The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiçi will this Sunday hold its New Year’s Ohana Festival, which offers local and ethnic cuisine and entertainment; cultural art displays and demonstrations; a craft fair and book sale.
Keiki activities include kimono dressing, “make-n-take” activities, games, jumpers and storytelling. Among the top attractions this year: fav superheroes Kikaida and friends.  There wil be a “Kikada Brothers vs. Gill’s Monsters” performance and autograph signing, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Moçiliçili Field stage.
“The Cultural Center would like to share some of our Japanese traditions with the community while also showcasing the other diverse cultures and customs that make up our island state,” Lenny Yajima Andrew, the center’s president and executive director said in a news release. JCCH, a non-profit organization, aims to share the history, heritage and culture of the evolving Japanese-American experience in Hawaiçi.
Festival entertainment will takes place on two stages—one dedicated to Japanese and Okinawan performances in the center’s courtyard and the other on Moçiliçili Field. Among performances: Japanese folk and classical dancing; Japanese sword and fan dancing; koto and shamisen; and Okinawan dancing and drumming.
A kimono dressing and photography session will give children the chance to dress up in elegant kimono and zori and capture the day with a special portrait. Kimono dressing cost is $75 per person; center members get a 20 percent discount.
The year-of-the-tiger event is set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free; scrip will be sold for food and other activities.
A free shuttle service will run between the University of Hawai‘i at Mänoa’s Dole Street parking structure and the center, 2454 South Beretania St. For more information, call the center at 945-7633 or go to www.jcch.com.