Today we had the fifth annual Kids' Festival.
It opened with the announcement of the winners of the poster competition. The first prize went to Kyoko who got 1000yen to use in Toys-R-Us. The two runners up were Shunpei and Nozomi who each got 500yen.
The main event and was opened by Sota and Takumi and we then got to see 13 wonderful performances ranging from singing to plays and even a quiz. Everyone tried really hard and we were very impressed how well everyone remembered their lines.
Well done to all those who took place and thank you to all of you who came. We look forward to seeing what next year will bring.
Showing posts with label festival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label festival. Show all posts
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Christmas Party
Today we had the annual Zenrinkan Christmas party. About 40 guests gathered in the large hall and were treated to an evening of good food and entertainment.
The evening kicked off with an introduction to the British custom of Christmas crackers and everyone got a chance to pull one and put on their hat and enjoy an English joke (although some explanation was needed sometimes!).
Next the guests enjoyed a snack while being serenaded by the niko group. As always, Hiroko provided a wonderful meal, this time of an assortment of cakes. Her famous stollen was of course delicious. The sign language group taught everyone how to sign "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Silent Night" in sign language. We were happy to see everyone pick it up straight away!
As the meal came to an end, the "let's sing" group treated us to some Christmas carols and the Tuesday Reading Class had everyone take part in a few games. First we had to close our eyes and sit down when we thought 30 seconds had passed. Then we had to try to create a one meter length by tearing paper into a long strip. The most accurate person got a prize!! It was amazing to see some people were able to get one meter exactly.
The English staff did a reading with mime performance of "The Night Before Christmas". Alicia's amazing PowerPoint presentation skills and Santa performance were by far and away the hit of the evening!
Finally Alicia led everyone in a sing along of three traditional Christmas carols. On the tables were various castanettes and noise makers and a pianist joined in too to finish the evening off in musical style.
Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year!!!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Summer Party
Today we had the annual summer party. As always, there was a bazaar and flea market, as well as various snacks for sale made by the Zenrinkan staff.
This year's International Lunch was as high a standard as always and all the guests had their fill of food from England, America, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Korea, China, Colombia, Mexico and more besides.
Sadly, everyone was too busy eating and serving to take any pictures, so the whole day went by without a single snap!
Being the same day as the Hachimangu festival, we were a little worried there would be a lack of guests, but in the end it turned out to be a record turn out and a wonderfully successful day.
This year's International Lunch was as high a standard as always and all the guests had their fill of food from England, America, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Korea, China, Colombia, Mexico and more besides.
Sadly, everyone was too busy eating and serving to take any pictures, so the whole day went by without a single snap!
Being the same day as the Hachimangu festival, we were a little worried there would be a lack of guests, but in the end it turned out to be a record turn out and a wonderfully successful day.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Summer Party
This year we had about 50 people come to the Zenrinkan summer party. The guests enjoyed some delicious food prepared by Hiroko, then had a chance to try lots of different activities organised by the teachers.
Alicia F had a Casino Night where the students could learn some words about poker and try playing (with fake money of course!).
Michiko helped people prepare a simple Aroma Therapy product using natural herbs and oils.
Gladys taught people a very energetic Latin dance which was almost like aerobics. Some very sweaty people came out of her corner!
Miura-sensei helped people write their tanabata wish using calligraphy brushes and ink. There was also a chance to write a Chinese character on a stone to take home.
Alicia S showed people all about American high school life in a photo presentation and discussion. Everyone was surprised how different it was to Japanese high schools.
In the hallway, Nicola taught an English traditional dance called Morris Dancing. As it involves hitting sticks together with your partner it was popular with the kids!
Rudy helped people make a bracelet that is popular in his state.
After everyone had tried their hand at the different activities, there were two quizzes - Chinese and English. In the Chinese quiz everyone guessed the meaning of Chinese words related to the Olympics using the sound and characters. Then the English quiz had two teams compete in front of everyone. Maybe the most entertaining part was the "picture relay" when four out of five members were shown a word and given 10 seconds per person to complete a picture of the word and then show it to the last member of their group who guessed what the picture should be.
Then the evening was finished off in the usual style with a song from the Saturday "Let's sing" group.
Alicia F had a Casino Night where the students could learn some words about poker and try playing (with fake money of course!).
Michiko helped people prepare a simple Aroma Therapy product using natural herbs and oils.
Gladys taught people a very energetic Latin dance which was almost like aerobics. Some very sweaty people came out of her corner!
Miura-sensei helped people write their tanabata wish using calligraphy brushes and ink. There was also a chance to write a Chinese character on a stone to take home.
