Limited Capacity!! RSVP Today for BonPOP 2024!
Memorial Lanterns | Yukata Dressing Station | Festival Attire | Yukata Remix Contest | Dance Practices | Instructors & Musicians | Volunteer
KOHO and Gardens of Golden Gate Park are excited to present the third annual KOHO BonPop community Bon Odori festival, taking place this year on Saturday, August 31 at the Celebration Garden in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
2-4pm: Vendors & Activities
4-6pm: Dancing
BonPOP, a reimagined Obon Odori, welcomes a local, city-wide and regional audience to immerse themselves in the Japanese tradition of honoring ancestors through dance, song, and rituals accessible to all regardless of religion, faith, ethnicity, and cultural beliefs. The festival features a vibrant blend of taiko drumming, live folk music, and Bon Odori dancing showcasing the rich heritage and talent of our local Japantown artists and cultural practitioners.
A 500-year-old ceremonial tradition, Obon is celebrated throughout Japan today. Residents travel to their family homes to honor their ancestors during Obon season. Originating from the Chinese Ghost Festival of Buddhist and Taoist nature, the Japan Obon Festival follows the idea that during the month of August, those in the living realm remember and remember and honor past ancestors. Family rituals may include visits to the local temple, cleaning of ancestral graves, lighting of fire and lanterns, and reunions with loved ones enjoying ceremonial foods and family traditions.
Vendors & Community Organizations
Consulate-General of Japan will be giving out uchiwa fans from the Osaka 2025 Expo.
Haight Street Art will have their Community Pop-up, screenprinting an original design on tenugui - supplies are limited so come early!
Chameleon Vintage: selling vintage yukata
Old River Design Co: selling vintage yukata and accessories
*Memorial Lanterns*
We will honor past loved ones by hanging Memorial Tags from lanterns in the Celebration Garden. Join us at the event to hang a tag in memory of a loved one who has passed on.
Your donations will help us continue to bring our community together and make a difference in Japantown.
Yukata Dressing Station
Photo by Juliana Yamada; read about last year’s BonPOP and dressing station.
BCSF dance instructors will help dancers get dressed in Yukata at the Celebration Garden from 2 - 3 pm. Advance sign up required.
You must bring your own Yukata and necessary accessories (ties and obi). See below for shops in Japantown where festival attire can be purchased.
*Where Do I Get My Obon Festival Attire in SF Japantown?*
Traditional
(Yukata, Happi Coat, Accessories, Implements):
Asakichi Arts & Antiques
Kohshi Master of Scents
Paper Tree
Sakura Sakura
Sharaku
Remix
(Japan Fashion, Vintage, Cosplay, Anime):
Amiko Boutique
Baby, the Stars Shine Bright
Chameleon Vintage
Fanloli
Katachi
OK Marketplace
Sou Sou
*Yukata Remix Contest*
How will you ‘remix’ and fashion your formal festival wear for personal self expression? Come dressed to win awesome prizes in one of these categories:
1. Best Under Age 12
2. Best 13+
Judging will be based on:
Best Remix Using Only Traditional Attire
Best Fusion/Creative
Best Use of Accessories
New this year: Dance practices!
Join us at dance practices to learn the Bon Odori dances: Wed 8/21, Fri 8/23, Mon 8/26 and Wed 8/28 from 6:30 - 8 pm at the KOHO Co-Creative Hub.
Here’s a video of a new dance the instructors will be teaching: Osaka Expo Dance (Kono Chikyuu no Tsuzuki wo)
Full song list coming soon!
Bon Odori Dance Instructors & Musicians
Dancers of San Francisco Buddhist Church
Photo by Mark Shigenaga
Founded in 1898, the Buddhist Church of San Francisco was the first Jodo Shinshu (Pure Land) Buddhist temple established in the continental United States and is the flagship temple of the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA).
The temple began with a group of devout Issei (first generation) Shin Buddhists establishing the first Jodo Shin organization on the US mainland on July 30, 1898. On September 1, 1899, with the arrival of the first overseas ministers Rev. Dr. Rev. Shuye Sonoda and Rev. Kakuryo Nishima, Jodo Shinshu began to take root in American soil.
Photo courtesy of GenRyu Arts
Founded as Gen Taiko in 1995 and incorporated as GenRyu Arts in August 2008, its mission is to promote, present and participate in Japanese and Japanese American culture through Taiko (Japanese Drumming) and other traditional and contemporary music and dance forms. GenRyu Arts is directed by its founder Melody Takata, a multi-faceted artist trained in Japanese Classical Dance, Taiko and Shamisen. Takata Sensei has been performing for over 20 years in Japan and U.S.A. Deeply rooted in San Francisco’s Japantown and in the Asian American Community, GenRyu Arts engages in art-making that merges Japanese cultural forms taiko, dance and folk songs with new music, spoken word and visual design into singular expressions that honor community heritage and address key issues stemming from the legacy of internment and redevelopment.
Photo courtesy of David Toshiyuki
Formed in 2006, Ensohza is a minzoku-geino or Japanese folk performing ensemble based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With lively vocals accompanied by fue and shakuhachi (bamboo flutes), shamisen (a string instrument) and the beat of the taiko drum, Ensohza transports you to Japan’s mountain and fishing villages with traditional folk songs and festival dance music. Ensohza also promotes opportunities for community building through grant-funded training in folk dance and the traditional festival arts of Japan, performing music that evokes the festival spirit and character of Japan’s diverse rural communities.
Ito Yosokoi , SF Japantown
Obon Dance Instructors. ITO YOSAKOI (pronounced: yoh-sah-coy) is a yosakoi dance group based in San Francisco Japantown. They practice weekly as a program of Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC). The name “Ito” (糸 “Thread”) emphasizes the relationships woven together between members of a community.
Contact: itoyosakoi@gmail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/itoyosakoi
Instagram: @itoyosakoi
VOLUNTEER!
Volunteer to help make the event a success! Help with event preparations at the KOHO Co-Creative Hub in Japantown leading up to the event, as well as on the day of the event at the SF Botanical Garden's Celebration Garden.
With limited capacity, be sure to RSVP today!
BonPOP is included with admission to the Gardens. Admission to the Gardens is FREE for San Francisco residents, children ages 4 and under, and those qualifying for the Museums for All program, Gardens members, and Veterans. Photo ID proof is required for the proof of free admission. Tickets can be purchased at the gate for non-SF residents.