Bon Fest 2019 is over! THANK YOU to everyone who attended, performed, or participated in any way! If you share photos online please use hashtags #jaasc #obonSC or tag us so we can see them. We will post our 2019 photos and videos soon, here or on our Facebook Page. Please check out the other events we host and attend throughout the year, and we’ll see you back here for Bon Dance 2020! 

About the Bon Dance Festival:

Since 1995,  South Carolina residents have enjoyed Bon Dance Festival, an annual celebration of Japanese culture in the form of a late summer festival during the Japanese holiday Obon.

The Greenville Bon Dance Festival includes Bon Odori (the Bon Dance, see a demonstration from 2018) with participants in colorful kimono, yukata and happi coats, as well as delicious food from numerous participating Upstate vendors.  

This event is family-friendly, and is currently held indoors in comfortable air conditioning, regardless of weather conditions.

There are Japanese crafts, games, prizes, Taiko drumming, martial arts demonstrations including kyudo archery and kendo, and traditional Japanese arts including calligraphy, the Japanese Tea Ceremony, and origami.

Admission and participation in many activities are free. Tickets can be purchased for food, raffles, and participation in games. If you’d like food, we recommend you arrive early — it goes fast!

The organizers of this event are dedicated to the purpose of fostering and promoting positive relationships among the peoples of the United States and Japan through meaningful educational, social and cultural exchanges.