JANM Hosts the Natsumatsuri Family Festival on August 12, 2023

LOS ANGELES, CA – Japanese American National Museum (JANM) will host the Natsumatsuri Family Festival on Saturday, August 12, 2023, from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. The Museum’s annual summer celebration features free cultural performances, crafts, and activities for families and kids of all ages. 

Admission to the Natsumatsuri Family Festival is free. All visitors are requested to register for their free tickets to ensure smooth and swift entry to the event. JANM Members will receive exclusive benefits, such as reserved seating, giveaways, a Members-only festival entrance, and a Members-only photo booth express lane. Register for free tickets and view the event schedule at janm.org/natsumatsuri2023. 

Festivities include performances by TAIKOPROJECT, Yu-ki Project, and Cold Tofu Improv and Comedy Group; a kendo demonstration by Sho Tokyo Kendo Dojo; a taiko workshop with JANM Volunteer Hal Keimi; a printmaking workshop with David Horvitz in partnership with Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair; souvenir photos by cre8tive outlets; author-led book readings of Anzu the Great Listener with Disney Animator, Benson Shum; an obon lecture and community dance with with the Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple and Elaine Fukumoto; fun summer-themed paper hat and patches crafts and origami; a scavenger hunt for prizes; and free admission to Don’t Fence Me In: Coming of Age in America’s Concentration Camps, Glenn Kaino: Aki’s Market, The Interactive StoryFile of Lawson Sakai, Common Ground: The Heart of Community. JANM will also be posting select performances and activities on the Museum’s YouTube channel throughout the day. View the map and location of each activity on JANM’s digital guide on the free Bloomberg Connects app. 

Natsumatsuri is sponsored by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Dwight Stuart Youth Fund, the Nissan Foundation, and the Los Angeles County Arts and Culture. The media sponsor is The Rafu Shimpo.

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About the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)

Established in 1985, JANM promotes understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience. Located in the historic Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles, JANM is a hybrid institution that straddles traditional museum categories and strives to provide a voice for Japanese Americans as well as a forum that enables all people to explore their own heritage and culture. Since opening to the public in 1992, JANM has presented over 70 exhibitions onsite while traveling 17 exhibits to venues such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis Island Museum in the United States, and to several leading cultural museums in Japan and South America. JANM is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday–Sunday from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and on Thursday from 12 p.m.–8 p.m. JANM is free every third Thursday of the month. On all other Thursdays, JANM is free from 5 p.m.–8 p.m. For more information, visit janm.org or follow us on social media @jamuseum.