Looking forward to Spring

Tired of the Polar Vortex? Here at Nen Daiko, so are we. There’s nothing like an icy, snow-filled parking lot to put a damper on your practice schedule. Fortunately, temperatures are starting to warm up, and the first day of spring is less than 7 weeks away. 

What else begins on the first day of Spring (March 20) this year? Yes, it’s the National Cherry Blossom Festival! We’ve already started booking gigs for this year’s festival, and we hope to see you there. So, please check out the link (http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org) and save the dates! 

Someday it will be warm enough to dress like this again...

In other news, many of our Nen Daiko members joined other taiko players across the country in becoming Charter Members of the newly founded Taiko Community Alliance (TCA) (http://taikocommunityalliance.org). The TCA was formed to help support a popular taiko conference that is regularly held in North America, as well as the North American taiko community in general. Our participation in TCA is just one of the ways we acknowledge our interconnectedness with other taiko groups, and the “taiko lineage” that is an important part of the history of U.S. taiko. We’ll be celebrating our own history and lineage by honoring the sister taiko groups that helped us to found Nen Daiko in our 20th Anniversary Concert that we mentioned in last month’s blog. Stay tuned for more information on the concert later in 2014 and meanwhile, enjoy the Spring-like weather while it lasts!  

--Lisa N.
 

2013 cherry blossoms at the National Japanese American Memorial