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Arts & Entertainment

ENMANJI TEMPLE Celebrates 77 Years in Sonoma County

2012 commemorates the 77th Anniversary of Enmanji Temple in Sebastopol and celebrating this milestone, Enmanji will host two weekend events beginning with the 57th Annual Teriyaki Barbecue and Bazaar on Sunday July 8th. This is a free event that attracts thousands of people to Sebastopol. 

 

The Enmanji’s Teriyaki Bazaar menu includes barbecued teriyaki chicken lunch (hot or cold), and other Japanese delicacies such as imagawa yaki a sweeten bean filled pastry, kushi yaki and locally made desserts. 

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 Enmanji Temple members were the first in the Bay Area to feature chicken teriyaki barbecue as a way to share their Japanese heritage with their surrounding neighbors. This fundraiser of marinated and barbecued seems quite ordinary now, but fifty-seven years ago it was quite unique to the general public. 

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Enmanji’s event is noted as the “grandfather of Bay Area teriyaki barbecues” among the Japanese in the Bay Area which all coincides during the months of July and August.

 

Cultural activities include a  Taiko performance by Sonoma County Taiko at 12:30PM and 4PM, extensive bonsai display by the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society, an outdoor plant sale, Ikebana flower arranging demonstration and sale, children’s games, handicrafts, raffle drawing, bingo, cultural arts displays, martial arts demonstrations and more.


Proceeds from the Teriyaki Bazaar support the local Enmanji Buddhist Temple’s community activities. Admission is free and cost for the Teriyaki chicken plate (half of a chicken, steamed white rice, homemade potato salad, tea and fortune cookie) is $11.

A drive up and pick-up window opens at 8AM.  You can enter the temple grounds off of Elphick Rd.  Telephone number: (707) 823-2252

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