OSHOGATSU AT MORIKAMI
Morikami rings in New Year Traditional Japanese Oshogatsu festival is one of Delray attraction’s top draws.
DELRAY BEACH — Kie Imacho didn’t get to celebrate the new year in her native Japan.
So the Boynton Beach resident of 18 months did the next best thing by observing Oshogatsu, the festival that rings in the Japanese New Year, on Sunday at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens.
Joined by her son, Rui, 7, and daughter, Kiena, 4, Imacho listened to an energetic group of musicians pound on taiko drums, watched two men take part in rice-pounding to make mochi cakes and enjoyed a wide variety of Japa- nese food.
“It’s like being in Japan,” Imacho said.
Oshogatsu, celebrated at Morikami for the past 38 years, is one of the museum’s most popular events.
Park Administrator Bonnie White Lemay said the event drew around 1,000 people when she first started work- ing at the museum around 20 years ago but has been attracting between 5,000 and 6,000 visitors annually for years.
Sunday’s festivities drew a sizable crowd despite lingering clouds and a couple of storms that drenched patrons.
“I think it’s the culture,”
White Lemay said regarding the Oshogatsu festival’s popularity. “We’ve chosen to perpetuate that history and expand it so that people can truly get a knowledge and understanding of authentic Japanese culture, art and history.”
For the Japanese, Oshogatsu is one of the most important celebrations of the year. To get ready for the new year, houses are cleaned, debts are paid and foods are prepared so the holiday can be enjoyed in leisure. Family members, wearing new clothing, get up early on New Year’s morning and visit the family shrine. In Japan the holiday runs from Jan. 1 to 3.
Danielle Schultz came to the Morikami Museum on Sunday with her daughter Sabrina, 5, and sons Luke and Derek, both 3. Schultz, of Coral Springs, said she brought her family specififically to “watch the taiko drummers.”
Schultz and her family arrived early at the concert stage and snagged a picnic table where her children enjoyed their packed lunch and the thumping, rhythmic sounds provided by the drummers.
“My husband and myself are musicians and we try to make sure our kids are exposed to that kind of stuffffffffffff,” Schultz said.
Ozzie Fiallo made his way to the museum from Miami with his Japaneseborn wife, Mio, and their 4-year-old son, Estefan.
At the top of Estefan’s to-do list were watching the pounding of rice for mochi cakes — a ceremo- ny known as Mochitsuki — and the taiko drumming.
“He’s having a good time so far,” Fiallo reported. So was his mom. “I really miss New Year’s celebration in Japan,” said Mio Fiallo, who came to the U.S. about 10 years ago. In Japan, New Year’s is different from here. I wanted my son to experience part of it.” CAPE CORAL — Authorities are assessing the damage after a tornado with winds up to 135 mph touched down in Cape Coral.
Cape Coral Police spokesman Dana Coston couldn’t say how many homes were damaged when the tornado hit Saturday night, but said a roughly 12-squaremile area was affffffffffffected. No one was killed and only a few minor injuries were reported.
“We have numerous power lines down, we have numerous homes that have been damaged,” he said.
News and witness photos showed cars tipped over, a roof nearly torn offff and large trees and street signs scattered across residents’ yards.
At one point, nearly 10,000 were without power but that number was already down to about
Coston said. More than 100 fifire rescue personnel went door to door to check on residents and assess the damage.
Kelly Anderson told The News-Press it started out as a windy evening and then suddenly everything started to rattle and shake so she sought cover in the bathroom.
“Within minutes everything let loose. I heard glass behind me shattering everywhere,” she said.
She emerged to fifind windows and doors strewn across her living room and kitchen.
“The truck literally flflew from the driveway to the backyard and the boat landed on top of it and I’m just very surprised that everybody inside that house is safe,” she said of one home.
She said other neighbors’ homes appeared to be totally destroyed.
The owners didn’t appear to be in town, she said.
The Red Cross opened a shelter at a local school for residents unable to return home.