GATHERING TO HONOR DECEASED; VALLEY CENTER PLANS BUDDHIST FESTIVAL.Byline: Holly Andres Daily News Staff Writer More than 1,000 people from throughout the Southland are expected to gather at the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. Japanese American Japanese Americans (日系アメリカ人 Nikkei Amerikajin Community Center this weekend for a two-day Obon Festival, or ``Gathering of Joy.'' The Festival of Souls, as it is also known, is an annual summertime observance that asks Buddhists to remember their ancestors with greetings and food offerings. ``Obon allows us to celebrate the memory of our dead relatives, it's a memorial service,'' said Paul Jonokuchi, spokesman for the festival, which has been sponsored every year by the Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Pacoima for more than 40 years. ``People come from all over the Valley, even Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. and San Diego, to our annual Obon Festival. It gives us a chance to meet friends, reunite with relatives.'' Buddhists believe that the spirits of deceased loved ones come back to visit the living during this time. Obon is a memorial service in a Buddhist temple that emphasizes the oneness of life. In the home, it is customary to place food on an altar, and to open doors and windows Doors and Windows is a multimedia disk by the Irish band The Cranberries. Track listing
Festivalgoers will be treated to Bon Odori, or ``memorial dance of joy,'' performed by kimono- or yukata-clad dancers. A precision drumming demonstration will be performed by the Mugen Taiko
Besides the feast for the eyes and ears, the lantern-decorated festival will feature a sushi bar, teriyaki ter·i·ya·ki n. A Japanese dish of grilled or broiled slices of marinated meat or shellfish. [Japanese : teri, glaze + yaki, to broil.] Noun 1. chicken and other ethnic dishes to sample. There will be bonsai bonsai (bōn`sī), art of cultivating dwarf trees. Bonsai, developed by the Japanese more than a thousand years ago, is derived from the Chinese practice of growing miniature plants. and flower-arrangement exhibits. The Obon Festival will take place from 4 to 10 p.m., today and from 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday, at the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center, 12953 Branford St., Pacoima. For information, call: (818) 894-5327 or (818) 349-3068. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Dancers in traditional garb and other attractions are set for the Obon Festival at a Pacoima center. Evan Yee/Daily News |
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