I had to work at the English school Friday afternoon, and as I cut by Central Park, I spotted some tents going up. There weren't any banner gates at the entrances to the park, but there was the one schedule sign. There's no real explanation for what "Igisen" is, but I kind of remember the same event 1 or 2 years ago run by some university students as a recruiting or talent show or something. It was only on Saturday, from 9 AM to 3:20 PM, and I had to work from 1:30 to 7 PM. I was kind of thinking of getting out the door a little early on Saturday and trying to catch a bit of the event, but things went against me and I got out late, and wasn't able to get to the park at all.
Not a lot of tents, though. Just a few places that look like they'd sell food, and a small live stage.
Ash Fest
After I finished my Friday class, I went up to Amu Plaza as well, and had just enough time to swing by the open space and take a couple more photos. This is the Volcano Ash Fest, where people try to sell products made from Sakurajima ash, such as figurines you can hand paint, or jewelry and stuff. This one was also only on Saturday, so I missed this, too.
The schedule shows a talk show, some promotional stuff, a comedy duo, some dancing from a local studio, and some live jazz. Nothing I mind missing very much. One thing to mention is that Kagoshima has a "Geo Park" office down near City Hall, and their job is to emphasize the nature aspects of the region, such as the volcano itself, the bay, animal reserve areas, etc. Geo Park sponsored this event, and the 4 people in the middle left of the schedule are part of the Geo Park Talk Show.
Hello Geo World stage.
Craftsmen Fair
I had the day off Sunday, but I had some family stuff scheduled at 2 PM. We took a taxi down past the Volunteer Center, and I noticed the tents in the front lawn as we went by. I did get some free time at 3 PM, so when we returned to the apartment, I walked the 20 minutes to the center, where I discovered they were doing another crafts work fair. They had this last year, too, and I had a lot of fun at that one. This time, the event was scheduled to shut down at 4:30 PM, and some of the displays were already closing.
Most of the booths had the same things as the previous year. This one is new, though. It looks like glaze work or something. The people here are laying down coats of what looks like a thick gel, and then shaping it with special knives. After that, I guess you hang it as artwork on the wall.
Trying to show a close-up of the work on a Japanese crane picture.
Glazed tile work.
Some of the other tables, including gardening, copper sheet work, roofing tiles, wood joint crafting, and leather punch work.
There was a scaffolding display as well, but I missed exactly what it was they were using it for.
Inside the Center, in the auditorium rooms on the second floor, they had a lot of other stuff going on, too. Here, we've got a glazed floor tile display. Mesmerizing.
These tables had interactive cloth art making. The woman seems to be making what looks like a small picture frame.
The woodwork here looks exactly like the little wooden coaster I made, but on a bigger scale. Same pattern.
This could be part of a fence, or a room divider.
One of the other areas had wooden games and 3D puzzles. I got roped into trying to put together one of the puzzles. I've had that type before, but I couldn't remember how to get started. Eventually, one of the wood workers came by and showed me the solution. That was a little embarrassing, but it was still fun playing with the toys.
Overall, I enjoyed my 30 minutes at the crafts fair on Sunday, which made up for missing everything else on Saturday. Next year, I'll try to find out when the event is in advance, so I can play there longer.
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