【Event Report】 Dillon Japanese Culture Festival

In addition to Washington State and Northern Idaho, the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle serves the State of Montana as well.  The Consulate recently traveled out to Dillon, Montana to participate in their Japanese Cultural Festival, held on March 24 and 25.  The community support of this event was impressive as local businesses opened their doors to host a variety of cultural presentations. The activities included a bonsai demonstration at a local outdoor clothing store, a Japanese tea ceremony experience hosted by a coffee shop, and lectures on the history of Japanese people in Montana held at a bookstore. The two-day event allowed visitors plenty of opportunities to experience all the attractions offered and to support the local businesses that were participating.  

The Consulate partnered with Badger Archery, a local archery range, for the always popular Japanese armor presentation that included a basic introduction to traditional Japanese archery (Kyudo). The Consulate’s furoshiki workshop at the local library drew quite a bit of interest from a wide variety of visitors as well. 
  Although this was the first time for the Consulate to participate in this event, we hope that it will not be the last. We look forward to participating again in the future and having the opportunity to visit even more communities within our jurisdiction!