The much-anticipated annual festival was held on July 1st.
Last week, Yamanashi Gakuin University held another successful Altair Tanabata Festival! The Altair Tanabata Festival is one of the largest annual campus-wide festivals held by Yamanashi Gakuin University.
This year was the 19th time the annual Altair Tanabata Festival was held on campus.
Tanabata is a festival observed in Japan that is based on the tale of Hikoboshi and Orihime. The deities, Hikoboshi and Orihime, were lovers who could only meet once a year over the Heavenly River on the seventh day of the seventh month – July 7th.
The Tanabata Festival, held all over Japan, celebrates their meeting. In Japan, it is also customary to write wishes on pieces of colored paper called Tanzaku and hang them on bamboo trees.
Event guests attended from Yamanashi Gakuin Elementary School, Junior High, Senior High School, Junior College, and University. Family members also attended. The campus was filled with students and their family members.
After 2 years of COVID-19 food and drink-related restriction at events, this year, the university was finally able to welcome food trucks to the event. Guests could enjoy international foods like Cuban sandwiches, Gapao Rice, Banh mi, crepes, and more.
Main highlights included exhilarating performances from students in the Ouen Leader Club, Cheerleader Club, The Chinese International Students Student Association, and Dance Club.
This year also featured a special performance from the pop idol group, HO6LA.
The performances set an exciting atmosphere during the festival.
Student-organized booths featuring games like target shooting and craft-making were also popular. iCLA students organized a booth featuring fishing for rubber ducks, which was a big hit with children at the festival.
Finally, the event finished off with an impressive fireworks display – a great way to kick off the summer!
See video highlights from the event:
More photos from the event:
