Roseburg Obon Festival Returns Saturday With Full Day of Japanese Music, Dance and Culture

ROSEBURG, Ore. - After a years-long hiatus, the Roseburg Obon Festival returns to Stewart Park this Saturday with eight hours of live performances, traditional Japanese music and dance, food, crafts and activities for all ages.

Roseburg Sister Cities, Inc. will host the free festival from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, throughout Stewart Park, including the Half Shell and park pavilions.

The festival marks the return of a Roseburg tradition that dates back nearly three decades. Roseburg Sister Cities held its first local Japanese Obon Festival in 1997, featuring taiko drumming, food and cultural booths.

Organizers have now released the full schedule for Saturday, giving visitors plenty of opportunities to experience traditional Japanese music, storytelling, dance and hands-on activities throughout the afternoon and evening.

Saturday's Entertainment Schedule

• 12:30 p.m. - Welcome to Obon and announcements
• 1 p.m. - Masumi Timson and Eleanor St. Clair
• 2 p.m. - Japanese storytelling with Joe Ross at the Small Pavilion
• 3 p.m. - Obon dance practice featuring Tokyo Ondo
• 4 p.m. - Oregon Koto Kai
• 5 p.m. - Obon dance practice featuring Shobu Ondo
• 6 p.m. - Eugene Taiko
• 7 p.m. - Obon Dance featuring Shobu Ondo and Sanbonjime
• 8 p.m. - Closing and sayonara

The afternoon will give festivalgoers a chance not only to watch traditional dance, but also to learn it before joining the larger Obon Dance at 7 p.m.

Music will play a major role in the festival. Masumi Timson, a Salem-based koto musician and instructor, is scheduled to perform at 1 p.m. Timson holds a Shihan master's degree in koto from the Seiha Conservatory of Japanese Traditional Music and has performed and recorded with Pink Martini.

Oregon Koto Kai will take the stage at 4 p.m. The ensemble performs music using the koto, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. Eugene Taiko follows at 6 p.m., bringing Japanese taiko drumming to the Half Shell ahead of the evening dance.

Activities Around Stewart Park

There will be more happening away from the stage throughout the day.

From noon to 4 p.m., Roseburg Sister Cities will host origami activities at the Small Pavilion. Visitors will also be able to purchase and decorate their own Obon lantern.

The Large Pavilion will feature the Roseburg Sister Cities welcome and resale table, a sponsored Japanese lantern display, Tabletop Kingdom and Eugene Bonsai.

A variety of vendors are also scheduled to take part, including Tabletop Kingdom, Yamada Vending Co., Clark Studio & Gallery, Bleeding Heart Books, Linda Russell-Matney, Rei Mastrogiovanni, Jessica's Oven Delights, Wiley's Wagon and Ice Hut.

Thrive Umpqua and Eugene Bonsai are among the organizations expected at the festival.

Organizers say visitors can come for the entire day or stop by for only a few hours.

Bringing Obon Back to Roseburg

Obon is a centuries-old Japanese tradition centered on remembering and honoring ancestors and gathering with family and community. Music, Bon Odori dancing and lanterns are commonly associated with Obon celebrations.

For Roseburg, the festival also represents the community's long relationship with Japan.

Roseburg's sister-city program traces its roots to a student exchange between Roseburg and Shobu, Japan. A pen-pal relationship between students began in 1985, Roseburg students traveled to Shobu in 1987 and Japanese students visited Roseburg in 1989. A formal sister-city relationship followed in the early 1990s. Shobu later became part of Kuki City, and the relationship between the communities continued.

Today, Roseburg Sister Cities works to promote friendship and understanding between Roseburg and Kuki through student and adult exchanges and other cultural programs.

Organizers said bringing the Obon Festival back gives a new generation of Roseburg families an opportunity to experience the tradition while strengthening the community's connection with Kuki.

Event Details

• What: Roseburg Sister Cities 2026 Obon Festival
• When: Saturday, Aug. 15, noon to 8 p.m.
• Where: Stewart Park, 2058 NW Stewart Park Drive, Roseburg
• Admission: Free and open to the public
• Activities: Live music, taiko drumming, traditional dance, storytelling, origami, lantern decorating, bonsai, vendors, food and cultural activities

Roseburg Sister Cities is a nonprofit organization focused on cultural exchange and friendship between Roseburg and Kuki City, Japan.