Obon Festival

When

Where

Description

Join the ABQ BioPark and Albuquerque Sister Cities Foundation for a night of Japanese arts and culture celebrating Obon in the Sasebo Japanese Garden. Observe traditional tea ceremony, Taiko drumming, bonsai, Ikebana displays, and more from our community partners! Make your own Origami crane to hang in our bamboo grove with the North American Japanese Garden Association’s Gardens for Peace, and honor your loved ones with a lantern, or toro nagashi, set afloat on the pond. Bring your own picnic and chairs or enjoy Japanese cuisine and refreshments for sale throughout the festival.

Advance tickets are highly recommended. Event tickets include one floating lantern and access to the Botanic Garden. The Heritage Farm and BUGarium will be closed, and some paths will close at 8:30 pm for safety. The Obon Festival occurs rain or shine. You will receive an e-ticket that can be scanned at the entrance to the event. The Garden opens at 6:30 pm, with last entry at 8 pm. 

Activities, Demonstrations, and Performances 

^{ABQ BioPark Discovery tables are open from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm}

Main Plaza

• 6:25 pm: Opening Procession with Bushido Kenyukai, ends at the Festival Green pavilion 
• Bar

Showroom

• 6:45 pm, 7:30 pm, 8:15 pm: Tea Ceremony, with Chado Urasenke Tankokai New Mexico Association

Festival Green

• 6:50 pm, 8 pm: New Mexico Taiko in the pavilion
• 7:30 pm: Taiko Drums with Bushido Kenyukai in the pavilion
• 8:40 pm: Closing performance, Taiko Drums with Bushido Kenyukai in the pavilion
• Discover Obon, Chili, Haiku Writing, and Origami Nature Discovery Stations with BioPark Education
• Calligraphy Demonstration with Masako and Maki (Master Calligraphers)
• Meet live beetles with the BUGarium care team
• Community Partner booths
• Food & Drink

Ceremonial Garden

• Quiet Zone

Lebanon and Beyond

• 6:30 pm to 9 pm: Ikebana display, with Ikebana Artists of New Mexico in the Orangerie
• 6:30 pm to 9 pm: Bonsai display, with Albuquerque Bonsai Club in the Orangerie
• Food & Drink at Vitex Plaza

High Desert Rose Garden

• Lantern pick up at entrance, decorating inside atrium
• Cherry Blossom painting, Koi, Sumi-e Painting Discovery Stations with BioPark Education inside atrium
• Food & Drink

Sasebo Japanese Garden

• Three lantern launch sites 
• Origami cranes for Peace
• Gardens for Peace raking demonstrations throughout the evening
• Food & Drink

Deck

• 8 pm: Taiko Drums, with Bushido Kenyukai
• Shamisen playing throughout the evening

Price