Let's bring Bonodori and those Classic Fishing Songs！

～Thanks so much for attending and participating!～

On August 16, the 20th annual Ayumi Festival was held in Ayumizaki Park (Saka, Kasumigaura City) which carried the theme of “Let’s bring back Bonodori and those Classic Fishing Songs,” beckoning out 30,000 lively festival goers.

Opening

The plan was to recreate the scene of the “hayashi kazaribune” from the first ever Ayumi Festival.? Decorated with fish-shaped windsocks, traditional paper lanterns and other gorgeous decorations, the lively taiko drum group danced and performed atop the boats as the procession made its way across Lake Kasumigaura. Up on the embankment, portable shrines proceeded alongside the fishing boats, which livened up the festival prior to the opening ceremony.

Center Stage

Sixty “lucky balls” were tossed out immediately following the opening ceremony.? The center stage was then, appropriately, also a center of excitement, with a wide variety of entertainment taking place including the middle school students playing in a wind instruments ensemble, various groups performing traditional folk songs and dances, and taiko drum and song performances. Children gathered for the Ultra Seven Show and heaps of great prizes were handed out at the Challenge Raffle.? The center stage was an endless series of nonstop spectacles!

Open Air Event Pavilion

The making of delicious mochi in the newly established “Kids Area” kicked off the Wooden Building Raising Ceremony.? There were also three eel catching contests and the kids that brought in the biggest catches of the day were awarded with some fantastic prizes.

Pavlilon on the Lake

All of the cloth sailboats gathered on the Ayumizaki shore of Kasumigaura.? The boats were in tip-top shape for both the afternoon and evening sessions.? Cameramen and those looking to go for a ride flocked to the shores. The Dragon Boats also put on quite a show when making their 12th appearance at the Ayumi Festival.? Eighteen teams made up of both elementary age groups and open participant groups delivered some intense races for the excited audience.

Bonodori Gathering

Bringing back the nostalgia of the old-fashioned Bonodori, this was one of the events where we really tried to replicate the feeling of the very first Ayumi Festival.? Parents, children and families formed a ring around the central tower in the pavilion and demonstrated to us all the delight to be found in the lively dance, truly a memory of summer.

Fireworks on the Lake

Thanks to the cooperation of all of our wonderful supporters, the grand finale, “Fireworks on the Lake” was a great success!

Ayumi Festival Supporters

(titles omitted, no particular order)

Fireworks Display Contributors / Message Fireworks Participants

Yamazaki Fireworks MFG Ltd., Enterprise, Yamashichi, Dewaya, Onuma Marine Products, Kaizuka Chuzaburo Shoten,Kasumigaura Construction Management Union, Tsuchiura and Kasumigaura Region Association Corp., Kasumigaura City Trade and Commerce Association, Shimada Kogyo Interior, Yoshiyama Industries, Ichimura Facility Industries, Naoi Construction Lumber Importers, Takano Manufacturing, Matsuba Corp., Tatsumi Kogyo Realtors, Shoken Manufacturing, Yazaki Industrial, Koyama Group, Tsuchiya Housing Construction, Nagasaki Industrial, Nana Auto Dealer, Automobile Service Promotion Association ? Kasumigaura Branch, Yazaki Equipment, Kakuta Iron and Steel Mfg., Okubo Construction, Ohashi Construction, Senwa, Hagiwara Construction Co., Furusato Dejima no Kai, KSC Friendly Sports Club, KSC Enjoy Sports Club, Fuji OGM Golf Club, Kayo Construction, Hisamatsu Construction, Shoei Industrial, Tone Coca-Cola Bottling ? Tsuchiura Branch

Festival General Contributors

Kasumigaura City Construction Association, Kasumigaura City Workers Union, Kasumigaura City Trade and Commerce Association, Kasumigaura City Fisheries Industry Associative Union, Tsuchiura Agriculture Cooperative Association, Kasumigaura Northern Bay Marine Products Co-op ? Kasumigaura Branch, Dewaya, Onuma Marine Products, Furusato Dejima no Kai, K & Y International, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. Ltd., Maruka, Onda, Kasumigaura Hobikisen Festival Directors Committee, Enjyoji Auto Cycles, Saka Farm, City of Tsuchiura, City of Namegata, City of Kasama, Kasama City Trade and Commerce Association, Chiyoda Fruit Tree Tourist Association, Leisure Farm Association, Mitsutomo Health Management Center, Tagami Shipbuilders, Izaka Tatami Shop, Kaizuka Chuzaburo Shoten, Tone Coca-Cola Bottling ? Ibaraki Branch, Besia, Kashima Antlers, Mito DMS, Kimatsuka Electric Construction Specialists, Ishihara Ishimura, Shigenobu Fujioka, Masami Tsuboi ? General Engineer, Nakazawa Plumbing, Winglet, Iryo Yoshida

As chairman of the Ayumi Festival Planning Committee, I strive to bring myself closer to the citizens by working hard to create a festival packed full of exciting content, the kind of summer festival that will help us to proudly represent this wonderful city of Kasumigaura.? Please feel free to send along to us your opinions and wishes regarding the future of the Ayumi Festival.

Ｅ-mail　kankouka@city.kasumigaura.ibaraki.jp