我孫子市国際交流協会

The 2005 festival was held under the general theme "Won't you glimpse the mystic world?" Unlike usual year, the site for this year was confined at the 3rd floor of the Plaza due to the expansion works at the ground floor, where introductory performances as part of the festival used to be held in the past.
Right after entering the festival site at the lobby, tea ceremony was performed attracting visitors as usual. Among them, some young foreign men and women in kimonos also enjoyed the service of green tea. Flower arrangement at the same floor also attracted visitors' attention. They were arranged by students of the AIRA's Japanese language classes.
Numbers of exhibits at the gallery related with the general theme "the world of mythology" marked the highlight of the festival this year. Of them, ultra-sized works, such as the Moai statue, Totem Pole, Mouth-of-Truth, and the constellation map stood out as the painstaking work by the voluntary members. Some of these works are already destined to be presented to a nearby kindergarten.
Many visitors timidly drew omikuji or fortune slip out of the mouth of the handmade Mouth-of-Truth. The lottery, both in Japanese and English, was extremely popular
among the visitors, saying that it hit the mark very well.
Kamishibai or paper-story show attracted children. Two fairy tales were performed in English by Japanese and American young players.
In the Japanese room, foreign guests enjoyed wearing kimonos by turns.
At the main hall, Mr. Takeshi Ideguchi, the chairman of AIRA, and Mr. Hirohiko Fukushima, the Mayor of the city made welcome speeches on the stage, followed by introduction of the honorable guests. Then the gala buffet party started. People who could luckily near the table were able to enjoy 9 kinds of ethnic dishes of 6 countries, China, Philippines, Thailand, UK, USA, and Columbia, which were cooked by voluntary members of AIRA.
The second part of the event was opened on the stage by the silvery sound of handbell playing. The teen-aged ringers played 7 tunes with excellent performance handling various types and sizes of bells respectively. They have performed in and out of Japan repeatedly.
The Hawaiian music band now charmed the listeners with mellow and sweet melodies. Several tunes, ranging from traditional Hawaiian songs to Japanese romantic numbers, were played with sophisticated sounds and vocals. Hula dancers added rhythmical dances to the music.
Several students of the English class performed a skit titled the Greek Gods and Goddess, suiting to the general theme of the festival this year.
Each noted Greek god or goddess narrated well-known lines with gestures, and let the audience guess who he/she is. The most narrations were correctly answered. The stage was followed by singing groups of English, Chinese, Japanese and French classes. The closing of the event was adorned by the lively dance, the Yosakoi Naruko Odori. The brisk and sparkling dancing excited the audience and the atmosphere in the hall reached the zenith of the festivities.
In the end, Mr. T. Sugano, the chairman of the executive committee made closing address thanking to the audience and staff members who supported the operation.
We, the management of AIRA would sincerely express our gratitude for the cooperation rendered by citizens and organizations concerned.