Kimonos, musubi and Taiko: Obon story time

Patty Saito Hecht, a founding mother of Humboldt Asians & Pacific Islanders in Solidarity (HAPI), and Laurie Takao a member of HAPI, were special guests at the Arcata Library story time Saturday.

“We got the great fortune to be able to talk about our upcoming Obon festival using a couple of really lovely books to talk about a little bit about Japanese culture and a little bit about Obon, and also how much fun it is for everybody,” Takao said. “So it was a real treat.”

Coming up next weekend, the Arcata Obon festival will celebrate Asian and Pacific Islander cultures and traditions.

“There’s going to be some cultural things for everybody to enjoy, kind of get an interpretation of what Obon means and how we celebrate our ancestors and remember them,” Takao said. “It’s very family oriented. We welcome everybody and if you want to dress up, please feel free.”

“We do not consider that cultural appropriation,” Saito Hecht said, “We call it collective celebration and it’s in the spirit of honoring and celebrating together.”

Obon has been celebrated in Japan for over 500 years.

“There are a bunch of festivals all summer, all around in Japan and in areas of the United States. California is big. If you were in Southern California, you could go to an Obon festival every weekend of the summer,” Takao said. “It was one of the wonderful things that we remember from our childhood; going to Obon and celebrating family. It’s a wonderful time to remember all our ancestors and to celebrate that.

One of the many reasons to love Obon is the treats.

“There’s oftentimes a specialty food at every Obon,” Takao said.

“In Japan, different towns, villages, they become known for the best udon or the best somen, which is the thin white noodles, usually eaten cold,” Saito Hecht said. “We are hopefully getting known for the musubi, which are little squished sandwiches. So it’s rice on the bottom, rice on the top. And then the middle is either spam, which is cooked, or tofu or albacore tuna.”

The Arcata Obon festival starts at four p.m. Sunday, August 11th, in front of the Arcata playhouse. Admission will be free.