In Ogden on Saturday, July 16, 2022
An important part of the Japanese culture and tradition is to honor the dead with an Obon Festival of dancing and music. The Salt Lake Buddhist Temple held their annual Obon Festival on Saturday, July 9. After being unable to hold the event because of the COVID pandemic, they produced a virtual Obon Festival last year. This year they held the regular Obon Festival in front of their building located at 211 West 100 South in Sall Lake City.
The event was well attended. People enjoyed the opportunity to have some Japanese food as well as to enjoy the program of dancing in the street and taiko drummers. The Obon Festivals are open to the public.
The Salt Lake Buddhist Temple Obon Festival is normally held on the second Saturday in July. It is attended by members of the congregation of the Ogden Buddhist Church, which holds their Obon Festival on the third Saturday of July. The two groups support each other.
The Obon Festival will be held on Saturday, July 16, 2022, at the Ogden Buddhist Church which is located at 155 North Street in Ogden. It will be held from 7 pm to 10 pm with the dancing scheduled to start at 8 pm. They will not be selling regular food this year, but they will have snacks and drinks available for purchase.
The Obon Festivals are entertaining and enjoyable. They provide a chance for the people of Japanese heritage to celebrate and for the general public to learn more of the culture and traditions of Japan.
The Salt Lake Buddhist Temple produced a virtual Obon Festival video in 2021 because of the COVID pandemic. It featured teachers and others dancing along with performances by the taiko drumming group. There was footage of past Obon Festivals where the people were able to dance in the street. That video may be viewed at their website: https://www.slbuddhist.org/]
[For more information on the Ogden Obon Festival, visit: www.ogdenbuddhistchurch.org]
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