To be hosted by the Japanese Society of the CNMI and PDM Promoters Inc., the Japanese Mochitsuki & Culture Festival highlights the Asian nation’s rich culture.
Sonia Siwa of PDM Promoters Inc. said the festival will include amusement booths and food stalls highlighting Japanese culture.
The main feature is the traditional mochi-pounding ceremony called mochitsuki. Locals and tourists, as well as children and adults, can experience the thrill and hard work involved in pounding rice.
Mochi is made of glutinous rice, pounded into paste and molded into different shapes.
Last year, the drizzle didn’t hinder hundreds of people from participating in the festivities and sampling the different flavors of mochi.
Children and adults also had a grand time with various games including takeuma or Japanese stilts, koma or Japanese tops, kendama or Japanese wooden toy, origami or the Japanese art of paper folding, hanetsuki or the Japanese traditional game similar to badminton but without a net, and taketonbo or hand powered bamboo-copter or dragonfly. These and more are also in store for spectators on Thursday, Siwa said.
“We invite everybody once again to be with us on Thursday, in time for the street market so they can witness another colorful and spectacular Mochitsuki festival and celebrate Japanese culture with us,” Siwa said.
Spectators will be treated to various entertainment shows to be presented by the Saipan Awaodori dance team and other performers. Children can try their hand at various Japanese games and everybod can have their fill of Japanese specialties from food vendors.
For more information, call PDM Promoters Inc. at 234-6900.
