Filtering by Category: events

Demo At The Caritas Residence

Added on November 29, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

Last Nov 27th, we had the opportunity to present an ikebana demonstration at the Caritas Residence, Halifax NS. The Caritas is a retirement residence sitting on a hill just above Mt. Saint Vincent University with a beautiful view of the Bedford Basin. Senior citizens and retired Sisters of Charity live there.

About 15 lovely ladies joined us. Most of them had never heard of ikebana before so it was a pleasure to introduce this beautiful art to them. They were a rapt audience!

"It was like poetry in motion," commented Sister Helen. The smiles and words of appreciation after the demonstration made it all worthwhile. :-)

Thank you very much for your kind and warm welcome! We hope you enjoyed the ikebana.

Thank you to Susan B., Recreation Coordinator, for making this possible.

Special thanks to our friend, Fran, who made the introductions...and for taking pictures with our clunky old camera! Thank you Fran!

Ikebana Demonstration At SMU

Added on November 16, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

Last Thursday, Nov 14th, I had the chance to give an ikebana demonstration at St. Mary University in Halifax.

It was for the Introduction to Japanese Culture class in the Department of Modern Languages and Classics.

It was great to be around young people. Their enthusiasm gave me energy. They posed many interesting questions. I hope I was able to answer them adequately!

The following day, some of the students even dropped by the shop to say "Hello" and told me they had enjoyed the presentation. I really appreciated that!

Special thanks to Dr. Alexandre Avdulov for giving me this opportunity to present what ikebana is all about to your class....and thank you for being my photographer! :-) --Miyako

Ikebana Workshop At ALCC

Added on November 14, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

In the middle of their busy lesson schedules, some students and staff of the Apex Language & Career College found the time to attend an ikebana workshop last Wednesday, Nov 13th.

A small taste of what ikebana is like...

We hope you enjoyed it!

Thank you to all the participants and thank you to ALCC for making the workshop possible.

Special mention to Ms. Yoko Irisawa who did all the organizing and preparing!

O-sewa ni narimashita. Domo arigatou gozaimashita!

All photos are courtesy of Yoko Irisawa. Used with permission.

Nocturne 2013

Added on October 21, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

The annual transformation for our shop from retail store to gallery happened last Saturday, October 19th, 2013.

It was Nocturne: Art At Night in Halifax. We participate every year to showcase ikebana in our fair city.

Let's take a tour! Here is the show window display, arranged by Miyako.

Greeting us at the entrance with a gentle fragrance of eucalyptus is White Harvest, arranged by JB.

JB used an actual pumpkin as a container!

Two arrangements by Marina Sokolenko. Many people were intrigued by the roses. The mauvish-tan roses were from Marina's own garden. A new hybrid called "Choco Loco". As buds, they appear chocolate brown in colour but become paler as they bloom!

Choco Loco roses on the left. Protea pincushions on the right.

Showing Water by Miyako. In this arrangement, Miyako only wanted to show the surface of the water.

The flowers were almost incidental, made to float in order to emphasize the water!

This arrangement by Jean Henshall was all about autumn!

Cattails and wheat stalks!

Patti Vaison's arrangement used only dried material. In fact, Patti was not able to join us on Nocturne night. So, she had had to design an arrangement a week in advance...something that would not wither; thus, the dried material!

The hydrangeas were quite delicate. The eryngium retained their blue colour!

Strongheart by Val Spencer. This was an arrangement that needed to be seen in the flesh to be fully appreciated. The images do not do it justice.

The placement of the anthuriums were creatively done. It was no easy feat. But Val downplayed it and claimed that the most difficult part was deciding where to position the loose silver dollar! :-)

One of the crowd favourites, this arrangement by Sydney Feng imparted an incredible feeling of lightness.

It was as if the chrysanthemums were floating in the air. The thin blades of lily grass connected the two components together.

Hana-Mari by Miyako.

"Hana-Mari" means "flower ball."

Centrifugal by Miyako. This arrangement sought to show strong circular motion. Did you feel it?

The dried silver dollar and allium were given to us by our friend, Beverly. She just popped in the shop one day last summer with an armful of branches. The bittersweet branches were "donated" to us by Patti's husband, Bob. He braved the woodlands to get these branches for us! :-) Thank you both!

We would like to thank everyone who visited our little exhibit. We hope you enjoyed it.

We would also like to thank our students who put in a lot of time and effort to create their arrangements. We could not have done this without you!

A more complete set of images can be seen in our flickr gallery.

Nocturne Is Tonight!

