Japan Festival in Yokosuka City

We have had a busy day so far today!  And, it's only just after lunch!  Garytt started his day with a football game at 10...not a win, but he had a lot of fun :).  Mackenzie and I had to skeedaddle out of the game before it was finished so we could make it to her ballet recital rehearsal at 11 (we had to miss her cheering at the older kids' football game and miss the last practice with the cheer coach we LOVE, though).  We made it to the theater just before 11, so we sat in the back and just watched the other dance teacher's groups (there are two dance teachers combining their classes for one big recital next weekend).  Well, the first dance teacher was supposed to practice from 10-11 and then Mackenzie's teacher, Kishi-san, had the stage from 11-12.  Even after the other teacher was told at least a dozen times that her time was up, she continued to bully her classes onto the stage and Kishi-san's girls only ended up with ten minutes to practice.  Mackenzie's group got on the stage and plowed through their dance (very cute, by the way!).  Then, we ran out the door to Kris and Garytt so we could make it to the festival off base and down the street.

Last week, Sugihara Sensei asked if Garytt would be able to perform in a demonstration off base.  I'm so glad we made this happen!  What fun!  We made it to the building a little early, so we were able to catch a Samurai performance.  I shot several videos, but for some reason the camera was having a hard time focusing today.        

http://youtu.be/8qz0X6Q31Hs     Samurai performance
http://youtu.be/cumGV7wdiPE    Samurai wishing blessings upon us (I think that's what he said they
                                                         were doing)
http://youtu.be/z0D-RbiHUeM     Garytt breaks a board
http://youtu.be/bkkkj0fdTEI          Karate Demo


 This was followed by a South American dance performance...gotta be honest....I was a little weirded out by the guy that was dancing with all the women.  Apparently, he's been taking lessons from Miley because his gross tongue was hanging out most of the performance.  Luckily, there was a little girl in the performance, off to the side, and that's the performer we focused Mackenzie on.  After that it was time for the karate demonstration.  Garytt was soooo cute!  He did really well....he got a little confused in one spot because the older kids were doing the sequence with more advanced moves and he wasn't sure if he was supposed to copy them or do what he knew.  Also, since he has been the leader in his class for the last few weeks, he has had to get used to using the opposite arm that Sensei calls out (in class he is the guy at the front and has to show the newer kids how to do it), so during the performance he kept putting up the wrong arm.  :)  But, he was still amazing!  AND...the Boy broke a piece of wood for the first time!!!!  He is quite proud of this accomplishment!

He's all the way in the back.

After Garytt's demo, we walked around a bit to see what was on display...origami, flower arranging, kimono dressing.  Kris even got a bit of a history lesson from the ladies at the information desk.  As we were leaving the group below began playing.

http://youtu.be/ya9ewh9jctg   Koto performance (it's a little short, the kids were in need of a nap)


 Overall, a pretty interesting day!  And, I caught sight of the beautiful tree below as we walked home.