For the writer, 2024 is the first year of experiencing summer in Kurashiki.
Before moving here, the writer had few opportunities to take part in local festivals.
Thinking, “I might as well enjoy a local festival,” the writer looked up festivals in the city and found the 15th Mabi-Funao Soodori Dance Festival.
The Mabi-Funao Soodori Dance Festival has overcome the July 2018 heavy rains and the COVID-19 pandemic.
We spoke with a member of the organizing committee to find out what the event would be like in 2024.
The information provided was accurate when this article was published in July 2024. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What is the “15th Mabi-Funao Soodori Dance Festival”?
The 15th Mabi-Funao Soodori Dance Festival (hereafter, “the festival”) is a festival held on Saturday, July 13, 2024.
Bon odori dances had been held in Mabi since 1985. Following the 2005 merger of Kurashiki City, Mabi, and Funao, the “1st Mabi-Funao Soodori Dance Festival” was held in 2007, becoming a beloved summer tradition that draws crowds of local residents.
The festival was canceled for several consecutive years due to the July 2018 heavy rain disaster and the COVID-19 pandemic. When it was held again in 2023 for the first time in four years, around 5,500 people reportedly attended.
The festival’s main highlight is “A Dance in Mabi and Funao,” performed by local residents. It is a bon odori dance featuring simple choreography that makes it easy for people of all generations to join in. This year, 25 local groups will take part, bringing the venue to life with their dancing.
The choreography is simple, so if you think you can dance on the day, you can also join in spontaneously by following the last group, “Mabi-Funao Branch Office Staff.”
There will also be plenty of festival-style attractions, including food and drink stalls and live music performances.
The uchiwa lottery, which offered prizes such as home appliances and travel vouchers at the 2023 festival, will be on sale again this year for 100 yen per ticket. It will be exciting to see what prizes can be won.
The venue, Mabi Fureai Park, is a newly opened park, having opened on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Its appeal lies in its beautiful scenery surrounded by greenery.
In September, the “15th Mabi-Funao Soodori Dance Festival Photo Exhibition,” showcasing the festival’s appeal, will be held. Entries for the exhibition are being accepted until Friday, August 9. Photos of subjects other than dancers, such as smiling spectators and beautiful scenery, are also welcome. If you enjoy photography, please consider submitting your work.
Interview with an organizer
The 2024 festival will be held at its new venue, Mabi Fureai Park. We spoke with Makoto Sunami of the Mabi-Funao Soodori Dance Festival Organizing Committee about the event.
Is there anything different from last year’s festival?
Sunami (surname only hereafter)
Until now, the festival was held near the Mabi Branch Office of Kurashiki City, but in 2024 it will be held at Mabi Fureai Park, which opened on Wednesday, July 3.
With the venue now larger, we’ve also increased the number of stalls a little.
Also, this time we’re holding a “Dance Contest” and offering seven awards.
Before the disaster, the festival had around three awards, but we put them on hold after the disaster, as it wasn’t the right time for competition.
In 2024, we want everyone to join forces and make the festival even more lively, so we’ve increased the number of awards to seven.
- Grand Prize (Mabi-Funao Soodori Dance Festival Organizing Committee Chair's Award)
- Excellence Award (Local Production for Local Consumption & Fureai Festival Organizing Committee Chair's Award)
- Excellence Award (Community Development Promotion Council Liaison Committee Chair's Award)
- Performance Award
- Entertainment Award
- Smile Award
- Judges' Special Award
The number of groups taking part in the festival has also grown little by little each year. I think they participate with the feeling, “Let’s make our hometown more lively together!” This contest is intended to make the festival even more exciting, so I hope people will look forward to it.
What are the highlights of the 2024 festival?
Sunami
This is the first time we’ve changed venues, so I hope people will enjoy the sweeping views from Mabi Fureai Park and the open feel of the grounds. The riverbank is nearby, and there’s a lawn in the park, so I think it’s a venue children can enjoy too.
Please also come and see the stage, where a variety of performances will be presented.
The “Hashimoto Rika & Nakai Taichi Concert,” scheduled for around 5:15 p.m., will be a performance celebrating the opening of Mabi Fureai Park. Rika Hashimoto is a pianist from Mabi, and Taichi Nakai is a violinist who studied violin at Kurashiki Sakuyo University.
The stage will also feature local community music groups and people with ties to Kurashiki. The members of “Ocarina Ensemble Felice and Friends,” who are participating for the first time, are coming from Funao. Please come and enjoy their performance, which will make the festival even more lively.
Is there anything that particularly stood out to you at the previous festival in 2023?
Sunami
The 2023 festival was held for the first time in four years, following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it seemed that local residents had been looking forward to it. Many people spontaneously joined the open-participation dance. I think more than 50 people took part.
In particular, children in their teens—elementary, junior high, and high school students—joined in enthusiastically, and it was a lot of fun. The line of dancers kept getting longer, and the joyful moment went on and on.
What kind of people would you like to see come?
Sunami
We’d be happy to welcome people who love their hometown or want to make the community more lively… and also anyone who enjoys having fun and thinks, “I want to dance along!”
We’d like people who have supported recovery from the July 2018 heavy rain disaster to see what Mabi is like today.
The festival isn’t just for watching—please come and dance with us. Let’s enjoy ourselves and make it a great event together!
Do you have a message for our readers?
Sunami
This year (2024) marks six years since the July 2018 heavy rain disaster. Alongside continuing recovery and disaster-prevention efforts, we want the festival to be an event that supports those activities.
I hope the festival will help deepen connections among residents and strengthen community ties, so that people can rely on one another when an emergency arises.
We’re going to make this an even livelier festival than before, so we hope many people will take part. We’ll show you the vibrant spirit of Mabi and Funao.
Everyone, let’s dance together!
From the Writer
A few days before the interview, the writer photographed a festival dance practice session held in Mabi.
Around 100 local residents gathered for the practice, and their lively calls rang throughout the room.
The choreography is so simple that it can be learned in less than 30 minutes, so I thought many people would join in spontaneously on the day of the festival. I also practiced with the local residents, and it was fun to dance.
Watching the local residents practice with smiles on their faces made me realize that local festivals are something everyone creates together.
The festival felt like an event that reflects local residents’ desire to “make the community more lively!” If you want to experience the community’s energy or dance alongside local residents, be sure to visit the 15th Mabi-Funao Soodori Dance Festival.
15th Mabi-Funao Soodori Dance Festival Information
| Name | 15th Mabi-Funao Soodori Dance Festival |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, July 13, 2024 2:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. |
| Location | Mabi Fureai Park |
| Website | Kurashiki City |
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