For Immediate Release

Contact: Barbara K. Laskin or Doug Stone
February 11, 2005
(651) 696-6203

MACALESTER COLLEGE HOSTS SIXTH ANNUAL JAPAN FESTIVAL FEATURING JAPANESE DRUMMING GROUP MU DAIKO FEBRUARY 20

St. Paul, Minn. - Macalester College will host the sixth annual Japan Festival from 5:30-8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20, in the Olin-Rice Science Center's Atrium. The festival will celebrate various aspects of Japanese culture and will feature food from local Japanese restaurants and Mu Daiko, a local Japanese-style drumming troupe. The event is free and open to the public. Call (651) 696-6487 for more information.

Macalester Department of Asian Languages and Cultures coordinator David Hammer noted that changes to this year's festival include the menu, a popular part of the day. In addition to preparing traditional Japanese food at the college's Japan House, he said local Japanese restaurants were invited to sponsor the event and donate appetizers. Students and faculty will prepare some of the favorites - like sushi - and add these to the food from area restaurants.

In addition to the food, Japan Festival regularly features traditional activities like martial arts displays, origami, calligraphy, Japanese movies, and displays from the Macalester Anime and Manga Clubs. This year, the festival welcomes Mu Daiko, a local Japanese-style drumming troupe. With numerous drums and precise and acrobatic routines, the performance by Mu Daiko will be both visually and musically stimulating.

Macalester College is a private liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 1,851 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, diversity, and civic engagement.

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