Japan Fest at NOMA Oct. 19


[Hi-res images available upon request]

NEW ORLEANS, La. (Monday, September 29, 2008)-Japan Fest, the largest annual celebration of Japanese culture in the Gulf South, returns to the New Orleans Museum of Art on Sunday, October 19, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for a full day of traditional music, folk dancing and martial arts demonstrations, plus food, games, crafts and more spread throughout the Museum and the surrounding City Park grounds.

Like all current exhibitions and public programs, Japan Fest is free to Louisiana residents through the generosity of The Helis Foundation. All outdoor Japan Fest activities are free to everyone; Museum admission for out-of-state visitors is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and $4 for children.

The crowd-pleasing Kaminari Taiko of Houston return with their massive drumming demonstration as headliners of this year's Japan Fest.

Other highlights include numerous demonstrations of traditional Japanese arts, the Japan Club's annual tea ceremony demonstration and a raffle with prizes including roundtrip airline tickets to Japan, courtesy of Continental Airlines.

Here's the full list of participating organizations:

Aikido of New Orleans (martial arts)

Asian Gourmet Market (Japanese market)

City Park Catering (Japanese food)

Crane's Nest Go Club ("Go," strategic board game lessons)

Greater New Orleans Bonsai Society (Bonsai demonstration)

Greater New Orleans Suzuki Forum (classical and folk music)

Ikebana International, New Orleans chapter 97 (floral arrangements)

Japan Club (tea ceremony)

Japanese Weekend School of New Orleans (crafts and origami ornaments)

JET Alumni Association (yukata for children and adults, with photos)

Kaminari Taiko of Houston (drumming performance)

Kozakura Japanese Dance School USA (folk dancing)

Louisiana State Museum/Lafcadio Hearn Center (information table)

Maino Kai International (Japanese classical dancing)

Neil Melancon/Gentle Wind Dojo (Iaido sword demonstration)

New Orleans Haiku Society (information table)

New Orleans Kendo Club (martial arts)

New Orleans Zen Temple (Zazen lessons and information)

Ninja Restaurant (Japanese food tent)

Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art (Raku pottery demo)

Sennin Productions (anime films)

SGI-USA New Orleans Taiko Group (Taiko drumming)

Shindoryu Aikijutsu Association of Southern Louisiana University (martial arts)

S. Peter Horkowitz (Kyudo-Japanese archery)

Wako-Kai Dancers (classical dancing)

Japan Fest is organized by the Consulate General of Japan in New Orleans, the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Japan Club of New Orleans.

About NOMA and the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden
The New Orleans Museum of Art, founded in 1910 by Isaac Delgado, houses more than 30,000 art objects encompassing 4,000 years of world art. Works from the permanent collection, along with continuously changing temporary exhibitions, are on view in the Museum's 46 galleries Wednesdays from noon to 8 p.m. and Thursdays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the Museum is free to Louisiana residents through the generosity of The Helis Foundation.

Admission to the adjacent Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, featuring work by 57 artists, including several of the 20th century's master sculptors, is always free during regular Museum hours.

The New Orleans Museum of Art and the Sculpture Garden are fully accessible to handicapped visitors and wheelchairs are available from the front desk.

For more information, call (504) 659-4100 or visit www.noma.org.
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