📆 Saturday, September 7th
🕓 11 am – 5 pm
🎟 Free
📍 Mukai Farm and Garden: 18017 107th Ave SW, Vashon
Vashon (or how a vampire would pronounce “fashion”) is the home to some incredible Japanese American history, perhaps most prominently at the Mukai Farm and Garden. Part of the National Register of Historic Places, it’s where agriculturalist B.D. (Denichiro) Mukai made his fortune as a strawberry farmer before he and his family left it in the hands of a friend while they escaped Executive Order 9066 internment. The estate, newly restored by the Friends of Mukai nonprofit, is now the host of a free festival celebrating its fifth year and the region’s longtime Japanese culture.
Previous iterations have included play premieres staged by Vashon Repertory, Miyazaki films playing at the Vashon Theater, and a lantern walk, and days are built around special guests. This year, the festivities launch at 11 am as author/performer Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma ushers in the likes of the Vashon Soran Dancers, poet and Hugo House fellow Troy Osaki, renowned singer/songwriter Tomo Nakayama, and the Seattle Kokon Taiko drum troupe. Away from the mainstage, there’s a nominoichi market, delectable dishes and drinks (yes, that includes a sake garden), mochi pounding, martial arts demonstrations, and an arts and crafts-focused Children’s Village.
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