A free Japanese Summer Festival is happening in Calderstones Park

A free Japanese Summer Festival is happening in Calderstones Park this weekend including music performances, martial arts demonstrations, food and drink and children’s activities.

Summer Matsuri 2024 will come to Liverpool for the first time on Saturday August 17 after previous hugely successful events at Tatton Park.

The festival, which will be held in the Sakura Orchard near the Harthill entrance to the park, has been organised by Japan Society North West (JSNW) and the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme Alumni Association (JETAA).

On from 11am to 4pm, the Summer Matsuri will showcase a range of Japanese cultural activities led by local groups from around the region including demonstrations of martial arts karate and laido, origami paperfolding and shodo calligraphy.

There will also be performances by the Taiko drumming group Tengu Taiko, kamishibai storyteller Prof. Madoka Thomas, and the Japanese koto player Sumie Kent, as well as free workshops on Japanese kimono dressing and ikebana flower arranging.

Fans of Japanese food and drink, or anyone wanting to try it for the first time, will be able to check out stalls selling a variety of authentic dishes and drinks, and there’ll be specialists on hand to talk about Japanese gardens and Japanese culture.

Samuel Rosen, Chairman of Japan Society North West, explains: “The event was originally started many years ago by our vice chair, Angela Davies, and was a celebration of the Tanabata Festival which is held on July 7 in Japan every year. 

“Initially it was a single table and a canopy next to the Japanese Garden in Tatton Park, where people could write tanzaku wishes on a coloured strip of paper and tie them to the bamboo trees. Thatis a custom as part of the celebrations and we will have this in Calderstones too. 

“After Covid, when I took over as chair of JSNW, we decided to turn it into a larger scale Matsuri event, which we have held in Tatton Park for the past couple of years. 

“Last year we had over 1,000 guests and over 100 performers and volunteers. This is the first time that we have brought the Matsuri to Liverpool and we decided to host it at Calderstones Park as part of a project to have cherry trees planted there (the Sakura Project) and to highlight the clean-up/restoration that is being carried out on the Anglo-Japanese garden, which is again being spearheaded by Angela.”

Summer Matsuri 2024 at Calderstones Park is free to attend and an official delegation from the Japanese Embassy will be coming up from London for the event, as well as the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Liverpool. 

For more info on Summer Matsuri click here.

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