Added on October 19, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

The annual Nocturne: Art At Night event is tonight, October 19th, 6PM to 12 midnight. Our shop is transformed into an ikebana gallery! Miyako and her students will have some beautiful ikebana arrangements for you to enjoy.

Here is a sneak peak of what we're working on.... :-)

We will temporarily close the shop from 1PM today as we move things around and prepare the exhibit. But if you really need to get something, please come on in and we'll help you the best we can! Sorry for the inconvenience...and please don't mind the mess!

There is a LOT to see in Halifax tonight. We are on the fringe of the Nocturne circuit but we hope you visit us. We do put our heart and soul into all the arrangements! We are #64 in the Nocturne Guide.

See you tonight!

Rakugo And Sushi In Halifax

Added on September 23, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

Sunday, September 22nd. We made our way to the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 for an afternoon of Japanese culture.

Did you know there is a great view of the harbour upstairs? :-)

First on the programme was the Rakugo performance by Katsura Sunshine. (We had introduced him briefly here.)

The "stage" was makeshift--a table on risers covered with red cloth--but it was good enough to create the proper atmosphere for a rakugo performance.

The purple cushion is called a "zabuton". That is where the rakugo artist traditionally sits on one's heels. As Sunshine explained, sitting in this position is called "seiza" in Japanese. In English, it's called "PU-NISH-MENT!" :-)

We have no pictures of Sunshine during his performance because he asked us to listen and enjoy the show rather than get ourselves all preoccupied with our smartphones and cameras. Good advice! We thoroughly enjoyed the show and it was a very quick one hour!

One thing we'd like to share... Sunshine's comment about how funny life can be. He is Canadian. (In fact, he is the only Canadian AND non-Japanese bona fide rakugo artist!) His parents immigrated to Canada from Slovenia 55 years ago and first set foot on this country right here in Pier 21. Who would have thought that their son will find himself here 55 years later, dressed in a kimono and telling Japanese jokes?

After the performance, Sunshine took time to chat with the audience outside. We really appreciated the show, knowing that such an opportunity was quite rare in Halifax.

Next was the washoku (Japanese cuisine) powerpoint presentation by Consul General Tatsuo Arai. He gave us an overview of the different kinds of Japanese food and eating habits. He also made us very hungry!

Consul General Arai admitted that he was not a comedian like Sunshine but don't let the serious countenance fool you. We loved his deadpan jokes as well.

"Japanese breakfast consists of rice, fish and miso soup. Western breakfast consists of toast, eggs, and coffee. I like Japanese breakfast. My wife and son prefer Western breakfast. Conclusion: We have Western breakfast in my home everyday!" :-D

The second half of his presentation was an explanation of how to make sushi. We were lucky to have Fukuyama-san, master chef of Sushi Shige, to do a demonstration.

As Fukuyama-san deftly made nigiri and maki sushi, making it all look very easy, the Consul General reminded us: "It takes at least 10 years of apprenticeship and training to become a sushi chef."

It might take a master sushi chef only a few seconds to come up with your sushi but behind that is years and years of hard work and training!

After the presentation...the part everybody was waiting for: Sushi tasting! The audience was most appreciative.

Yum! Yum! :-)

We would like to thank the Consulate General of Japan at Montreal for sponsoring these events in Halifax. We're a long way from Montreal but you still made things happen and we truly appreciate that! Domo arigatou gozaimashita! (...and we hope that expression is near the top of Sunshine's list of the 47 ways to say "thank you " in Japanese ! ^_^)

Japan Weekend In Halifax

Added on September 14, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

September 21-24 is Japan Weekend in Halifax. Lots of events happening, sponsored by the Consulate General of Japan at Montreal. More good news: ALL EVENTS ARE FREE!

The tea ceremony demonstration will be led by Alexandre Avdulov Sensei and John McGee Sensei of St. Mary's University. Experience a bit of open air tea at the Grand Parade. If the weather does not permit it, the demonstration will be held inside City Hall.

Rakugo is like Japanese stand-up comedy except that the comedian is sitting down! In reality, the world of Rakugo is quite strict and rigid. It takes many years of apprenticeship before one is allowed to perform to the public. Into this centuries old tradition entered Katsura Sunshine, the only non-Japanese AND Canadian Rakugo artist! "Katsura" is a very old and famous name in Rakugo and Sunshine was "adopted" by the Katsura Rakugo family. Listen to him explain how he got to where he is now.

