Celebrating Harumatsuri at the United Nations International School in Manhattan
On Monday March 24, 29 high school students from our Japanese language program in grades 10, 11, and 12 attended Harumatsuri, a Japanese Culture Festival held annually in New York City.
Harumatsuri Taiko Drummer and Music Performer: Kaoru Watanabe
Yuan Zhi tries his strength at Japanese rice cake pounding
Ishaque pairing up with a buddy in Body Kanji in which they form Japanese characters with their body
Carmen wearing a Yukata, a Japanese garment, also described as a casual summer kimono.
Lunch break! We're all enjoying our obentoo, japanese lunch box.
The students travelled to the United Nations International School in Manhattan. During the all-day event, over 250 Japanese language students from throughout the tri-state area visited over 60 interactive booths and themed areas to experience Japanese culture through hands-on activities such as rice-cake pounding, folk dancing lessons, traditional story-telling presentation, yukata dress-up, speeches, and skits in Japanese. Students were required and challenged to speak Japanese to participate in the activities. For some students, this annual event is their closest experience to visiting Japan, for others, it motivates them to want to travel to Japan to further their learning. In all, it was a great experience filled with fond memories till the next festival.