Matsuri - 2019

*photo of Masaji Terasawa, a.k.a. the Candyman, one of the few practitioners of the Japanese art of amezaiku (candy art) - from IllinoisBuzz

This festival took place in a public space. On the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign there are mutliple culture houses and this festival took place in the graden/open space by the Japan House. The boundaries for this festival were marked off with cones in the entrance but once inside there were no restrictions. Since it took place in the garden and open field the trees worked as the boundaries for the overall event. The festival was accessible to everyone from students, to staff and faculty of the university, and it was even open to members from the community!

The festival is named "Matsuri" which is Japanese for festival. The festival does have a strong connection to the place held since the Japanese garden and tea house were open for the visitors to see. Matsuri honored Asian cultural traditions (martial arts, taiko drumming) as well as contributions to popular culture (anime, manga). It drew restaurants and food trucks that don’t usually participate in festivals, as well as inspired other local favorites to come up with exclusive menus (such as Pandamonium Doughnuts, Matcha Green Tea, and Red Bean creations). Although the focus is on Japanese culture, other Asian cultures and Indian cultures were represesnted as well.

The impact of the festival creates an immersive experience by bringing people from all ages and cultural backgrounds together. The festival helps showcase and educate people who may not be familar with Japanese customs, art, language, and food. I don't think there is a group that is negatively impacted by the festival. The vendors and Japan House profit the most. This may be the first time people visit the Japan House which may encourage them to come and visit again. There were vendors that had stickers, art pieces, clothing items, food, etc. that were not from the Urbana-Champaign area and were able to gain new customers.