Our 2nd WISH Festival was held on November 10th. On the day of the event, we were able to welcome 600 visitors with 80 staff members. I would like to express my deepest appreciation for everyone who came.
This year, we set our theme as the “international exchanges realized in Nakano”, and presented various characteristics of WISH, including our internationality. We had booths such as the “world sports booth” where visitors can experience the world’s unique games, “world cuisine booth” that offers dishes from four Asian countries such as Filipino food and Korean Toppogi, and “Haunted House” where we gathered ghosts from all over the world. We also held small events within the festival, such as the “Stage Performance” with saxophone, drum, Rakugo and dance performances, and small activities like “Stamp Rally” introduced greetings from around the world, “Study Abroad Roundtable” gave advices and tips on study abroad programs. These were all planned and designed by the residents, and I believe that many of the projects appeared fresh to the visitors.
With the support of Kirin Beverage Co., Ltd., we offered the famous tea series “afternoon tea” to the visitors. In order to demonstrate the beauty in pairing drinks with food, we provided visitors with snacks that went well with the tea.
A unique project from this year was the “Hand Stamp Art Project booth”, which was a charity project. This project’s purpose is to create a large world map with the hand stamps of children who has disabilities/illnesses and people who support them. At the WISH festival, we were able to collect 152 hand stamps.
The WISH staff members have been preparing for the WISH festival for about half a year. I faced multiple obstacles in the process of preparation, but my efforts paid off when I saw people enjoying the event I worked tirelessly to organize. Last but not least, I would like to thank everyone, who came to the event, the Kirin Beverage Co., Ltd., the neighboring organizations, alumni, and the festival supporters. I sincerely thank you all for being part in this event.
