On Saturday July 31, Chibi Taiko will perform at a ceremony in New Denver, BC to help mark the Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre’s official designation as National Historic Site.

From an article in The Bulletin:
On Saturday, July 31, 2010, a ceremony will be held at the Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre in New Denver to mark its official designation as a National Historic Site. The event, which is open to the public, will run over the weekend and includes commemorative events, entertainment, workshops, and the annual Obon Ceremony.

Continue reading Chibi Taiko to play in New Denver

On Saturday July 24, Chibi Taiko kicked off the festivities at the grand opening on the newly-refurbished Oppenheimer Park in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The park, former home to the legendary Asahi baseball team, sits on Powell Street, the prewar home of Vancouver’s Japanese Canadian community. Making the occasion particularly special to our group was the fact that we were unveiling our new set of beautiful taiko, made for us by Kato Taiko in California. Incredibly, not only was it the first time we played out new drums in public, it was the first time we played them at all . . .  Happily, they look and sound awesome!

If you look at the photo below this post, and compare the drums, our new drums look remarkably similar to Betcha Taiko’s gorgeous drums.

by John Endo Greenaway

There was a moment towards the end of the July 25 performance by Chibi Taiko and Onomichi’s Betcha Taiko that will be forever etched in my memory. The two groups were playing a piece together called Ishizue, an original Betcha composition that Chibi members had learned over the course of the past week. Night was falling as the nearly three dozen drummers filled the small public square in Onomichi’s shotengai (shopping district) with a thick wall of sound. The young Chibi drummers were playing with a ferocity and sense of purpose I had never witnessed before. As the piece drew to a conclusion, the drummers swooped low to the ground, their faces glistening with a combination of sweat and exhilaration. I was surprised at the emotion that welled up in me. A lump came to my throat as I watched the members of Chibi Taiko, including my two daughters, give everything they had to a common purpose in the true spirit of taiko. At that one moment, the members of the two groups—who shared a common heritage but little else—emphatically bridged the cultural divide.

Continue reading Bulletin Article

Yes – Chibi Taiko is heading to Japan in July. Twenty drummers (aged six to 23), instructors and parents will visit Onomichi, Osaka and Tokyo. We will be holding a fundraising concert on Sunday, June 21 at 2pm.  Tickets are only $15 ($10 for students) and can be purchased at the door, through any Chibi member, or by e-mailing lkomori@telus.net.

Joining Chibi Taiko for this special concert will be our newest members in their first public performance along with our friends Yuaikai Ryukyu Taiko (seen below in a joint performance at the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival).

Read article on Chibi Taiko

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Chibi Taiko performed at the Vancouver Marathon this weekend along with 15 other groups on different stages along the route. It was the first time the audience was working harder than we were!

The 2009 Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival is ongoing at various venues around Greater Vancouver. Once again, Chibi Taiko performed at the Cherry jam at the Burrard Skytrain Station, this time with Yaikai Ryukyu Taiko.  As I was performing with Chibi, I couldn’t shoot our set, but I managed to get some good shots of the Yaikai Ryukyu Taiko folks during their piece.  There’s still lots going on at the Festival – see www.vcbf.ca for details.

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Not formal wear, but for more casual gigs . . .

Chibi Taiko head instructor Shinobu Homma will be teaching a series of classes for youth and adults at the National Nikkei Heritage Centre in Burnaby. Classes will be run in two sessions of four classes each. These classes are for beginnng taiko players, no experience required, and the age range is 15 years and up.

See here for details or e-mail lkomori@telus.net for more information.