Organizers seek volunteers for Arcata's Humboldt Obon Festival

Humboldt Asians & Pacific Islanders in Solidarity is asking for volunteers to help stage Arcata’s fifth Humboldt Obon Festival on Sunday, Aug. 16, from 3 to 7 p.m. at 1251 Ninth St. in the Creamery District. The free, family-friendly gathering is built around the Japanese Buddhist tradition of honoring ancestors.

The volunteer needs run through the whole event: booth staffing, traffic direction, setup, teardown, concessions, security, recycling, trash patrol and other support. HAPI says that help keeps a growing community celebration in place for a day that includes a Buddhist blessing, bon odori dancing, Humboldt Taiko performances, an ancestors’ tree, children’s games, Asian food vendors, artists and live music. Organizers also say there is still room for a few more food vendors and artisans, a sign that the festival is still expanding rather than settling into a fixed formula.

Preparation for the dancing is already happening in Arcata. Free weekly Japanese festival dance classes are running Sundays and Mondays at Redwood Raks Collective, with beginners welcome, to get people ready for the bon odori street dancing at the festival. HAPI is also encouraging festivalgoers to wear kimonos, yukata or other Japanese-style outfits, which adds to the event’s sense of place and gives the Creamery District a more immersive cultural feel.

Practical details for families and people with mobility needs are built into the layout. HAPI says handicap parking is on the north side of the Holly Yashi parking lot and is accessible from 10th Street. That makes the festival easier to reach for parents coming with children, older attendees and anyone who wants a closer route into the event space.

HAPI has said the Obon Festival has grown each year since it began in 2022, when the first celebration took place in the Creamery District on Aug. 14 from 4 to 8 p.m. The 2023 festival moved in front of the Arcata Playhouse, and the 2024 program included food trucks, taiko, Bon odori dancing, community trees or tanzaku, artisans and a kids area. The Rev. Rinban Gerald Sakamoto of the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin blessed the earlier festivals, including the 2022, 2023 and 2024 gatherings.

Ink People lists HAPI as a DreamMaker Project, and HAPI says its purpose is to build and empower the community by amplifying diverse voices and perspectives. This year’s volunteer call reflects that mission in direct terms: the festival depends on local hands to keep alive a shared cultural tradition in the center of Arcata.