Chicago's First Japanese Matsuri Festival Coming To Lincoln Park

CHICAGO, IL — More than 10,000 people are expected to attend the Chicago Japanese Matsuri festival on Saturday, Sept. 29 and Sunday, Sept. 30 in Lincoln Park. The festival was originally scheduled in June, but performance scheduling conflicts caused the event to be bumped until September, organizers said. The event will be held in the 60,000 square-foot, outdoor Newcity Plaza over two afternoons, organizers said.

"Our first annual Chicago Japanese Matsuri has received an amazing response from the public, so we greatly apologize for any inconvenience," said event organizer Kevin Yu. "We would like thank our volunteers and sponsors for going out of their way in supporting this event and making it a reality.”

Presented by the Japanese Culture Center and Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya, the festival will host more than 30 vendors and feature more than 10 performances, organizers said.

Admission to the event is free, and food and drink tickets will be available for purchase. All proceeds will benefit the Japanese Culture Center and Japanese Arts Foundation, organizers said.

Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya will provide all the food at the festival. Sapporo beer and 10 national brands of sake will also be offered. Festival organizer and chef/owner Kevin Yu and his team will offer the following authentic Japanese food at the festival:

• Chicken Karaage on a Stick (Japanese fried chicken on a stick with spicy mayo sauce and seaweed powder)
• Takoyaki on a Stick (Japanese octopus dumpling on a stick with seaweed powder)
• Japanese mayo and Okonomiyaku sauce
• Potato Croquette (Japanese fried potato cake)
• Gyoza (Japanese potstickers)
• Pork Chashu Don (slow cooked Japanese pork over rice)
• Gyudon (slow cooked Japanese beef over rice)
• Japanese Chicken Wings (Japanese-style chicken wings with honey lemon dressing or Tokyo buffalo sauce)
• Hiyashi Chuka (Japanese-style chill noodle with sesame dressing)
• Edamame (Japanese soy bean)
• Spinach Gomae (Japanese-style chill spinach with sesame sauce)
• Japanese Shaved Ice

The festival will also include Taiko Drumming, Iaido (Japanese swordsmanship), Aikido (Japanese martial art) and traditional Japanese dance performances. There will also be a Shurikenjutsu (throwing stars) and Karate demonstrations, organizers said.

Activities will include large scale Shodo (Japanese Calligraphy), photo booths, 'big brush' Sumi-e (ink painting), a fashion show with local Japanese street fashion community, a cosplay competition, a traditional Samurai armor dressing booth, Indigo dyeing demonstrations, Shodo (Japanese calligraphy) and a writing on-demand booth (your name or a phrase).

To gear up for the event, Chicago Japanese Matsuri has partnered with Do312 for a $50 festival food and drink ticket giveaway.

EVENT DETAILS:

WHEN: Saturday, June 23 and Sunday, June 24
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

WHERE: NEWCITY Plaza
1457 N Halsted St
Garage parking available

COST: Food and Drink Tickets:
-$2: 1 ticket
-$20: 12 tickets
-$40: 25 tickets

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
This is a tentative schedule and is subject to change, organizers said.

Saturday, Sept. 29:
12 p.m. Japanese Consul-General Naoki Ito giving opening remarks
12:30 p.m. "Big Brush" Sumi-e (Japanese Ink Painting) Performance
1 p.m. Aikido Association of America Performance
2 p.m. Shamisen and traditional Japanese Dance Performance
3 p.m. Large format Japanese Calligraphy (Shodo) Performance
4 p.m. Taiko Drumming Performance

Sunday, Sept. 30:
12 p.m. Iaido (Japanese Swordsmanship) Demonstration
1 p.m. Aikido Association of America Performance
2 p.m. Shamisen and traditional Japanese Dance Performance
3 p.m. Large format Japanese Calligraphy (Shodo) Performance
3 p.m. Comedy act BATSU
4 p.m. Taiko Drumming Performance

Image courtesy of Chicago Japanese Matsuri & Papergirl PR & Marketing