Update: Obon Celebrations in California

June 29, 2003

Source: Record Net

http://www.recordnet.com/articlelink/062903/news/articles/062903-gn-6.php

On June 29, 2003 Record Net reported that "the Rev. Ken Fujimoto, resident minister of the Lodi Buddhist Church... expects 6,000 to 7,000 visitors over the two days of the [Obon] festival... The festival is located in the parking lot of the Lodi Buddhist Church [CA] and across the street at the Japanese Community Center... This weekend's festival is a bazaar that actually precedes the traditional Obon season, July 15 through Aug. 15, Fujimoto said. It's a major fund-raiser for the church and members work hard, cooking food, tending booths and carnival games, and setting up displays... When the July 20 celebration is held, church members will be freer to observe the spiritual aspects of Obon, a festival of remembrance in which ancestral spirits are welcomed home, he explained."