Alicia S showed people all about American high school life in a photo presentation and discussion. Everyone was surprised how different it was to Japanese high schools.
In the hallway, Nicola taught an English traditional dance called Morris Dancing. As it involves hitting sticks together with your partner it was popular with the kids!
Rudy helped people make a bracelet that is popular in his state.
After everyone had tried their hand at the different activities, there were two quizzes - Chinese and English. In the Chinese quiz everyone guessed the meaning of Chinese words related to the Olympics using the sound and characters. Then the English quiz had two teams compete in front of everyone. Maybe the most entertaining part was the "picture relay" when four out of five members were shown a word and given 10 seconds per person to complete a picture of the word and then show it to the last member of their group who guessed what the picture should be.Then the evening was finished off in the usual style with a song from the Saturday "Let's sing" group.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Cherry Blossom Party
Sadly this year the day of the Cherry Blossom party turned out to be wet and windy, but undeterred we collected together all of the delicious food people had brought and had an indoor hanami.
We might not have got to see any flowers, but we did get some delicious treats such as sushi, fried chicken, cherry blossom tea, and more besides.
We might not have got to see any flowers, but we did get some delicious treats such as sushi, fried chicken, cherry blossom tea, and more besides.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Ogama Kid's Festival
This year for the first time we had a Kid's Festival for the off-campus class at Ogama.
There were 10 performances in total, ranging from the pre-school children to the middle school class. The performances included some songs, jokes and a story. The children also got to meet their new teacher Alicia.
We also enjoyed singing a song with the audience in English and everyone played a game together. We also got to see Shiyu recite his speech from the Iwate Children's Speech contest and he could still remember it even though it was 5 months after the event!
There were 10 performances in total, ranging from the pre-school children to the middle school class. The performances included some songs, jokes and a story. The children also got to meet their new teacher Alicia.
We also enjoyed singing a song with the audience in English and everyone played a game together. We also got to see Shiyu recite his speech from the Iwate Children's Speech contest and he could still remember it even though it was 5 months after the event!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Murder Mystery Party
On Wednesday March 19th Zenrinkan hosted the third annual Murder Mystery Party night, A Taste of Poison. 20 people attended the event which lasted for two hours. The setting took place in the land of England in the 13th century. The court of King Richard Colchester was hosting a event at his castle when someone made an attempt on the life of his wife Queen Mary Colchester by poisoning the royal wine. Luckily for the King and Queen, they were spared by the royal taste tester who drank the wine first. The loyal tester died but started our mystery for the night as the guests talked and asked questions to find out who among them was the murderer.
During the night, a delicious dinner was served that included an appetizer, vegetable soup, pork ribs, and pastry and cake dessert. In the end, many guesses were made but unfortunetly no one correctly identified the real murderer. However, everyone had fun and we are all looking forward to the next Murder Mystery Party.
During the night, a delicious dinner was served that included an appetizer, vegetable soup, pork ribs, and pastry and cake dessert. In the end, many guesses were made but unfortunetly no one correctly identified the real murderer. However, everyone had fun and we are all looking forward to the next Murder Mystery Party.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Kids' Festival
Today was the annual kids' festival at Zenrinkan. At 1.30, everyone gathered to be entertained by the students of 15 children's classes.
The program opened with the youngest students rendition of the "hello song" and the members of the Wednesday kid's class doing a very cute recital of "the wheels on the bus".
The older students mostly entertained us with some skits and we even had three poems and a selection of jokes.
"The Hare and the Tortoise" and a presentation about how to save the environment gave us pause for thought.
Not only were the performances wonderful, but the art work was also incredible, much of it made by the class teachers. お疲れ様でした！
The program opened with the youngest students rendition of the "hello song" and the members of the Wednesday kid's class doing a very cute recital of "the wheels on the bus".
The older students mostly entertained us with some skits and we even had three poems and a selection of jokes.
"The Hare and the Tortoise" and a presentation about how to save the environment gave us pause for thought.
Not only were the performances wonderful, but the art work was also incredible, much of it made by the class teachers. お疲れ様でした！
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Christmas Party
This year's Christmas party was on a slightly smaller scale than previous years, with about 40 people in attendance. We started with a beautiful performance from the Nikko group who played a selection of pleasant Christmas tunes.
Other musical delights of the evening included the Let's Sing group's Christmas carol recital, including Walking in a Winter Wonderland and Jingle Bell Rock. The Tuesday reading group also sang Jingle Bells, with the twist of a high-energy game thrown in. Competitors had to make as many steps as the could register on a pedometer by dancing throughout the song!
