Hinomoto is a student organization that works with the Japanese Studies Program (JSP) of the Ateneo de Manila University to instill appreciation and passion for Japanese language and culture to the Ateneo community. This April 1st, Hinomoto brings the Japanese Natsu Matsuri to the Ateneo campus grounds for a grand summer celebration. Beat the heat with live musical performances, tasty food, and fun games.
What’s up with Hinomoto’s Natsu Matsuri (夏祭り)?
April 1, 2016—Hinomoto, for the first time ever in the history of Ateneo de Manila University, will bring the bright lights, dazzling performances, scrumptious food, and fun games of the Japanese summer festival to the Ateneo campus grounds. Everybody is invited to come together in this radiant event to participate and enrich the cultural experience. Musical performances prepared by the members and special guests are a sight to see as one cools down with the food from the stalls on the festival grounds.
Natsu Matsuri (夏祭り) translates to “summer festival” in the Japanese language. This festival was first celebrated in honor of the people’s ancestors, and was later on as a way to relieve the people of fatigue from working in the hot summer. This season is the best time to go to the festival grounds while wearing a yukata with your friends as you munch on some candy apples and play invigorating games.
Event Specifications
Ateneo de Manila’s Cervini Field will serve as the festival grounds, which will operate from 5PM to 11PM. Entrance for the event is free. In exchange, partaking in the games requires chits, which can be bought in a designated booth in the festival grounds. Food can also be purchased all around the venue as visitors watch the performances onstage.
Performances
Hinomoto’s Natsu Matsuri will feature musical performances from its own Hinomoto Ongaku (音楽), which is a subgroup of the organization catering to the musicians who wish to perform on various Hinomoto events. The Ateneo Musicians’ Pool will take the stage—Ashley’s Kryptonite, Just Like Us, & The Mad Lilacs—and surely liven up the festival as they perform for a truly epic night. Strings will resonate around the venue as Dr. Hiroko Nagai’s Koto class performs during the festival.
There will also be performances by Za Doubutsuen, Kaleidoscope Eyes (KE), and Snow Dream.
Kaleidoscope Eyes
Food
Delicious Japanese food will be available thoughout the entire Natsu Matsuri as Hinomoto aims for a cool summer night for the celebration of the Matsuri. Members of the organization will serve popular snackable Japanese food, such as candy apples, kakigori (shaved ice), and chocolate bananas. The okonomiyaki and hashiyaki business called What’s Japenin’ will also make an appearance in the Natsu Matsuri as a concessionaire to serve their savory Japanese pancakes!
Games
The booth system shall operate by having the participants buy game ticket credits to enable them to play the games. These tickets are not required for the people to enter the festival grounds, as they are only for the games. The booths are tented and will be manned by the members.
1. Kingyo-Sukui (Goldfish scooping)
The booth contains a small pool with live swimming goldfish. The goal of the game is to scoop out a goldfish using a small, flat, circular scooper made with a ring and paper. The ring must remain intact for the participant to win. The winner gets to keep the goldfish.
2. Wa Nage
This booth represents the classic ring toss game. There are a maximum of ten bottles filled with stones, with two rows having five poles each. There can be two players playing at the same time, both of them each having five rings to toss. The players get points for every ring the players throw into the bottle. The farther the bottle that they are successfully able to toss a ring onto, the higher the points that they are able to rack up. The maximum number of points that they can achieve is 250 points. At the end of the game, the points are summed up and will determine the prize to be given.
3. Tarot Card reading booth
This booth is comprised of a table and the tarot card reader will sit on the opposite side of the table. The organization will get an experienced Tarot Card reader and practitioner to perform this.
4. Shateki
This booth is similar to the classic shooting range in carnival games to knock down some targets for a prize.
5. Yo-yo Tsuri
The “yo-yo” is a small water balloon filled with air and water and placed in a small pool filled with water. Each one is attached to a rubber string with an attached finger loop used to tie the end of the balloon, and then the string is wrapped around the balloon. Participants use a “fishing pole” which is a paper string with a metal hook attached to the end of it to try and pick up the water balloon by the loop before the paper disintegrates. As long as the paper does not disintegrate completely and is not rendered useless, the participants can continue playing to get a balloon.
Other features
1. Hinomoto Merchandise + Consignment Booth
Hinomoto brings its merchandise such as the novelty JaPUNese shirts, stickers, and pins to the Natsu Matsuri as it features both old and new designs made by the members themselves. The same booth is allotted for Hinomoto members who offer to sell their merchandise from Japan, such as trading cards, mini figures, anime merchandise, etc., during the event. The member gets the revenue earned from the sold merchandise.
2. Photobooth
Photos to match the Natsu Matsuri experience only makes the event more memorable for the participants to remind them of the Japanese summer festival experience.
3. Lottery
Participants of the Natsu Matsuri may opt to buy a lottery ticket for a chance to win a prize from one of the event’s co-presenters, Royce’ Chocolates. The lottery will take place in between performances during the event.
For inquiries, check them out on social media:
Event page: https://tinyurl.com/NatsuMatsuri2016
facebook.com/ateneo.hino
twitter.com/HinomotoDaigaku
