The Ultimate Kurashiki Fair ~ A Marche Event Where Both Adults and Children Can Enjoy the Flavors and Culture of Kurashiki

"Take me somewhere~"

Every Sunday, the usual requests from the children begin.

If we are going out, it should be enjoyable for the children, and of course, adults want to have a good time too.

The Ultimate Kurashiki Fair is an event where local specialties and gourmet foods from Kurashiki City and surrounding areas come together.

Even the popular "yuru-chara" (mascots) come, and adults can enjoy gourmet food and drinks.

Such fairs are fun because you can "taste" a variety of things all at once without having to travel far.

I attended the event held on October 6, 2019, and I will report on it!

About the Ultimate Kurashiki Fair

The Ultimate Kurashiki Fair is an event where selected local specialties, gourmet foods, and traditional products from cities and towns in the Takahashi River basin, including Kurashiki City, can be enjoyed.

The 2019 event also saw participation from cities and towns that supported recovery from the heavy rains in July 2018.

▼ The following cities and towns participated from outside the prefecture:

• Shiogama City, Miyagi Prefecture
• Matsushima Town, Miyagi Prefecture
• Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture
• Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture
• Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture

It is nice to be able to experience specialties and gourmet foods from outside Kurashiki City and the Takahashi River basin.

The event takes place at Kurashiki Mirai Park, located between Ario Kurashiki and MITSUI OUTLET PARK Kurashiki, north of JR Kurashiki Station.

Therefore, there is no admission fee for the event itself.
Official information states "no parking available," but parking at Ario Kurashiki and MITSUI OUTLET PARK Kurashiki was accessible.

It's also nice that you can do your regular shopping while attending the event.

The Atmosphere of the Ultimate Kurashiki Fair

Kurashiki Mirai Park, where the Ultimate Kurashiki Fair is held, is a suitably sized area that can be walked around even with children.

Still, there were many events happening.

Let me introduce what I experienced.

Highlights Stage

At the park stage in Kurashiki Mirai Park, various performances were held.

▼ The stage schedule is as follows:

It's content that both children and adults can enjoy.

▼ The Mabikibi Children's Choir showcased beautiful singing.
It was wonderful to see the children singing confidently in front of a large audience.

▼ The Takematsu Orchestra from Mabi Town had impressive bamboo instruments.

These two groups perform at various events and can also be seen at the Mabi Funao Grand Dance and Kurashiki Spring Night Lights.

▼ The appearance of local characters (yuru-chara) excited the children greatly!

By the way, the characters that appeared were as follows:

Kurashiki City Japan Heritage Stamp Rally

Kurashiki City, which has been recognized as a Japan Heritage site for three stories: "A Single Cotton Flower," "Port of the Kitamae Ships," and "Ancient Kibi Heritage."

This stamp rally related to the Japan Heritage was held at the venue (Kurashiki Mirai Park) and also at Ario Kurashiki and MITSUI OUTLET PARK Kurashiki, which are adjacent to the venue.

The distribution of stamp rally papers was initially scheduled from 9 AM to 2 PM, but perhaps due to its popularity or a shortage of prepared papers, distribution ended around 10:30 AM...

Our family was lucky enough to get the paper and participate in the stamp rally.

After stamping at three locations on the paper, you can show it at the reception to spin the lottery.

▼ The prizes for the lottery are as follows:

I wanted to say it was the grand prize!!
But what I won was the participation prize.
What a shame...

A Bustling Scale with 70 Booths

Booths selling gourmet foods and local specialties were lined up closely together.

▼ They can be broadly categorized into the following groups:

• Special Area
• Food and Drink Area
• Takahashi River Basin Area
• Kurashiki Area
• Kojima Area
• Supporting Municipalities Area
• Workshops
• Mabi Town Area
• Shou Tsukubo Area
• Tamashima Area

I thought it was a wonderful area division where you can experience "Kurashiki" all at once.

▼ In the experience area, at the Ohara Museum of Art booth, children could experience coloring.
Staff member Okazaki kindly guided them.

▼ The subject of the coloring was this!
"A Belgian Girl in Kimono" (by Kojima Torajiro), which can be seen in person at the Ohara Museum of Art.

If you complete the coloring and take it to the Ohara Museum of Art, it becomes a ticket for adults to enter for 500 yen.
It is perfect as a gift from children to adults, and I felt it was a thoughtful arrangement.

It seems that elementary and middle school students living in Kurashiki City can enter for free.

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▼ At the booth of the Mabi Town Bamboo Craft Association, there was an experience to make bamboo toys.
Seeing my son earnestly making a bamboo dragonfly made me feel as a father, "This is nice...!"

▼In the gourmet area, I visited Wohl-Wollen in Mabi and purchased an apple pie.

Since I couldn't eat it slowly at the venue, I had it as an afternoon snack after returning home.

Wohl-Wollen - A Western confectionery shop that has aimed for delicious flavors that everyone enjoys for 25 years, naturally supporting Mabi.

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If you're curious about "What other places participated?" please check the following.

Receive a lottery ticket for every 500 yen spent at the venue and participate in the lottery!

A lottery will also be held at the venue.

▼I received a lottery ticket for purchases over 500 yen.

▼The task of putting the stub into the lottery box was a fun event for the children.

▼There was also a direct reading of the winning numbers on stage, but I couldn't hear it directly as I was in another part of the venue.
Therefore, my family and I looked at the numbers posted on the board.
Unfortunately, we didn't win...

Conclusion

Prompted by the children, I finally visited the "Ultimate Product Kurashiki Fair."

In a familiar place, the different scenery excited not only the children but also the adults.

I think it was great to see various gourmet foods and booths all at once.

From the stage program and some of the booths, I felt a sense of "Mabi," and I received the message that "it will still take time for the recovery from the July 2018 heavy rain disaster, but we are doing well!"

If the "Ultimate Product Kurashiki Fair" is held again next year, please enjoy it while referring to this report.

Data on the Ultimate Product Kurashiki Fair

Name	Ultimate Product Kurashiki Fair
Date	October 5, 2019
Location	12-1 Kotobuki-cho, Kurashiki City

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