May 14th 2017 O.A.
The Fujimatsuri at Gardena Buddhist Church
May 6th was the Fujimatsuri in Gardena Buddhist Church and many local community members participated. May 21st is when Shinran of Jodo Shinshu was born, and the Gardena Buddhist Church holds this annual Fujimatsuri to celebrate his birth. Fujimatsuri is a festival that celebrates the joy of birth and meeting new people. At the temple, teriyaki chicken, Okinawa dango and spam musubi were sold. Plants and folk pieces were sold as well. The Gardena Buddhist Church belongs to Nishi Honganji Buddhist Temple built in 1926 and has about 500 members. They are known to the community by holding Fujimatsuri in the spring and bon festival during summer. The members of the Buddhist Church and local community volunteer staffs make these events possible every year.
The Asian Choral Festival 2017
The Asian Choral Festival 2017 was held on Sunday, May 7th at the Arcadia Performing Arts Center. This is a concert where folk songs throughout Asia are performed. This concert is held by Taiwan’s Elite Music Foundation and 5 countries of Taiwan, Korea, Philippines, Armenia and Japan participated. This is the first time the asian communities do a concert all together. It was made possible by the idea of Cliff Yang, a Taiwanese American and a chairman of the Elite Music Foundation; and musicians from each communities cooperated. The concert hall was nearly full. Each choir performed 4 to 5 folk songs from traditional to modern that are known in their home country. From Japan, Ensemble Echo from Hacienda Heights, Yuukari Chorus from Huntington Beach and Yuujou Daiko performed 4 songs together. Elite Chamber Singers from the Taiwanese community sang where Cliff Yang conducted and closed the event.