BRIEF: Oban Festival to honor ancestors coming to Spokane

For the first time in at least 25 years the Buddhist Temple of Spokane will be putting on an Oban Festival later this month.

The festival is a Japanese Buddhist custom designed to honor the spirits of one's ancestors.

It includes Japanese food, martial arts and a variety of games for kids of all ages. Inside the gym, Japanese exhibits and demonstrations of Japanese art and crafts will be featured. Entertainment will be by Spokane Taiko, Narong (singing Japanese folk songs), and Kendrick with Tibetan Singing Bowls.

Events will be Saturday (Aug. 17) from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the temple, 927 S. Perry and Aug. 18 beginning at 4 p.m. The highlight of the festival is the Bon Odori or Bon Dancing to be held on the green on the temple property on Aug. 18 at 6 p.m.

All events are free and open to the public.

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About Tracy Simmons

Tracy Simmons is an award winning journalist specializing in religion reporting, digital entrepreneurship and social journalism. In her 15 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti.
Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas and Connecticut. Currently she serves as the executive director of SpokaneFAVS.com, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Wash. She is also a Scholarly Assistant Professor at Washington State University.

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