BON DANCE, TAIKO DRUMMING, IKENOBO EXHIBITION, AND MORE
Free Admission (Advance Registration Requested)
Featuring:
- Bon Odori Dances and Dance DemonstrationTraditional Japanese Taiko Drumming and Music
- Ikenobo and Kimono Exhibition in Cranbrook House
- Bonsai Displays
- Variety of Food Trucks and Vendors
- Cultural Booths with Activities for all Ages
Guests of Honor:
- Consul General Hajimi Kishimori, Consulate-General of Japan in Detroit
- Shin Sasaki, President, Japan Business Society of Detroit
- Derrick Redding, Chair, Japan America Society of Michigan and Southwestern Ontario
Come as you are this summer—or wear your favorite festive clothing, like a Japanese yukata kimono or happi jacket—and join Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research and the members of the Great Lakes Taiko Center for the fourth annual Japanese Bon Festival at Cranbrook. Whether you call Japan or the United States home, whether you have participated in a traditional Japanese Bon Festival or not, all are welcome to join this community celebration of Japanese taiko drumming, music, song, and dance.
#MIBON2026 is a Community Project presented by the Great Lakes Taiko Center (五大湖太鼓センター) Taiko Arts Collective and hosted by Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.
The Bon Festival, as described by Susan Osa, is an annual Japanese holiday (known as Obon in Japan) that commemorates and remembers deceased ancestors. It is believed that their spirits return to visit their living relatives in the summer months. Today, participants dance to express their joy to be living happily and to honor loved ones who have passed away. Central to its celebration among Japanese are the folk dances (Bon Odori) performed outdoors to music that includes the steady beat of a taiko (drum). The taiko sits on a raised platform, a yagura, and musicians use bachi, or drumsticks, on the taiko, to keep time for the Bon Odori dancers. While associated with Buddhism, Obon has become a time of family reunion celebrated and embraced by all, regardless of one’s religious background.*
The Japanese Bon Festival at Cranbrook takes place at the time of Obon in Japan, traditionally a four-day festival. This year, the festival will be celebrated in Japan from August 13 through August 16. The festival at Cranbrook will take place on Saturday, August 8, in a grassy meadow on the shores of Kingswood Lake, just south of the Cranbrook Japanese Garden, in the shade of two majestic red pine trees. The spirited energy of taiko drumming and festive Bon Odori songs will fill the meadow, and there will be opportunities to join the performers throughout the day. The newly rejuvenated Cranbrook Japanese Garden will be open throughout the Bon Festival for exploration and informal tours, including musical interludes. In case of rain, the celebration will continue in the meadow under a spacious tent.
*To learn more about Obon and its evolution into Bon festivals in the United States, we suggest you read the article by Susan Osa written in 2006 for the Japanese American National Museum Store Online: "Gathering of Joy: A History of Japanese American Obon Festivals and Bon Odori." To see examples of bon odori, go to the Great Lakes Taiko Center website.
New in 2026, the festival will feature an Ikenobo exhibition in Cranbrook House. Ikenobō (池坊 ) is the oldest and largest school of Ikebana, the Japanese cultural practice of giving plants and flowers invigorated new life. Ikenobo’s history encompasses both the traditional and the modern, the two continually interacting to encourage new developments in the art form. Presented by Ikenobo Michigan, the exhibition will include arrangements placed throughout the first floor of the historic house. Also on display in the house will be two traditional Japanese wedding Kimono, courtesy of JSD Women’s Club.
