Aki Matsuri 2014

Aki Matsuri was held at Bellevue College on the first weekend of September.  I was honored to be able to perform a dance with Kabuki Academy at Aki Matsuri on Saturday and returned on Sunday to attend a Noh lecture and tea ceremony demonstration.  Both days were packed with performances and demonstrations, as well as food, games, and booths for artisans and vendors.

I'm always happy to see tea at festivals like this.  I was first introduced to My Green Tea through tea ceremony studies and have seen them at a number of local events.  When I visited their booth, they were offering samples of their Genmai-Matcha which I hope to try again.

Speaking of tea ceremony studies, I was so surprised to meet an acquaintance from East-West Chanoyu Center at the booth, serving delicious samples of matcha.

Haiku Northwest had poetry displayed throughout the courtyard.  This was my favorite, reminding me of all my travels in recent years.

There was also a booth where visitors could write a haiku and it would be tied to the tail of this beautiful kite handcrafted by Megan Tanner.  

It was a treat to see actual Saganishiki being made by Jan Paul (Textures by Jan).  This is a type of brocade using threads of silk and paper coated in metallics or lacquer.  I've seen Saganishiki in handbags and even own zori (kimono shoes) made from this brocade, but I had never seen the weaving process.

It was difficult to resist buying one of these Chiyogami Ningyo (paper dolls) created by Kuniko Mancini.  There were different size dolls to choose from and all featured unique kimono and accessories.

I missed seeing the mikoshi for Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America on Saturday, so I was glad to see it on display on Sunday.

More from the Noh lecture and tea ceremony at Aki Matsuri will follow soon.