In the Asian zodiac, 2016 is the Year of the Monkey! Mochitsuki 2016 is also the 20th anniversary of the Japanese American New Year celebration in Portland. It all takes
The venue for the event is Portland State University, Smith Memorial Student Union (Portland, OR ) place on Sunday, January 31, 2016, from 11:00am to 4:00pm.
Enjoy traditional foods, art, performances and many exceptional hands-on cultural experiences for the whole family.
Mochitsuki is, in its strictest sense, the pounding of rice into tasty, sticky rice cakes called mochi, that symbolize starting the New Year with a full belly in hopes of abundance in the year ahead. At Mochitsuki 2016 you can feast on foods rich in symbolic meaning. There will be mochi pounding demonstrations, free mochi samples, and children’s bento cooking classes, as well as appetizing Japanese fare for purchase.
Special guest Alton Chung will emcee the Mochitsuki entertainment, which includes taiko drumming, classical Japanese dance, and koto, shamisen and shakuhachi flute performances. Hands-on cultural experiences include calligraphy, origami, ikebana, tea ceremony, New Years card making and learning to play Go (Japanese chess).
