JAA & AAA to Celebrate Japanese Folklore Legend
10th Annual Tanabata Festival
Saturday, July 9 from 6:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.
Carl Schurz Park Esplanade – East River Promenade (enter at E. 86th Street and East End Avenue)
Admission: Free
The Japanese American Association of New York and the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York, together with support from the Consulate General of Japan in New York, will hold the tenth annual stargazing Tanabata Festival. AAA members with telescopes will show guests the night sky and tell the folk tale of Princess Orihime and Hikoboshi, who are represented by the stars Vega and Altair, which are prominent in the summer sky.
The Legend of Tanabata
Princess Orihime weaved night and day, so much so that her father, the Heavenly Emperor, arranged for his workaholic daughter to meet a handsome cowherd named Hikoboshi. It was love at first sight, and the couple married immediately. Busy being a devoted wife, Princess Orihime neglected her weaving, prompting the emperor to separate the young lovers and sending Hikoboshi to the other side of the Amanogawa, or the Milky Way.
Beside herself with loneliness, Princess Orihime cried and cried, beginning the rainy season with her tears. Her father couldn’t stand to see his daughter in this state, so he allowed her to visit her beloved one day a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month.
To honor the star-crossed lovers, the Japanese write their wishes on thin strips of paper called tanzaku and hang them from bamboo branches.
Write Your Wishes
Volunteers from the Origami Therapy Association will hand out tanzaku, upon which guests can write their wishes and tie them to bamboo branches. OTA will also teach participants how to fold different kinds of origami.
There will be live performances by The New York Mixed Chorus and Bon Dan-NYC as well as an amateur kabuki play about the legend of Tanabata. Food will be available for purchase from Musubin’. Enjoy a summer evening with JAA and the community.
This event is free and open to the public, so throw on your yukata and make a wish!
For more info, please visit the JAA’s Facebook Page.
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