Before the event, there will be an exclusive, ticketed Ikenobo Demonstration in the Cranbrook House Oak Room. The demonstration will be presented by the Japanese master, Professor Emiko Suzuki, who is a Senior Professor First Grade of the Ikenobo School of Ikebana, which is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. Learn more or purchase tickets here.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
**Program schedule will be updated and is subject to change**
1:30pm
First Shuttle Bus Departs Cranbrook Schools PAC Parking Lot
2:00pm
Cultural Tent Opens
Food Trucks Open
Cranbrook House Open (Featuring Ikenobo and Kimono Displays)
Japanese Garden Open (Music Interludes performed hourly starting at 3:15pm)
2:30 - 3:30pm MI Bon on the Main Stage
Welcome Remarks
Taiko Drumming Performance
Japanese Children's Show Choir
Try Taiko
3:15pm Japanese Garden Performance
3:30 - 4:15pm Bon Odori (Japanese Festival Dance) in the Meadow
4:15pm Japanese Garden Performance
4:30 - 5:30pm MI Bon on the Main Stage
Taiko Drumming Performance
Try Taiko
5:15pm
Japanese Garden Performance
5:30 - 6:15pm Bon Odori (Japanese Festival Dance) in the Meadow
6:00pm
Ikenobo Exhibition in Cranbrook House Closes
6:15pm
Japanese Garden Performance
6:30 - 7:30pm MI Bon on the Main Stage
Japanese Dance Performance
Taiko Drumming Performance
Taiko Jam Party
7:15pm Japanese Garden Performance
8:00pm
Last Shuttle Bus Departs the Festival
CLICK HERE FOR A COPY OF THE EVENT SCHEDULE AND FESTIVAL MAP.
Parking and Shuttle Bus Information
Parking for the Bon Festival will be at the Cranbrook Schools Performing Arts Center (PAC), and at the Kingswood School parking lot. The PAC Parking Lot is located at 550 Lone Pine Road, at the northeast corner of Lone Pine Road and Orchard Ridge Road, Bloomfield Hills. The Kingswood School parking lot is accessed through Cranbrook’s Main Entrance at 39221 Woodward Avenue.
There will be shuttle buses to and from the festival grounds from the PAC Parking Lot throughout the day (1:30 – 8:15pm). Those parking at Kingswood School will be able to walk to the festival.
Restrooms
Restrooms are available in the Performing Arts Center Lobby. During the Bon Festival, additional restrooms will be available on the grounds adjacent to the Bon Festival meadow.
ADA Accessibilty
There will be a designated ADA Parking Area on the festival grounds and a golf cart on site to assist when needed. Additionally, there will be an ADA-accessible restroom trailer. Be advised that the terrain is primarily grassy with pathways made of gravel. Additionally, an ASL Interpreter will be at the festival from 2:30 - 4:30pm. Please contact the Center at 248-645-3307 to get directions to the parking area or with any questions in regard to accessibility.
Food and Beverages
This year we are pleased to welcome back Kona Ice where visitors will have the opportunity to purchase refreshing, flavored shaved ice, and Hashi Hibachi, who will be serving hibachi-grilled meats and rice or noodles with your choice of sauce. New this year, we will also have a booth from One World Market, the largest Japanese grocery store in Michigan!
Alcoholic beverages are not permitted at any time during the Bon Festival at Cranbrook.
Seating
Visitors are also encouraged to bring their own folding chairs and picnic blankets to the festival; a limited supply of chairs and picnic tables will be provided by Cranbrook.
Rain Plan
In case of rain, the Bon Festival will take place under the main tent in the meadow. Parking will remain in the PAC and Kingswood Parking Lots. In case of severe weather, the event may be canceled or postponed.
ABOUT GREAT LAKES TAIKO CENTER / 五大湖太鼓センター
Great Lakes Taiko Center (GLTC) celebrates the empowering art of Japanese taiko drumming. Taiko is rooted in Japanese music traditions and continues to grow today as a global cultural arts movement that amplifies imagination, uplifts spirits, and builds community. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and fiscally sponsored by the Nonprofit Enterprise at Work, GLTC supports the sharing of Taiko Arts with its collective members and communities through classes and performances in Southeast Michigan and beyond. For more information on the Great Lakes Taiko Center and memberships, visit the GLTC website.