Japanese Rakugo comedy in English! http://sunshineinenglish.wordpress.com/ https://www.facebook.com/KatsuraSunshine https://twitter.com/KatsuraSunshine Part 1/3: http://youtu.be/2SamHpK6dew Part 2/3: http://youtu.be/TFM_i1E8pcA Part 3/3: http://youtu.be/6bEa6RbhauE Greg Robic

In the washoku (Japanese cuisine) presentation, "Consul General Tatsuo Arai dives deep into the traditional customs and history of Japanese gastronomy by first exploring the incredible diversity of flavours and elegant arrangement of various dishes, and later by examining how food continues to influence daily life, popular culture, and Japanese society as a whole." [quoted from the Consulate General of Japan at Montreal information package.]

Of course, we all look forward to the food-tasting afterwards too! :-)

(Note: Image photo by the ikebana shop. We don't exactly know what kind of food will be presented by Consul Arai!)

More information on the Consulate General of Japan at Montreal website.

We hope to see you at all of the events. Everything is authentic and not normally easy to experience in Halifax!

Ikebana Workshop At The Biscuit Eater

Added on August 1, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

It was a beautifully sunny day. Perfect for some creative activity outdoors! ...and the patio of The Biscuit Eater café in Mahone Bay NS was the perfect setting for an afternoon of ikebana.

Under the canopy of parasols and grape vines, people enjoyed an introduction to ikebana.

Miyako started off with a short demonstration. The participants were very attentive and, as you could see, Miyako was enjoying herself!

Next, it was time for everybody else to try it!

Some pointers on the angle to insert the main branch....

A few adjustments here and there....

Miyako remarked that all participants seemed to have the sense for ikebana. Nobody made large bunches. Everybody understood the importance of space in ikebana!

After completing their arrangements, people were relaxed. It didn't hurt that we were at The Biscuit Eater where great tea, coffee and snacks could be had! :-)

Thank you everyone for participating in our ikebana workshop. We hope it served as a good introduction to Japanese floral arrangement.

Thank you to The Biscuit Eater for accommodating us. They re-arranged the whole patio space just for this event!

We'd like to do this again some time!

Mini Exhibit At The Biscuit Eater

Added on July 20, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

The Biscuit Eater is a cozy café and bookshop in Mahone Bay, NS.

They were kind enough to host a mini exhibit for us! So last Thursday (July 18th) Miyako and Susan (Miyako's student) worked all morning to set it up.

This arrangement, a combination of 3 containers, greets guests as they enter the café .

Inside, there are little spaces that allow for smaller arrangements. The window sills are especially bright and cheery!

The one on the left uses a teapot as container! The round yellow container on the right hides among square and triangle shapes! (Accidentally reminiscent of Zen master Sengai's work: The Universe!)

The space along the hallway that connects the two sitting rooms allows us a taller arrangement. The arrangement on the right is for ladies only. Ladies, make sure you visit the WC! :-)

...and up close.

After all the work, a sumptuous lunch! This is the Greek Isles Plate: hummus, kalamata olives, warm pita, cucumber, tomato, romaine lettuce and feta cheese.

The people who made this possible: (L-R) Cara, owner of The Biscuit Eater, Susan and Miyako.

The mini exhibit will be in place up to at least Sunday (July 21st) or, if the flowers are still holding up, even later the following week.

We will have an ikebana workshop also at The Biscuit Eater on July 31st, Wednesday. You can sign up at the café or by email/phone directly to us.

JMSDF Training Squadron Welcome Ceremony

Added on July 8, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

We were honoured to be part of the welcoming ceremony for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces Training Squadron. Three ships --Kashima, Shirayuki and Isoyuki-- docked in Halifax today (July 8th, 2013).

The rain gods were kind and held back the showers!

The Royal Canadian Navy Honour Guard stood tall and impressive. Movements were crisp and snappy!

The Royal Canadian Navy's brass band played beautiful renditions of both countries' national anthems--Kimigayo (Japan) and O Canada.

We heard from the VIP's too. (L-R) Rear-Admiral Dave Gardam, Commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic; Rear-Admiral Fumiyuki Kitagawa, JMSDF Training Squadron Commander; His Excellency Norihiro Okuda, Ambassador of Japan to Canada; and Mr. Tatsuo Arai, Consul-General of Japan at Montreal.

We hope for a further deepening of friendship between Canada and Japan. We work towards this goal too in our little shop here in Halifax!

Schedule of activities that are open to the public:

July 8th and 9th, 1:30-3:30 p.m. Ships are open to the public. At the waterfront. Come aboard and explore!
July 9th, 4:00-5:00 p.m. The squadron band will perform at Grand Parade. Brass band & taiko drums!

Parting shot... Royal Canadian Navy sniper pose! :-)