FOURTH ANNUAL OBON (お盆)

JAPANESE BON FESTIVAL AT CRANBROOK

Our annual Japanese Bon Festival in partnership with Great Lakes Taiko Center is back for its fourth year at Cranbrook!

Saturday, August 8th, 2026 | 2:00pm - 8:00pm

Cranbrook Japanese Garden

Bloomfield Hills, MI

Free Admission / Advance Registration Requested

All are welcome to join this community celebration of Japanese taiko drumming, music, and folk dance.

Featuring:

Bon Odori dances and dance demonstrations
Traditional Japanese taiko drumming and music
Ikebana, bonsai, and Japanese cultural booths
Special Ikenobo and kimono display in Cranbrook House (new this year!)
Variety of food trucks and vendors

Event website and full schedule coming soon! Click the button below to register and receive updates on the 2026 Bon Festival.

WHAT IS BON FESTIVAL?

The Bon Festival is an annual Japanese holiday (known as Obon in Japan) that commemorates and remembers deceased ancestors. It is believed that their spirits return to visit their living relatives in the summer months.

Central to its celebration among Japanese are the folk dances (Bon Odori) performed outdoors to music that includes the steady beat of a taiko (drum).

ABOUT THE #MIBON PROJECT

The Great Lakes Taiko Center (GLTC) celebrated the first annual MI Bon Festival in 2021. This inaugural event celebrated taiko programs, honoring the Michigan taiko community as they gathered to share the new Michigan Ondo and other folk songs and dances. In 2023, the GLTC began partnering annually with Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research to present an afternoon of community, commemoration, and celebration here at the Cranbrook Japanese Garden.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

We are proud to partner with the Great Lakes Taiko Center (GLTC) to present the Bon Festival. GLTC celebrates the empowering art of Japanese taiko drumming. Based in Ann Arbor, GLTC supports the sharing of Taiko Arts with its collective members and communities through classes and performances.

PHOTO CREDITS:

Bon Dancers at #MIBON2024 in the Cranbrook Japanese Garden Meadow. Photography by Shintaro Nabeshima.

Founded in 2012, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research centralizes the Cranbrook story to increase awareness of—and access to—the diverse art, architectural, landscape, design, and historical resources that comprise the Cranbrook legacy. The Center—which includes Cranbrook Archives—serves a broad audience through its research initiatives and educational programs that include tours, lectures, and numerous behind-the-scenes opportunities.

About

Visit

Events