Daisuki Ibaraki Festival
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Hi, Ibaraki people !!
In November 12th and 13th, maybe some of you were near Tsukuba to attend the Daisuki Ibaraki Festival. In spite of the rain that turned the site in a mud field, people from Ibaraki, and certainly from neighbouring prefectures, came in mass to eat Ibaraki specialties, to discover representatives of many local associations and organisations.
Saturday 12th was with no doubt an epic day for the brave citizens of Ibaraki prefecture who were struggling to stand in the mud. For the adventurers and the younger ones, this slippery soil had become an ice-skating ground. Wait, a mud-skating ground.
Anyways, this did not prevent it from being quite a successful event. And in the international zone of this giant site, we were pleased to see a relatively big attendance, obviously attracted by the different booths that were displaying art, clothes, information about foreign countries from the 5 continents. Not to mention food and beverages that had been prepared by the participants to bring in visitors mouths a bit of their culture.
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On top of that, this area was equipped with a stage on which performers from different parts of the globe would dance, sing, play instruments or wear traditional clothing. As co-Master of Ceremony, this was an immense pleasure for me to witness all this and to take part as well to entertain the audience. And close to the booths, very exciting and unknown games were there to entertain not only the kids but also the grown-ups.
When I think of all the nationalities represented in this international zone, it gives me hope in the future. We all have different cultures but we share the same heart that makes this kind of moment unique and meaningful. We were listening and watching carefully and respectfully our respective shows, although my improvised and ridiculous gig just provoked a justified hilarity. But in a way, isn t laughing a path to mutual understanding ? Anyway, I would rather see them laugh than cry. The soil was muddy enough. More tears would have transformed the site in quicksand. . . .
