By Carolyn Leal
A traditional Japanese tea ceremony, presided over by kimono-clad Aiko Tauchi, will be just one of the attractions during the annual Hakone Gardens Spring Festival on Saturday, April 27 from noon to 5 p.m. at the gardens, 21000 Big Basin Way.
Saratoga Taiko will perform, along with Harmony 84, a group of Japanese folk singers, and Shakuhachi, a Japanese flutist. There will be an art show, food and drinks, balloon sculptures for kids, a bonsai demonstration, a haiku contest, ikebana flower arranging and tours of the Japanese garden.
A benefit drawing offers such prizes as taiko lessons by Saratoga Taiko, dinners for two at Azuma restaurant in Cupertino or The Plumed Horse, a night's stay at the Inn at Saratoga, plants from Yamagami Nursery, a watercolor painting by Kay Duffy and prizes from the Omuron Co. of Japan.
Festival co-chairs are John Tauchi and Daryl Becker. Festival admission is free, but a $5 parking fee is charged.
Hakone is a 16-acre Japanese garden located one-tenth of a mile from Saratoga. The garden and original buildings were built in 1918 by Oliver and Isabel Stein, who were inspired by the displays at the 1915 Pan-Pacific Exhibition.
In 1966, Saratoga purchased the garden to protect it from subdivision and development.
In 1991, a reproduction of a 19th century Japanese tea merchant's home and shop was added to the site. The structure was built in Japan using traditional methods and tools, disassembled and reconstructed on site by visiting artisans from Japan.
Classes and workshops are now being conducted at the gardens, including haiku poetry, watercolor painting, papermaking, drawing, Sumi-e painting and tai chi.
Every first Thursday, there are demonstrations of the classical tea service between 1 and 4 p.m.
The nonprofit Hakone Foundation, which sponsors the Spring Festival, manages the gardens and sponsors programs that promote awareness and appreciation of Japanese culture.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, April 24, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved