Capture taste of Japanese culture at first LV festival

Friday, Nov. 8, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Time to dust off the ol' kimono and warm up those chopsticks.

The first Japan Festival in Las Vegas, a performing arts and cultural awareness event, begins Saturday and continues through Tuesday.

More than 1,000 Japanese performers and artists, as well as a host of local craftsmen and celebrities, will be on hand to entertain during the festival that kicks off with a "gateball" (croquet) tournament at Sunset Park.

Also on Saturday, Japan's largest beauty school, the Yamana Beauty College, will host an International Kimono Show at the Fashion Show Mall.

The high-fashion show will feature versions of the traditional garb worn by Japanese women throughout their lives and at ceremonial events including weddings, when brides are required to make several kimono changes. (The college recently introduced a "quick change" program to expedite the costly, hours-long process.)

An array of cultural exhibits and crafts will be on display at the Tropicana hotel-casino on Monday and Tuesday, including bonsai, judo, doll-making and origami demonstrations.

The centerpiece of the festival is the Friendship Parade, which is set to roll down Las Vegas Boulevard, between Gass Street and Fremont Street, from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Marching bands, race cars, floats and horse teams are scheduled to take part in the parade. Performances include the Japanese American Citizens League's ondo dance and taiko drum teams and the "Drums of the Islands" Hawaiian dance group.

The Japan Festival in Las Vegas is fashioned after another that was established in Honolulu in 1980 as a means of cultural exchange between the people of Hawaii and Japan.

It has become a major tourist draw for the city, with around 7,000 Japanese visitors attending each year.

So, when event sponsors began searching for another U.S. city to showcase a similar festival, Las Vegas was a natural choice, according to local festival chairman Robert Jitchaku.

The purpose, he says, is to "promote social, cultural and economic understanding between Japan and Nevada."

"Ultimately, the goal on both sides is to try to develop it into a much stronger relationship and long-term relationship. Hopefully we can better educate the people of Las Vegas ... about what the culture and these things mean."

Admission to most of the events are free. For more information, call the Japan Festival in Las Vegas hotline at 390-6238.