Museum offers tea ceremony program
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The Clarke Historical Museum invites the community to the second of a four-part tea-themed events.
Cha-no-yu, known in the West as the Japanese tea ceremony, and Chado, The Way of Tea, are traditional Japanese cultural practices with roots in Zen Buddhism. These arts involve the ceremonial preparation and consumption of powdered green tea or matcha. Underlying this ritual is a philosophy and practice that can inform and transform daily life. This Zoom-based demonstration is an introduction to a basic form of Cha-noyu through both observation and participation.
The presenters will be Harvey and Holly Harvey. Harvey II is an independent scholar in the field of experimental history who has been a practitioner of Chado since 1984. He is an instructor of the Urasenke style of Japanese tea ceremony and the director of the Horai Center. Holly Harvey is a graphic artist who studies the tea ceremony with a focus on food, gardens and flower arrangement.
The mission of the Horai Center is to increase understanding, harmony and cultural exchange through the study and promotion of Japanese arts and culture, especially Cha-no-yu (the Tea Ceremony) and Chado (The Way of Tea). The center is a DreamMaker program of the Ink People Center for the Arts in Eureka.
The cost for the full event package is $30, which includes a custom-designed mug by Jenna Catsos of Pen & Pine, samples of ceremonial matcha and sweets, plus a Zoom link to the program. Tickets for the full package are limited to 60; tickets for the presentation alone are $10 each. Participants will also have a chance to win door prizes, including a Japanese tea set and orchids from Orchids for the People.
Later this year, the Clarke Museum will offer additional tea-themed events, including a Victorian tea party and a teathemed cocktail party.
Tickets can be purchased on the Clarke Museum website at www. clarkemuseum.org or by calling the museum at 707-443-1947. Participants will be able to pick up their tea kits from the museum in the days leading up to the event; kits can also be shipped for a small additional cost; if shipping is required, order by April 2 to ensure a timely delivery
The mission of the Clarke Historical Museum is to celebrate the rich and varied history of Northwestern California by preserving, sharing and interpreting that history in ways that increase knowledge, enrich the spirit, engage the mind and stimulate the imagination.