 20 years.

Tsukasa Taiko
Tsukasa Taiko is dedicated to building community and being a leader in the taiko drumming culture of the Midwest. The groups offers instruction, education, and performances to achieves the mission of preserving and nurturing traditional concepts of Japanese art as a cultural legacy, while also expanding and evolving the art.

Tsukasa Taiko maintains a national profile with powerful performances across the country throughout the world, including such prestigious venues as the Contemporary Museum of Art, the Steppenwolf Theater, the Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park, the Chicago Jazz Festival, Chicago Symphony Center, the Smithsonian, and the Malta International Theater Festival in Poland.

SHUBUKAI
Shubukai (formerly Fujima Ryu of Chicago) is the only Japanese certified classical dance program in the Midwest. It’s lineage and link with Japan is maintained through communication and collaboration with Grandmasters Fujima Shusen and Fujima Shuryu in Tokyo, Japan. Shubukai performs at festivals and various events throughout the year in the Chicagoland area andthe annual student recital has been presented for over 42 years.

Yoshinojo Fujima Sensei
Grandmaster Yoshinojo Fujima is trained in the Fujima Style (Iemoto Fujima Kan’emon VI/ Kabuki name Onoe Shoroku IV) of Japanese Classical dance, and received her professional stage name (Natori) from Shunojo Fujima, and her Grandmaster teaching license (Shihan) in Japan. As a principle member of Shubukai, (formally known as Fujima Ryu of Chicago), she performs, teaches, and continues to return to Japan to perform and train. The Fujima School is one of the five main dance schools in Japan and is known for its intricate choreography as well as dancemaking for kabuki theater. Fujima Sensei also holds regular workshops and class at the Japanese Culture Center and is an artist in residence with the Japanese Arts Foundation.

Kimiei Fujima Sensei
Kimiei Fujima Sensei began learning classical Japanese Dance from age three, and has attained her stage name and grandmaster license in the Fujima Style. Her teacher, Shu-ei Fujima, taught the bon odori for the Shizuoka Obon Festival and after her passing, Kimiei Sensei has carried on the teaching for the Bon odori Festival, the Shizuoka Festival, and the Fujieda Festival.