THE City Government of Bacolod will celebrate the annual Bacolod—Japan Friendship Day Tuesday [August 14] with a program at the Bacolod City Government Center lobby starting at 5:30 p.m.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia will lead the candle-lighting ceremonies in commemoration of the Bon Odori, a memorial day of the Japanese where they dance and use lanterns “to light the way for the spirits to come home.”

City Administrator John Orola will give the welcome remarks, while Councilor Em Ang, chair of the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Tourism, and Shigemi Watanabe, director of the Organization for Industrial, Spiritual, and Cultural Advancement (OISCA) in Bago City, will deliver their messages.

Other activities include the performance of the MassKara Festival dancers, Philippine folk dances, cosplay, and acoustic band. Japanese costume yukata will also be presented.

All Japanese citizens residing in Bacolod City are invited to join the celebration.

The Bacolod–Japan Friendship Day is institutionalized in the city by virtue of City Ordinance No. 08-15-758.

Under the ordinance, the Bacolod-Japan Friendship Day is being celebrated between mid-July and mid-August to coincide with the “Obon Matsuri” or the Japanese Lantern Festival.

The ordinance said that the celebration aims to strengthen the long-standing friendship between Bacolodnons and Japanese through the exchange of cultural knowledge and traditions. (PR)