MORE than 20,000 visitors are expected to flock to Queensbay Mall outdoor car park to experience the upcoming Penang Bon Odori Festival 2019 this Saturday.
The festival is a traditional Japanese event celebrated with dances and drum performances to honour ancestral spirits.
The event has been held in Penang for over 20 years. It was previously held at the Esplanade.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the celebration, jointly organised by the state Tourism Development, Arts, Culture & Heritage (PETACH) office and the Japanese consulate-general office, is set to draw a sea of visitors this weekend.
He said the Japanese community working in Penang and the neighbouring state, Kedah, would have the chance to join in the festival.
“It is going to be exciting for these working professionals. They will have the chance to experience the Bon Odori Festival outside ‘The Land of the Rising Sun’.
“It will also be an eye opener for the locals because they can experience the Japanese culture themselves,” he said after attending the lighting up ceremony of the Japan Kaminarimon Gate replica at the outdoor car park today.
The replica, measuring about 36ft tall and 20ft wide, is about the same size as the Kaminarimon Gate in Japan.
State Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said visitors could look forward to the event as the site would be transformed into a welcoming Japanese landscape.
He said a series of fun-filled activities has been lined up, including the return of the Miss Penang Bon Odori beauty contest after many years.
“We will also be decorating the site with artificial sakura trees and Japanese bamboo plants to create a Japanese ambience,” he said.
Also present was Japanese consul-general in Penang Shinichiro Kanoya.
The festival is slated to begin from 5pm to 11pm.
Last year’s Japan Miss Universe, Yuumi Kato will be the special guest for the festival.
Admission for the Penang Bon Odori Festival 2019 is free.
Story by Edmund Lee
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi
Video by Chan Kok Kuan