Join Onibana Taiko and Alvin Erasga Tolentino for a Cemetery Performance Ritual Ceremony. Through kick-ass taiko, haunting vocals, dance, sensu (fan) cheerleading, fue and shamisen, audience members are invited to enter the realm of our ancestors and finish with the participatory Obon dance. This ceremony will inspire laughter and tears in honour of those who have passed on.

Many of our lives and the privileges we enjoy today are built on our ancestors’ blood, sweat and tears, including those of Black, Indigenous, Trans, Queer, POC, and Two-Spirit folks who have fought and nurtured our communities through the years. Whether we lost them through systemic racism, AIDS, COVID-19 or poverty, their rebel spirits continue to inspire us.

Through the melding of Japanese folk traditions, feminist punk aesthetics and the magical artistry of Alvin Erasga Tolentino, we invite you to celebrate and honour the rebel spirits of our unsung ancestors who continue to guide us in our present struggles.

Onibana Taiko 鬼束太鼓 are E. Kage, Noriko and Leslie Komori, three Nikkei veterans of Vancouver’s taiko community, whose performances draw from Japanese traditional arts, festival drumming, music and dance.

Alvin Erasga Tolentino is a Filipino Canadian choreographer and dance artist and the founding Artistic Director of Vancouver’s Co.ERASGA.