ABOUT THE #MIBON PROJECT
The Great Lakes Taiko Center (GLTC) celebrated the first annual MI Bon (“My” or Michigan Bon) Summer Festival on August 7, 2021, with taiko performances by groups in the GLTC Collective: Tanoshii Taiko Tai (T3), Godaiko Drummers, and Raion Taiko. The festival premiered the new Michigan Ondo (original song and dance) by Kyoko Johnson and Noriko Maidens, the MI Bon project creators. At this inaugural event, GLTC celebrated a year of taiko connections and programs and honored the people and places of the Michigan taiko community as they gathered to share the new Michigan Ondo, along with other folk songs and dances of the Japanese Bon Festival. Participation was limited in 2021 to GLTC members and their guests, for COVID safety reasons.
For the second annual festival, the 2022 MI Bon Planning Committee worked in partnership with the Novi (MI) Public Library to develop a broader audience. Despite an initial stormy weather cancellation in August, #MIBON2022 took place at the library on September 24. In addition to taiko drumming and folk dancing, the celebration included pre-event MI Bon drum and dance workshops, which were free and open to the public. More than two hundred people joined the event during which they enjoyed presentations of traditional Japanese festival pieces, contemporary Midwest compositions, and interactive Bon dance activities.
Since 2023, the Great Lakes Taiko Center has partnered with Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research to present #MIBON at Cranbrook. The Japanese Bon Festival at Cranbrook, which attracted an audience of 500 people in 2023, has grown each subsequent year and now attracts over 800 people.
ABOUT CRANBROOK CENTER FOR COLLECTIONS AND RESEARCH
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research (the Center) centralizes Cranbrook’s 120-year story and offers intellectual engagement with its legacy. Launched in 2012, the Center encompasses the management and curatorial leadership of Cranbrook’s campus-wide collection of Cultural Properties, Archives, historic architecture (most notably Cranbrook House, Saarinen House, and the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Smith House), Cultural Heritage Areas, and cultural landscapes (including the Cranbrook Japanese Garden). By preserving and interpreting the community’s unparalleled landscape, architecture, collections, and archives, the Center provides memorable educational experiences and meaningful research opportunities for internal and external audiences. For more information, please visit the Center's website. For more information, please visit the Center's website.
BON FESTIVAL PARTNERS
Thank you to all of this year’s Bon Festival partners. The central 'yagura' tower structure for the Bon Dance is generously provided by Tokyo Rope Mfg. Co., Ltd. and decorated with the traditional 'kōhaku maku' red and white striped cloth kindly lent to us by the Japanese Business Society of Detroit. Additional cultural activities and info booths are presented by our community partners (Japanese American Citizens League–Detroit Novi Public Library; Japa America Society Young Professionals; JSD Women’s Club; Michigan-Shiga Sister State Program; Youmacon, and Japan Center for Michigan Universities) along with botanical displays by Ikenobo Michigan and the Ann Arbor Bonsai Society.
MIBon Summer Festivals are made possible every year by GLTC and Cranbrook Center staff and has been supported by grants from the Taiko Community Alliance, TaikoVentures, Japan Business Society of Detroit, and the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan.
PHOTO CREDITS
Banner: Taiko drummers at #MIBON2025. Photography by Shintaro Nabeshima, courtesy Great Lakes Taiko Center.
Bon dancers at #MIBON2025. Photography by Shintaro Nabeshima, courtesy Great Lakes Taiko Center.
Murasaki Shikibu ensemble perform in the Japanese Garden at #MIBON2024. Photography by Jessica Webster, courtesy Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.
Ikenobo photography, courtesy of Ikenobo Michigan.
Kona Ice Truck, courtesy Kona Ice, and Hashi Hibachi, courtesy Kemo Hariri.
Great Lakes Taiko Center (GLTC) logo with MI-ON saying "Taiko is the greatest!!" The sound that a cat makes can be pronounced "mi-on" in Japanese, hence the name of the MI taiko playing cat (an endangered lynx species in Michigan) from the Great Lakes region.
MI Bon Logo, created in 2022 by Michigan artist Deanne Bednar with Great Lakes Taiko Center member Ronna Fisher.