Fantastic Okinawa Foster Spring Festival Ryukyu Kaiensai presents massive fireworks! By Bill Charles H ours and hours of enter- tainment, including an ultra-spectacular fire- works program set to music, will join forces April 11th as Okinawa’s summer gets under way with Ryukyu Kaiensai, a massive fireworks festival. One of the world’s leading designers has teamed with the pyrotechnics specialists to create spellbinding illusions at the Ginowan Seaside Park Tropical Beach. Sponsored by Japan Air Lines, Japan Trans Ocean Air, Okinawa Cellular and FamilyMart, the 12th annual festi- val will see the skies illuminated by more than 10,000 pyrotechnics of all shapes, sizes and colors, as part of a dream corroboration with Designer Junko Koshino, who’ s produced the Japan Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. This year’s theme is “the ear- liest place to vibrate with the summer in Japan.” Organizers of this, the season’s first fireworks exhibition, are holding their col- lective breaths to see if Mother Nature has any intentions of cooperating. As of press time, they were still shaking their heads as weather prognosticators are laying out a 40% chance of that wet stuff on Saturday night. Born in Osaka, Koshino graduated from the Bunka Fashion College, then moved on to participate in Paris’ collection, holding fashion shows in Beijing, New York, Vietnam and Cuba. Her designs and illusions will tinge the blue skies with hanabi— fireworks blended with the latest computer technology to produce an hour-long program. Accom- panying the dazzling display will be music of Janet Jackson, David Foster, Katherine McPhee and more as the show proceeds to the music of a variety of genres. Live music will get under way at 2 p.m. at Haisai Square on Tropical Beach and provide plen- ty of entertainment until the fire- works exhibition kicks off at 8 p.m. The hour-long show will feature music timed to the fire- works launches, which are com- puter driven to integrated laser light show beams, the music and the illuminations. Festival ground opens at 1 p.m. Advance tickets are on sale until April 10th. Adult tickets are ¥2,700, and tickets for youngsters under 12 are ¥1,600. Tickets at the gate April 11th are ¥3,300 for adults and ¥2,200 for kids under 12. Tickets are required for those wanting to enjoy the music and watch the fireworks from within the Tropical Beach area, where visitors may bring their own blan- kets or chairs. There also a series of special seating plans, including seats under roofed tables. Parking fees are required; expect to pay ¥1,200 to park in a desig- nated parking area. Anyone wanting to watch the fireworks from along the beach may do so free. Japan Update has six free tickets to the Ryukyu Kaiensai to raffle away. Send us a message through Japan Update facebook page if you want to participate. Ginowan City, Ryukyu Broadcasting, Okinawa Pre-fec- ture, Okinawa Convention Center, Ginowan City Tourism Promotion Association and Ginowan City Chamber of Commerce are join- ing the Ryukyu Kaiensai commit- tee in sponsoring the event. Kaihin Park is directly behind the Okinawa Convention Center in Ginowan City, 4-2-1 Mashiki. It’s only a five-minute walk from the Convention Center, although the limited parking is a few hundred meters further away. Leisure seats and cooler boxes are prohibited on the park grounds. Sunday, April 12th, has been designated as a make-up date if Saturday’s fireworks festival is can- celed due to rain. Organizers say if it rains both the 11th and 12th, tick- et purchases will be refunded. T he 2015 season for Marine Corps Community Services entertainment festivals is here, firing up the orga- nization’s energies for the Camp Foster Festival this weekend. The free festival is open at Camp Foster both Saturday and Sunday from 2 p.m. ~ 10 p.m. The festival is open to all with Department of Defense identification, as well as to Japanese citizens. Entry to the camp is only through Gate 5, the Kitamae Commissary Gate, for Japanese citizens. Festival-goers can be prepared to experience everything that makes a festival worth celebrating, with free top-notch entertainment, amusement rides, Kiddie Land for the children and a variety of festi- val foods such as yakitori, yakisoba, and spare ribs. The most anticipated event at the festival is featured entertainment from A Day to Remember on Saturday evening. Saturday entertainment kicks off at 2:30 p.m. with Clown Kotora’s balloon performance, followed by Tamachu Hiroto and a street juggling performance. Ouka’s Continues on page 2 Entertainment is nonstop at Camp Foster Festival Plenty of fun is waiting for everyone at Foster Spring Fest this weekend. A Day To Remember rock band head- lines the entertainment lineup Saturday. MCCS Photo CYBRERJAPAN DANCERS will entertain crowds in the build-up to the fireworks extravaganza. Over 10,000 pieces of pyrotechnics will lit the sky over the Tropical Beach in Ginowan. Apr. 09, 2015 - Apr. 15, 2015 www.japanupdate.com ¥150 Fantastic Okinawa Local News Classifieds Okinawan Culture Weather JU Weekly Raffle Events this week English Lesson Horoscope Recipe