Experience Japanese art, tea, and culture at Cheekwood's Japanese Moon Viewing Festival

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's the tenth year of a special celebration of Japanese culture at Cheekwood Estate and Gardens.

Held Sunday, September 15 from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Otsukimi — the Japanese Moon Viewing Festival — is Cheekwood's annual celebration of Japanese art, gardens and culture. It happens near the date of the Harvest Moon in partnership with the Consulate-General of Japan and Japan American Society of Tennessee.

Tea ceremony

5:00, 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. on the Arboretum Lawn — experience the preparation, presentation and taste of green tea. You get to watch the tea master prepare it and then sample the final product. After 7:00 p.m., there will be a kendama demonstration with a wodden skill toy from Japan played around the world.

Music

Nashville Taiko, 5:30 p.m. at Arboretum Lawn — For the first time, this includes percussion, choreography and music. Taiko means any kind of drum in Japanese.
Choir SAKURA, 6:00 p.m. at Arboretum Lawn — This group sings popular Japanese songs from movies and anime, and has been around since 2008.
Shamisen Knoxville, 7:30 p.m. at Arboretum Lawn — This is a traditional three string instrument, part of Japan since the 16th century. A group from UT-Knoxville and across the community will play it.

There's lots more to do at this festival, including a haiku contest, mochi pounding, and art. If you want to purchase tickets or learn more information about the festival, just visit Cheekwood's website.

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Remembering Eudora Boxley, a trailblazing TV cook from WLAC's early days

I LOVE Forrest's stories on the history of NewsChannel 5 as we celebrate our 70th anniversary. Here's a story I wasn't familiar with until recently. Eudora Boxley had a live cooking show in the early days of the station. She may have been the first black on air at NewsChannel 5 and perhaps, one of the first African Americans to have a TV cooking show anywhere in the country. It wasn't until her grandson reached out to me that I even heard of Ms. Boxley. Thankfully, I was able to connect him with Forest to learn more about this great nugget in NewsChannel 5 history.

-Lelan Statom