The other game of the evening was pass-the-parcel, except instead of music, the competitors listened to a story and passed the parcel right when the narrator said "right" and left when they said "left".
Along side the music and games we also had two theatrical performances. The Tuesday evening reading group did a recital of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, and the sign language group treated us to a performance of The Tongue Cut Sparrow.
The evening was of course complimented with Hiroko's wonderful Christmas dinner including a whole turkey and delicious stuffing and bread sauce.
We ended off the night with a traditional New Year song, Auld Lang Syne.
Other musical delights of the evening included the Let's Sing group's Christmas carol recital, including Walking in a Winter Wonderland and Jingle Bell Rock. The Tuesday reading group also sang Jingle Bells, with the twist of a high-energy game thrown in. Competitors had to make as many steps as the could register on a pedometer by dancing throughout the song!
The other game of the evening was pass-the-parcel, except instead of music, the competitors listened to a story and passed the parcel right when the narrator said "right" and left when they said "left".
Along side the music and games we also had two theatrical performances. The Tuesday evening reading group did a recital of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, and the sign language group treated us to a performance of The Tongue Cut Sparrow.
The evening was of course complimented with Hiroko's wonderful Christmas dinner including a whole turkey and delicious stuffing and bread sauce.
We ended off the night with a traditional New Year song, Auld Lang Syne.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Halloween Party
Today was the children's Halloween party. We had almost 200 kids come to join us in an evening of tricks, treats and scary stories.
The event began with a play put on by the English-speaking staff that told the story of how the Jack-O-Lantern got its name and was narrated by our guest story teller in Japanese. The storyteller also did her own story and told many spooky tales all through the night.
Afterwards the children were free to enjoy all the stalls and activities. The Haunted House was as popular as always and created a few screams. The new events included a science corner where they could make a tree grow icicles, play with slime, make a head foam at the mouth and experiment with air. The treasure hunt was also popular, but a bit much for some with some tricky clues.
The regular events were the pumpkin carving, craft and cooking. This year the children made their own candy-floss. Thanks to all our helpers it was a very successful night.
The event began with a play put on by the English-speaking staff that told the story of how the Jack-O-Lantern got its name and was narrated by our guest story teller in Japanese. The storyteller also did her own story and told many spooky tales all through the night.
Afterwards the children were free to enjoy all the stalls and activities. The Haunted House was as popular as always and created a few screams. The new events included a science corner where they could make a tree grow icicles, play with slime, make a head foam at the mouth and experiment with air. The treasure hunt was also popular, but a bit much for some with some tricky clues.
The regular events were the pumpkin carving, craft and cooking. This year the children made their own candy-floss. Thanks to all our helpers it was a very successful night.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
International Festival
On September 19th, Zenrinkan hosted its annual International Festival, Lunch, and Bazaar in the hallowed halls of the chapel. Events started at 10 o'clock with the doors opening so guests could peruse the many items in the charity bazaar. There was quite a menagerie waiting to be recycled into new homes and bargain hunting browsers eagerly bought up the goods.
At 11 o'clock the International Lunch began to satisfy the appetites of the curious and the convivial. For 200 yen, a person could buy a ticket which entitled them to sample food from far away lands. 
The countries represented at the International Lunch came from Peru, Columbia, the U.K., the United States, Bangladesh, Korea, Zambia, and China. The foreign fare was ravenously consumed by the hungry horde which represented the diverse international community in Morioka and the monies contributed to charity.
At 11 o'clock the International Lunch began to satisfy the appetites of the curious and the convivial. For 200 yen, a person could buy a ticket which entitled them to sample food from far away lands. 
The countries represented at the International Lunch came from Peru, Columbia, the U.K., the United States, Bangladesh, Korea, Zambia, and China. The foreign fare was ravenously consumed by the hungry horde which represented the diverse international community in Morioka and the monies contributed to charity.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Zenrinkan Festival
Every year Zenrikan holds a festival with an an international lunch and bazaar. This year we served food from America, Bangladesh, Colombia, China and England.
The American store sold chili and rice and rice-krispy squares. The Chinese table had meat filled dumplings and the English table sold bread and butter pudding and rice pudding.
The bazaar had many tables selling food and crafts. The hand kitting was very popular as were the home made cakes.
The American store sold chili and rice and rice-krispy squares. The Chinese table had meat filled dumplings and the English table sold bread and butter pudding and rice pudding.
The bazaar had many tables selling food and crafts. The hand kitting was very popular as were the home made cakes.
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